10th Day of Christmas with Jennifer Smith of Unveiled Wife
From unrealistic expectations to traditions to your screaming schedule as well as those annual holiday encounters with the in-laws and outlaws, this free 5 Day challenge will allow your holidays to go from chaos to calm. Click HERE for the free 5 Day Challenge and they will automatically come to your inbox. Merry Christmas!
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IMPORTANT NOTE: Remember you may comment to win on all of the 12 Days of Christmas posts until Sunday night, December 15th at midnight EST so be sure to read through those you missed and catch up!
Welcome to the 10th Day of Christmas with Jennifer Smith from Unveiled Wife. Jennifer is a Christian, a wife and a mother of one. These are her three most important priorities in life, in that order.
Unveiled Wife launched in March of 2011. Jennifer first began this blog to share with other wives the struggles and the healing she encountered in her first few years of marriage. By God’s grace it has grown into much more than Jennifer could ever have imagined, reaching women from all around the world joined together in community.
And now, let’s hear from Jennifer:
The sounds of holiday cheer spread joy throughout the house. The Christmas tree was decorated colorfully from trunk to tip with interesting ornaments ranging over decades. I had traveled with husband and son to see friends of ours who had recently welcomed their first sweet child into the world. It also happened to be their families annual Christmas party celebration and they kindly invited us to join.
Aunts and uncles, cousins, brothers and sisters began filling every room in the house. The chatter of hello’s and reminiscing with one another was a joy to hear. I didn’t know any of the family who came that day so I sat comfortably playing with my son in the living room. The front door opened and another guest had arrived, it was my friend’s grandparents who have been married 60 years.
With smiles beaming on their faces they also made their way to the living room. Although this couple was older, it seemed like their love for each other was as fresh as when it first bloomed. The grandpa was wearing a beige suit with a red sweater vest and a nice comb-over. The grandma sat nestled in a wheelchair with dark hair, fair skin and a smile that never seemed to leave her beautiful face.
Distracted by my son’s play I only heard bits and pieces of the party conversations. However, there was something specific I kept hearing repeated by Grandpa,
“She made it for me for our first Christmas together!”
After hearing this over and over again I eavesdropped over his next conversation. A cousin came in to say hello and acknowledged the red bow tie that adorned Grandpa’s neck. Then I heard him say again,
“Thank you! Bobbi made it for me for our first Christmas together.”
I turned my head around to see the bow tie and chuckled a little by its appearance. It was made of red and white felt that had barely worn over the years. It was a very out-dated portrait of Santa Claus around Grandpa’s collar. Regardless of what it looked like, Grandpa was proud to flaunt it. He told every person at the party that his bride made it just for him. Grandpa was genuinely and unabashedly in love with his wife and he made it known to everyone. It was precious to see his wife blush every time he drew attention to the gift she gave him all those years ago. Such a dashing couple.
This Christmas experience made me realize the value I have in my husband and the passion I desire to have 60 years from now, which will only happen if I preserve our love and protect it, just like Grandpa did with the bowtie.
Marriage is important and I want others to be inspired by the love I share with my husband. I hope this story inspires you as well! May Christmas and our marriage be filled with genuine and unabashed love for one another.
TODAY’S GIVEAWAY:
Jennifer is giving away a copy of her devotional book Wife After God and a $25 Visa gift card to go on a date with your spouse. To enter, leave a comment telling us the best gift you ever got from or gave to a loved one. Or one with a touching story attached.
Mine would be the time my husband got me a leather journal and had written in it and had each of the kids also write in it. I use it to record Bible verses I have memorized.
And you?
Our first Christmas after moving to a new state my husband bought an airline ticket for one of my best friends. He gave it to me for Christmas and she flew in a week later for my birthday.
My husband gave me a small silver cross for Mothers Day this past year! He is always good with giving me gifts that show he cares and hears me but this was the best. He had noticed almost a year prior me commenting about the necklaces some other women had and thought to get me one. I wear it every day & LOVE it & him! 20 years & going strong!
When my husband and I were dating, he surprised me with my first gift of our relationship, a confederate jasmine plant with a homemade trellis. It was and still is the best gift I’ve ever received! We have moved around a bit through the years and because of that I have never planted it but carry it with us! We hopefully are in the final stages of purchasing the home we will settle down in and in doing that I will finally be able to plant it and let it grow where it will serve a a daily reminder of what a loving husband God blessed me with!
My favorite gifts are the ones the kids picked out by themselves. Or that were handmade. Those are also the ones I like to give the most. I made calendars for the grandparents and the loved them.
The best gift for me was actually this year’s Christmas present for my husband and I, a trip to a cabin in the mountains so that we can have a couple days together after the three months he has been gone for the Army. Nothing better than just spending time reconnecting.
My best Christmas gifts every year are the cards that my children hand-make for me. :)
Mine is a beautiful charm bracelet with a new charm each year! :)
I received a beautiful roll-topped desk from my parents when I was sixteen. Still have 34 years later.
The best gift is my children…every Christmas I thank God for them!
My husband surprised me with a necklace last year that I was not expecting at all. I wear it a lot and think of him all day when I wear it!
Too difficult but I absolutely loved the things the. Children would buy at “the Christmas store”. Some were touching, some made me wonder, but all thrilled me because it showed what the child thought I liked at that time
Oh, very very hard to choose !! Impoissible to narrow it down….my Mama, my husband, my kids, homemade, sentimental, etc. I guess good memories are the BEST—of times together with loved ones.
My best Christmas gift from my hubby came 3 years ago, when he was able to come home after 4 months in the hospital following a stroke. His presence Christas morning was beyond any other gift I could have imagined!
I know, it’s cliche (and I can’t figure out how to get the funny mark over the “e”) – but when my then-boyfriend (and now husband of 17 years) asked me to marry him, that was the best gift.
I am a runner and my husband knows how much I agonize over spending money on running things. This year, he asked me ahead of time if he could give me a bonus “running budget” for Christmas! I am THRILLED!! No more stress about buying that cute top for long runs or signing up for one extra race :-) He is the most amazing man and such a blessing!
My favorite gift I’ve ever given was a beautiful butterfly necklace to my mom. It’s special because it was made/designed by a women who lost a courageous fight with cancer. Our family is plagued with various types of cancers, and all of us that have been tested have the breast cancer gene mutation that tested positive. Cancer survivors number 3 so far in our very immediate family, and it’s a special bond to remind each other of our love for each other. It also was the first big, expensive gift I gave my mom as an adult and she was moved to tears. Me too ;)
Our youngest son was extremely ill a few years ago and literally died but was resuscitated 3 times on 12-15. Our best Christmas gift was getting to bring him home from the hospital for Christmas that year and still having our whole family here each year since. Thankful and blessed daily!
a very special gift, was tickest to a special ice show, because something I had never done and really out of our budget. He wanted the gift to be special for me.
When I was with my first husband every Christmas we would make sure to fill each others stockings. The first Christms after my husband and I separated on Christmas morning my daughter saw that my stocking was empty. She asked me why and I said I must have been bad that year. She dissappeared into her room while I made breakfast, then came running into the kitchen with my stocking. She exclaimed “Mommy Santa came back and filled your stocking!!” It was full of her treasured toys.She was six years old. This was an amazing gift because it showed me at six years old my daughter had a giving heart that was willing to sacrifice her own belongings to make someone else happy. It was a priceless gesture and I’ll never forget it.
My husband is a fireman so we don’t get to spend every Christmas together. Honestly, the best gift is every Christmas Eve/Day we get to spend together.
My favorite gift is one I got from my sister last year. I’m a huge Seattle Seahawks fan and have been going to games since I was little. Now I live about 3,000 miles away from home on the east coast. I had been looking for a particular jersey of a retired player who was my favorite but was having a really hard time finding it. On Christmas morning, I opened my gift to find the jersey and a gift card to hobby lobby for framing it.
Last year, my mom gave me my baby necklaces. They were stolen years ago and they were recovered and I never knew it.
A Christmas gift I made for the ladies in my Bible study. I gave them personalized promises from Scripture, placed in a mason jar, tied with twine and a cute tag. They loved them and it brought me joy giving them something from my heart and God’s Word.
My husband is always getting me little somethings perfect for that moment in time. This year for Mother’s Day he bought me my perfect house. :)
The best gift I have ever gotten is a collage of pictures of my husband and I with many other important people in our life. I was homesick because we had moved away and this was a beautiful surprise since I didn’t know when he had the time to do this without me knowing in our small 1 bedroom apartment.