A Christmas Story

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Ranked #122 in Family, #2,104 overall

A Christmas short story

I wrote this story back in the early 1990's. It was written after I went from being a family of two to a family of four over night, literally.

Having a family increase like that meant there would have to be a lot of changes in our lifestyle and especially in our spending habits. Oh, and by the way, I would not change the whole experience for any amount of money in the world.

Trying to make a Glorious Christmas for a little boy and a little girl on a two person budget, was a little challenging....but you know what, you find the true meaning of the holidays through the experience as well.

I hope you enjoy the story, I hope it will not be too long for this lens, if it is, please just bookmark it and come and read a little whenever you get a chance. As always, I deeply appreciate your feed back, so please leave a message below.

The artwork in this lens was done by my husband, somehow this picture just sets a theme for my story.

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An Angel Box 

This is something that I know the Ebbs would do!!

type=textWhen I was a little girl, I always wanted to be a Brownie or a Girl Scout. But because of finances I was never allowed to join either, not to mention we were never in one place for very long. One time during our stay in a little town; I attended a Sunday School Class and they were having a "Mission Weekend Camping Trip"! I had never been camping before so I did not have one piece of camping equipment, but the people sponsoring this Mission Trip had extra supplies so they had stuff I could use. I cannot remember if there was a charge for the weekend or not, but somehow I was able to go. I earned a little Mission badge to sew on my shirt, it was one of the proudest days of my life!

When I was exploring around Squidoo the other day, I noticed that Jewelsofawe had written a lens called: The Path to a Mission. This is a blurb in the opening of the lens:

This lens is about my daughter and her mission trip she wants to go on. It will be on the island of Kauai in Hawaii.

She goes to a Christian school and she is trying to get enough money to go to this mission with some of the students at her school. The trip will be in March. She is doing a number of different things to earn the money to go there.
They will be going to a small school on the island. They want to spread the Word of God.

The second I read that opening, it took me back to the day when I went on my Mission Camping Trip. Then my thoughts went to - Wouldn't it be wonderful to try and help Jewels daughter raise a few extra dollars, and what better way to do that then to put up an Angel Box and have Santa Claus spread the word!! The link to the lens is: The Path to a Mission If you get a moment, please stop by and take a look around, it sounds like a wonderful opportunity for a child for many reasons!!

Merry Christmas!!

Artwork ©WhiteOak-2009

My Short Story, Glorious Christmas 

Glorious Christmas

It was Christmas week and all of the families in the town were preparing things for the coming holiday. The street decorations were shinning and glittering, Christmas trees were being decorated, foods were being cooked. The town smelled like apple, pumpkin and spices. Under the trees there were presents that were wrapped in fancy paper and ribbons, the snow was falling and sticking on the ground, the scenery looked just like a winter wonderland. Without a doubt, the Christmas spirit filled the hearts of almost everyone.

Right outside of town, there was a cabin that was occupied by a family of five, the Ebbs family. The family was not as lucky as the town people. They did not have the means to decorate and cook all the glorious foods. The father did odd jobs around town to earn enough money to live on. The mother stayed at home to take care of the three children. Steve was two, he was a sickly child. Crystal was eight; she was a very happy child with a huge imagination and Ellen was the oldest; she was ten, bright, strong, and very determined in everything she did.

The parents did not have a lot of money. They always seem to have enough to get by on but they never had any extra. Bob and Alex Ebbs always tried to teach their children the important things in life. The children did not have a lot of toys, the girls had a rag doll each that Alex made for them, and Steve had a little duck that Bob whittled for him from a piece of wood he found. The children were just as happy with their one toy, probably more than most children who had a many toys.

Ellen and Crystal worked very hard doing the chores. They tried to help prepare for the cold months by gathering the firewood, and helping Alex prepare and harvest all of the food that they had grown during the season. Sometimes, the girls would find large logs and although it took them a long time to get it home, they never gave up trying to push it home for their father to cut up into smaller pieces to use for fire wood.

The Ebbs very seldom went into town together, Bob would go to town do odd jobs and once a year the whole family would go into town just to look at the decorations as a treat. Bob came in from work one night and noticed Ellen and Crystal sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace. Alex was in Steve's bedroom taking care of him because he had developed a terrible cold. There was not enough money to take Steve to the doctors so Alex took care of him the way her mothers' mother always took care her. Bob went in to talk to Alex, both of them were very sad and worried because Steve was sick and could not be taken to the doctors, the holiday were approaching very fast and there were no gifts and the money did not seem to go as far as it had in the past.

Glorious Christmas 

Alex had Bob go to the doctor's office to pick up some medicine for Steve and because the doctor was so kind, he allowed the Ebbs to pay when and if they could. Of course the Ebbs always paid in time. They were a proud family and with the exception of the doctor's kindness, the Ebbs would never accept anything from the townspeople.

When Bob got home from the doctors with the medicine, Alex was in the bedroom with Steve trying to break his fever. She was bathing him a little basin, with lukewarm water and rubbing alcohol. Bob immediately gave the liquid medicine to Steve and Alex wrapped one of Bob's thermal shirts around his chest pinning it so it would fit his little body. They laid a blanket under Steve and placed a blanket over Steve, and within minutes he was peacefully asleep.

When Bob and Alex went out to the front room to join girls who were still sitting in front of the fireplace, they asked if Steve was going to be okay. With a soft compassionate smile, both of the parents answered yes, and they joined the girls on the floor to enjoy the beautiful warmth the fireplace was giving.

As Bob and Alex were getting ready for bed, they both decided that this was going to be the best and happiest Christmas ever. They both decided to stop worrying about the things they could not give their children and decided to focus on what they could do for them. The next morning Bob was up and out of the house before anybody had awakened. When Alex had gotten up the two girls were already in the kitchen making some biscuits. Alex gave each of them a hug and asked Ellen if she would watch Steve while her and Crystal goes to the woods to gather some things. Alex explained to Ellen that she had checked on Steve and his fever had broken but to be sure to continue to give him his medicine and keep him wrapped in the blankets.

As Alex and Crystal were walking out the door, they grab a huge basket that was kept close to the door for carrying their vegetable in from the garden. The children did not know exactly what was going on, but whatever it was; it was exciting and the energy of that excitement made the children excited as well.

Walking through the woods was a wonderful feeling. The air was crisp and it smelled fresh and clean. Alex just breathed in deeply and enjoyed the moment for everything it was. Crystal following her mother's every move did the same exact thing. When Alex looked over at Crystal seeing her being mimicked; the both just laughed and skipped along the trail!

Alex spotted some highbush cranberries that would make an excellent cranberry sauce, and then she noticed some squashberries that made an excellent pie. The squashberries were not as sour as the high bush cranberries. Besides the berries, they found several beautiful pinecones, some mistletoe although it was hard to reach by luck they were finally able to get some down. Crystal gathered some beautiful colored leaves that were lying on the ground and even found a few nice feathers. The basket became full fast so both Alex and Crystal headed back to their home. "This was so much fun mommy!" Crystal looked up at her mother and said. Alex just smiled and said; indeed it was my beautiful daughter!

Glorious Christmas 

Dinner was already made; the children had eaten and were in bed before Bob returned home that night. While Alex waited for Bob to return home she began to look through her box of left over scrapes of material. She decided that she would make each of the children a patchwork pillow to use while they sat on the floor in front of the fireplace. The children loved to sit in front of the fireplace, they would sing, and tell stories to each other and sometimes they would just sit there and daydream. So making each of the children their own pillow would be a wonderful gift.

After a while Bob finally walked in, he was exhausted, but yet he had this sparkle in his eyes. Alex walked over to him and said, "Bob Ebbs, I have been worried about you! Where in the world have you been all day?" Bob smiled leaned in and kissed Alex gently on the cheek and explained his day to her. "I was the first one at the lumber yard this morning so I was able to put in a full day's work in. I asked the owner if I could have some of the scrape wood that was lying around, and he said yes. So, I thought I would make each of the children a little stool to sit on when they sit in front of the fireplace." Alex just laughed and said "I had the same idea except I am sewing them a patchwork pillow." Both of them just laughed and hugged each other. This is going to be a Glorious Christmas indeed!

The next morning was Christmas Eve and once again Bob was up and gone before anyone had gotten up. Alex, Ellen, and Crystal were in the kitchen cooking breakfast; Steve was crawling all over the floor getting into everything, a sure sign he was back to normal. Right as breakfast was being placed on the table, Bob walked in the door. He stood there for a moment with this huge smile on his face. Steve rushed up to him as fast as his little legs and arms could crawl. Bob bent down and picked him up; I see my boy is feeling better today! Okay, everybody close their eyes and NO PEEKING! Bob opened the door and pulled a tree inside the house. Okay everybody can look now! The girls screamed with excitement and Steve clapped his little hands together, what a beautiful tree!!

The Ebbs spent the whole day together decorating the Christmas tree with pinecones, sugar cookies and mistletoe. Alex was in the kitchen making squashberry pie, highbush cranberry sauce, greens, dried beans, biscuits and chicken for tomorrows feast.

Christmas Morning was indeed the best Christmas ever! The children loved their stool with the patchwork pillow; Alex sewed pieces of material in the corners of the pillows so they could tie to the leg of the stools. The family feasted on the huge dinner, each of them speaking about how wonderful Christmas was and how thankful they was to be a family.

Bob and Alex stood back with their arms around each other, and just watched the excitement in their children. The children were happy and full from dinner. They sat in front of the fireplace, laughing, singing and telling stories to each on their new pillow and stool. "What a Glorious Christmas we made together! What a Glorious Christmas indeed!"

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Celebrate Christmas

I will be adding to this list, these are two off of the top of my head.

(Christmas Day is December 25, 2009)

Hopefully, this story has inspired you..

to realize that during the holiday season, it is not only about the gifts, but it is about sharing the love as a family unit and giving from the heart.

I have started projects for the next Christmas as soon as the day after Christmas. There is a lot involved in making a quilt; either by sewing or crocheting-especially if you have more than one child or grandchild. I think of quilts as family treasures that are meant to be passed down though the years. Something you child can always have.

I really appreciate your comments and just wanted to say thanks for reading this 

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A little about me 

Lensmaster WhiteOak50 has been a member since February 3 2008, has rated 1,406 lenses, favorited 966, and has created 120 lenses from scratch. WhiteOak Thomas donates their royalties to Squidoo Charity Fund and Humane Society of the United States. This member's top-ranked page is "The Scariest Places on Earth". See all my lenses

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