Today has been a good day. Claire is just not sleeping well at night, and last night was especially bad. She wasn't hungry, so later this evening, I cranked open her mouth, and yup-2 teeth are about to break through. Her naps continue to be really good for the most part. As long as we are home, where she can sleep in her own bed in her own dark room. Otherwise, she will just catnap. But now that her naps are going well, I can get more accomplished and do more with Lara. This is a nice feeling. Although, Claire is a very content child. Now that she is sitting up, she's quite fine with just sitting on the floor by herself and chomping on the angel from the Nativity set. I continually get a little more freedom as I go.

Today is a very Christmasy day. I've been sitting in my rocking chair, looking at my Christmas tree, and looking out the window at the cloudy day. There could be snow soon. I sat quietly and embraced the peace and comfort of this holiday while the girls slept soundly. It was a nice feeling and it helped my spirits. I'm not in the Christmas spirit this year. Our Christmas holiday got off to a little bit of a weird start. But I don't need to be in the Christmas spirit to appreciate this time of year. As I grow older, the realization of what it means that Christ was born...to us...becomes larger and more astounding. It makes me reflect more on the sort of person I am, and I am inspired to give more. To give more...of myself. To find more compassion, understanding, sympathy, and forgiveness. To be nicer. To be grateful for what I have. And, most importantly, to put aside my wants and comforts in order to be a servant to those around me. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? But most days, I have to remind myself of that. When I roll my eyes at an email, or my eyes begin to darken with impatience if I don't feel the receptionist is being nice enough, or when my spirit hardens with stubborness due to the demands placed on me by people around me, that is when I have to refocus and remember what I want the ultimate Christmas gift I give to be this year. But please cut me some slack if you read this post, and you later see me do something that is not in keeping with this mentality. I am human, and incapable of giving as Christ gave. But to give of ourselves in this way, to just really focus on loving each other, and all of us just cutting each other some slack, I think is the best give we could possibly give to each other. It's difficult, but I guess taking time to just look out the window at the wintry day and stare at the manger in the little toddler nativity set, can sometimes help to put things in focus for me. So it's been a good day, because the true spirit of Christmas is coming alive for me.