Christmas Cheer

As I was making my morning walk around our property, I saw my usual company: the butterflies (so many!), the chickens, and the goats grazing on the ground. One of them is a new mother, and she was eating the low-lying branches of one of the many malunggay trees (and I thought, that'll be good for your milk production, believe me, haha!). One of their babies even approached me (finally, after weeks of her running away from me) and actually allowed me to pet her. She's this white, beautiful little thing, who's always but a few steps from her mother. And I thought, how blessed they are that their ancestors were actually there during the birth of Christ.

I've been hearing a lot of complaints from people about how they don't feel Christmas yet. All the endless hours spent in Manila traffic, the frenetic shopping (ugh), and the work they have to accomplish during the break is robbing them of the Christmas spirit. Away from all of that, I feel nothing but the Christmas spirit. It'll be the first Christmas for me and Lucia here in Iligan away from the pomp and circumstance of Manila, our first time to be "alone", so to speak, but I can only marvel and be blessed with all that we have.

Amazingly generous grandparents.

The best yaya in the world.

All this fresh air.

More food than we can eat.

Actual cold air (it seems to be unseasonably hot in Manila).

People around us who are loyal, caring, and tireless.

Well wishes and support from my family across the miles.

And a fast-developing, intelligent, loving, and beautiful rotund baby girl. (She's getting plumper and plumper and plumper. I love it.)

I hope my Christmas cheer infects those of you who don't feel it yet. I hope you take a moment to be silent and still and remember, temporally inaccurate as it is, we are celebrating the birth of the best gift humankind has ever received.

All that and it's not even 8 in the morning yet. :)

Happy Christmas.