I think I forgot to do this last year, but Bethany’s post reminded me. My list is pretty short this year:

Lincoln, Nebraska (including 24 nights at St. Elizabeth’s)
Fremont, Nebraska
Paxton, Nebraska
Denver, Colorado
Ogallala, Nebraska
Laurel, Nebraska

So Jason built Simon a raygun out of Simon’s new Duplo blocks:

Him: Bweu, bweu, bweu, bweu. Simon, this is a raygun.
Me: Honey, I don’t want him to know about guns yet.
Him: Simon, we never shoot people with this raygun, only bad robots. Bweu, bweu, bweu, bweu.
Me: Still. No.
Him: Simon, this is what you use to protect Mommy from bad robots.
Me: Awwwwww. Well, okay.

Emmanuel. God with us. Whether it’s the first time you’ve heard the story or the thousandth, may the reason we celebrate inspire both wonder and belief. A very merry Christmas to all.

Silent night, holy night.

Today, my mom and I made a batch of divinity, which is always a favorite treat around the holidays.

Simon and Livia have a great time together. He absolutely lights up whenever she is around, and she calls him “my little brother who lives next door.” Truly delightful.

This morning was the first of what, let’s be honest, will probably be many times where the sight of my kid in minor peril sent me running first for the camera and only then to his rescue.

The resemblance is kind of frightening, don’t you think?

Some friends of ours had a Christmas get together this weekend, and when they told their three-year-old, Micah, who would be coming to the party, he decided that he wanted to make a card for Simon (or, in his words, for “whoever Simon is”). When we arrived, we introduced Simon, and Micah eagerly presented his card. With some prompting from his mom, he explained to us that the lines coming from the side of the tree are Happy Lines—a feature his Sunday school teacher taught him to use. But the lines coming out of the bottom of the tree were his own invention: Stinky Toots. Of course.