Christmas Thoughts

First of all, Merry Christmas everyone!!!
It's been a super great break so far that consists mostly of holding my new, baby niece. It's crazy how you can love someone so much and all she does is lay there. Well, she's opened her eyes a few times, but she mostly sleeps. But the other morning when I was holding her I was just looking at her and it started me thinking about things.
Here's this little person, little girl, and she doesn't give a care at all what she looks like, what she's wearing or anything like that. She's part asian and part white, but it doesn't matter to her. She's 7lbs, 18.5 inches long but her size doesn't matter. She's 7 days old, She's a person. All she wants is to be held, to be loved and cared for. What would it look like if we loved and cared for people just because of who they are. We love this new child in our family just because she is, because she exists and she's a precious gift. Because God ordained her to be a part of our family. She hasn't done anything to deserve our love and, in fact, she's pretty much incapable of doing anything, yet we love her. What if we treated all people like that? Loving them for who they are. What if we lived like that, knowing we are loved by God and not so concerned with appearance and what people think and loving other people because God loves us completely.

Having her here has also helped me realize the magnitude of what Jesus came and did for us. We're trying to protect this little baby, washing out hands before holding her, keeping her in a warm room, monitoring the amount of people who come, having nice clean diapers and good cleaning stuff, keeping the dogs and cats away. Jesus didn't have any of that. He was born in a stable, with animals and hay for a bed. This baby can't do anything for herself, she's completely vulnerable and innocent, so was Jesus. It just amazes and overwhelms me the position he put himself in...the extent he went to for us. That Mary was given the responsibility to care for and raise her savior, the Savior of the world! The One who spoke this world into being came to us in obedience to the Father as a tiny, helpless baby. He went through life as we know it and lived perfectly so he could save us because he loves us. He loves us for us, just because we are, because he created us. We are his children and he loves us fully and completely even when we have done nothing to deserve his love, just because we are.

MS Snowfall

I didn't think I'd have the opportunity to get back on here before the couple of weeks were up. And yes, it is 8:30 and I'm about to go to bed because Ms Tracey so kindly blessed us with a day off of ballet after having a performance and such yesterday. So, I have taken full advantage of the rest we were supposed to take since we didn't have ballet tonight.  I thought I'd take this opportunity to tell you of some little excitement in our house the other morning.
A strange thing happened for us this time of the year. All of my roommates and I got ready and were leaving the house at approximately the same time, I think yesterday...Tuesday??? No wait, yesterday was Wednesday. But, I really can't remember, I think it was yesterday. Yeah, cause we had a performance.
It's about 7:30 in the morning, you know, when most people go to work?
Anyways, I'm about about to leave when all of the sudden Rebecca yells, "IT'S SNOWING!!!!!!!!" and if only you were hearing me tell the story rather than read it, I could do her voice for you. Next thing I hear is some screaming and everyone rushing to the door trying to unlock it as fast as possible...we have three locks, so it's not the most simple thing to undo. But sure enough, they get the door open and go running outside and I of course follow. It was fun. Oh so many things happened in that moment, there was some crying, some dancing, some trying to catch the snow. But, I have to say that the best part was the neighbors....
Remember, I said it was like prime time for leaving for work. Yep, they were all lined up in their cars trying to turn off of our street. I look over and they are just staring at us like, "what is wrong with these people" and I just start laughing. Unfortunately, I was one of those people who had to leave for work so I couldn't stay to enjoy the overwhelming delight from the snow fall. My roommates (from Florida and North Carolina) say it was a blizzard, but my roommate (from Indiana) and I say it was a few flurries...we know better :) It was neat though because we don't really get snow here, so it really is quite a special moment even if it didn't stick or never does.

"Andrew Ludwig" I'm Pretty Sure He's My Cousin

Monday, I go to the doctor because I have this weird hip thing going on where my muscle on the inside of my hip pops over my hip bone to the other side when I do certain movements. It feels quite strange, not normal and painful and I have to do this weird twisty thing with my leg to get it off my hip bone and back into place.
So I'm sitting there in this large waiting room of like 100 people...no joke...and I'm just sitting there with a book out and my phone. This lady (nurse I guess) starts walking around this huge waiting room and calls out my name. Before I have a chance to gather all of my things, she starts bookin' it to another room that's behind this glass door and you have to push a special button to get in and all that. So, I try to hurry as fast as I can cause she's like on a mission to get me to this other room except I can't catch up cause she was already on the move before I even stood up. Plus, my hip is injured so it's quite hurting to walk.
Thankfully, I made it into the room before the door shut and this waiting room only had like ten people in it. One by one they start calling people in until it's only me and one other LADY left.
The nurse comes out and calls "Andrew Ludwig"
I look around, yep, it's only the other lady and I, so I stand up.
The nurse says "Is that you?"
I said, "Uh, yeah, I guess so"
She was like "oh, ok, well come on back"
"Alrighty"
Then she was like "Is that really your first name? What is your first name?"
"Well, it's Andrea, but that's ok"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I read your paper wrong"
I just wonder what the other lady in the room thought when I stood up to "Andrew"
See, the problem is that I just really have very bad handwriting and so I'm sure it looked like Andrew. But no worries, it's all straightened out now, they know I'm a girl and have a girl name. And the good news is that my hip will be ok.
On a side note, I made a taco salad for dinner and I'm so stuffed. It always happens when I make taco salads and I don't understand why they always get so huge. It doesn't happen when I make any other salad, only taco salads. I even had to garbage disposal some of it and I still feel like Thanksgiving full.
Well, we're in full blown Snow Queen mode now...sorta, just lots of stuff going on. So, you may not hear from me til Christmas break.