How NOT to Start the Day

So we've all been there... fast asleep when the alarm goes off and you wake up in a panic wondering what your name is, where you are, and how to turn off that awful noise. Well, that was my morning except the awful noise wasn't coming from an alarm that I had set, but from the baby monitor alarm telling me that Finley had stopped breathing. Let me repeat that, Finley had stopped breathing? A whole new sense of panic set in as I quickly sat up, leaned over the cradle, and began gently shaking Finley and yelling "Wake up!" (because THAT was going to help!) Finley opened her eyes and looked at me like I was crazy (or maybe she just opened her eyes...) and I scooped her up, holding her tight to me (almost suffocating her in the process, I'm sure) as I was still trying to get my contacts to settle back onto my eyes (yes, I sleep in my contacts). As the panic wore off, I realized that Finley, the wiggle worm (I don't know where she got that from! Ha, ha!), had simply wiggled herself so far down in her tiny cradle that the sensor pad under the mattress couldn't sense her breathing anymore and had gone off. Complete false alarm... A sense of relief washed over me, doubled by the fact that we have our CPR class this Saturday, and my heartbeat, two hours later, is finally returning to normal.

Carli

Each Christmas, we choose an angel from the Salvation Army Angel Tree and this year our angel is Carli. She is five months old and in need of clothes and a carseat. We chose her because we thought it would be special to choose an angel that is close to Finley's age each year in the hopes that when Finley is old enough it will be particularly meaningful for her to shop for someone who is her age and yet not as fortunate. What I wasn't prepared for was how emotional shopping for Carli would be for me... I didn't expect it to be difficult, but I found myself fighting back tears at times when I would think of how hard it would be if Devin and I had trouble providing for Finley. She is such a joy in our lives, but I have to wonder if we were struggling to give her what we thought she deserved (and I'm not talking about material things, but carseats and clothes) whether we would be filled with as much joy or if we would give into stress instead. I hope Carli's family enjoys the gifts we were able to buy her, but more than anything I hope that they are truly enjoying their baby girl the way we are enjoying ours!

Grace during the Holidays

Finley in her Sunday best

We took Finley to church for the first time on Sunday. She was a perfect angel! She was awake during the beginning of the service and didn't make a peep. She then fell asleep and stayed that way throughout the the service even though it was time for her to eat. At this age, it is still pretty easy to get her out and about for which I am so thankful!

The sermon was from Luke 1:16 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. " The pastor made the point that Jesus came in GRACE and truth... not in judgement or condemnation... and that during the holidays we are often confronted with a multitude of opportunities to show grace because we are with family and friends who may celebrate differently than us or who do things differently than we would. And because it is the holidays, we are put in situations where these differences are magnified. Obviously, we are to have grace for others, but without going into detail, I really needed to be reminded of this after the past week!