This is a reposting of a blog I wrote when Peter turned twelve.  Change a couple of words and presto…it still fits and it’s one of my favorite Christmas stories. 😉

Nineteen years ago at Christmastime, our family decided to drive through Burt’s Pumpkin Farm to see the Christmas light display. We had heard it was great for kids. They had marshmallow roasting and hot cider, a great family set up. The main draw for us was that it was close, just a short drive to Dahlonega. For a few years prior to this time, we had driven to Christmas at Callaway for a spectacular open air shuttle ride through the gardens. Beyond the light show, the kids made Christmas crafts and had holiday favorites like gingerbread men and hot chocolate. It was a wonderful tradition, but distance, and 3 kids five years old and under made it a challenge to get there.

This particular Christmas I was great with child. I had a whole new respect for Mary, let me tell you. Determined not to let the fact that I was huge and overdue affect our family light tradition, we set out for Burt’s. When we arrived we climbed aboard the hay ride and bundled up under blankets. It was a lovely, short ride on a cold December night. I was reminded of the Holy family’s journey and I was glad I wasn’t on a donkey. I had to be helped down off of that tractor as we tried to keep up with the kids. Rounding them up was easy once they saw the marshmallows. We gathered around the fire to eat charcoal on a stick…at their ages slow and easy wasn’t a concept they understood. We piled in the car and headed for home. It was an exhausting evening for my oversized tummy. I fell into the bed and deep sleep immediately…until 2:00a.m. when my first contraction hit.

I woke Bill and said, “Let’s go.” He didn’t believe me, because I was forever in false labor with all three of the others. I, on the other hand, knew that we had to make it from Clermont Ga. to Dunwoody to the hospital there. I also knew that this was a hard and fast contraction, not a milder early labor one. We were up and out in just a few minutes and by the time we made it to I-85 we were beginning to wonder if I would have this baby in the car. At the hospital we waited for the doctor to arrive, thinking we were settling in for a long labor. I kept feeling that these contractions were especially hard, but the nurse assured me that they were piggy back contractions which seem much stronger because one starts before the other ends. When the doctor arrived he broke my water and said we were ready to go! No time for medicine! Yikes…so how did Mary do this anyway??? I hope that Joseph was as good at helping as my husband was. He brought me through one contraction at a time. When the doctor had to adjust the baby’s position, I cried out to Jesus for the entire world to hear! It was Christmas; after all…it couldn’t hurt to remind the whole hospital at 5:00 a.m. that he still answers prayer! Shortly, I mean one or two pushes later, baby Peter Josiah was born. 11 pounds. No wonder I screamed with no medication!

This year my baby is 19 on 12/12. It is another sign that time is moving on quickly. It is also a reminder to me that God came to the world in the form of a baby completely dependent on humans to care for him. Every birth, especially this time of year, is a picture of his heavenly plan.

Happy Birthday Peter!