Two-Spoon Tuesday

This morning Lydia crossed another small milestone. It wasn't anything like crawling or saying any special words, but it was one of those moments where I thought, "okay, you're at that point." I realized while trying to shovel pears & cereal in her messy little mouth (and dodging her chubby little fist as it grabbed for the spoon) that she now needs to hold her own spoon while I feed her. She doesn't do anything with it but bang it on the high chair tray. It sometimes makes it into her mouth, but she certainly isn't feeding herself yet. Try to tell her that, though!

It made me reflect on my relationship with God. How often in our lives is God trying to give me good things, to offer me nourishment, to provide exactly what I need, and I get preoccupied with the way He is delivering it. Or worse, I try to take care of myself. I might be pretty proficient at spooning baby food (especially when compared to Lydia) but in these times with God, I bet I look like a clumsy baby grasping for something I'll never be able to master. How much better it would be just to sit back and receive it from THE Master!

When Lydia starts reaching for the spoon, I immediately start to wonder: Is she finished? Does she not like this flavor? Maybe she has a bubble or needs a sip from her cup. Is she reaching for more or trying to push it away? I don't always know what she needs, but I want the best for her so I try. Usually, I do a pretty good job. Here's what Jesus says about that: "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:11) I am going to try to give up my own feeble attempts at holding the utensil, and instead look to God with excited expectation.

Okay, it's over...

It took me a little while, but I'm ready to put away the last box of Christmas decorations until next year. I still am not sure where the time went. It was Lydia's first Christmas, and I feel as if it was one giant blur. We had some precious, magical moments, but I can't help but regret so much scurrying around in a season that is supposed to be about quiet expectation and the starlit birth of a tiny Savior. I've already decided to simplify even more next year. Plus, I want my girls to know what Christmas is about- they get mixed messages if I tell them it is about a baby born in a lowly barn and then take them with me to the mall and help them make their list for Santa. If you're someone on our "gift list" be warned. We're going to join the Advent Conspiracy in 2009.

Here are some photos from Christmas 2008. God bless you in the new year!

It ain't over...

I refuse to take down my tree. Or even to stop plugging it in. Christmas is not over. Not only does it seem like it flew by because of the constant whirlwind at our house these days (it took me a whole week to get the whole tree up & decorated, and I only finished baking on Christmas eve!) but it also seems like Christmas can't be over because we were gone for so much of it. True, we always travel at this time of year, but this year the travel agenda was jampacked. We drove up to Ohio on after opening presents & loading up on Christmas day. I'm pretty sure we "had Christmas" with someone every day we were in Ohio. The girls have the loot to prove it! On the 28th, John & I drove down to Louisville & back for an ordination service of a friend of mine. It was wonderful- more on that in another post when I have more than a few minutes. Then on the 29th, we drove from Ohio to Northern Virginia to visit with John's family. We also drove into DC to take Hannah to the National Museum of Natural History (yet another blog entry I have spinning around in my head). On the 2nd, we woke up WAY before the sun to drive back home.

Granted, in between all of that traveling there were some precious moments with family & friends. But there were not many precious moments for reflecting on the magic of the season and the mystery of God made flesh. I haven't even watched The Christmas Story or Its a Wonderful Life yet! I did squeeze in White Christmas, but just barely. So I am going to be celebrating until the 12th and final day of Christmas, January 6th. This is the Epiphany, or Three Kings Day, as Dora calls it in her special-8:00, Tuesday night, you know where to find Hannah! Until then, I'm still playing Christmas carols in the car. I'm still turning on the tree each evening. I'm going to drink eggnog (when my weight watcher's points allow) and have a Christmas cookie. Don't judge me. I just want to savor the quiet part of Christmas- if I can find it!

I'll probably write one more entry on Christmas & try to post some pictures. All you Ebenezers out there might want to skip it ;) Until then, here is our family Christmas pic.

See Rock City

On Wednesday after church, we loaded up into our van and drove up Lookout Mountain to see Rock City. We've taken Hannah to see Santa at the Enchanted Garden of Lights since her very first Christmas. This year she has been asking "When are we going to Rock City?!" nearly every time we get into the car. The schools here only had a half-day on Thursday before the kids all started their break, so we decided we had better go to Rock City before school was out. Last year we waited until two days before Christmas and it was packed!

It was a dreary evening, but the temperature didn't get below 50. There was a little drizzle of rain and some foggy patches, but it wasn't bad, and the weather seemed to keep the other people away. We almost had the place to ourselves. When we got to Santa, there were no other kids around so Hannah got to sit with him and visit for a nice long time. Lydia visited too, but she wasn't sure she wanted to let Santa disturb her evening nap. Here is a picture:


Because we were basically the only ones there, we also got to take plenty of time for pictures. The ladies at the gift shop were more than happy to have something to do, but we still felt like we should thank them by buying something from the shop. Since we don't need ANY MORE Christmas decorations at our house, we opted for Hannah's all time favorite: face-painting. It cost $5 for a few sparkly looking snowflakes, but what the heck? It only happens once a year, right? Here are some other pictures from the evening.






The only downside to having all of Rock City to ourselves was being alone in Fairyland Caverns. The black lighting on the fairytale & nursery rhyme scenes is usually a little creepy to me. When there is no one else around, it is downright disturbing! I found a flickr album someone posted online with some pictures that can only begin to convey the creepiness. Click here to see it (but be warned!) Hannah had a love/hate relationship with the caverns. She adores princesses and fairytales, but she is terrified of the dark. She has asked to go back several times since Wednesday night, but I think she is asking in part out of morbid curiousity! It will be awhile before Mommy can take her back- maybe Daddy...

Aside from the cave, it was a special night for our family. I hope you are able to find some time in all of the rush of the season to enjoy sweet traditions with your own loved ones.

Give it up

I know I've already blogged today, but I missed a week so I think it's okay. And besides, we just had a very traumatic experience at our house.

It started with our visit to Cincinnati. At my parents house, Hannah fell in love with this tacky little stuffed cat- the kind with a hard little body covered in rabbit fur. She carried it with her every where she went and she slept with it at night. She brought it back with her, and it has been her constant companion.

Today, while Hannah & I worked on this darling little Nativity story book you can illustrate yourself with stamps, Kitty met Sophie. It was not a good encounter. I looked over and noticed something other than rawhide in Sophie's mouth, rushed to remove it, and almost cried when I realized what it was. Furless, in pieces, with only one eye left... Kitty was gone.

In the past, we've quickly thrown out things Sophie demolished and hoped Hannah would forget they existed. Once, to let Hannah know we meant it when we told her to keep her toys off of the floor or Sophie would get them, we left her chewed up Schleich figure right where we found it- scars and all. When she later found it, the curious, concerned look on her face as she asked, "What happened to my panda?" and inspected his disfigurement was enough to keep me & John giggling for a few days (not because we're cruel, just because it really did look like it had suddenly come down with a bad case of leprosy). This time, I knew Hannah would notice Kitty was missing, and I did not want to leave the disturbing little pile of kitty pieces for her to find. I just told her: I think Sophie just ate your kitty.

I have to give her credit: the kiddo handled it better than I imagined. There were lots of tears- it was a devastated kind of cry, and I just held her and told her I was sorry. This was real grief to her- she lost something very special, very suddenly. To comfort her, or at least show her that I understood and survived the same sort of ordeal, I showed her something I lost to Sophie's chewing earlier in the morning: an angel ornament made by my aunt. I'd had it for 20 years, and Sophie destroyed it when we left her alone for 20 seconds. I held Hannah for a little longer, then asked if she wanted to cuddle & watch a movie. She said no, that she wanted to finish the stamp book. She took some deep breaths and asked if we could try to find a new kitty. (We did- that's "new kitty" above.) She fussed again for a bit when I explained that the new kitty would not be arriving for a couple of days, courtesy of a seller on e-bay. And then, to use her words, she "gave it up."

I am so proud of her. When I found Kitty, I was angry. When Hannah found out, I expected DEFCON 1. For a three-year-old, especially one who has not had a lot of sleep in the past week, to be able to say, "I cried & cried, but then I gave it up" is pretty amazing. As an adult, I have let myself get attached to so many things. I have to be honest, I'm still upset about the angel ornament. But I'm thankful for the lesson in letting go, courtesy of my own little living angel.

Cincinnati

Last weekend we went to Cincinnati. We'll still be heading up there on Christmas day, but we'll be cutting our visit short to go to see John's family in Virginia for a few days. Since there were still so many people who hadn't met Lydia yet, and less time for them all to get to snuggle with her after Christmas, we headed up to Ohio. It was a great visit. It is always so wonderful to see people we love and to see how much they love Hannah- and now Lydia.

It was also wonderful because I got to take John to an NFL game while the girls visited with family. His Redskins played my Bengals. Here is the sign I took to the game:


Well, there wasn't a tie. The Bengals actually won! I was trying to give John the opportunity to see the Redskins win as an anniversary gift. Oh well. He was disappointed, but we had a good time anyway. After the game, we visited with more special people and then took Hannah to see Christmas lights with Nana & Papa. Then we headed back Monday, and the girls were great in the car! Hannah was very sad to leave everyone, but it was nice to be able to say we'll be heading back in 10 days!

Exactly one year ago, John & I were arriving in New York for a quick but wonderful trip to celebrate our 5th anniversary. He surprised me by planning the whole thing. He even made an itinerary including a carriage ride in central park and a broadway show. What a great husband I have! There is only one problem: this year we both miss the sights and sounds of Manhattan at Christmas more than we could have ever anticipated. Here are some of our favorite pictures from the trip: