Christmas in January?

We celebrated Christmas at our house today.  Yes, on January 25.  One month after our traditional Christmas celebration, a date that is total coincidence and in no way planned.

You see, a couple of weeks before Christmas, the boys shopped the AWANA store night for gifts for one another.  The good folks at our AWANA store recognize that the children have big hearts and little pocket books, and so at the December store night, they enable the children to purchase gifts for others with their AWANA shares at half-price.  (Prizes for themselves are still full-price).  Both Ryan and Connor took advantage of this “sale” and spent their hard-earned shares on gifts for one another.  Unfortunately, when we headed to Vermont for Christmas, we forgot to take along their special gifts, and when we got home, well, the daily grind just seemed to keep getting in the way… until today.

This morning the boys declared it to be “present day,” and so during their morning snack break, they wrapped and exchanged their gifts.  Ryan presented Connor with a kitten jigsaw puzzle, a snowman that grows when soaked in water, and a dolphin color by number poster.  Connor gave Ryan two small LEGO kits, kits he would have loved to have kept for himself, but willingly gave away because he knew “Ryan will LOVE them!”  The gifts weren’t big or expensive, but they were certainly from the heart.

I worried for a moment that the boys might be disappointed with what the other had chosen and that feelings might be hurt, but I worried in vain.  (How often is that the case!)  Connor, who loves cats, dolphins, and anything related to water, was so thrilled with his gifts that he tackled Ryan in thanks, saying, “Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.” and “I LOVE my gifts!”  

 Ryan was a bit more reserved in his thanks, but his smile and request to build the sets immediately spoke volumes.   

As I watched Connor coloring his dolphin color-by-number and Ryan building his LEGOS, I couldn’t help but smile.  Our Christmas in January was certainly a sweet reassurance that while Ryan and Connor are indeed so very different and frequently at odds, every now and then they compliment one another perfectly and exhibit all that is right between brothers, and that is something for which I am truly grateful!

For more reasons to be Grateful, visit Laura at Heavenly Homemakers!