All I Want For Christmas...

It's getting to be that time...time to start planning how we are going to spend the holidays. Things get sticky when you get married and have to split time between the two families-especially when there are grandkids involved.

We have found that since we've been married, we've been more apt to give the creme de la creme time to my parents, and have often times had to fit in Brandon's family when we could. This is for obvious reasons, but in case you're not into the obvious, I'll spell it out for you...every holiday we think, "well, this could be our last..."

Our first Christmas together as a married couple, Brandon and I spent at MUSC. I remember wanting so badly to carry on our family tradition of going out to lunch on Christmas Eve. Since Mom was in the hospital, that obviously wasn't possible. But Brandon and I went throughout downtown Charleston (not a bad place to be, if you've got to be visiting a hospital) and got takeout from various favorite restaurants. We brought it back, put some white sheets over a rolling tray and had a spread that I still remember tasted and looked so good...right there in her room. Then Brandon pulled out his violin and played Christmas carols for Mom and all the nurses and anyone else who was confined to a hospital bed. I remember waking up in my best friend's parents' house and being with them as they opened gifts, then going over to visit mom in her hospital room. It was very strange, but very sweet. It was the first year that we didn't really have presents to open or a tree to sit around, but we realized how blessed we were to just have each other.

During our second Christmas together, I remember being at Mom and Dad's on Christmas Eve. No lunch, no takeout, but Mom did manage to cook that year. I remember her wanting to pray that night before we opened our gifts. It was a precious prayer that I will never forget...we were all so thankful to be together, so thankful for the new life that was growing inside of my womb at the time, so thankful for our relationships with Jesus.

During our third Christmas together, Ella was only a few months old. Mom and Dad were living in NC, and Mom was in the Duke program. We tried to go out to our Christmas Eve lunch, but chose a horrible restaurant. Mom started not feeling well, and by that evening Dad had to take her to the ER at Duke where she was admitted. Brandon and I stayed at their apartment and read Cosmic Christmas to some family members before turning in. In the morning, we packed up our stuff, drove to the hospital and sat with Mom and Dad as Ella cooed at them in her little Santa hat and Christmas pjs.

Last year was our 4th Christmas together. Christmas Eve lunch was spent out again at Macaroni Grille. The cool story about that outing was that Brandon and I offered to pay because we had redeemed CC points for a gift certificate...only problem was that it hadn't come in yet! So we were waiting all week for it. Mom and Dad drove to Greenville to spend the night with us and we were literally getting in the car to go to lunch when the mailman arrived and delivered our gift certificate! Woohoo! We had an awesome meal together, and Mom and Dad got to watch Ella tear into gifts around our huge Christmas tree. It was a very special holiday for all of us.

So...this will be our 5th Christmas together, and Mom's 5th Christmas with Pulmonary Hypertension. Allie has joined our family and will experience Christmas for the first time. Ella will be really into it, I'm sure.

We are always thankful for each passing year we have together, but they seem to be ever sweeter when we understand the possiblity that each may be our last. We hold each moment tightly and cherish each memory. This Christmas would be a great time to celebrate Mom's recovery with a new pair of lungs! That's all I want for Christmas...

A special thanks to the Berry family for your understanding hearts and attitudes. The grace you've bestowed on us during these tough times has been outstanding, especially around the holidays when our travel plans have usually been centered around Mom and Dad's whereabouts and conditions.