We had a busy weekend. Three evenings in a row, we had dinner with Quentin's family, including two brothers from out of town. Friday night (22nd) was at his brother Justin's house. We played some fun games and had a yummy dinner. We enjoyed meeting Claire's newest cousin, Ruthie, and Claire got to meet Doug for the first time.
Saturday (23rd) we hosted at our house. After an early dinner, we walked through McAdenville (aka Christmas Town), seeing the pretty lights and saying Merry Christmas to people in the cars driving through.
Sunday (Christmas Eve) we went to our church's Christmas Eve service in the morning, then went to Quentin's parents' house for dinner. We exchanged gifts after dinner, which was fun, and the kids acted out the story of Jesus' birth, which was pretty neat to watch. We stayed up too late, but it was worth it being with family. :)
Christmas morning, I made cinnamon rolls with breakfast. I thought it was funny that my mom and my sisters all made cinnamon rolls, too. Claire had fun opening her presents - a fun toy from my parents, and a new baby doll from us. We got some cool gifts, too. :) Then we hosted my family for dinner (we missed having Mom, Dad, and Ben there) and exchanging gifts. It went by too fast, like it usually does, but I'm thankful for the fun memories that were made.
Now on to something very sad, but also hopeful.
On Christmas night, a young man I knew passed away. I considered him my friend, even though we didn't hang out much. We grew up in the same church for years, knew a lot of the same people, went to a lot of the same events, and I even lived in the house nextdoor to him for almost two years.
Hunter was an incredible young man. He always treated everyone with respect and put others before himself, a true gentleman. He loved the Lord, which was evident through his joy - he always had a smile on his face, no matter what he was going through, because his hope was fully in God. Kind, gentle, humble, joyful, are all words that describe Hunter, a man who can never be replaced.
He truly left a legacy. I scroll down through Facebook, and all I see are posts about how amazing he was, how great a friend he was, how much he is already missed. His life touched so many, countless others, including my own. I can hardly believe he's actually gone.
I'm mourning with his family, grieving with them in their loss. It is sad that Hunter's last days here were full of sickness and pain. But I know that he is with his Savior in Heaven now, and for that I rejoice. He is no longer sick or in pain, he is whole and in the presence of Jesus. So I say, "Good-bye for now, until we meet again."
