I love creating. I love to take something in my hands and make it into something useful, or beautiful, or giftable. Since we have been made in the image of the most amazing Creator, it seems only natural that we too, are wired to create. I come from a family of creators. Not creators of anything tangible, but creators of memories or, as we call it, traditions. These traditions haven't been passed down culturally or through the generations, but they are our own, home-grown, family-made traditions. They might be a holiday celebration, a joint family vacation, or a night of board games. My dad is the biggest Tradition-Meister of them all. Whatever wires us to love creating memories, it runs strongly in him. Some of my most vivid memories from childhood revolved around Wednesday nights with my dad and brother. Every Wednesday, my mom went to choir practice and dad was in charge. In the warm months we played touch football in the front yard and went to the local convenience store … [Read more...]
15 Christmas Family Traditions
Christmas family traditions have been passed on through many generations. Many families carry on with the ones they grew up with or have added and create new ones. It's important to have these traditions in your family as it creates a sense of who you are, where you come from and family unity. Research has also shown that families with traditions are far more likely to stay close than those who do not! 15 Christmas Family Traditions to Help Create Lifelong Memories 1. Sending Cards via Snail Mail Sitting down and writing out Christmas cards has been a long traditional. Even with today's technology of instant messaging and Facebook, it's always nice to receive a real Christmas card in the mail that you can display in your home during the holiday. 2. Caroling For some, it's not Christmas if you're not out caroling. Friends would get together and sing Christmas songs out on the sidewalk, in front of malls or at a seniors' home. Contact the seniors' homes or hospital if you … [Read more...]
Sunset Celebration
Among the West Virginia hills, our family has a tropical tradition originating along the shores of Key West! Sound like an unlikely combination? Add toddlers, teenagers, cousins, neighbors, s'mores, and guitars and you're instantly in the Hott Family's nightly tradition: SUNSET CELEBRATION! Secluded among the trees on our mountain ridge, we were first unaware of our sunsets until a devastating Parkinson's diagnosis for my young husband in 2008 found us in need to renovate our home. After making some accommodations for a first floor master suite and planning needs for future facilities, we managed to shake up our rooms and re+arrange not only our house but our daily lives. Funny how the news of a chronic illness can make a seemingly smooth life change to something shaky as a "fiddler on the roof"! Just as this classic play is immersed in traditions of faith, Fiddler on the Roof reminds me that in an instant, what we believe to be God’s plan can change and the only constant we have … [Read more...]
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