Happy December!

How on earth is it possible that we've already reached the last month of 2009?!? This year has definitely flown by... and boy oh boy, do I sound old when I say that :)

It's currently 3:58 AM and I've been awake for about 2 hours. Both kids have been downstairs, vying for a spot in Mommy & Daddy's bed (why oh why do they do this when they have their own perfectly wonderful sleeping quarters?) After much tossing, I finally decided I might as well get up and do a few things.

So we are now in the throes of the holiday season; I truly love Christmas time, but am finding it harder to get into the "spirit" when it's in the mid 60s and we're eating dinner on our patio, munching away on corn we picked up from a roadside stand after church. We did have a few days of cold and we not only used our fireplace for the first time but even turned the heat on for 2 days. My parents were here for Thanksgiving and just flew back to Montana on Saturday - funny thing is that their flights were all switched up due to the snow in Houston. Seriously, I doubt they were planning those type of travel delays in South TX, but you just never know what will happen...

In other news, we have a new nephew! Yes, my brother and his wife had a healthy baby boy - his big brother is awfully excited that he's finally arrived! Sad to think that I don't know when we'll be able to meet him in person, though - I'm so thankful for technology that allows us to email pics and updates.

There has been so much other stuff going on that I don't even know where to start. I had a nasty cold, and just as I was recovering my hubby went down. Grrr. Thankfully the kiddos have remained healthy thus far. Our computer has been giving us MAJOR fits, and I don't know when I'll be able to post pics. Hubby has been running a variety of scanners, debuggers and such and we have yet to decide whether we just need to dump the hard drive and re-install everything. Oh joy. Thankfully we have the laptop, but it has limited capabilities. Still in prayer about the church situation. Son's behavior at school is improving but far from perfect. Have a few more gifts that I need to pick up. A bit of baking I want to do. Praying how I can minister to certain people that God has brought into my life. Need to get my craft space organized before it drives me over the edge.

So how's that for stringing together random thoughts? This is what you get from a sleepy mama in December :) Before I head off to the next task, though, I wanted to share a bit more about Christmas. As the pastor pointed out this morning, this season is about FAMILY. And not just our crazy earthly relatives... no, this is the time we celebrate God's amazing love and how Christ came to this lowly earth so that he could share His riches with his brothers and sisters. Hadn't quite thought about it that way before. I think we all can all agree that when it comes to inheritances, the dark side of human nature all too often rears its ugly head... yet Jesus not only wants to share, but made the ultimate sacrifice Himself to enable us to claim the position as God's children. Forget brightly decorated trees and warm fuzzy feelings as we sing carols or exchange gifts... THAT is a reason to celebrate!

There it was--the true Light [was then] coming into the world [the genuine, perfect, steadfast Light] that illumines every person. He came into the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him [did not know Him]. He came to that which belonged to Him [to His own--His domain, creation, things, world], and they who were His own did not receive Him and did not welcome Him. But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name. (John 1:9-12, Amplified)