Happy 40th birthday to me...belatedly

This tattoo is what I gave myself for my 40th birthday. It only took four months to work up the courage. It's not very pretty right now. Apparently it takes awhile for the haze to clear up and I only got it done Friday. It's not anywhere "private" -- it's on my back near my left shoulder so I can either show it or cover it.

The "B" is for my brother Ben, who lived out his 43 years not caring too much what other people thought of him.

Did it hurt? Hmmm...hard to describe. It's like a cat constantly scratching you while you're being massaged. Odd. Pretty sore for a couple of days. I had my nose pierced at the same time, which pinched a little at the time but has not been sore since. I like it even better than the tattoo.

Yes, I know -- you're fainting from the shock. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth until it passes.

Christmas pragmatic

If you're still on the lookout for an unusual gift with a philanthropic twist, wander on over to TOMS Shoes. For every pair of shoes purchased, a second pair is donated to a child in need.

Christmas new

For many years, Geddy's parents and brother joined us for Christmas. That changed in 2006, when Mama Lois was too sick from late-stage cancer to make the trip. We kept our date last year, though Mama Lois celebrated Christmas in heaven without us.

This year, Pop will be traveling and we will be on our own. We've never attended a candelight Christmas Eve service or midnight Mass at a Catholic church, and those are two things I've always wanted to experience. Maybe that will be on our list this year. Maybe we'll stay at home and cook a big dinner together with everyone's favorites. Maybe we'll have pizza and watch "It's a Wonderful Life" and "White Christmas" and "Elf."

Change isn't easy but inherent in new circumstances is tremendous potential for new growth and abundant blessing.

One of the conscious changes we've made is to volunteer in the children's department at church, where Curly Sue and Moe learn each Wednesday and Sunday. At the Lord's prodding, I left a fun, all-adult fellowship ministry to serve with the children, helping with fifth-grade girls. Geddy and Larry help with AV. For the first few weeks I was sure I was completely in the wrong place, overwhelmed by the...well, the fifth-graderiness of the girls.

Little by little, without my even noticing, I fell fiercely in love with my girls. Tonight, the other leader and I are sponsoring a slumber/Christmas party with them and I am absurdly excited to participate, as opposed to being horrified at the very thought back in September.

That's what I mean about change. I was sad to leave behind my sweet friends in the kitchen to immerse myself in children's ministry, especially when my main "job" is to educate my own three children, all day every day. God definitely had a lesson to teach me, suprising me with a capacity to love and serve that I had greatly underestimated in myself.

I will look at our first Christmas without company with wistful nostalgia but also with some anticipation of the abundant joy promised to us. After all, the few precious years we have with our children is something to be celebrated, and what better way to build great Christmas memories than to create traditions that bring out our unique family traits and interests?

It's definitely a season for growth. How incredible it is that we get to combine it with this Christmas season!