... Maybe Christmas means a bit more

I have always loved that line from 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'.

'Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store, maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more'

This year Christmas meant a bit more to me.

We welcomed William David on Oct. 24th at 8:07 am! And he is perfect!

But he changed Christmas for me.

Suddenly I had a new appreciation for, and connection with Mary when I heard the Christmas gospel in church. It actually brought me to tears in church. The journey to Bethlehem suddenly seemed bigger, more stressful. I could never imagine traveling as far as Mary & Joseph did (and in the way that they did- hello donkey!!) with a baby on the way. Then to give birth to her first born son in a stable and lay the new born baby in the manger, I just gave birth to my first born son.

I also felt my appreciation for Mr. K being renewed as I heard the story. I knew that Mr. K was like Joseph, that he would do anything for his son and that they both want the best for their children. It's been a joy to see Mr. K interact with our little man, but as the daddy he is always wanting to do what's best for the baby. Worried if he's warm enough or too warm, or if he's hungry, or what the best kind of formula is, the list goes on and on.

Since day one we have done things on WD's timeline.

He showed up four weeks early. And in a hurry.

He reminded me of this on Christmas Eve. My favorite worship service of the year is the candle lit service, the last service on Christmas Eve. And my favorite part of that worship is when everyone gets their own candle to light and we sing Silent Night. We were barely through the first verse when WD started to cry & scream. I handed my candle to Mr. K and headed for the back of the church. But that wasn't enough either, WD still cried. So to the library we went.

And we both cried.

He cried because it had been a long day (2 worship services, 2- 1 hour car rides, meeting new friends, Christmas with one set of grandparents, aunts, & uncles), he cried because he was hungry.

I cried because I knew my life had changed. Because it's no longer about what I want, what my favorite things are. It's about WD now, and what's best for him. I cried because I felt an intense connection to Mary and how she must have felt on that first Christmas Eve as her newborn son was crying, not knowing why he was crying and only wanting to make it better for him, to make him comfortable.

And I cried because as I was making my way to the back of the church, the athletic director from our high school, who was ushering with his family, stopped me to give me a half hug and tell me that I had a beautiful baby. Even as he was crying during Silent Night he was still beautiful.

Thank you Rick.

This seems like a fitting place to share our Christmas card

We hope you've had a very Merry Christmas season and we wish you all the best in 2015!

Love, the Knopf family