The Reason for the Season

Today I came across Meagan's sweet blog Publix Coupon Queen. It is Meagan's generosity that makes her blog sweet. You see, she recognizes the challenges that people are facing in an uncertain economic climate and she is sharing an enormous amount of information on how to make the most of the money you have. She is also featuring a wonderful giveaway this week and I wanted to share it with you.

Willow Tree Nativity

Meagan loves her own set so much that she says she wishes she could keep it up all year. I can see why. Earlier this week I posted a picture of my Angel Tree, but did not tell the whole story about how the tree came about. We'll see if I can do that without causing a watershed.

Twelve years ago, two days before my 39th birthday, my beloved sister, Barbara suddenly passed away. She was on a weekend trip visiting a girlfriend in LaFayette, Louisianna when she had a fatal heart attack. Okay, here comes the watershed. She was only 37 years old. She was my best friend, and the news was devastating. I flew with my mother to Louisiana, why, I really don't know, perhaps because it couldn't be real, perhaps because we were in shock. But, it was real, too real, and she was gone. I walked, and sometimes crawled through the next months, grieving my loss, and about a year later as I began to come out of the fog, I wanted to do something that would be a legacy for her. I decided to put an Angel Tree up in my living room every Christmas. Under it, we place all of the gifts we purchase for our local Child Crisis Nursery. It is a charity that is near and dear to our hearts.

Barbara left two precious little girls behind, and she loved children. She had left the corporate world to spend time with her girls and made her own income by taking care of other children. She was also pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Development. She was full of life and lived out her days joyfully. While I still miss her terribly, I enjoy putting this tree up every year. My mom, my aunts, and friends have all contributed to decorating the tree with angels. They miss her too and they know that she would be pleased. 

The Willow Tree Angels are special because they each represent some unique aspect of life, love, hope, beauty, peace, gratitude, much the same as the Christmas Season.