Oh the Wonder...

This is my first Christmas being a mommy, and it's given me a whole new perspective on Christ's birth and life, and the incredible sacrifice that God made. God, as the Father, sent His ONLY Son to be born on earth as a human baby, to live, and to die, for all of us. His one and only Son. A baby, a child, is a precious gift. As a mother, I love my son in a way I didn't know I was capable of loving. I always heard mothers say things like that before, and I thought it was nice, but couldn't understand it for myself. It's one of those things you must experience, I think. To watch Jesus be born, grow up, and ultimately offer his life as an atoning sacrifice back to God for all OUR sins, is nearly unfathomable. The pain that God must have felt.... it must have been excruciating.
That makes what He did all that more special, and incredible. It makes Him worthy of our praise - could any of us have done what He did? The amazing things God does for us, and we tend to turn away from Him and rely on ourselves. I know I do. Forgive me, Father. My irreverence sickens me.

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow; praise Him all creatures here below; praise Him above thee heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Who Needs a Radio When You've Got Music in Your Head 24/7?

So over the last few months, with Elijah in our bedroom, I would get up multiple times a night either to feed or soothe the babe. Each time I would awaken, there would instantly be a song playing in my head. They were often Christian songs with comforting messages. But sometimes they were less desirable, and more annoying, e.g., "I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas." Sometimes being very tuned in to music (pardon the pun) is a good thing, sometimes it is not. The times when it is not, are the times when a song gets stuck in my head, or when I'm listening to someone sing who isn't on key and the experience is actually physically painful for me. Times when it is good, are when I have to learn something quickly and my musical memory kicks in and does its work.

Another funny story: As a French horn player for over 12 years, I was instructed at a young age to grease the slides using lanolin. It was an extremely thick, somewhat sticky substance that, if rubbed on clothing, is nearly impossible to remove. I was instructed to buy it at a pharmacy, which I always did, not really knowing what it was. I actually haven't played for several years, but in addition to my musical memory, I also have a very strong smell memory. So, when I had my baby last June and started breastfeeding, I was instructed to use lanolin to keep "things" from chapping or cracking. It didn't occur to me at first, but once I smelled the lanolin, I immediately realized that the substance I was using to keep my nipples from chapping, was the same substance I used to keep the slides on my French horn libricated!!!! HA! I find that extremely funny. :)

Now that I've discussed my musical brain and boobie chapstick, I'm going to move on to the obvious next subject: food.
I recently had the extremely fortunate experience of partaking of a divine piece of dessert: Chai Spice Cheesecake. Because I thought I'd died inside Nichole's Fine Pastry, and gone to heaven, I decided to find a recipe online. I plan to take one of those creamy beauties with me to Christmas at Chris' folks' house. And I figure if nobody likes it, I'll get it all to myself. HA! Just kidding. Mostly.

Well, I believe the boy has woken up from his nap. I better go check.