Christmas Day

So we're gettin' through another day and Alex is an emotional roller coaster. She's on a steroid that makes her go from laughing to bawling to sleeping to crying again. It's awesome that she is able to laugh and talk in her little raspy voice, but unfortunately she's doing more crying than laughing. I really hate when she gets put on drugs with psychotic side effects. And half the time the drugs are just an attempt at treating some random symptom which they aren't even sure about. But I won't go on about that. I'm just happy she's off the ventilator.

We had a visitor today. Jenene came and brought presents, and Alex was really happy to see her. Hopefully Mommy will get to come up, but finding someone to watch Ryan on Christmas day is next to impossible, so we'll probably just have to wait until later tonight or tomorrow. So today's certainly bittersweet to say the least, but we really have a lot to be thankful for.

The act of spending the day together as a family opening gifts and whatnot has become what most people consider a proper Christmas, but it really is so much more than that. Traditionally it's a celebration of the birth of Christ and everything he stood for, whether you have a certain number of family members together or not. We have so many days that we get to spend together out of the year that being apart on this particular day is no really no big deal in the grand scheme. It's all about your attitude, and if there's one thing I've learned from Christ is humility. We don't "deserve" to be physically together on this particular day. We really have a great life and incredible love that we share, and that's more than enough to sustain us. The small sacrifice we're making for our unbelievably beautiful and strong daughter pales in comparison to the one Christ made by giving his entire life to show his love for humanity. Now that's a meaningful gift. And the more I think about that, the more I realize that this is what Christmas is really all about.