Merry Christmas

Tonight at Mass, Father talked in his homily of Jesus at about a year old just starting to walk and how wobbly he would have walked.  He wanted us to think about how crazy it was that the God who created the universe, and the gravitational pull that makes babies wobble, would enter this world in that humble way.  I found that to be a very timely observation for me for two reasons.  First, we've been following the Hubble Space Telescope Advent Calendar; on each day in December leading up to Christmas, they showed a different picture from the Hubble Telescope.  Owen looked forward to it each day and always wanted us to read the description of what it was.  I know Owen doesn't grasp the true meaning of what he was looking at; for me as an adult with a small understanding of astronomy it is mind boggling to try and understand the science behind the pictures and the vastness of subjects pictured.  God's creation is simply amazing.

Second, the big news around here is that Sophie is now walking!  One night three weeks ago I was playing with Owen when Sophie was grabbing my hands, motioning that she wanted me to walk her around (she likes holding on to one finger).  I wanted to give Owen some attention, so I told her, "You know, you can walk yourself."  So she did!  She took about 3 steps into my arms.  I figured that's about all she would do that night, but then she was so proud of herself and happy with our reaction that she did a good amount of walking that night. You can see the video here. Her walk is still that wobbly baby walk, but she still gets a kick out of it and is doing it more and more.

Last week we went to see Owen's Christmas play at his school (here's a wobbly video of that; he is the angel in the front row in the middle, wearing a blue shirt).  For some reason the play made me teary-eyed.  Partly I think it was remembering that there are parents who will no longer be able to see their kids perform here on earth and partly because the play brought a special innocence (and non-commercialism) to the Christmas story.  I love that Owen has gone to a Christian preschool the last few years.  He shows more awareness and interest in religious things (such as the Christmas story) than I expected.  As we look at schools to put Owen into next year for Kindergarten, I know we aren't going to continue paying for his schooling, so I know he won't get that kind of exposure to religion at school.  I just pray that I will be able to continue that interest in him, although I know that will be difficult as he gets older.

As we get together with friends and family this season I feel very blessed.  May you and yours have a blessed holiday season as well!

From O So December 2012