Why do we do this every year?
It's becoming more difficult to get the whole family on board with coordinating outfits and smiling faces. So why go through the misery?
Because it's our family history.
Every year we get to see how much each child has grown, how many wrinkles and grey hairs mom has to try and hide, and how much Dad never changes.
This year we decided to go a little more classy.
We waited a little too late in the year as usual, so there weren't very many trees left at the park, but we did our best.
Grandpa Bartschi is becoming quite the artist with his photography, so he helped us get some really nice pictures this year.
Happy Holiday's from the Critchfield Family!
We didn’t get cards out this year, but we think of all our friends and family during the Christmas season and reflect on how grateful we are to have you in our lives.
Our kids are growing up, which makes us feel old-er, and life doesn’t seem as simple as it was when they were little. We are all navigating new challenges, learning and growing and changing, and that process can be REALLY uncomfortable.
I was reading a post I wrote a few years ago about the real struggle it took to get our family pictures done that year. It was a reminder that behind every smiling Christmas card is a story of heartache, struggle, and a family hanging on to hope.
*Hope that our kids are developing the kind of character that will bring them success and true happiness in this life.
*Hope that we can overcome our weaknesses and seek forgiveness for our failures.
*Hope that our relationship with our Heavenly Father will keep us going through life’s challenging moments.
*Hope that we will find happiness right where we are, not somewhere in the distant future.
Our Savior, Jesus Christ, is the one who gives us hope. He is there to lift us up, to give us strength, to calm our fears about the unknown (even if He has to remind us every 10 minutes), and to help us carry our burdens if we will just learn to let go.
I love Him. And we hope you feel His love for YOU during this Christmas season. YOU are why He came. Isn’t that amazing? Joy to the World! The Lord has come! Let us receive Him, and partake of the Hope that He brings to us all.
Merry Christmas!
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