So I don’t know about you but I had a wonderful Christmas! This was probably my favorite present!
I mean, getting to share Avery’s first Christmas with her was absolutely amazing, especially since I will miss her next two. She was pretty excited too!
Although my family didn’t get up as early as I liked, they did get up at 6 to open presents. Once we got started, even Avery woke up and got excited. I think she loved the present I made for her: a tutu!
And by love I mean LOVE!
Ok just one more picture of Avery (for now) but it has me too!
Another great surprise was getting a white Christmas (not the movie)! Although it came later, I won’t complain! It was absolutely beautiful! Not to mention it was Avery’s first snow!
But she didn’t get too stay long.
We celebrated the House family Christmas and after lunch, Amy, my cousin Matt and I went for a walk. We went to check out the main highway where we met a snowplow. Matt thought it would be fun to stand close enough for the plow to push snow on him. He didn’t keep in mind it would be muddy, cold, wet, and icy (not powdery) and got soaked. I think he regretted it on the 10 minute walk back to the house. In the snow.
We built a humongous snow family complete with a dog. They were huge! We had to get a ladder out to decorate the faces.
Let’s just say the neighborhood kids took one look at our snowmen and didn’t appear to be as excited as they built their snow munchkins. Unfortunately, several hours later the dog fell and by morning, the dad was on the ground as well. Sad. But you can see some pictures I took of the snow here. And here’s a bonus video even though the 12 videos of Christmas are over…just don’t get too used to it!
Christmas is over but really, that was just the beginning for us. Aren’t you glad Jesus came and gave us a reason to hope, live, and celebrate? I am! There is a blog where a father shares good news every day for his daughter, Isla, so when she gets older, he can show her there are still good things happening in the world. Yesterday, he posted a Christmas post and I wanted to share part of that with you.
Isla generally is a good sleeper. It doesn’t usually take much to get her to sleep at night, and then she sleeps the whole night without interruption. (We recognize this is a gift!) But this week she had her first cold, and so her nose was congested and she has been having some difficulty breathing. Last night in particular, she was nearly inconsolable. If I held her she would sleep, but if I laid her down she would wake up very distressed. So I held her for several hours.
During that time I began to think about the mystery and beauty of Christmas. God sent his son to earth. Jesus was once a tiny babe, just like Isla is today. He didn’t remain in heaven and say “Gosh it really looks tough for you guys down there. Hope you figure things out.” But he came to earth, and he lived with us. Likely he had a cold on occasion. Had difficulty falling asleep. Cried and wept. And had his heart broken by injustice, sickness, and death. He understands our world, because he lived here. It brings me comfort and joy knowing that my experiences and thoughts aren’t foreign to him. When I come to him with worries and concerns, he understands because he too experienced them. And when he sees a child crying in distress, or a person who is hungry, he can say truthfully “I know how you feel.” That is the mystery and beauty of Christmas. And I hope it brings you tidings of Comfort and Joy!