Christmas #3

Lincoln enjoyed his toys right out of the box!

It's Christmas evening, and the Gates family has had a very pleasant Christmas Day. Immanuel is amazing... to think that God sent Jesus to live with us, to save us. Praise God!

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14

After a "normal" morning, Jenn, Lincoln and I exchanged our presents to each other, then we loaded up the car and went to Brookfield for Mullen Family Christmas. This was the first time since our wedding that so much of the Mullen Family was in the same place at the same time. It was nice to see Lincoln's Grandma and Grandfather and his Auntie Haley again. Lincoln can't spend too much time with them. Having an afternoon with the extended family, both the Mullens and the Schumachers, was enjoyable, too. We hadn't seen Jenn's cousins Hillary and Jillian since our wedding, and now with Hillary beginning nursing school in northeast Ohio, we'll get to see her a smidge more over the next year or so. As always, Grandma and Grandpa Mullen were gracious hosts.

Mullen Family, 2008

Everyone from the Mullen family was generous beyond belief, and Lincoln was the primary beneficiary. His wardrobe expanded; he was given some really cute, fun toys; and the family found some very creative books, such as a book with googly eyes on sea-creatures (you'll have to see it, it's hard to describe it) and even a book about sushi that reads like Seuss. How fun!

Lincoln was really a trooper today. He nursed well, which has been an issue lately, he napped well in the earlier part of the day, but then he skipped his later naps. It was looking like the evening was spiraling out of control as he cried very forcefully for a time. But then he settled down with the help of Sunny, the gift Jenn and I gave to him this morning (pictures to follow). Then, while he was sitting on my lap during the gift exchange portion of the evening, he relaxed, reclined (really!), and proceeded to enjoy watching the activity and the conversation for nearly an hour. It was like the hand of God came down, touched Lincoln's head, and gave him the gift of rest. It turned out to be my favorite time of this Christmas day, because he's rarely so calm sitting on my lap for such a long time.

Lincoln experienced a late evening of calm, pleasant interaction. The Dino-Blanket from Aunt Cheryl was a hit!

Jenn's headed back to Brookfield tomorrow while I'm at work, then it's the home stretch of the Christmas partying through the weekend.