Christmas Eve

Last night we went to the Christmas Eve service at our church. It was really nice. I've been having trouble getting into the Christmas spirit this year and this service was definitely a step in the right direction.

Harper was excited to go because she got to go to "big church" with mom and dad. It was a big deal. Trust me. Just when she thought things couldn't get any better, we told her that there would be candles and that if she was good, she could hold her very own candle. Huge.

Not long into the service, all of the kids were invited to go sit on the stage for a reading of the Christmas story. I wasn't sure if Harper would want to go or not, but as soon as she saw other kids walking down front, she was in. Rob walked down with her and sat in one of the front rows for moral support.

About half way through the story, I saw Harper start to get fidgety. Then, she stood up and started trotting down the isle back towards me announcing (loudly) that she "had to go potty." Nice.

Rob followed after her and took her to the potty. The story was still going on as they came back into the sanctuary. When Harper noticed this, she announced (loudly) that she was "going back down" and bounded down the isle.

The middle part of the service was relatively uneventful. Harper did some singing and some clapping to songs that weren't necessarily sing-a-longs, but that's par for the course with her.

Then it was time to light the candles. She held her candle out very seriously to receive the flame from her dad. Then she held it still so that I could light mine off of it. Everything was smooth sailing until Silent Night was over and people started blowing out their candles. She did not want to blow hers out. Rob and I leaned in to do the job ourselves. Bad idea. As soon as her candle went out, she flipped out. There were many tears and they weren't tears of joy. This picture was taken mere seconds before the waterworks began.

Christmas can be like that sometimes. Bittersweet. Joy mixed with tears. Anticipation mixed with anxiousness. I think it's ok to feel like that. When I think about the Christmas story, all of those feelings are in there all mixed up together. In some ways, that's what makes the Christmas story so great. It's totally miraculous and totally relatable all at the same time.

Merry Christmas to you and your families. Thanks for all of the love and support you've shown to us on this blog over the past year. We're looking forward to an even better year to come and we hope you'll be along with us for the ride.