Sunday, November 16, 2008

Forgotten Treasures


We have been decorating here at the Waite house -- Christmas decorating. Last year we were living in my parents home. They had just returned from a mission. We were set to move into our new home a few weeks after Christmas. 

Last year when we decorated we used mostly my parents decorations. I didn't want to have to pack all ours up again to make the move. But I did need to get the stockings out for our family. 

Now I am a planner. I found Christmas stockings I liked years and years ago when Sabrina was a baby. I knew then that I wanted about six children. I didn't know if the company from whom I was buying our stockings would sell these stockings each year. I wanted all our families stockings to be the same type so ... I bought 8 stockings that year. 

When we have had a new baby, I have just picked one of the stockings out for her and sent it off to get her name embroidered on it. Last year we had a new baby girl. Of all the boxes piled in the garage I did find the one with the stockings with our names. What I could not find for all my looking was the box with the extra stockings. I searched and searched but I just couldn't find them.

Finally I gave up. I saw the company was still making the same stockings so I ordered one for Camille and called it good. So what if I ended up with an extra stocking. This year I found the extra stockings.
Here you can see our extra stockings. The first has toys on it. The second has a snowman. The third has Santa in his sleigh with reindeer. The white one is our stocking for the Christ child. We write out gifts we promise to give him in the coming year and put them in on Christmas Eve. These are all nice stockings. One of them will be used for Peanut next Christmas.

Then I found the box of our stockings with our names on them. I never remember what is on each child's stocking. I had totally forgotten what kind of stocking I had purchased for Camille.
When I pulled Camille's stocking out, I was so glad that I couldn't find the extra stockings last year. Another tiny miracle to prepare the way for us. Here is Camille's stocking:
I couldn't pick a more perfect stocking for my blue eyed angel daughter knowing what I know now. This was a new stocking design last year for the company who makes these stockings. I already had an angel stocking for Sabrina, but I remember loving this stocking and feeling like it looked like Camille. How glad I am that this is the stocking I chose and that I couldn't find those extra stockings last year. 

Some boxes are not meant to be found. Some children are not meant to live long. In the end, I believe we will find all these things will work for our good.