It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

I have to say that I LOVE Christmas, and the great thing is that I'm not alone in this love of the season. I know that most people love it just like I do and that makes it so much FUN!! I definitely can't name one favorite thing about Christmas, but here's a short list of some of the highlights for me...

1. Reading, hearing, talking about the birth of Jesus...God's best gift to us. Just reading Luke and Isaiah 9 warm my heart. When people ask Caleb what he wants for Christmas, I'm trying to get him to say, "I want people to know that Jesus is our best gift from God." He's not buying it though. When I ask him to say it, he says, "Nope, I want a Santa and an elf and a snowman and a reindeer and presents." Oh well...at least I'm trying.



2. Sitting in my living room with the warm glow of lights from the Christmas tree and the mantle. Yes, we use colored lights and tinsel. It just makes me feel so festive. By the way, this was probably the prettiest tree we've ever had...until it unexpectedly wilted last week:(







3. Hanging up my favorite ornaments. They represent so many stories, traditions, and memories. We definitely don't have a tree that would go in a magazine, but I love hanging our old ornaments up beside our new ones each year.


Our "First Christmas" ornament from the first year we were married. That seems like so long ago:)


Caleb's first homemade ornament. He made it at Building Hope's Christmas party and he was such a big boy wanting to make it by himself.


I love how pretty red balls look nestled in the branches of the tree. I had a good time trying out my photography skills:).


This ornament came from my parents' tree. Growing up these were all over our tree along with orange and lime slices. They also had candy garland. These were always my favorites to hang up because they looked so real! Now I have a few candy canes (yellow and green ones) and a few lime slices. It makes me so happy to hang them up each year. Did anyone else have these ornaments when they were young?

4. CHRISTMAS CHINA!!!! I don't need to say anything more. I would have liked to have some greenery around my centerpiece, but with little hands...








5. The excitement of "Santa" and seeing little pieces of that excitement in Caleb. This is the bell from The Polar Express that was left on the couch.



6. Buying gifts for other people and making my own list. I can't lie, it may be better to give than to receive (and I really do LOVE to give), but I have to say that I'm pretty excited about my presents too!

7. Spending time with my family and all that entails...movies, baking, playing games, laughing, cooking, napping, and just having a really good time!

So, with one week left, these are my reasons for LOVING Christmas and I fully intend to relish each one of them in the next 7 days (and for a few days afterwards)!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!