What an excitement-filled Christmas! I cooked my first turkey, Noah gashed his head open, and Leyton threw his brand new train cars in the toilet after a tiny tiff with his brother.

We are so thankful for the time to relax, laugh, and celebrate together. We’ve loved watching the boys come to a fuller understanding of what Christmas is truly about. (Well, Leyton is still learning. But we’ve all got room to grow, right?) Noah is starting to repeat the Christmas story. The other day, we headed to the Capital to pick up some packages from our family. Noah asked where we were going, and we told him that there was another gift or two coming for him. He said, “Mom, we don’t need a LOT of presents.” Love my growing boys.

I still don’t feel quite right not being in the same room enjoying the hours with friends and family, but I remember that God has so richly blessed me. He’s been teaching me lots about feelings and how they play into my walk with Him. As much as it’s not about the gifts, neither is it necessarily about the other comforts or traditions or “normal” that I associate with Christmas. I’ve been contemplating on Luke 14:26 and Matthew 10:37 recently. To follow Christ means I have to be willing to give up those things (like family) that I hold so dear – even when it hurts, even when I don’t like it, even when I feel like I “deserve” to have our parents and siblings close by. I’m thankful that He walks with me through the hard times (and that He gave us Skype so everyone doesn’t seem so very far away.)

More than anything, I’m thankful that God sent His precious Son to this world as a little babe. Talk about an eventful Christmas! What did that first night look like for Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds? It’s incredible to think that Christ willingly laid down His throne to be born in a humble manger. Why? So that He could one day take a heavy trip to an old, rugged cross to pay a sin debt. For my boys. For my students. For my family. For me. What good news! What a Savior!