The Crazy of Christmas

I'll go ahead and jump on the cliche bandwagon--yes, Christmas time is hectic.  Yes, Christmas came too fast this year.  Yes, I am not prepared!  All of the above are true but we are still trying our best to spend some family time in the midst of everything and just enjoy our first season as a family of four.

As we've been driving around town the past couple weeks, Lily has loved looking at the Christmas lights.  It's the first year she's really taken notice of them but she has certainly latched onto pointing out who's car window you can see them out of and of course, the giant inflatable lawn ornaments are a big hit too.  We decided to take the girls to a drive through lights display at Thanksgiving Point.  It was a bit chilly, but we rolled the windows down and cranked up the heat to be able to see the lights better.  As soon as we got into the first set of lights, the girls LOVED it!  Julia thought it was pretty neat to be able to stick her hand out the window just a bit. Lily loved pointing out the different things in the lights, like the polar bears or penguins.  They both enjoyed it, but Julia just may have had the time of her life.  She was having so much fun that the laughter turned into full on screams at some points!   By the time we reached the end of the path, Robert and I were just laughing hard at the girls' reactions and how unexpectedly overjoyed we all were during the ride.

Though we've posted a lot of pictures lately, I am not letting it slow me down.  We hadn't planned on doing a second set of Christmas pictures, but Robert got out his camera a few days after we set up the tree and snagged a few gems.

 

Even though it did sneak up on us and I wouldn't quite say we're all the way ready, we are getting there.  There girls both love 'helping' wrap presents and join me on the floor quite willingly with tape and stickers in hand. 

What a new experience this all is for her.  It's been fun imagining what Julia will think of this first Christmas in a home with a family.  It's odd to imagine that had the timing of our adoption not been what it was, she would have been spending this Christmas in an institution.  She would have been lucky to have a full belly, let alone much attention and an abundance of toys, treats, and love would be absolutely out of the question. 

But that is not the case.  God had different plans for her.  And now our plans are showing her all those great things she deserved for so many years and never got.