This morning, as I sipped on my morning coffee and watched the boys looking at the Christmas Tree, I just couldn’t help to stop and think about my mother in law.  And I am not sure why today she popped into my head?  Maybe it is because last night we got the cookware that she has ordered shortly before she died? Maybe it was because my wife and I had been talking more about her?  Maybe it is because she and I loved Christmas and I see that love starting to form with my sons and see their excitement.

But whatever the reasons are, I was was blessed beyond belief to have had such an amazing mother in law, my biggest regret is that she was taken from us entirely too soon. She was kind hearted, loving and just an amazing person. Before my wife and I were married, she joked with us about our children and how they would be and the challenges that they would present.

My mother in law and I shared many common loves. Her daughter first and foremost, but cooking, a good glass of wine, a good joke and more importantly, Christmas. We were big kids when it came to Christmas and she and I would often sit and talk for hours by the Christmas Tree on Saturday mornings.

Today, as I sit and watch the boys interacting with each other and looking at the ornaments on our Christmas Tree, I really miss my mother in law. I miss her for so many reasons, her smile, her laughter, her advice, her hugs, her voice when she would sing in church and from a really selfish way, the fact that she never got to meet her grandsons.

And of course, the boys favorite ornament on the Christmas Tree, is the Charlie Brown ornament with the true meaning of Christmas. Every year that she is not here, gets a little better, but I wish that she were here with the boys looking at the Christmas Tree this morning