Ready Or Not Here I Come

Like so many other areas of my life this year, Christmas rolled in like the tide and is now on its way out.  I had big plans for a Christmas Eve post, about life standing still when a new baby comes and that moment when all the earth must have stood still, as Mary pulled her new baby chest.  The feeling is so familiar  to me, but the extraordinary event of birthing baby Messiah must have been more surreal than even imaginable.  Sleep became more of a necessity than finishing up my countdown I guess and I dropped the ball on Christmas Eve.

Like many parents the night before Christmas we were wide awake trying to make special memories for our kids.  In turn we pretty much killed ourselves.  Tiny son decided that the eve of Christmas Eve would be the first night in his short life he would have a bad night.  This was after going to bed at 3:00 am.  My sweet husband let me sleep late and even with that extra hour I think I only got 3 1/2 hours of sleep.

 

Christmas Eve we had  a Jones Family Christmas. Our night full of wrapping was undone in about  10 minutes.  Kids at Christmas are probably one of the best things in life, their excitement, their squeals, it is contagious.  Kids after Christmas, well, that is another story.

 

After we spent the whole day packing, we headed up to my parents house.  About 30 minutes into our 5 hour drive the baby started crying screaming until we stopped for dinner.  Travelling is so much fun.

Christmas morning we woke up at Babs and Grandad's, like I have done every year of my whole life (except the year I was about to have Mags).  The girls squealed and giggled again, and again we felt full. 
Full hearts, full bellies, full lives.

 

 We  spent  time with extended family Christmas night and laughed and ate and watched two little Christmas girls wear themselves out until they could barely even string two words together. 
Finally, my favorite day of the year, December 26th came.  It's the one day of the year that pajamas all day is a requirement, you get to play with your new stuff, and eat all the delicious left overs that Babette made.
We come here every year at this time.  We relax, we let go of real life, before we have to start our engines again.  It is my favorite.
Christmas 2013 went fast. 

A couple times I felt like I dropped the memory making ball this year. As if because I didn't plan something every day to feel Christmassy, I had failed my kids childhood somehow. 
Christmas came anyway though.

Even though my cards went out late, even though we forgot to leave Christmas cookies for Santa, even though I wasn't as intentional as I have been before, Christmas came anyway.
Christmas was good.

Christmas was good, not because we gave and we got, or even because we were together as a family.  Christmas was good because it is when we celebrate the coming of our Rescuer. 
He came. 
Christmas came.
Christmas was, and is always very good.

Until next year's countdown,
Grace and Peace dear ones.
 xoxo