Thursday, December 24, 2009

What Christmas is All About



Each year I try to think of ways to really focus on what Christmas is all about- celebrating the birth of Jesus, the savior of the world.  This year Little Britches was asked to play Jesus in the live nativity at our church.  As I handed her to a youth from our church, a girl of about 13 or 14, I was so acutely aware that she is more like Mary than I am.  She held "Jesus" so tenderly and looked into her eyes.  "Jesus" looked a little wide-eyed with wonder and made a perfect picture, but soon "Jesus" began to cry because she had been up two hours and her bedtime was approaching.  Mary tried to sooth "Jesus" but it didn't work that well.  She looked at me with a question in her eyes.  I wonder if the real Mary did the same.  When Jesus cried did she know what to do?  Did she look to the livestock in the stable with a question in her eyes?  Was she scared?  Could she even now comprehend that she had given birth to GOD'S SON?  Could she comprehend that she was going to be raising her savior?  I know, as a mom, there are many things I don't understand about raising Little Britches to be all God's created her to be, but tonight I saw her for what she truly is- a gift, just as Jesus was a gift to the world, Little Britches is a gift to me.  I want to hold her, cherish her, and love her, like Mary did Jesus.  But the difference is I am holding a gift and she held THE GIFT- the gift the world needed, hoped for, watched for, waited for, prayed for, and now had.  Gifts are funny though,  they can be right in front of you, but until you take it and cherish it, it really doesn't mean anything to you.  May you cherish all the gifts in your life today, but especially the gift of Christ, born on Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Babysitting

Also, in the craziness that was last week, I had a babysitting gig.  Our community grieved the loss of a sweet child.  While my heart was broken, I did not know the family well, so I helped out by watching a friend's kiddo while they went.  At first both babies were sleeping, so I had to do something quiet- Christmas cards.  Then my friend's kiddo woke up.  We played and had a fabulous photo shoot.  Then Little Britches woke up and we all played.  The only tricky part was them both being hungry at the same time.  Luckily Daddy came home just in the nick of time.


Oh I do love playing at your house!


What is this crazy thing? 


Yummm, something I can chew on!

Yes! I had a delightful time, I think I will come again!

Food

Last week was crazy around our house. Little Britches' great grandfather passed away and we had services on Monday and Tuesday.  Then on Thursday my sister came in to see us, and by Sunday we had made an overnight trip to Katy and back.  In the mist of all that craziness we started Little Britches on some solid food.  She started with a little rice cereal.  Here are the results.

The first bite


Well it was good enough to want some more


It got rave reviews

This week we are on to bananas.  I will try to grab a picture of that today.  The first day we just dug right in because after dinner time was bath time, so we didn't even bother with a bib, but we have started using one now- just in case you were wondering. 

Teeth

As you may or may not have read here Little Britches has been a bit fussy lately, which is VERY unusual.  She usually rolls with the punches.  In fact I really try to be careful about not taking advantange of her good nature and easy going personality.  Well, come to find out, the reason for the new fussiness might be teeth!  If you carefully lift up Little Britches top lip you can see four white spots under her gums.  She does not like this exercise and therefore I was not able to get a picture of it, but maybe later when Daddy gets home.  I hope she is feeling better for Christmas, but the good news is, if she is not, she won't remember it anyway.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Project 320

I am participating in Project 320.  Read about it here.   More to come.  I don't have time right now.  I am off to take Little Britches' dad to the surgery center to have his gall bladder removed. 

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Making a List, Checking it twice

December is here! Yeah!  I love Decmember in Texas.  I love to drive around and look at lights, go for walks in the crisp air, drink hot chocolate in front of the tree, and spend time with family and friends.

I am always thinking of ways to make the holiday more meaningful, less consumer driven.  I confess I have not found the perfect balance yet, but I am working on it.  This website has got me thinking about it more and more. And so has this one. 

One side of my family draws names and then all the rest of the money we would spend on eachother we give to those who truly need.  In the past we have donated to Heifer International, Samaritan's Purse, and others. 

I like that we give to organizations, but I still like to give meaningful gifts when we are gift giving.  One way I feel like I can do this is to give gift that are based on shared experiences and loves.  With this in mind, I gave my sister a photo session with Mayzie.  I hired a friend of mine who is a photographer, Crysta, to take pictures of Aunt Brooke and Little Britches.  I will choose one or two to frame up for Brooke for Christmas.  My sister loves photography, loves Little Britches, and loves any special time she gets with Little Britches since my sister lives out of town.  I think the photo shoot went great!  I was even able to sneek in a few family pictures so I could order some for our Christmas cards.  Here is just one of the pictures Crysta took.    


Doesn't she do a wonderful job?  I need to work out a deal with her to Little Britches' yearly pictures at her current prices because one day EVERYONE is going to discover how talented she is and I will not be able to afford her! 

I plan on sewing some gifts and buying some others, but no matter the gift my goal is to keep my family and myself focused on the true meaning of this advent season.  That is a tall order in our culture, but I am willing to give it a try.

 I better get going.  It's December already!