Six Months Old!

Charlie, you are six months old and about to celebrate your very first Christmas!

You are our busy boy!

You are sitting, rolling, and on your way to crawling!

This month you have done so many of our family Christmas traditions for the first time...

You've been to see Santa Clause, and you grinned from ear to ear (wonder what next year will be like :-) ...

 You listened to Christmas music with us while we decorated our tree...

You giggled and cooed your way through our annual Smith Family Christmas weekend...

You ran out with your brothers and sister to greet Santa on the fire truck on his annual Christmas ride through our neighborhood...

You sat in your high chair while Chloe and I baked peanut butter kisses and the chocolate mint cookies that Daddy loves so much...

... and you snoozed through the Lessons and Carols service at our church that I love so much.

You came with us to Phipps and saw the beautiful winter flowers and the super cool train room...

You sat on my lap while Daddy read the second chapter of Luke and we talked about donkeys and stables and angels and Bethlehem...

...and tomorrow you will get all dressed up and come with all of us to church to celebrate the birth of the baby who came to save the world. Nana will save us seats like always, and we'll be late and rushing in with Aunt Cici and Uncle Paul, like always.

We'll sit hip to hip and shoulder to shoulder. There will be stars on the ceiling and beautiful music and second-grade shepherds walking down the aisle. There will be a cradle up front, all lit up, reminding us why we are there.

In time, the room will grow dark and the light of a single candle will be passed from one person to the next, until the whole room is illuminated and rejoicing that Christ, the Savior, was born.

And of course, the next morning there will be laughter and joy and racing down the stairs. There will be presents ripped open and too much junk food consumed. But what I hope you remember some day as you're reading this is that it all is because of the silent night - that holy night - when Christ the Savior was born.

Happy first Christmas sweet six-month-old boy. You are so very loved.

"And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him."

Luke 2:40