Merry Christmas!

What a terrific Christmas! We awoke early (of course!) and celebrated our first Christmas in Woodstock. The kids were giddy (of course!) and enjoyed opening presents and eating an unhealthy amount of sugar. Mom and Dad ate our share too (of course!). One sad note: Jadi developed a fever mid-morning and spent much of the day on the couch under the blanket, but fortunately she's been a trooper and her mood is as cheery as ever.

Today was enjoyable, but the real fun happened yesterday afternoon when we gave away our second Christmas Jar of the year. We split ours into two this year and had a friend deliver the first a few days ago. We decided to give away our second jar to a stranger in person. We know others that have done it this way (including Hope Jensen in the book) but we'd never tried it ourselves. It was a wonderful experience!

We drove to a nearby truck stop and slowly drove around the parking lot looking for a solo trucker. We spotted a middle-aged man fueling his rig and all six of us unloaded from our car and walked toward him. The kids were so nervous! Oakli carried the jar and Jadi carried a gift bag containing Christmas Jars on CD.

The exchange was simple: We told him we had something to share with him, explained we'd been filling it all year, and wished him a very Merry Christmas. He took the jar and bag without hesitation, but there was definitely a stunned looked on his face. He smiled and we all fought tears. We knew immediately we'd been led to the right recipient.

We shook his hand and walked away. He called out a grateful "Merry Christmas!" and off we went, back home and feeling so incredibly grateful for the miracle of the Christmas jar tradition.

Another year, another unforgettable experience. We'll probably never see that man again, but neither Kodi nor I, nor the kids, will ever forget his face and the look of gratitude. That's the magical power of the jar.

Merry Christmas from the Wrights!