December 18, 2013

The Christianville Spirit: Christmas & The Gift of Family


The Christianville Spirit
The Spirit that Fills Your Heart & Lifts You Up
December 18, 2013-TCS # 381

So, Everyone, It’s that Time of Year Again! It is Christmas Time! I’m sure though that many of us are repeating the words of Bruce Springsteen’s Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Where he says, “Hey Ben! Does Anyone know what Time it is?!” and He received a very faint (at least before The Song begins) “It’s Christmas Time!” Yeah, I think Christmas came a little faster than We were Ready for but, that is Okay. Even for Me, it came Fast and I like it to approach a little more slowly but, also give me time to Enjoy It. So, I have another episode to Tell You of What we’ll call the “Craig Chronicles” (meaning Part of his Family coming, or Any Fun we have with my Uncle Craig, Considering He is in Town for a Year). So, How does this deal with Christmas? Well, This was sort of a Christmas Gift for Us, if You will, even I didn’t know it at the time. You See, We had been waiting for My Cousins, Anna and Olivia to come visit for a while and This past Weekend they finally came to town. We had a Blast! We had so many Adventures and Surprises, so many to Count! Yes, I see myself talking all mushy like Grandma Honey would, but Hey, when The Christmas Season and Family Quality Time mix, it’s bound to happen. So, They came in on Friday and They came over to Our House, and then we went down to Grapevine (a cool little old town out near the Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport). Now, I have lived in the Dallas Area for almost 20 Years and I didn’t know that it is so Pretty at Christmastime in Grapevine. I’ve heard it many times on the news the past few years, that Grapevine was called, “The Christmas Capitol of Texas.” I didn’t believe it until We went to Downtown Grapevine to see the Christmas Lights and have Dinner. We went to Dinner at This Nice, “Hole in the Wall” Italian Restaurant called Napoli’s Italian Cafe, it was a really nice place and Best of All, The Waitress remembered My Name. After Dinner, Olivia (My cousin) wanted Gelato so We got some Gelato and walked through Downtown Grapevine with Christmas Lights, Being Really Cold Outside, and Family, Olivia was Over The Moon at that Moment. After Downtown Grapevine, We took a short tour through The Gaylord Texan (a huge hotel) to show them the Sheer Size of The Building and To show Anna and Olivia that Everything is Bigger in Texas. Of Course, It was really cool to see all The Christmas Lights at The Gaylord Texan as well. The Next Day, on Saturday, We were supposed to hang out with them during the day but, due to other things we could not. However, We did get to hang out with them in The Evening, This Time we went to My Favorite Collin County City, McKinney (the 2nd biggest Historic Downtown in Texas). So, We hopped on the road going toward Downtown to find MORE TRAFFIC, but, We were all surprised why. Apparently, They were having a “Parade of Lights” in Downtown McKinney. Wow! Talk about a Total Surprise! Because We didn’t know it was going to be that busy that evening. So, We stood along the street in the Freezing Cold (which was both really cold and Spirit-Lifting for Christmas) and watched all the floats, There were about 80 Floats in The Parade. We joined in the fun in yelling either, “Merry Christmas!” or “Merry Christmas Y’all!”, Anna and Olivia even joined in saying, “Merry Christmas Y’all.” On Sunday, was more of a Day for My Brother to spend time with them because he had to work in the afternoon of Most of The Days. So, My Brother, Uncle Craig, Anna, and Olivia went to Breakfast so they could have Quality Time together. On Monday, because My Mom and Uncle Craig were working, My Brother and I took Anna and Olivia up to UNT (the University of North Texas) and showed them around there, We had a nice Lunch at a place called Mr. Chopsticks which according to My Brother, is really good place in Denton. After Lunch, We toured around UNT and We got to see the Environmental Science Building, which was cool because it had a lot of artifacts and it was very-museum like. It was really cool too because they had a World Population and US Population Clock. It was really interesting how fast the World Population Clock was going versus The US. It was showing at least 3 People born per second. After That, We drove back home to hang out for a while before We went to Dinner at a Pizza Place. So, Finally, Yesterday We drove down to pick them up and  then, We drove down to White Rock Lake and parked at the Park where we had Our PTLS-Dallas Gathering back in April and We walked down toward The Dam and The Spillway. The White Rock Lake Spillway was running with Water, where I thought it would not be running. We walked to The Bottom East side of The Lake (near Garland Rd.)and then turned around and came back. We thought that we could make it to The Dallas Arboredum thinking that it was not that far and ended up walking halfway there and turning back. After White Rock Lake, We drove down to Deep Ellum for Lunch at This “Hole in The Wall” Place called The Angry Dog to which They claimed to have “The Best Burger in DFW” and I think They might be Right. After Lunch, We drove back to Uncle Craig’s Place and hung out with Uncle Craig and watched TV until it was Time for Anna and Olivia to head back home to Ohio. We all had an Awesome Time Together and as My Mom and Anna pointed out, it was the first time since going down to The Beach that we have had that long of Quality Time, which I for One, is Grateful for. So, even though it is only 7 Days until Christmas, I think, This was the Best Unofficial Gift that I (as well, My Mom and Brother) have gotten. It was a Great “Gift of Family” for Christmas! All in all, as I always say, Christmas is what You make of it and Sometimes, It can make You! 



Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. From The Bottom of My Heart, I Wish You a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and A Happy Kwanzaa. Of Course, If You don’t like any of those, then Happy Holidays as well!
        

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