Merry Christmas!

An Early Christmas Gift

Well, sort of.

I was in the kitchen Saturday afternoon making lunch for myself. Maggie had just finished hers and I had laid lain placed her on her play mat to give myself a few minutes.

In hindsight, it had gotten pretty quiet, but Maggie isn't crawling yet, so I didn't think it meant anything. I ignored the quiet.

Well, for someone who is "non-mobile", the Doodle sure can get around!

I came into the living room with my lunch, checked her mat and immediately thought, "Hey, there's no baby."

That's right. I said there was no baby.

No Baby!

I looked around to see what had become of my "non-mobile" child (you are noting the sarcasm in that, right?), and this is what I saw:

Maggie managed to scoot herself (backwards?) off of her mat and under the tree. Where she was, apparently, totally content.

Makes a sweet little gift, huh? :)

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

I was finally able take pictures of our Christmas decorations to share. Actually, the picture-taking is less time-consuming than the whole 'download-upload-write a post about them' part of this process.

And time is not any easy thing to come by when you work full-time, have a Hubby and an 8 month-old. So, for you, I am using my spare 3.5 minutes to whip out this post and share a few of my favorite Christmas decorations.

(I'm generous that way.)

(You can stop biting your nails in anticipation.)

First up: The Nativity

I LOVE this nativity set. My mom painted it when I was a little girl - if we ever had a different one, I don't remember it. All my Christmas memories have this nativity in it, and when I got married, my mom gave it to me to put up in my new home. And someday, I'm sure I'll be passing it on to Maggie. I just think it's sweet that they're all kids :)

I have a couple of other nativity items.

This was a gift from my niece, Megan. I'm a big Jim Shore fan AND I love nativities AND 'O Holy Night' is my favorite Christmas song, and she managed to combine all 3 things in one gift. How cool is that?!

This one is a replica of the nativity at the parish Hubby and I were married at - St. Tim's. I actually leave this one out all year 'round. Its intimacy and simplicity helps me remember Who my life should be centered on, and which of us couldn't use that reminder from time to time?

Next up: The Tree

We have a sweet little tree. It's not grand or 10 feet tall, but I love it. It's full of colored lights and almost all of our ornaments are either gifts or ones Hubby and I have chosen together.

Last up: The Stockings

My mom - the jack-of-all-artist-trades in our family - made these stockings for us. Hubby and I have had ours for a few years, and Maggie, of course, got her's this year. I'm a big embroidery fan, so these are right up my alley. Plus, I love that they were handmade by my mom. Makes them special for us.

So, that's it for now. We don't decorate outside because we live in a condo and don't have access to outdoor plugs. But inside, we're nice and festive :)

Hope everyone is having a Blessed Advent ... as we wait for the glory of Christmas!

Maggie Meets Mr. Claus

Yesterday was THE day. The BIG day. The DAY we've been waiting for since November rolled in.

Maggie met Santa. And she did just fine.

Everyone we know had been warning us about Maggie getting scared and crying, etc - even the 'elves' at mall told us to take her in facing away from him so Maggie wouldn't see Santa until I sat her down (that seemed too tricksy to me). However, I figured that since - literally - almost every man in her life has facial hair, and she's good with strangers, Santa should be no big deal.

And he wasn't. She just stared at him. And patted his fluffy sleeves.

She wouldn't smile for the camera, but that's okay. She did so well. And Santa was super sweet - he'd had 4 boys, so apparently he really enjoys getting to hold little girls.

It doesn't hurt that ours is super cute :)

Manhattan Declaration

Our pastor briefly introduced us to the Manhattan Declaration this past Sunday at the close of Mass, and having now taken the time to read and absorb it in its entirety, I need to share it.

There is so much I could say about this declaration, but it is so well written and expressive that I think you should just read if for yourselves. However, I do want to applaud the authors consistent reiteration of love for each other even when we disagree. We need more of that on all sides.

My favorite part is the last line ... it says so much:

"We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar's. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God's."

Hubby and I have signed it. As did our bishop. Please take time to read and pray about this effort. Click here to read it, sign it, share it.