FROM ALL OF US AT DOGWOOD: A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas at Dogwood is usually two things: very blessed and very CAXIOTIC.
The move from the old house on Madison Street added a new twist of both to the preparations we made this year to welcome ole St. Nick.

First off, as we not have the stone fire place and the gas log setting in our living room, we decided it was time to break out the original six foot tree that used to adorn our living area before our first little four legged family member came to us.

I had forgotten what a pain in the backside it was to fit all the little branches in all the right places, but after a period of trial and error, the tree finally stood fully assembled.

Then it was decided that we would have a waiting period before we tried to decorate it. This made perfect sense, as we now have six of Santa’s little “helpers” at Dogwood with enough curiosity to fill every stocking within a six mile radius.

So we waited.

Two weeks later, the little tree still stood (of miracles of miracles) and absolutely no one had made a single effort to disturb, discombobulate, or dismember even one of its delicate fake branches. With the period of adjustment out of the way, it was time for the true test---adding decorations!

Now, as some of you know, since Lucy came to live with us eight long years ago, we had opted for what we loving call the “tree in a box”. The little Dollar General tree came fully decorated and could be easily folded up and slid back into its cardboard domicile until it was again needed. In the years since the little tree arrived, slowly but surely, the decorations for the large tree had either been discarded or permanently lost in the void. Once again, the move to the new house had destroyed any memory of what I had done with them.

But, as ALL of you know, I am a packrat.

In a Rubbermaid tote marked Christmas, I keep ornaments and such for my grandmothers little four foot aluminum tree—all blue and silver. So this is what we used to adorn the newly reassembled six foot tree that stood in the living room

The decorating of the tree contained dialogue much akin to a Three Stooges script:

“Stop chewing that!”

“Bring that back here!”

“Charlie you’re gonna electrocute yourself if you chew that chord!”

“Bart get down from there!”

“Whoooo Whoo WHoo WHoo!”

Needless to say, after all ornamental objects were retrieved and the dog and cat slobber removed, the tree was decorated. Finally, after inspecting all chords for teeth marks and determining that the house would not burn down around us, I flipped on the lights.

I had forgotten, over the years, how beautiful a Christmas tree can be.

The stone mantle is filled with eight stockings. Even though my sweet Pearl is no longer with us, we still hang her stocking, and God help me, I still put gifts in it.

She is and will forever be, a child of Dogwood and part of its memory: past and future.

So now we settled in for a long winters nap, and await the jolly old elf Santa Paws to drop down our new chimney and spread a little Christmas Cheer (and a few new DVD’s if you please ole fella).

As I sit by the fireplace, and watch the glow of the soft light reflect off the shiny bobbles that hang in the lush greenery, all of my babies are around me. I know that there are so many who have never, and possibly may never, know warmth, or a home, or even the slightest bit of love. For that I mourn.

But at Dogwood, God has been so good to us. I thank him for our home, our family, for the warmth of the season, and for the gift of his son to a world that desperately needed him.

I hope all of you have a wonderful, loving Christmas. I also hope that the New Year will bring you happiness, love, and the wonder of miracles.

A Very, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from your friends at Dogwood: Brett, Better Half, Lucy, Charlie, Hines, Daisy, Bart and Sebastian