Ramblings From A Pregnant Woman

A Christmas Baby: Perfect Timing

            I am due to have this baby on December 25^th. I know, great timing, right? But Nate and I are not really known for the good timing of our children’s births. Three of our children have October birthdays all within the same week. My mom and dad had 8 children . . . in 8 different months. I couldn’t even give my kids their own week! The one child of ours who was not born in October decided to come during my mother-in-law’s Easter party in Boise, 4 hours away from the hospital where we were supposed to deliver. So timing is not our strong suite.

            I don’t think I want to have this baby on Christmas day. At first, I wanted this baby to come on the 12^th. He could have the birthday of 12/12/12. That would be SO cool! But even cooler than that would be if the baby came on Friday, December 14^th. That is my birthday, and I was born on my father’s birthday on the day he turned 34. Guess who is turning 34 on that day this year? Me! I waited for a long time to get pregnant with this baby, and now look at the timing! As difficult as it is preparing for Christmas while being 9 months pregnant, I can’t help but think that this is the exact time this baby was supposed to be sent to me.

            So on second thought, it is a blessing to have a Christmas baby. Because it is the season, my thoughts are constantly drifting to this baby . . . and Mary . . . and Mary’s Baby. Was she nervous? Did she feel prepared? Did she talk to her unborn child like I talk to mine?

When we were in San Diego, I was able to go to the temple. It is an amazing temple! I like to go to the temple when I am pregnant—not because it is easy or comfortable—but because I feel closer there to the baby inside me. It might be a silly thing, but I feel like the more he is in the temple right now, the more he will remember it when he is older and feel a longing to want to be back there. So, I sat in the temple, and imagined that my baby could hear my thoughts. I told him, “This is it. This is our goal. This is where you want to be; with me and Dad and your brothers and your sister. It doesn’t really matter what else you do as long as we all make it here together. This is what counts.”

In our ward at church, two people have passed away this week, and I have thought about that a lot too. Holidays are a time of joy and happiness, but it is also a time when there is great loneliness and depression, and we feel the absence even greater of those who are gone.

I was not able to be with my parents last year on Christmas because they were serving a mission. It is at holiday times that you feel the sting of loved ones being gone the most. I know that it won’t be too long before my parents pass on, and probably the sting of their absence will be more pronounced at Christmas time. But it is my greatest hope that we will all be together when this life is over. I don’t want anyone sitting in heaven saying, “This is fun, but I wish Katie were here. I really miss her. I wish she could have made it!”  We will all have struggles and pain and hardships in this life, but if we are together for all eternity, then it is all worth it.

During this season, when there is much to love and much to celebrate, remember that along with Christ’s glorious birth, we celebrate His death. Because without the cruel cross of Calvary, there would be no reason to celebrate the birth in Bethlehem. There will be pain and hardships and struggles in this life, but we ought to REJOICE because He has overcome them all.