Merry Christmas from us!

Here's a little joke for my fellow ADP cohorts, "From Us to You with Love!"

This Christmas season has been interesting for many reasons:
1. Working at a church around Christmas, puts a new spin on things
2. House to decorate
3. Our first real Christmas tree
4. Performing in a mainstage Christmas show with 16 child actors. Eek!
5. Finding warm clothes to cover the little baby bump! (And I realize, I haven't offically announced that news to the blog world, but, yep, I'm 5 months pregnant! Guess I should do a blog about that, huh?)
6. Dog sitting Yoda and Caramel for the Watkins

All of these things have pros and cons and I have experienced them all this season. Unfortunately, the cons have made some white Christmas days blue, but we always stay optimistic around the holidays, right?

Jen and I just had a conversation how it is just so hard to keep up with soceity's idea of what we should look like, act like and do during Christmas. Normal, every-day life is hard enough, but throw in presents, baking, shopping and work and WHAM!...you're skating on thin ice of insanity!

A woman I'm performing in the Christmas show with told me that they don't decorate, don't do presents, don't do anything typical, so that they can really focus on Christ and celebrating the Nativity each Christmas. WOW! I was taken a little aback when I heard that. No tree? No lights? No wrapping paper? Initially, I felt sad for her and her family, but then I was totally reminded that that's probably what it SHOULD be for Christians. That's why I love Charlie Brown Christmas so much, Linus reads Luke 2 and then says, "That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."

As I spend my last Christmas without a child, I hope and pray that I can always take a minute to breath into my soul the true meaning of Christmas. I hope you'll do the same. If not, what's the point of the whole season any ways.

Love to you and yours!