Christmas

A Date With My Man

/ scbilder / Leave a comment

Over the past year I have generally allowed myself to bask in the joys of motherhood, simply being present and attentive to every giggle and cry from our daughter. I truly love caring for her and filling my days with all things baby related. For the first six months of her life this was as necessary as it was enjoyable. We are turning yet another page in our story. Baby girl is sitting up on her own and even starting to stand. She’s nearly figured out how to crawl and is now content to entertain herself for a few minutes at a time. Through this growing and learning, my husband has patiently accepted my single mindedness without complaint, happy to know that our needy newborn was being tended by her mother. 

Although being singularly focused on our daughter’s care and well being has been an incredible blessing, I was recently reminded of the need for attention among my other relationships as well. In short, it was high time for a day out to reconnect with that rockstar hubby of mine. We are both thrilled to death that I get to be home with our daughter but even in this it is still occasionally necessary to take a break and enjoy a date with the wonderful man I married. My parents were only too happy to give us such an opportunity during our Christmas vacation to Colorado. They sent us out for the morning with two tickets to the Iron Mountain Hot Springs while they savored some long awaited bonding time with their new granddaughter. We spent several relaxing hours soaking in the mineral pools and drinking in views of the river and mountains beside us. 

The maintenance of our marriage with romantic outings like this seems like a no brainer. However, it’s a lesson I must force myself to relearn each and every time we leave baby girl at home. I would gladly spend every waking minute with her if I could, but I also love my husband. Any happily married person can attest to the fact that staying together and loving each other through thick and thin is a constant choice and sacrifice which requires thought and effort. They’re right of course. Our marriage, though still in the shiny honeymoon phase in spite of nearly four years together, is just as deserving of care and attention as our beautiful baby girl. 

Glowing Glenwood Nights

/ scbilder / 2 Comments

There are many wonders to enjoy during the Christmas season in my childhood home and we were blessed to witness them this year despite an uncharacteristically dry Colorado Christmas. Even though there was no snow to augment the twinkling lights of the Hotel Colorado and the Glenwood Hot Springs Pool we made sure to stroll by both while we were in town. Glenwood lit in its’ seasonal glory was a first for my husband and baby though it certainly won’t be a last.

Traveling for Christmas

/ scbilder / 4 Comments

Welcome back and Happy New Year to all! We reigned in the new year with the Solemnity of Mary while recuperating from a long journey. Our little family recently returned from our first ever Christmas adventure as three. We left the Shire-like fields of the Midwest in search of snowcapped mountains and family we haven’t seen in months. We spent the days leading up to Christmas playing tourist in my childhood home after an 18 hour drive across country with the little one. Though it was a big ask for our baby girl, still less than a year old, she was a trooper throughout the trip and was showered with love from her grandparents when we arrived. The hubby and I sent up countless prayers before and during this journey to Mary to intercede for our daughter and soothe her along the way. As usual, the Blessed Mother was listening. Although we didn’t see quite as much snow as we were hoping to or have as many hiking opportunities as we’re accustomed to, this Christmas vacation to Colorado was a wonderful blessing which I’ll be talking more about in the coming weeks. For now, I pray everyone had a holy and happy Christmas.

Christmas Miracles

/ scbilder / 4 Comments

This year was far from the Christmas that my husband and I had hoped for. I caught a nasty cold 3 days before the season was to begin and spent the majority of the holiday vacation coughing, sniffling and unable to sleep through the nights. We were also forced to plan around a bit of an odd work schedule as my husband was still on night shift at the time and working through Christmas Eve. Our combined schedule made it impossible to get back to Colorado to celebrate with my family in the mountains this year and the hubby was sleeping during the day. Thus I spent most of a rainy, dreary, snowless Christmas Eve alone. For all of these reasons the usual magic of Christmas was nowhere to be found and I wasted half the day mourning its absence. What a perfectly uncatholic way to welcome the coming of Christ. 

However, though my beloved Christmas magic was far away, all this unpleasantness was ultimately transformed into my very own Christmas miracle all thanks to a phone call with one of the best Catholics I know, my mom. I’ve told her this many times before but after the events of this Christmas Eve, it bears repeating. The world needs more moms. She listened to my holiday woes with Mary-like patience and then imparted the following (perhaps divinely inspired) advice. 

  1. Bake something – Even in spite of feeling a bit under the weather, I was still perfectly able to buzz around my house a bit that day and make some kind of preparation for the coming of Christ. She sent me a breakfast casserole recipe which became our Christmas morning meal. 
  2. Listen to Handel’s Messiah – Growing up, a local group would always spend a weekend traveling to several churches in the valley to perform George Frederic Handel’s famous oratorio and this provided a small taste of childhood. It’s also an incredibly reverent work entirely dedicated to the beauty and joy of the Christmas season. There’s some speculation that it was even divinely inspired as Handel completed the work in a short 2 weeks. 
  3. Read the Gospel nativity passages – What better way to remember Christ’s humble beginnings than to return to the Gospel stories. It’s interesting to see the same language echoed across multiple Gospels, many of which make use of words like “behold” traditionally meant to announce royalty. Christ was not just a baby who became a prophet. He is our King. 
  4. Light the Advent candles – Due to drastically different work schedules we didn’t have many opportunities this year to sit in prayer over our lit Advent wreath. However, Christmas Eve, the last day of the season, was a perfect time to remedy this situation. They remained lit as I read the Gospel recounts of the nativity. 

All this my mom offered as means to LIVE LITURGICALLY! In spite of minor, or even major hardship, in our lives we are called to embrace the spirit of the season especially during one of the holiest seasons on the liturgical calendar. Though it did take some motherly nudging, I found immense peace and joy this Christmas Eve as I went about these activities, embracing an attitude of service, gratitude and quiet reflection. It was yet another Christmas in which things did not go according to plan but one in which I truly and happily drew closer to Christ.

Christmas Isn’t Over!

/ scbilder / 4 Comments
Photo by Kristina Paukshtite

The days after December 25th are always a bit strange. We’ve been hearing carols blaring on the radio since Halloween and engaging in all sorts of special Advent service and preparation for the nativity for months. Despite all of the anticipation for the jolliest time of year, I can’t help feeling a tiny ping of sadness every year when I see the first Christmas tree stripped of its ornaments and tossed out by the curb with the rest of the garbage. On occasion I’ve seen this even before January 1st. 

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday, long before my conversion to the faith. I admit that early on, and with a much more secular understanding of Christmas, I was often among those to partake in premature Christmas decoration and celebration. It was always the happiest time of year with my family and I strove to make it last as long as possible. 

Since coming to the faith and marrying my deeply devout husband, I’ve also come to a new understanding of the Christmas season. Contrary to popular belief, it actually begins on December 25th when we celebrate the birth of Christ. In parishes and on front lawns across the world, scenes of the infant Christ in the manger with Mary and Joseph remind us of the humble beginnings of our own salvation. This season extended all the way to January 7th, the Solemnity of the Epiphany and the arrival of the magi to Bethlehem where they paid homage to Christ. 

As previously mentioned I myself annually join in the premature Christmas merry making. My husband and I are working on taking a more liturgical approach to the Christmas season which means not setting the star atop our own tree until Christmas Eve. However, it also means fully embracing the joy of the season for the entirety of the season. We shouldn’t be cutting it short just because old Saint Nick has already come and gone. The Christmas season is first and foremost a devotion to Christ.

The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

/ scbilder / Leave a comment
Photo by JINU JOSEPH

While the world ushers in the possibilities of the new year, many Catholics take yet another opportunity to reverence Mary. Although January 1st is not officially a holy day of obligation in all countries it is a day in which we celebrate the Mother of God. This is the octave of Christmas, occurring on the day that Christ was circumcised and given His name. On this Catholic feast we remember Mary as she lovingly fulfills her motherly responsibilities to her beloved Son. Christ was fully human and fully divine, the perfect child just as Mary was and is the perfect mother to us all. Don’t forget to pray your rosary today and implore the Holy Mother for intercessions in your life. God always hears and listens to His mother.   

Merry Christmas!

/ scbilder / 3 Comments

Although this year has been yet another Christmas spent away from my beloved mountains, this year was not without it’s blessings. The hubby and I had a chance to continue turning our little house into a home as well as share a delicious meal with family. We also began some new Christmas traditions this year which we hope to carry on to future children. Wherever you are, I pray everyone is having a very Merry Christmas!

The Gift of Christmas

/ scbilder / 2 Comments

In addition to all of the fun family traditions and the brightly wrapped packages under the tree, we should also let Christmas be a time of service to our neighbors. Perhaps that means bell ringing in front of the grocery store or volunteering for a local soup kitchen. Maybe it just means helping the elderly woman who lives next door hang her Christmas lights. Whatever it is, this is one Christmas tradition that your family will not forget.