Waiting

It's Christmas Eve, and we're waiting.

We're waiting for snow and wind, and lots of it. The kind of snow that falls all night long, and all day long, and all during the following night too. The kind of wind that picks all that snow up from fields miles and miles around, and then drops all that snow when it hits our tree row. You know, on top of our little farm.


The kind of snow that makes my husband wish Santa would leave him a tractor. A real tractor.

I don't suppose that would fit under the tree.

If we really got into the whole Santa thing, I suppose we would be waiting for him too. I understand that there is a place for that magical part of Christmas, but I have a really hard time with Santa, because of the requirement of lying to my kids. I remember when I found out Santa wasn't real. But rather than being devastated that he wasn't real, what I remember was feeling utterly mislead, and intentionally lied to.

All it came to this year was, "Well, some people don't think Santa is real, but a lot of people do believe he's real, because that is fun."

We're also waiting for our coughing and snotty nosed kids to feel better. I wonder if I had kept count of the number of tissues we've used, or somehow had an accurate measure of the volume of snot we've dealt with... would I even want to know?

On the other hand, I've been rather entertained by the baby's snot bubbles.

No, I do not have a picture. But have no fear, I may get one yet.

But mostly, we're waiting to celebrate our Savior's birthday. I wanted to write that we were waiting to "celebrate his birth", but thankfully, that has already happened.

My oldest boy has a hard time understanding that Christmas is only one day. We hear so much that it is Christmas-time, but I keep trying to impress upon him that actually it is Advent. And that Advent is the time when we are waiting for Jesus birthday. We put up the Christmas tree, and do lots of other fun things, because we are excitedly waiting...


Until I had my own little farm, I had no idea hay was such a good insulator. Laying the little babe down to "sleep on the hay" was probably not such a bad deal.

I'll bet that stable was snug and warm, or anyway, better than a car.

Not that I'd know anything about that.

We played the part of the Holy family at our church program the year our littlest boy was born. I joked that Mary would (rather frantically) have to tell Joseph, "pull that donkey over right now, you're going to have to help me!".

Definitely the stable was a better option.

Just think of the commotion they might have otherwise caused. Jesus the King of Kings, born as his mother dismounted a donkey! On the side of a very busy road!

Good thing Jesus kept them waiting until they arrived at Bethlehem.

And we're patiently waiting now too, but just for a little longer.