Busy

Josh has been on vacation this last week so we have been gallivanting around, enjoying his time home. I'll be back on Blogger some time the middle of next week.

Unto us a son was given

It's Christmastime and Handel's beautiful Messiah has been playing on my iTunes for days. It fills me with such longing and aching in my soul. For me, it is usually a painful process to listen to the Messiah. As with all earthly things, there is a pain in the beauty and an aching in the joy.

Being a mother is no exception. Two nights ago, after having put Caleb down for his "long winter's nap", Josh and I snuggled up and talked (and talked and talked). We don't get a lot of uninterrupted time to talk, so I was savoring every moment. Among the myriad topics we covered, we spent some time talking about (of course) Caleb. About how amazing it is that we have a son. I told Josh that when I think about the fact that I have "a baby", my mind can get itself around that idea. After all, a baby is something one has for just a short period of time. It's not hard to mother a baby. But, when I ponder the fact that I have "a son", my mind does all sorts of flips and contortions. A son? A son. . . a son who is a baby right now, will soon be a toddler and will, before I know it, be driving and leaving for college. A son. . . a son who I have been called by God to prepare for life in this fallen world. Unfathomable! Heart swelling and heart breaking all at once.

As I was talking, I gathered up all that paradoxical motherly emotion and poured it out onto the shoulder of my husband. I cried thinking about the fact that the little baby boy we just said hello to for the very first time, will be saying goodbye to us in just a few years, as we send him off into this big world to make his own life, build his own family, and start the whole thing over again. It is good and right that it should be so. It is beautiful and painful all at once. After all, I would not want a baby forever. Each season is ordained and perfect in its own time, but even the seasons change. I can only pray and work diligently to ensure that when that goodbye-day comes both Caleb and I will be ready for it. That I will have done all a mother can possibly do to train and guide her son in the path of godliness and wisdom, and that I will have steeled myself for the letting go process.

God had a Son, too, and unto us that Son was given, the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. . .The Messiah. Merry Christmas!

A Little Christmas Cheer

Caleb & The Big Bear (Part 2)
(see part 1 here)

Not every boy would be so excited to wear such a silly hat!

Feliz Navidad, from our family to yours

Pants

One of the drawbacks of having a baby is the strange things it does to one's previously predictable figure. Sizing varies from store to store. Every girl knows that. And every marketing agent knows a girl will pay more money for the exact same item if the tag on the inside announces a smaller size than the store next door. It is a constant battle of trying to find the cheapest pair of pants in the smallest size possible. Prior to Caleb, I usually opted for cheap, since my figure wasn't the source of my problems. Now, I think I'd be willing to pay a small fortune to find a pair of pants in my Pre-Caleb size that fit my Post-Caleb figure!

One Happy Boy!

Christmas Gift Idea

Caleb is a bit young for this, but for those of you with slightly older kids, I thought I'd post this cool piggy bank. I love the simplicity of this and the fact that their money is visible, especially for preschool-aged kids. What a fun way to teach good stewardship.

You can find them at the Money Savvy Generation site for only $20.

Laugh on demand. . . no way!

If you'd like to see what happens when you try to get a baby to laugh on demand, check out this short video clip of Caleb.

Who wouldn't want to kiss this baby!?

Giggles

He laughed! And I laughed all day thinking about it.

Learning to Play

It's amazing how many things a child has to LEARN how to do. Caleb is just learning how to play. This morning he was playing on his playmat and accidentally grabbed one of the toys hanging above his head. The whole archway came toward him and scared him. He panicked and grabbed harder. The toys came closer and so he got even more scared. Reminiscent of his hair-pulling incident. Quite a funny sight.

Unfortunately, I didn't catch that on camera. But here's a link to another playtime!