I'm past the age of having my childhood Christmas...

...and it's now time to create new traditions.

Sometimes I hate it.

I began a blog about past Christmas activities, but thought I might get unnecessarily sad. “Sad” because my Christmas days will not be like that again. I'm not a child, officially. My brother moved out of state, we're in a new city, and I work full-time without the benefit of three week vacations like my college days provided. “Unnecessarily” because such is the way of life, and I have new, exciting traditions to which I look forward.

This is the first year I have been able to accept this idea. My first Christmas to be married, we spent the morning with John’s family and the afternoon with mine. I swore I would never drive on Christmas day again. (Yet I doubted that declaration would hold true.) I was crushed to have missed Christmas morning with my family.

The second Christmas married, we spent Christmas morning with John’s family and then the afternoon moving out of our apartment. Even though we technically didn’t need to leave for another month. I swore I would never move on Christmas day again. (I knew that promise wouldn’t be broken or heads would ROLLLLL.) I was devastated because I couldn’t feel a glimpse of Christmas spirit. Not even the Hallmark version.

This year, we are in a new city, in a warmer climate (still in the 80s, similar to Hell), without a church family. John was busy with finals, and I was worried about taking time off work. Beginning in late November, I began visiting a new church on my own. (John had been relieved of non school-related activities). The church was in the midst of a series called Beautiful Feet. Through the sermons, music and interactions with people there, I began to fall in love again with the love of Christ. What a gift He gave to us and what a privilege we have to share His love with others! I was feeling excited about celebrating His birth.

I was even excited about the Hallmark version of Christmas, though I never ventured to the mall to shop. Amazon and Target are good friends.

I decided not to worry about taking time off work and requested four days. Thankfully, my boss appreciates me and told me to enjoy my rest.

I will.

Our plan is/was to drive to Austin Friday, hit the road at 4 am for Bartlesville, Oklahoma on Saturday, head to Dallas on Christmas day (yes, I told you we’d break that promise), fly to Austin on the 30th and spend New Year’s in Elgin at the Eight Point Ranch with Steph and Robert.

So far, so good.

We arrived in Bartlesville (Beth and Chris’s new home) at 1 pm on Saturday. It snowed at 2 pm. We had three inches. Pictures are coming soon, but you can check out Chris’s site for photos of the whole family.

It already feels more like Christmas. We went to dinner last night to celebrate Dad Ledbetter’s 50th, a belated 33rd for Chris and an early 24th for John. Our meal experience is worth it’s own blog entry. As we drove home we passed through a neighborhood that blew my mind. Estates of 10,000 or more square feet. I’d never seen that with my own eyes. I’m still baffled.

Christmas is shaping up to be fantastic. Spending time with my niece, brother and sister and parents Ledbetter has been wonderful.

Christmas in Bartlesville…who would have thought?