My Christmas post...finally

Well, here we are. A belated Merry Christmas!!! The days leading up to today have been so busy but very fun. Last Christmas Tera and I frequently talked about what it would be like when Emma would be home with us. And now she is here. The family get togethers have been so great. On Saturday we went out to a really awesome greek restaurant that my dad picked out. Both Tera and I had the leg of lamb which was awesome and Emma had Yo-baby, bread and some banana. On Sunday we had a Christmas party with my mother-in-laws side of the family which I look forward to every year. Tera’s Aunt Bonnie flew in from Seattle to visit for Christmas and this was the first time that she has seen Emma. We had a snow storm accompanied with high winds that day which made driving conditions terrible but it added a new fresh layer of white snow to make it a lock for a white Christmas. Christmas Eve was the annual Christmas party on my father in laws side of the family. This get together is usually the largest of the season. We had a great time and Emma had a ball visiting with all of the cousins and relatives. They have been so kind to us over the past year while Tera and I worked on bringing Emma home. It made for a really nice evening. Emma did get to stay up pretty late and though she was really tired she remained a trooper (good spirits and all). On Christmas day we went to Tera’s parents to get together with them, her brother and her sisters family. The day was pretty relaxing and Emma thoroughly enjoyed her new personalized stuffed chair. She will crawl on top of it and put her dolls onto it but she won’t sit on it yet. Emma and her cousins played while the rest of us relaxed and enjoyed each others company. So here I am today. With Christmas and Thanksgiving behind me I am left with memories which will stay with me forever. Like I mentioned earlier Tera and I spoke of these days and what it would be like to spend them with Emma. We would speak to each other with a distant look in our eyes as if to barely touch what we longed for in our hearts for so many years. On this morning I feel truly grateful and blessed to have the family that I have been given.
The other night while at the Christmas Eve party we were all asked what we were thankful for. Being that I went second I didn’t have a lot of time to reflect so my answer was pretty short. So now that I have time to think about it I will elaborate. I am thankful that God has blessed Tera and I with Emma Grace Esperanza. I cannot in my wildest dreams imagine that this beautiful gift would be in our lives. I am honored to be her daddy. I am thankful for my hot mama bride of almost 12 years. She is my better half and the EVER patient love of my life. I would not be who I am today without her. I am thankful for the family that I married into and the extended family that is attached to them. Through our many years of marriage and recent expansion of our family they have always been very supportive and made me feel at home with their kindness. I am thankful for my parents and sister and their unconditional love and all the fun memories from over the many years. I am thankful for my grandmother in North Carolina who I miss so much, there are childhood memories that I have of her that I will not forget.. And most of all I am thankful that God sent His only Son to walk among men but for a short time. We are an undeserving people but God out of His never ending perfect love, mercy, grace and kindness gave us Jesus Christ so that through His prophesied birth and crucifxion we might be rescued from the law and by accepting His Son and repenting of our sins we would be saved. Without this there would be no hope and all would be in vain. The ultimate and perfect gift. Merry CHRISTmas.