merry. christmas.

merry christmas to you & yours.

this day has come much quicker than anticipated.
it has also come on a week where it just seems overwhelming.
isn't that how the holidays always are?

you have this picture perfect, movie like idea of what it should be.
& then well, it just isn't that.
you are wrapping presents on christmas eve,
prepping food & making a mental list of all the things you forgot…
so now what?

we are getting ready for our first christmas with olive.
what an exciting time it should be.
all olive wanted for christmas was her two front teeth…
& man are they making an intense debut.
i am also attempting to pack for a 2 week midwest tour.
flying out the morning after christmas made a lot more sense 2 months ago.
right now i'm dreading the idea.
laundry is getting done at midnight.
christmas presents are packed & take up most of the suitcase.
trying to leave the house nice & ready for scottie for my absence.
& then of course trying to enjoy it all in the meantime.

today was also a different kind of holiday.
our pseudo uncle here in seattle,
under went quadruple bypass surgery.
not exactly the type of thing that you plan to have going on during christmas.
this has caused us all to stop & reevaluate our outlook on things.
it was a blessing for us to host dinner to day for the extended family,
but quite exhausting at the same time.
you begin to quickly realize who holds the family together when they are suddenly ALL missing.
by some miracle we made it to church on time & even got seats.

also.
if you were unaware - the seahawks lost on sunday.
this not only effects the outcome of the team,
it greatly effects our personal lives.
monday morning when scottie got to work he found out that he would be working on christmas.
not merely working either.
it would be a long day.
14 hours kind of long day.
after many tears & frustration.
i sent out a mass text to some friends & just asked for prayer for us.
one of my sweet & very wise friends made the comment that she would pray they would change the schedule.
this sounded absurd - but so logical.
in the NFL such things don't "just" happen.
after a few hours of letting things soak in,
crying & praying i had started to be okay with the circumstances.
as i was walking through a store i received this text.
"it is a christmas miracle".
along with a picture of the schedule from scottie.
at about 1:00pm they printed a revised schedule that showed christmas day everyone would be off!
as i read this i burst out crying in the store
& wanted to shout from the rooftops -
my heart burst with thankfulness & such a sense of smallness.
our GOD is SO good.
he listens to our small prayers about details.
about things that seem so important in our lives,
but ultimately can be so trivial.
he knows our hearts & hears our prayers.

God loves us so much that HE came to earth in baby human form.
to live a perfect life on this earth
& then die as a sacrifice for our sins so that we wouldn't have to pay the penalty for them.

it blows my mind still --
that he cares about the details.
it seriously was an act of God that they revised the schedule.
no one knows why or how or what caused it.
but no one questioned it.
so tomorrow morning many dads, papas & families will be together because of it.

whew.
laundry is finishing & presents are wrapped.
off to bed we go.

XO