A Merry White Christmas

It's even been in the national news. The Pacific Northwest has been hit with the biggest snowstorm in almost 20 years. For over a week, we have enjoyed and battled the snow. Yesterday, we awoke to fresh snow that continued to dump throughout the day. This morning we awoke to it snowing again, and we have now lost count of how much we have had in two days, definitely more than 18 inches. So much snow that Brian was snowboarding down our street.

Because of all of the snow, we haven't had any of our scheduled UPS or Fedex deliveries for over a week and no USPS (basic mail) deliveries since Saturday. We will be having another Christmas when the rest of our gifts arrive.

On Tuesday, we ventured out as a family to do some Christmas shopping and go to our latest pre-natal appointment. The doc loved meeting the kids and was happy about Finn's progress.He's an active boy. She also gave me the sugar drink to test for gestational diabetes. I'll do the actaul test on the 5th when we have our next perinatalogist appointment.

Shopping that day was hard.  This was Meg's first chance to do her Christmas shopping, and because of the appointment, we didn't have a lot of time. Our first stop was lunch, and we went to Ruby's Diner, one of Meg's favorite places. The wait was long but the food was good. After that, she really wanted to go to the T-Mobile store. Why? (This is the sweet part.) She wanted to use all of her savings to buy me the new G1 Android phone from Google. I did not know this, of course. We had to do some fancy footwork to convince her not to spend $180 on me although it warmed my heart that she really wanted to.

After the appointment, we drove out to Issaquah for Target and Costco since Meg was going to buy Sean's (her best friend) Christmas present and we had decided on an Xbox 360 for our family. After Target, we walked to Justice, a clothing store for girls, and that's when Meg lost it. We wouldn't buy her a Webkinz seahorse, and all that she saw was injustice. And, it didn't help that she had had little to no protein all day. It was a struggle to love her, stay strong, and fight for her instead of with her. She recovered by the next day but was disappointed that she never finished her shopping. Because of late deliveries and extended Christmas, she is ok with finishing it when we can leave the house again. During times like that, I wonder how we will deal with a new babe.

Speaking of how to deal with a new baby, one this has been apparent to me these last few weeks. God's timing in adding an addition to our family is perfect. Both kids are independent and much more confident. A year ago, Jake would have struggled more with Mommy being occupied with a little one, and Meg would have felt like she lost her status in the family. Now Jakey loves to explore on his own and play on the computer without help. Meg isn't intimidated by my attention being averted and is looking forward to helping out. See, perfect!

In case you were wondering, the kids loved Christmas morning. Jake was entranced by the keyboard that we bought for him. It plays 100 songs and the keys light up to teach you how to play them. Meg is playing Xbox Lego Indiana Jones with Brian and loved her assortment of toys and clothes. This year Brian and were able to shop for all of the kids' presents together which was really special.

The snow continues to fall, and I tear up thinking about the truth and sacrifice behind today. For us, God sent his son, not as a fully grown and mighty warrior, but as a helpless infant. Jesus experienced all that we have experienced for us, for our hearts. The God of the universe sacrificed so much because he loves us, not to prove his goodness or worth (they don't need to be proved), but to prove our worth. Not that we are good, but that we are loved. You are loved.

Enjoy your Christmas! Feel his love for you.