Baby's First Christmas

Well, we wrapped up our first Christmas with the little one. Kayley was passed around like a hot potato at all of our stops this Christmas. It was kind of nice not having to worry about her for a good part of the day. She, not surprisingly, stole the show at each stop.

This time of year is one of my favorite. I love spending time with our families, and with the new baby, it was extra special this year. Our Christmas begins on Christmas Eve when we spend the afternoon with Meg's parents. This usually involves hanging out and occasionally some finger foods. Then, we head over to my Grandparents house (mom's parents) for food and presents. Since everyone is older now, we do not exchange gifts with everyone, but my Grandparents still buy for everyone and then we have a White Elephant exchange (which is always fun).

On Christmas, we wake up and spend the morning at home. Meg makes french toast (for me) and pancakes (for her). Around noon, we head over to Meg's parents for lunch and presents. As the evening approaches, we then go to my Grandparent's house (dad's parents) and have dinner and open presents. As the grandchildren have gotten older, my grandparents have given money for Christmas. When we were kids, the living room looked like a Christmas display at Macy's. Presents stacked high. Decorations both old and new. It was something that will stay with me forever. This year, my grandparents got to buy presents for Kayley. You could see they enjoyed that again.

Christmas (not to sound cliche) is the most wonderful time of the year. The traditions are magical. The time spent with family is priceless and the season is filled with love and memories.

Now that I have become a Christian, Christmas has taken on a whole new meaning for me. I cannot explain the love I have for my Savior. This Christmas I took the time to reflect what that means to me personally. The Christmas traditions are great, but the real meaning of Christmas should be brought to life. If we forget that, Christmas will become just another novelty. How can people argue to take Christ out of Christmas? That makes absolutely no sense. That's like taking the Yankees out of New York. Or, expecting a car to run with no engine. Or, Thanksgiving without football (juvenile analogies I know). You can't have one without the other. Without Christ in Christmas, there would be no holiday. A "winter holiday" for the heck of it means absolutely nothing.

So, until next year...keep Christ first and remember why we were put on this earth. Find your "something."

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