Muppets and Brunch

Merry Christmas to all who may read this today. The fam did the usual traditions of brunch, present opening, and the Muppets Christmas Carol. Sadly, it seems that only us sisters really like that movie, and we got overruled half way through the movie and it switched to Toy Story 3. My nephews were so cute opening their presents. Landon opened each present with skill, tenacity, and a hunger to own all of the cool games out there for his new Nintendo DS. Evan was a slow opener, easily distracted, but still did a few victory dances when he got something he was really looking forward to. Colton was oblivious, and ended up playing with a plastic cup and whatever his older cousins let lay on the floor for longer than a minute. I had fun writing up clues last night so that the little ones had to go on a scavenger hunt to find their gifts. All in all it was a lovely day and I'm so thankful for my family.

 Bing Crosby CD, Valley of Vision book, Pilates kit :) Quite the assortment!

But, if I leave it just at that, this is a pretty dissatisfying holiday. It's amazing how everything we pack into this "Holiday Season" seems to drown out any extra time or energy we could put towards the real meaning of this time. The weeks leading up to Christmas are called advent because it is meant to be a greatly anticipated arrival or coming. No, not the arrival of time off, good food, presents, or even time with family. We're meant to ponder, ruminate, meditate (whichever word you want to use) on the incredible thing that happened in history some 2,000 years ago. Not just the quaint story of a manger and shepherds and angels, but of the unbelievable grace and mercy God showed us in the humility of becoming like the creatures He formed. His coming is what set me free! His coming is what brings me hope! His coming makes me look to His return! This is way more than cookies, Home Alone 2, and decorations. This is the long awaited Messiah, the desire of the nations, the Savior of the World. This day doesn't feel so empty when I remember this. I'm grateful for what I have and I love to enjoy sweet memories with family, but I try to steer clear of allowing indulgence and comfort to cloud the stunning reality of Christmas.