My Favorite Time of Year

Our fall and winter has gotten off to a fantastic start. I am back to feeling pretty great (most of the time!) and things seem to have settled into a good routine around here - as many of you know, I love routines. However, there is this sweet thing that really wants to disrupt our routine - our sweet baby! Peanut, as we call him or her, has started to move around and respond occasionally to John's voice. My growing body and all the resulting changes are a not-so-subtle reminder of all the changes our routine will undergo in just a matter of months. With Peanut feeling more "real" each day John and I are reflecting on some of our family traditions that we want to share with our own family. We decided to get Peanut off to a head start in this department...with a new tradition, the family-centered Turkey Trot in Huntsville on Thanksgiving morning. We had such a great time at the race with my brother and his girlfriend. Peanut made his/her prescence known as I crossed the finish line with lots of wiggles and flips! It was a great way to start off the Thanksgiving holiday. We spent the rest of the day at John's family and cherished the time spent with all of them.

This year's Christmas season has become much more meaningful as we prepare for our child. Our routine is much the same this year as we start to experience this season of Advent. However, I am beginning to realize how I all to often get caught up in the cookie baking, gift buying and wrapping, party scheduling that I forget that the real reason for this special time of year is Christ, his birth, and his ultimate sacrifice. I want better for my child! So this year, I will still bake cookies, buy and wrap gifts, and have much fun at the holiday parties...but I will do my best to keep Christ at the center of all this activity and remember how very special this season truly is.

His birth was for his death; his death was for our birth! (John 1:29 and John 3:1-8)