Nativity

This is probably going to be my last post of 2012! New emails to the inbox have steadily decreased as Christmas letters to the mailbox have increased. There are no more meetings on my werk calendar and I am werking on my packing lists for our upcoming Christmas travels to see family. We are flying this year, and a few legs of my trip will be just me and baby...so I need to pack SMART. It's a lot different than just cramming things into the jeep and hitting the road, that's for sure!

Along with pumping extra so I have bottles for the plane, I'm trying to find the perfect pair of little black maryjanes for baby's Christmas outfit(s)...and I am waffling between which toy/book/etc. will provide the maximum amount of entertainment on three different plane rides. In the back of my head, I know that our seat companion and the drink napkins will probably win out in the end...

In other NEWS...our sweet babe began to crawl this week! I predicted a few months ago that Lexi would be the reason why she starts crawling and walking...maybe even talking. She adores Lexi and finds her to be extremely entertaining...and around 11:30pm one night this week, baby was wide awake and playing on the floor when Jake noticed she was getting up on her hands and knees. He grabbed the camera so that I could watch the moment with him later. Sure enough, a few tugs and scoots across the living room floor, the sweet babe had made her way to Miss Lexi and received a big wet kiss on the face. Our world is about to completely change again! Time to dig out the outlet covers and reassess our home from the eyes and hands of a 7 month old mover and shaker!

I have often found myself remembering how I was feeling last Christmas, while well into my second trimester. I was comfortably pregnant, we had just had our 18 week ultrasound where we did not find out the sex of the baby (despite the temptation!), and I was bracing myself for weird comments and belly rubs from a host of friends and family in Minnesota. I was also finding myself identifying with the Virgin Mary more than any other time in my life. The knowledge of a beautiful and terrifying miracle growing within you, the incredible feeling of growing and glowing into motherhood, the anticipation of experiencing the greatest and deepest love you have ever known.

While my condition was far from Mary's, and I and I my belly were nestled quite uncomfortably on an air mattress, surrounded by those I love the most...I was and am so very thankful. The gift of life in any form, human or eternal, is the most overwhelming and humbling gift to participate in and to receive. That sweet little Jesus coming to earth as a baby, so that many would know the love of God forever...it's a story and a truth that I will always treasure, and I can't wait to share with my own sweet babe as she grows. This year, her understanding of the nativity is limited to the hard rubbery qualities of the Little People manger scene under the tree as she cuts her teeth on the Angle of the Lord's golden hair and wings...but someday, I hope she knows the same deep joy and love that can only come from the Divine.