In the wee hours of the morning, I had the privilege of being present to greet this precious little one when he arrived. Happy birthday, sweet Ambrose; you are loved beyond measure. (And I’m so proud of your mama, who is a wonder.)

Claragirl in the light.

I don’t know that it’s ever happened before that I literally have not posted one thing since last year’s DPP. Well…here we are. Poor neglected blog will get some fresh content for the next twenty-four days in a row. I’m looking forward to it.

I was talking with a friend last week who said that the kids’ Christmas program is one of the things she most looks forward to every Christmas season. I absolutely agree. Maybe I feel this every year, but this morning’s felt especially sweet. By the time the service started, I had already teared up a few times watching the practice (thankful tears for adults and older kids who pour their hearts out to teach and serve mine, sympathetic tears of pride with another mom whose daughter sang a beautiful solo, joyful tears because listening to kids sing “let every heart prepare him room” gets me every single time). And then looking around seeing so many dear faces–one for the first time in church, grandparents and family that I realize I recognize only/mostly from many years of community with the same friends, a few that I only saw from afar but that warmed my heart to see in passing, and then also some faces missing this year that made my heart ache. This year has had at least its fair share of suffering and darkness, but what a gift to remember why we really celebrate this season. As Simon put it when I asked him to summarize the sermon, “Jesus came to us. He came to save us.”

Ian spiked a high fever last night, and we ended up calling our pediatrician’s night hotline. He’s been on antibiotics, but because he had the stitches a week ago, the nurse suggested he be seen this morning. The good news is there was no infection in his sutures (in fact, he got them out while we were at the office), but the bad news is his Influenza A swab came back positive in a hot second. So…this is where we’ll be for the next 5 to 7 days. I’m thankful for this little helper to wipe down all the light switches and door knobs. We’re washing sheets and slathering ourselves in OnGuard, letting the little guy get lots of rest, postponing all Christmas plans, and praying the rest of us can avoid getting sick too.

This kid is always up for helping me wrap gifts.

We went driving to look at Christmas lights tonight, and then my family voted on which picture I should choose for the DPP. Artsy no. 2 edged out Artsy no. 1 and Straightforward.

Today the first graders made gingerbread houses. It’s fun to see how the kids’ different personalities play out in what they create. Some are nice and neat with color schemes and whatnot. Others are chaotic like the candy factory exploded. My favorite thing today was that when Clara finished her gingerbread house, she proceeded to pull off some of her candy decorations. I do love a good editorial eye.