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I am guessing this may be my last post of the year.  I wish I had BIG news to report, but we’re all just in waiting mode on the baby front.  But I couldn’t end the year without a few remarks about Christmas!

This Christmas was one of the best in my memory.  And it had everything to do with a blonde little princess and her “pink and purple presents.”  I admit that I was preoccupied with baby prep this Christmas season, but in the few days leading up to it, I couldn’t help but be wrapped up in the magic and anticipation as viewed through Lily’s eyes.  She would go to bed, eyes wide, telling me about the reindeer — Rudolph in particular — and Santa, and precisely what was going to happen on Christmas Eve night.  She had questions:  How would Santa move the fireplace screen to get in?  What do the reindeer eat?  Why can’t the reindeer come in the house, too?  I fielded these as well as I could, and reveled in the complete belief of a child.  No answer I gave would have made her question the facts in her mind.  Santa was coming, and soon.

The night before Christmas, and all through the house, Santa’s true elves were whispering and scurrying to create the magic.  Toys were assembled and attractively displayed.  Stockings were stuffed to the brim.  Cookies were munched, leaving just enough crumbs behind as evidence.  And one small white furry elf was employed to run around the front yard with jingle bells on his collar, to alert drowsy children of Santa’s approaching sleigh.  (At this point, just before bedtime, I was helping Lily get her Advent calendar treat, and her eyes widened and mouth literally dropped open.  “I hear SANTA,” she said.  “I have to go to bed!” and she raced to her room.)

Christmas morning, and Bill and I were up before dawn, sipping coffee and waiting for her to wake.  When she did, Bill grabbed the video camera, and we went to her room to catch those first moments.  Bill asked her, “Lily, do you know you came in the night?”  And after all the Santa talk, what does she reply?  “Baby Jesus!” she said, as excited as ever.  Wow.  We were blown away and, yes, a little proud that the true meaning of Christmas had not been lost on our two-year-old.

She came into the living room, and flitted from one thing to the next, already torn between playing with her new dollhouse and seeing what other surprises were displayed near the fireplace.  And she was not short on pink and purple presents, as they were piled high underneath the Christmas tree.  The three of us sat on the floor by the tree and opened gifts.  Lily had gone shopping with my parents earlier in the week and had a wrapped gift for each of us, which she quickly located and handed to us with great anticipation.  Mine was a scented candle and Bill’s was a pocket-size flashlight.  “I picked it for YOU!” she said, all smiles.  She seemed just as happy to give as to receive.  And she kept saying “THANK you, Mom and Dad!” as she opened her gifts.  Seriously?  Bill and I just marveled at the whole experience.

A bit later, as Lily played with some new toys, we sat with our coffee and Christmas music playing, and I watched the snow falling on the already thick white blanket outside.  We were cozy, and fulfilled in every way, and I was just overcome by the true magic of Christmas.

My parents dropped in for a bit, and then we all headed over to my sister’s house which, thankfully, is only a mile away, given the road conditions.  (We did end up with around six inches of snow, and it kept coming over the next day or two.)  There the celebrating was more raucous and chaotic, with a big brunch and piles of wrapping paper and even an inaugural sled ride in the backyard.  I enjoyed all of it, but my favorite part was still the quiet little morning in our own home.  It’s just such a joy to be starting all our own family traditions — a perfect blend of family customs from each of our childhoods, with a few new twists thrown in for our unique, growing family.

As 2009 draws to a close, I know reflections are in order.  A year that started out with a good dose of fear, but not without hope, and soon included some sobering events for our family, improved over the months to land us here, on the verge of wonderful things.  I am not generally one to believe in God having “plans” for each of us, as I imagine more of an omniscient God who supports us through whatever events that unfold in our lives.  But the news of this baby who will join us soon could not have come at a more needed time.  My family was at a low point, overwhelmed with concern of health issues affecting my mom, dad, and sister directly, but shared among all of us.  The anticipation of a new life gave us a new focus, and the year brightened over the months.  So, as we close out the year, I am left with a sense of balance.  Last New Year’s Eve, my family toasted with plastic flutes in my mom’s hospital room, with smuggled champagne and party hats and horns.  Although this New Year’s Eve will most likely be a quiet one at home, we will soon be toasting again in a hospital room, with much to celebrate.