7 shopping days left till Christmas.

I love the Christmas season but one of the things I try to avoid is shopping during the month of December.  Truthfully I try to avoid shopping all year.  This year we were on top of things and got our "shopping" done early and Arthur and I actually enjoyed the process.  We did Christmas "shopping" online through the World Vision and Samaritan's Purse gift catalogs.  (To our families-- hope this doesn't ruin the surprise of Christmas for you-- at least what type of farm animal we got you will be a surprise).  This is one of our family traditions that started when we were still dating.  That year Arthur had been working as an assembly tech for the company he now works for as an engineer.  One of his superiors made the comment that Arthur was a really hard worker-- a real bad "donkey" (to keep this blog in a PG-rating).  After Arthur told me this story I decide that I would get him a donkey (or at least a share of one) for Christmas.  Over that year he made several comments about wondering where his donkey was and what hard work it was doing for a family in need.  Last year I got him a goat for Christmas since he was always "trying to get my goat".  Arthur now has a picture of a donkey at his desk at work.  Over the next year he is going to try to put the money that he would usually spend each day to get a Pepsi at work to go towards buying a whole donkey.

Another tradition for me has been collecting Hallmark ornaments in the Mary's Angels collection.  This collection started the year I was born.  Growing up, one of my neighbors would get me one of these angels each year for Christmas.  Arthur has continued the tradition by getting me the newest angel each year for my birthday-- I have a considerable collection now.   (This tradition is also helpful since he has a specific idea of what to get me for my birthday so we don't have a repeat of the camouflage polo incident.)  This year we couldn't find any stores near us so Arthur's dad willingly braved going to Hallmark to hunt for a small angel ornament and was successful-- Thanks!

While on the subject of Christmas gifts we should share about some of our memorable Christmas gifts.  When I was about three my mom sewed two dolls for me which I named Norman and Lou Emma.  These are the only dolls I ever had in my life-- no Barbies here.  I didn't play with dolls much but I do remember doing "physical therapy" on these dolls during nap time, stretching and doing exercises so that they could stand and walk.  I have also received numerous art supplies over the years, roller blades, and an iPod to listen to audiobooks.  When I was 9 or 10 I used my Christmas money to buy a log cabin doll house kit.  (Even though I never used it with dolls.)  Mom and Dad helped me glue it together, stain it, and furnish it.  I played for hours with the doll house with PlayMobil figurines-- another one of my favorite Christmas gifts.

I (Arthur) suppose my list of favorite Christmas gifts is going to sound pretty materialistic next to my dear Alex's.  One gift that had a profound impact on me was a set of paperback abridged versions of classic literature for children.  I was already an avid reader, but that paperback set instilled in me a love for classic literature.  The other two gifts are probably going to be viewed as less noble, but they definitely provided hours of entertainment: a Super Nintendo and an Xbox.  I used to love imagining myself as the hero in the Super Mario Brother's franchise.  I even wrote stories on during my paper route in my head, originally with Mario, then with Chester Arthur Marshall.  So I suppose I can attribute some of early interest in writing to Mario (of course, engineers aren't known as being great writers, so maybe I would have been better off playing Legend of Zelda.)  I played a lot of football on the Xbox and actually learned a lot of strategy from it.

We have probably received a number of Christmas gifts that we have forgotten over the years.  However gifts are a tangible act of love from the giver.  Christmas is a time to remember the gift of Christ, who took on flesh and is a tangible symbol of God's love towards us.  Omnia Vincit Amor.