Christmas Recap

As I mentioned previously, our Christmas was wonderful.  It started on Christmas Eve, when we all decided to go to Mass.  With a 4pm start time, we thought a 3:30 arrival would assure us seats.  Apparently not!  When we arrived, the parking lot was a madhouse, and there wasn't even any standing room left in the church! 

Fortunately, there was a second Mass starting at 4:30 at the parish hall just across the parking lot.  We headed over there, secured some seats, and settled down to wait for an hour.  Mass ended just after 5:30, and we headed out of the parish hall to battle parking lot traffic.  Much to our surprise, we discovered that the parking lot was not a honking mess of congestion.  It was full, but all the cars were still parked and empty.  How could this be??  A Christmas miracle?  No, the 4pm Mass that we had originally planned to attend had not gotten out yet.  Holy cow!  God works in mysterious ways, for sure -- by waiting an hour for the 4:30 Mass to begin, we actually saved time!

The next morning, MJ's parents joined us at the house for a nice Christmas breakfast, which kicked off a beautiful day.  MJ and I are often reminded about how truly blessed we are, coming from such loving and generous families and having such amazing friends.  The most recent proof:  incredibly thoughtful Christmas gifts for Otto, who isn't even born yet!

From MJ's parents, we received a priceless handmade Noah's Ark set that they purchased in 1974, before MJ was born.  It decorated his nursery when he was a baby, and now that we have our own baby on the way, it can decorate his or her nursery as well.  It is so beautiful, and I can't wait to display it in Otto's room!

We also received two more books for Otto's ever-increasing library.  First:  The New York Yankees 101, a board book for little ones.  How perfect, since MJ and I are both huge Yankees fans!  MJ had fun on Christmas morning, reading through the pages about former Yankee greats, various baseball equipment, pictures of the (new) stadium, and explanations of different field positions.

My good friend and neighbor, Alice, gave us The Runaway Bunny.  This book was a favorite of mine when I was a baby, since my mom loved it and read it to us often.  I was so thrilled to receive it for our own baby's library!  If you haven't read it yet, have some tissues ready -- it's about how a mother's love will always follow her child, no matter where or how far he goes. 

And last but not least, dear friends of ours, Carol and Tom, gave Otto his (or her) first Nativity set:  part of the Fisher Price "Little People" series.  I'm sure in future years we will find Mary riding inside a fire engine and one of the wise men stuck behind a dresser, but for the time being the set is intact and absolutely adorable!