wonder

Ok, people, quit pleading the 5th. Unless you truly plead the 5th because the first two options don't apply to your thoughts. I only put that option there so I could vote, too, without anyone knowing which way I am leaning. I should have not done that, apparently.

That being said, back to our regularly scheduled insomniac entry....

We finished a big chunk of our Christmas shopping tonight. It felt good. Very good. VERY very good.

On the way home, we detoured through a fancy-dancy rich neighborhood with lots of nice Christmas lights. This is the first year that Hannah has been captured by parts of the wonder of Christmas. I pray that as she gets older she is captured by the wonder of the real meaning of Christmas, that we remember the time our Savior came to earth. She loves her Little People Baby Jesus/Nativity Set and everything, but the understanding is not quite there. After completely covering that neighborhood, we headed home. Since the weather was relatively warm, and she was already making a beeline toward the neighbor's very illuminated yard with the icicles, snowman and wreaths on all the windows on the front and side of their house, we went for an evening stroll. We moved beyond the next-door neighbor's to find Mickey and Minnie taking turns popping out of a present. She-loved-it. She wanted to go right up to it and give it a hug, but I stopped her. Her jaw literally dropped, and she stared at that inflatable for 5 minutes. So that's why people pay all that money for a silly decoration.

When we returned to our house, she gave our glowing snowman, who is just her size, a big hug, and kissed his carrot nose. She stuck her "I've been Krogering" Santa sticker to his hat, and pulled off one of his mouth-beads. (It stuck right back in place.) She patted both of his arms, and then said "Mommy, fix arms," upon realization that they were too lose. As she was greeting her friend, I noticed a tiny wren or finch in the tiny nest at the top of one of the columns of our porch. I walked closer to it, and it peered over the next at me as if to say, "Go away. I am a figment of your imagination." I wanted to show the little bird to Hannah, but when I turned around it had either fled or nestled back down into it's bed.

Other quotes from the excursion:

"I LIKE shopping!" (uh-oh)
"Look daddy, over THERE!"
"Pretty BLUE Christmas tree! And yellow lights!"
"More Christmas lights?""More airplanes. Daddy, more airplanes fly?"


Grandma T. used to say, "Christmas is for kids," according to Papa.

She was right. I hope all of us remain kids at heart through the hustle and bustle of the season.