Special Delivery for Master Bradley

We had such a lovely day today, just the 3 of us. Ryan had a fun time opening all his presents, John cooked a great dinner, I joked about what i would have done if I married someone that didn't cook (I fear we would have ended up at the Chinese Buffet) , we went to Mass, and are now relaxing in front of the TV with plenty of candy after tucking Ryan off to bed.

I wont sugar coat it, the run up to this years Christmas was a little tough. I struggled with what to get Ryan. He seems to have everything he could ever want or need, and its hard to come up with new toys that will interest him. I decided to go with some old favorites that he still loves like stacker's (with the added element of sequencing, which is a skill he is working on). I was also able to find him a really great deal on an adaptive tricycle on eBay. Its currently in England so a courier with bring it to Northern Ireland soon and Ryan will get it once we arrive in the new house. He should love it and it will do him for at least a few years.

With everyone online talking about Santa, and baking cookies and the Dam Elf on the Shelf, its hard to be faced daily with what Ryan doesn't understand. He doesn't get "Santa" or even presents under the tree. Doesn't really give a rats that its Christmas. Christmas is our house might never look like I expected it to look. But in all honesty that's not even what Christmas is about. Yes, its sad and heartbreaking that he might never experience the real excitement of a Christmas morning (those were some of my own favorite childhood memories) but Christmas at its core is about unconditional love. How God sent his only son to show us love, even when he knew the path that laid in front of him, full of great pain and sorrow. 

Mary and Joseph did not get to have the ideal life they expected when they were asked to be the parents of Christ but accepted all that was asked of them. John and I also made that promise some 5+ years ago, that we would accept the child God was offering us, and love it like no other, even with the many scary unknowns we were facing. It may not be the life we expected but that doesn't mean its not joyful and full of love. And truly, at the end of the day, that's just what its all about. I will leave the other moms to the moving of the Elf and the baking of cookies. That was never my forte anyway. 

The cool presents sack is from Etsy 
https://www.etsy.com/transaction/165814215?ref=fb2_tnx_title