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!
