What does Christmas mean?

This Christmas is a bit of a milestone for Bob and me.  We met each other in June of 1994.  It was one of those unbelievable 'love stories' that always brings a smile to us when recollecting our memories with each other... or as we share our tale with new people; of how we met, fell in love and married in just over 1 year.

Bob, as many of you know quite well, is always handy to have around.  His gift to all that he loves, is his willingness to help others no matter how big of the job or how inconvenient the request!  Sharing his many talents, such as painting an entire house (not just one room... but yes, an entire house) "in his spare time" or offering to cut the grass for a neighbor that is temporarily out of commission for 3 weeks when he has very little time to cut his own are just 2 examples of how big of a heart Bob truely has!

Over many years, I've watched how "able" Bob is in times of need; when others really needed an extra hand to do things that seem to be so "effortless" for him when it's really quite taxing... and how he never complains or dissapoints those around him that rely on his strength, willpower and attention to detail that means the job will get done well and done "right".

I first saw these superb qualities in Bob as the "UPS Guy".  He always "delivered" with a smile in his heart and a quick pace in his step.  Bob will always put others before himself and even if it means being sleep-deprived.... it's more important to Bob to share his gift of "giving" rather than to get the 3 hours of sleep that he's missing when doing for others instead of "doing for himself."

Since our first Christmas together; Bob has been blessing me with an abundance of gifts... both of the material and spiritual kind.  Those that have visited our house at Christmas look in awe at the display of gifts under the tree... which only are a physical token of the overabundance of love that is bestowed by God through Bob.  It is in this "giving" that Bob shows his true heart and all that he is willing to share with the ones that he loves the deepest.

When Bob and I were dating; I was bestowed with not one diamond at Christmas ...(we were engaged Christmas Eve) ... but two!  Bob had decided to surpise me on that same Christmas morning with something very unexpected.  He had taken a very special "stone" out of his own ring, (that he had been wearing everyday for years as a gift from a family member) and had it re-designed into a delicate golden heart with a simple setting- the diamond out of his own ring in the center.

I was speachless.  As if getting engaged the night before wasn't enough, Bob gave me yet another diamond the next day to show his overabundance of love for me.  It is in the moments like these that we truely understand the love that God has for all of us that are willing to share their love with Him.  We can never "outgive" God.  The blessings are too numerous to count.  We simply must acknowledge the gifts of love that God shares with us in the way that I look to Bob and realize that it will never be "too much".  Love shared with family is endless and abundant in my house and on the eve of Christmas Spirit; I wish for all of you to hold love and joy abundantly in your hearts as well.