Connection

Christmas day is always so hectic, but I wanted to make sure I took the time to reflect on what Christmas means and specifically what it means to me. So the weeks leading up to Christmas I would use my 10 minute commute to and from work (40 min total since I go home to feed Kaydriana during lunch) to listen to Christmas music and praise God and thank Him for giving us His Son and blessing me and my family.
I heard Faith Hills, "A Baby Changes Everything" song. For the first time in my life I really felt a connection to Mary. Now that I have a baby, when I heard those lyrics (and Mary Did You Know and another one that I heard for the first time this year) I picture Kaydriana. No, I'm not comparing her to Jesus-but I picture Mary holding her son, her sweet baby boy who needs his mom to take care of him, love him, teach him, etc. Mary knew her son was something extra special. What an amazing feeling to be a mom-could you imagine the love and pride and joy she felt as he grew and learned new milestones? What kind of boy was he? How did she entertain him? What games did they play? Did he cry when he was hungry? Did Mary grow weary when Jesus was up all night teething? What have I experienced being a new mommy that Mary did as well?
Being a mom has connected me to millions and millions of mothers all over the world and throughout history. I've never felt this type of connectivity before. I'm thankful for the opportunity for this insight.

Moving on to Christmas... as I mentioned Christmas is hectic. Christmas Eve, I cooked the "Costco Turkey" along with some side dishes and my mom brought my little sister and brother over along with "Aunt Norma's Potatos". My older brother was spending the evening with his girlfriend and her family. We opened presents and watched some of the old claymation classics like Rudolph the Rednosed Reigndeer. We ate so much (and fast!) that we didn't end up eating the berry pie my mom brought.
Christmas day, Kaydriana (our little alarm clock) woke us up about 615am. I fed her and then went downstairs to see what Santa brought her. I'd like to say her eyes lit up and a smile grew on her face, but it really wasn't all that exciting to her. Tim put her on her big "Santa gift" which was a giraffe and I took pictures of her. Then we sat around her to open presents and she'd get fixated on a piece of paper she'd have in her hand. She protested when we would remove the paper and try to get her to open her next gift. Meanwhile, Griffey squeeked his new toys and kept trying to be in the mix with us while we opened our gifts.
After our intimate family time, we packed up and headed to Tim's parents where on the way we learned that our niece, Anna was in the emergency room. The Drs still aren't sure whats going on, but she did make it to Nana and Papas for Christmas dinner and presents. After about 20 minutes I took Kaydriana and we headed to my Aunts house so we could say hi to everyone for a moment then went back to Tims parents to finish the evening. I also got to talk with my dad and step mom, my sister and my niece in MI. I don't usually have a lot of time to talk on the phone, so at least car rides allow me the opportunity for calls to my family.
Although nothing spectacular happened per se, I'd have to say it was one of the nicest and memorable Christmas's I've ever had... A baby changes everything is right!