So, last night was all bliss with Chase, and this morning she woke up in a funk. Those mornings are the longest...it is only about 45 minutes, but every one of those minutes is felt completely and very slowly. This morning it was a jacket issue. She seems to break zippers frequently, and this one is missing the pull for zipping it up. She decided she couldn't wear that jacket and wanted to wear a hoodie. The only problem with that is that it was 20 degrees out, and she had to have a heavy coat. The minutes began to drag. Then I turned off the lights on the Christmas tree so that we could see the bus pull up out front. That's when I became the "Wicked Witch." (Everything has a Wizard of Oz reference, seeing as she watches it every single day of the year.) I quickly became the "Flying Monkey," a step up from "Wicked Witch" when her spirited display of anger escalated. I don't always handle things well, and this morning I turned into a yelling "Flying Monkey." Forgive me, sweet Chase. We will have a better afternoon.

Well, I have been wrapping presents for the girls, and I have quickly realized that Chase has many more gifts than the other girls. I think that it is because it is so much more fun to see Chase unwrap gifts and to see her delight at each gift...she is so full of joy, especially at this time of the year. She loves the story of Christmas and delights in the lights on the houses, the nativities at the churches...her joy is so wonderful to see and to give all of us a chance to relive it through a child's eye as she does each and every year. I think that is why she has more gifts under the tree. We all delight in seeing her live out the Christmas story each and every year and it gives us all so much joy that it doesn't matter that she has the most gifts, because it gives us so much joy to see her delight in the morning that it is a gift to us just to see her joy. We see the true meaning of Christmas in sharing her joy every year, and it reminds us what is important to remember throughout the rest of the year. Hopefully, it will carry us through the rest of the year, and we will remember her joy until it is time to celebrate Jesus' birth again next year!! Chase reminds us of it the year around, and we need to listen to her all year long.