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Merry, blessed Christmas

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By now, no doubt, it’s looking Christmas-y at your house or in your town. With just a few hours left for last-minute shopping and baking and decorating, if you’re not ready now, well, somehow it always seems to work out. And if there are only 11 dozen cookies on the dessert table instead of your usual 15 dozen, nobody will likely complain. 🙂

Our kids don’t start arriving until Dec. 27, but we’re thrilled they will all be here together, 9 adults and 9 kids under one roof until New Year’s Day. Even though we live close to both of our daughters now, they still plan to spend the night with us most nights while their brothers are here. And that makes my heart so happy!

Here we all are last December, our last Christmas in Kansas (and the sweet baby-to-be underneath that peach top is crawling this year! And the one in Daddy’s arms on the right is fully mobile!)

While this Christmas will be a little bittersweet because I won’t get to spend time with my dad and Ken’s mom or any of our siblings (though, thankfully, we were with them all for Thanksgiving). I’m so grateful to live in an era of Facetime and texting and having everyone a mere phone call away. And I’m so thankful for all the memories we’ve made over the years.

A sweet memory from a Christmas almost 30 years ago: My parents’ 12 grandkids recreated the nativity under the porch of the little play barn my dad built on the farm where I grew up. (Our 4 are Joseph, Mary, the king, and the littlest angel.)

It’s been fun to find new spots in our Missouri house for all the decorations that had a specific “home” in our house in Kansas. Most of all, it’s been fun having our Missouri kids and grandkids here several times over the holidays.

The halls are decked and twinkly from one end…
…to the other! The kids’ table is just waiting to be filled with toddlers!
Those scrapbooks on the coffee table hold our family’s Christmas cards and photos from 45 Christmases past! It’s always fun to look back and see how we’ve grown!
For the last few days, my view has been mostly from the kitchen! It takes a lot of food to feed 18 people for a week! But the freezer is full of pans of lasagna, burritos, cookies, breads, and other goodies. I’m grateful for all the good cooks (and dishwashers!) who pitch in and help once everybody’s here. And for this one week, we use paper plates and cups and bowls for every meal. We have better things to do than wash a mountain of dishes three times a day!
From our house to yours, we wish you the merriest, most blessed of Christmases!
Each year at Christmas and Easter, I like to share this beautiful and sobering piece my husband created many years ago. Without Christmas, we wouldn’t have Easter, and without Easter, there would be no hope for mankind. I’m so very grateful for that baby in the manger who came, ultimately, to take away the sins of all who would believe on Him and receive Him into their hearts. The real Reason for the season.

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Deborah Raney

DEBORAH RANEY's first novel, A Vow to Cherish, inspired the World Wide Pictures film of the same title and launched Deb’s writing career. Forty books later, she's still creating stories that touch hearts and lives. Her novels have won RWA's RITA Award, the ACFW Carol Award, the National Readers Choice Award, and the HOLT Medallion. She is also a three-time Christy Award finalist. Deb is on faculty for several national writers’ conferences and served on the executive board of the 2,500-member American Christian Fiction Writers organization for 18 years before retiring in 2022. She is a recent transplant to Missouri, having moved with her husband, Ken Raney, from their native Kansas to be closer to kids and grandkids. They love road trips, e-biking, Friday garage sale dates, and breakfast on the screened porch overlooking their wooded backyard.
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Comments

  1. Merry and Blessed Christmas and Happy New Year 2020!

    The picture created by your husband is very… To the first time, I realised so profoundly this strong, close connection between Christmas and Easter.

    You created beautiful, warm home. I like patterns on your armchairs, pillows and carpets. It´s inspiration for me. 🙂

    Thank you for your writing. 🙂

    Blanka

  2. Merry Christmas, Deb. Enjoy your family. And thanks for sharing Ken’s beautiful and thought provoking work.

  4. Merry Christmas Deborah and also to your family. I pray they all have safe traveling as they journey to your new home. Have fun has you spend your week together .

  5. Thank you for sharing the hope of Christmas and Easter with us. I love seeing photos of your home and your family since they help us, your readers, know and love you better. Have a blessed Christmas with your family!

  6. Merry Christmas Raney family! May your celebration of Emmanuel be beautiful and full of joy!

  7. Merry Christmas to you and your family. I’m sure the time will whiz by with all of the family gathered together. Thanks for sharing Ken’s work. It really does tell the whole story. Very thought-provoking in this time of crazy gift-giving and joy to look ahead to the somber, but very necessary reason for the birth of Jesus.

    • Thanks Rebecca. It is somber, yet ultimately the most joyous outcome ever when we know Him as our Lord and Saviour. Merry Christmas to your family as well!

  9. Love the pictures of your home and family. Everything looks beautiful!

    We are looking forward to having our daughter and family from California here in Virginia in January – first time in six years.

    Blessings to all for a merry Christmas and wonderful new year!

  10. I always enjoy your posts, Deborah. Merry Christmas to you and yours! (I do enjoy your books as well, so please continue writing your “magic”!) ❤️

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