Merry Christmas Eve

We got word back that Matt did not make the Firefighter 1 Academy, but all is well. It is only a class, good for the resume but guarantees nothing. And while we know the Lord would've gotten us through it, it really would have meant an extremely stressful 4 months in our future. So for that avoidance I am thankful. We know God is in control, so Matt's going to keep it up and we'll see where He takes us. He has one more class starting in January and Kern County Fire is taking applications next month as well.

Joshua has been silly as usual. He's getting better at running, though not avoiding hitting his head often (he's so accident prone!). His vocab now includes 'cheese', 'pa-pa' (his pacifier), duck sounds - I'm sure there are more that I can't think of at the moment. He nods his head 'yes' and surprisingly 'no' has not entered the vocab yet, just shaking his head no, mostly when he doesn't want to eat anything. Later this week he'll be 17 months. It seems like he was just that little thing who's favorite thing about last Christmas was chewing the tags. We didn't get a tree this year, sort of b/c of my sensitivity to smells, sort of b/c of money, and when it comes down to it, a tree is not at all what Christmas is about. But Joshua sure has enjoyed looking at others' trees. He loves the lights and especially the little 'kid' tree that Nana (Sharon) puts up; he's allowed to touch the ornaments and he enjoys taking them off and setting them inside the branches. I PROMISE that by the end of the week I'll have some photos up of him from tomorrow, from Disneyland earlier this month, and maybe another stray.

My pregnancy is going well and I am 12 weeks (13 on Wednesday). The weeks seem to be going rather quickly, though I still wish I was much further along. The nausea isn't letting up, no surprise, and daily my meals are a struggle. My next appointment is on Thursday when we will get to hear Baby's heartbeat. At the end of February is when we expect to find out the gender, though Matt's Gram loves to tell people, "We don't know what SHE is yet."

I hope all of you are having a wonderful Christmas season, focusing your hearts and minds not on the shopping and gifts, nor tasks of cleaning and cooking, nor anything else but on our Savior. That sweet and precious baby Jesus is the only reason for celebration. The One who was born among sheep and cattle to be the pure and spotless Lamb who bore our sins. I pray that He is the One you celebrate, the One you give to, the One you praise and give thanks to for all of the blessings in this world (and not merely the material ones) not just tomorrow but each and every day of the year. Praise be to the Prince of Peace!

Lots of love,
The Sterk Family