Merry Christmas Eve

I've only written 25 posts in 2 years. Quite pathetic, really, given how many big events have occured in that timespan. Really it's a reflection of the changes of my computer use (grad student life replaced by full-time worker bee) and changes in my social life (isolation in a lab versus married in a house). Truly anything I have to babble about now goes in one ear of the husband and out hte other. Perhaps blogging will pick up again as life will be taking yet another turn this year.

Annnnnyway. Last year, only mentioned in passing a long time ago, DH accompanied me on a dream trip of a lifetime to the Middle East. We were incredibly fortunate in our timing. We originally intended to go in April 2011. When we found an amazing trip which included Christmas in Jerusalem in 2010, we simply had to go. Egypt errupted in protests just two weeks after we returned - a turn of events that would have changed our minds about going.

Here's a long delayed picture of our trip.

Christmas Eve 2010. Shepherd's Fields overlooking Bethlehem.

When I read the story of the birth of Christ it is difficult to not imagine being in a shepherd's field overlooking Bethlehem. Here we were - sitting in a field overlooking Bethlehem on Christmas Eve. Granted, not the eve of Christ's birth, but an actual eve before Christianity's celebration of his birth.

The curious thing? My mind kept going back to how enjoyable and pleasant our prior Christmas Eve had been. We'd spent the evening with a wonderful family in the ward eatting pizza, playing games, and singing songs. Christmas seemed all the more special spending it in chaos and joy than sitting quitely in a field. I missed the familial associations of Christmas. (The prior Christmas was chosen to fondly recall simply because it'd been the only Christmas, to date, where DH and I were married (let alone acquainted). I love my family. I miss Christmas with them, but DH is my favorite of all persons ever.)

So here I am this Christmas Eve sitting on the couch of the in-laws. Dear and Resplendant Mother-in-Law is watching, "The Sound of Music," in an adjacent room. (Oh, wait, it just changed to, "It's a Wonderful Life.") DH is sitting on another couch trying to crack a lock. The brothers-in-law are off playing video games. I don't even quite know where the father-in-law is hiding.

Our trip to Jerusalem was wonderful and special. Yet this couch is a very nice, even preferred, place to be.