Christmas '13

Feel free to check out our blog from the last year for life updates, thoughts, and random musings.

Thinking about this last year, we included a few thoughts here that haven’t made it out yet but have been brewing in our minds!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! 

Jeremy, Maria, and jones

Looking Back

Life

Baby jones has been by far the biggest adjustment to our lives since we’ve been married. In fact, he consumes us. But we can’t be more thankful for a healthy baby and transitioning to parenthood has been incredible, while hard. Having a baby has also shown us the pure miracle of it…we’ve become painfully aware of the many cases of miscarriage, birth complications, or just couples that haven’t been able to have kids. It’s been a good reminder to never take our kid for granted and to thank God for the treasure He’s given us…even when that treasure is screaming at 2am. We aren’t selfish, so if you need a baby fix wash your hands and come over and hold him. We’ll even let you change a diaper, or four of them.

Death

This past year we lost two cousins, a great-grandma, twins born to another cousin, and Jeremy’s long-time barber. It’s been strange to have family & friends that have been around most of our lives suddenly gone. It’s also been a great reminder that we were made to meet our maker, and if our lives don’t reflect that reality then we’ve somewhat missed the point. 

Holiday Rant

The commercialism and the materialism that has seemed to become associated with the holiday season has us a little frustrated this year. Black Friday deals starting on Thursday, Cyber Monday that lasts all week, and just the idea that we need more, better, or bigger. I guess it scratches American consumers right where we itch, and we shouldn’t be surprised. 

It also has us thinking about what to teach our kids about Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Years. It’s been good to unravel the holiday lies we’ve latched on to, and focus on what really matters. Christ’s birth truly is something to celebrate. Saint Nicholas is quite different than the Santa portrayed today. New Years is about more than resolutions that last a month. We truly do have lots to be thankful for, not just the seasonal bargains. 

Our proposed alternative: how about Black Friday deals for milk, eggs and bread!!

Looking Forward

We are really excited for the holidays, even if this post sounds grumpy :)

We love the thought of:

-       - Spending time with family.

-       - Holiday foods like Mom T’s strudel, wassail, peppermint nougats, and candy canes.

-       - Starting a New Year. Dropping old habits, and implementing better ones.

-       - Singing Christmas Carols and being sung too.

Again, Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!