This has been a Luke 2:19 week for me. Let me explain. If you read Luke 2, it is the classic Christmas story. Jesus is born, the angels appear to the shepherds and tell them that this baby is the Savior of the World, the shepherds come to visit Jesus, and then they go out to spread the word about who He is. But the person I can identify with in this story is Mary. As all this is happening around her (amazing things!), and she is quiet, an observer to it all and yet right in the middle of it. Luke 2:19 says, "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." I feel like in so many ways my little boy is changing and will be changing soon, and I am almost overwhelmed with different emotions as I treasure and ponder him. My son is not the Savior of the World, but he's pretty special to me!

A big step this week was Alan's first bottle of formula. This was not a big deal to him whatsoever. He just gobbled it down like any other bottle. But there I was, feeding it to him with tears in my eyes! Why? Well, if you are a parent, you may understand when you see what this bottle represents in my head: "Here I am helping Alan to be capable of getting along just fine when I am no longer with him during the day. I am making it possible for someone else to feed him . . . and therefore to take care of him, hold him, be there when he wakes up from his naps with a big smile, notice when he does something new, give him extra cuddles if he's under the weather. This marks the beginning of a new phase in our lives. And I have so enjoyed the phase we are on! But I am so proud of him, the way he is growing up. And even though I am crying feeding him this bottle, I am happy to give him the chance to grow at Fran's day care. Fran, who told me she will love Alan as her own son. Fran, who reminds me so much of my beloved childhood day care provider, Mary. Fran, who loves the Lord. Fran will soon be giving him this bottle." Treasuring and pondering.

I even got the chance to talk to Fran on the phone this week. She was wonderful. I cried for an hour after we talked.

But, it is an inevitable part of our near future, and I believe Alan is much more ready for it than I am. He is almost crawling now! He gets up on his hands and knees, moves each knee a few inches forward, and then flops down. He does this over and over to get where he wants to go. If I put a toy across the blanket from him, he will be there in no time. He notices EVERYTHING and wants to touch and explore it all. As you can see from the picture, he is starting to figure out that there is a world outside his crib. Of course, in my pondering Luke 2:19 mindset this week, this picture represented Alan being ready to find out there is more to the world outside of our house, too. He is pushing outward, and a good mom will encourage and rejoice in this.

At least I met a new teacher at school, Michelle, who is sending her 1-year-old to Fran's, who isn't quite sure she actually wants to be back at work, and who just got done with a long maternity leave just like me. Michelle and I can encourage each other, or cry together. Whatever is needed at the moment.