A Simple Bell

I got a lesson in sticking with the simple things on Christmas. Sami's favorite thing she got on Christmas morning was a simple jingle bell.

The girls had opened all of their presents, and hooped and hollered about every one of them. They said their "thank-you's" and hugged everyone. When we were eating breakfast, Dave took me aside and told me that Sami kept mentioning to him that she really wished that Santa had left a jingle bell off his sleigh (like in the movie, "The Santa Express").

We took a jingle bell off the tree, tied a piece of leather on it, and Dave dropped it outside, by the fireplace. After breakfast, Dave had Sami look outside. They saw "something," but they needed to go outside and investigate. They threw on their coats and ran outside, and when Sami saw the bell she teared up. She's only seven years old, and she teared up!

Sami brought it inside shaking and was still fighting back her happy tears. She was like that for several minutes. She declared that this was the best day of her whole life, and that her toy alligator (which was her favorite toy since she was 3) was now her second favorite.

I was humbled by the whole experience. All that time worrying about getting the right presents, and her favorite present was a bell from Santa's sleigh and reindeer.

Merry Christmas!
Jesus is the reason for the Season!