The crib is not empty! (Merry Christmas!)

I have to admit that last night around 9 pm, I was really not feeling the Christmas joy.  Of all of the many Amazon orders I placed back in early December, almost all of them arrived much earlier than expected.  All, of course, except for one.  And that one included the baby doll I had ordered to fit in the crib that Justin built for Anna.  (Side note, it also included the envelopes to our Christmas cards, so for those of you on the list, don't be surprised that I'm stretching my normal Christmas card timeline (aligned both intentionally and due to the craziness of things with the 12 day season of Christmas) a bit further than usual).

The image of Anna turning the corner into the living room and seeing her new baby set up in her new crib has been the excitement that has pushed me through a draining week of preparations (having finally beat the super cold that nagged me for most of December, I was left to clean the entire house, bake, decorate, wrap, and finish several sewing projects in the last few days).  So when I realized that Amazon was definitely not going to meet their "by 8 pm on December 24th" delivery estimate, I tearfully declared Christmas to be ruined -  (sleep deprivation makes me both overly emotional and just a bit prone to exaggeration) - because Anna's new beautiful crib would be empty on Christmas morning.

I had a brief pity party, then went up and got ready for Mass, and very shortly after that was singing Joy to the World with the rest of the congregation - heart truly filled with joy for having realized that the wonder of Christmas is that the crib is not empty.  Jesus is there in the creche - and in the tabernacle and in our hearts - no matter the circumstances or whether or not things have gone according to plan.  In fact, He's all the more there for us when things do not go according to our plan; I doubt a stable would have been the perfect location if you asked Mary or Joseph.  In our imperfections, and when the rest of the world leaves us feeling disappointed and empty, we can go filled with awe to see the baby who, in His perfection, has come to save the world.

Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas and may your hearts be filled with joy and love as you ponder that baby in the crib!!


I will note that despite the MIA status of our package, our Christmas was most definitely not ruined.  It took Anna only a few seconds to oust the stuffed toy I had placed in the crib and make herself comfortable.  She climbed out to open a gift, only to climb back in and read the book she had just unwrapped.  We enjoyed watching her enjoy the magic of Christmas morning.  She's old enough to understand the concept of opening presents, but not so old that she rushes the process.  In fact, I think there's still a package or two still wrapped under the tree.  She'll get to them eventually - probably about the same time that the missing box finally arrives with her new baby!

In one other note, the incredibly generous/thoughtful Justin Claus (who is also a talented carpenter, see above!) brought me a new camera!!  I'm hopeful that I can actually include pictures in upcoming posts without a "sorry I can't take good pictures" qualifier.

Merry Christmas!