Christmas is Coming...

The title is true. Christmas is coming. It will arrive on December 25 whether I am prepared for it or not. Which I think I am…maybe.

Our life has been a little up it the air the past couple of months. Moving from Pennsylvania to Indiana. Living with my parents for five or six weeks. Looking for a house to buy, but ending up with a house to rent. Ed’s cousin dying. My mom had knee surgery. Looking for a church. Lots of major decisions being made. And yet still trying to just live life. Emry’s schoolwork, naps, trying to keep regular “office hours”, Ed’s new job, cooking, cleaning…and now lots and lots of unpacking. Christmas, to say the least, has kind of crept up on me.

I did try to get some things done before I left Pennsylvania. Some of it happened. Some of it didn’t. It’s about the same now. 

As of tonight, my shopping is done. But not the wrapping. 

We did get a Christmas tree. It is decorated. Even my village is set up. But other things didn’t find their way out of the Christmas boxes. And I’ve still no clue how to hang the stockings or where.

Some Christmas baking got done. Most didn’t. Good news for my waistline!

Christmas chains counting down the days and pointing to a Christmas story to read each night got done. But I hardly had time to find any great new Christmas stories for the year.

Christmas letters? Yeah, I’ve thought about them. Even have one book of Christmas stamps. But I’ve given up any attempt to get them about by Christmas. They’ll be new year letters. And please forgive the flag stamps…

Honestly, I feel like Christmas is a bit slap-dash this year. And I feel bad about it, too. For this is the first year Emry has really gotten excited about it, anticipating it’s arrival and crying (several times now) because it isn’t here yet. Ethan doesn’t really anticipate, but he loves the Christmas tree and Ed’s train. I want their celebration of Christ’s birthday to be special. Instead, some days I feel like I’m barely holding it all together.

But maybe that’s the point. After all, even though Mary knew Jesus was soon to be born, I’m pretty sure she didn’t plan on a stable. The shepherds certainly didn’t plan on seeing an angelic host that night in their field. And the wise men went to a palace in search of the new king – not some little house in Bethlehem. Jesus didn’t come as expected. Which is why the Jews are still looking for the Messiah. But we know He has come. So even if my Christmas letters aren’t out by Christmas and the stockings never do get hung, we can still celebrate Christ’s birth. 

Glory to God!