Welcome December! As much as I am a lover of summertime I do feel as though this is my favorite time of the year. It's filled with the good memories of my childhood when family would gather at my grandparents house with all of the aunts, uncles and cousins. My grandparents loved Christmas and made sure to make it special for all the grandchildren. Then we would arrive home really late and Santa's gift was already under the tree for me. My dad couldn't wait until morning and insisted we all stayed up to open all of the presents. My parents made Christmas extra special, too. As I got older Christmases began to look different but it was always special. Then once I had children it was so incredible to be able to see the holiday through their little eyes. We filled the tree with a lot of gifts for them and were woken up very early on Christmas Day to their impatience with wanting to open them.
Today is the last day of Thanksgiving break but they are calling for about 2"-5" inches of snow starting late tonight into tomorrow morning so that could mean a two hour delay or closing for school. We will see. The break was good. A mix of busy and relaxing. I'm still working on the decorating but the tree is up. In the first year of marriage Rob and I both had off work on Black Friday and neither had any desire to be part of the shopping rush so we stayed home and decorated the apartment for Christmas. Then we decided to make it a Black Friday tradition every year. Setting up and decorating the tree seems to take up most of the day. Having to fluff the branches, fixing broken lights and doing my best to strategically place each ornament is a challenge but I love when I can look at it's finished beauty and feel thankful. My mother had always been good at getting the branches moved in perfect position and she was particular with making sure the balls were evenly placed, she refused to have the same colors too close to each other. I don't know how she did it but that's a struggle for me. My mother also liked changing up the theme each year. For me, I keep it simple and it's covered in store bought ornaments and handmade ornaments from the kids. It's a tree filled with memories of our family through the years and it's exactly as I love it.
As I wrap up the last day of Thanksgiving break there is a lot to do. Laundry, meal planning and grocery shopping, and hopefully finishing last minute details of the decorating so all the boxes can go back up to the attic. Last night my husband and son drove down to DC to watch the Commanders/Broncos game. The Commanders is their team and this is a tradition for my son's birthday. It seemed like a good game where Washington fought hard but unfortunately lost by 1 point. Since it was a late game they stayed at a hotel and will be coming home today. My daughter is currently at the school for swim practice. So, as of right now I'm taking a moment to enjoy the quiet house with a cup of coffee. I also plan on starting December by reading and studying the book of John in the Bible.
I hope you have an amazing December filled with good cheer, joy, and happiness!!!!
