Last year as our family sat around the breakfast table Christmas morning, then 8-year-old Carson brought up the familiar holiday song "The Twelve Days of Christmas."
"Wouldn't it be funny," he asked, "if someone ended the song 'and a Pop Tart in a pear tree'?"
That question led to a fun family game that stands out as my favorite memory of last year's holiday, as we turned the familiar carol into "The Twelve Breakfasts of Christmas." We worked our way around our table of six as we sang, adding to the list one by one. Even little Emma, still 1 at the time, would chime in with the words she could remember.
As we progressed through the song, we laughed trying to remember each family member's choices: "... four bowls of cereal, three French toasts, two scrambled eggs and a Pop Tart in a pear tree." Even months later, the children giggled trying to recall all 12 breakfasts.
Although by now most of our silly lyrics may have been forgotten, the blessings of that precious family time remain. I will always remember the simple beauty of that moment: the comfort of gathering around the table as a family on Christmas morning; the love in the room so intense it was palpable; and the sweet harmony of voices raised in laughter and song.
In short, it was pure, unbridled joy.
I hope our family will share many more serendipitous moments like this over the years because it's these special memories that draw our hearts home at the holidays.
And years from now, I hope you will know us if you see our family gathered for Christmas. We'll be the ones who erupt into giggles as our voices ring out at full voice: "Five strips of BACON!!!"
Photo from Google Images
