There are pages in the baby book Ashley and I bought, you see, pages that need to be filled out. Pages that ask and crave ink as if to create a tale, a story about the journey down river. These persons, these pages, need an identity like, “first bath,” and “first birthday,” but we make persons where none is found! We had our first Christmas and instead of writing it down we pictured it. With the evolution of storytelling, my family did the telling through photos and poses, through food and laughter. It was a mildly cold holiday with a new holiday feel to be felt, as Louise dressed up as the present giver himself, Saint Nick.

From our walls at home to the carpets of my grandmothers we set Christmas cheer! We “ho, ho, ho’d” and “ha, ha, ha’d!'“ There was a family, generations of us gathered together under a sound roof, with sleigh bells ringing from up above and the stomachs of our eyes full from authentic Mexican cookin’ and smiles! Louise found himself in another outfit, fitted with a bow tie and suspenders that made my eyes water with joy! Ohh wee what a night. Presents unwrapped and awes unraveled, love was oh so present in the Christmas air.

I did not wait for a present under the tree this year, in fact, the wife and I put one under it ourselves. A gift from the warmest of chimneys, the deepest depths of our hearts to the world…and when I had thought I felt everything there is to feel, I was here. I was at this moment. I felt anew and fell in love all over again, again. There is God in everything we do, we see and what we don’t see. This, I can assure you, reveals it so.