Friday, December 31, 2010

In the Dark

 A funny thing happends the minute you loose power and everything goes dark.

There's a hint of panic at first. There you are minding your own business and then you are in the dark
Then Relief when you've made sure everyone is ok.
Then Excitement when you bring out the flashlights and go exploring


I love the look of your house as it's all lit with candles. A soft glow. A calming effect.

There is a very satisfying feeling you get as a parent as you show your children that there is nothing to be scared of.
"Take your flashlights and go see what you can find"

And then they do.

The best part is after the lights come back on, and they run around the house turning them back off.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

CHRISTmas Time is....Over?!

As I read on Facebook about Christmas decorations coming down and people feeling relieved that they are happy to have their home back, it makes me sad.
I like my Christmas decorations. I think it makes it feel more like home. I always feel like something is missing when they come down. It makes me want to leave them up all the time.

I was talking to my mom about this on the phone this morning. We find it odd that when people take what reminds them of Christmas out of their house it feels more like home.
Christmas is all about remembering Christ. Remembering the love and the spirit that He brought to this earth. Isn't that something that we would want to keep in our homes? Isn't that something we would want to be constantly reminded of?

I'm OK with the Santa's and Snowmen going back into the boxes, I'm OK with the tree coming down, to me that's more winter, not Christmas. But to take down my nativity's, my more "religious" decorations makes me sad. I think every year of why I can't just leave them up. I think that this year I will. I will leave up my nativity. I want to keep that true Christmas spirit in my home this year.  I want to be constantly reminded of, and keep that spirit of love and life in my home all year long.
My mom suggested that I take down the colored lights in the kitchen window and exchange them for white, I like that idea. Lights are calming and peaceful. What I want our home to feel like.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Christmas Time is Here

This is our first Christmas in our new house! We decided to host it at our house. I am so excited. Everything is getting all Christmas...E. Christmasy...Christmasie...Christmasee...Huh?!  ANYWHO. Christmas is at our house and we are decking the halls, sidewalk, dining room, and all other places you can...deck...orate! =D
I have been thinking and thinking about Christmas traditions and what traditions I want our family to have. I've been thinking about my husbands family traditions, my families tradition, and friends family traditions.
What do you do when you have so much to choose from. Well here is what you do

I love that my Mother-in-Law makes goodies plates for her friends and family
I love that every year we read the Christmas story Christmas eve, Right before we opened up our new homemade Christmas pajamas (although the boys do not have homemade Jammie's, I hope that someday they will)
I love having toast and hot chocolate Christmas morning
I love having pizza or Hickory Farms crackers, cheese and meats for dinner Christmas eve
I love the oranges in the stockings (I love it even more that both my family and my husbands family does this)
Real Christmas trees. The fluffiness, the pine smell in your house. love it all.
Fake trees. weird, I know. To have them back to back like this. I love my Mother-in-Laws tree. It's fast, convenient and very low maintenance. It's easy, and simple. Our compromise, A real one when we're home to take care of it, a fake one when we're going somewhere else.
Movies. Christmas movies. We only got them out once a  year. We were not the ones watching Frosty the Snowman in the middle of summer. It was in the Christmas box. It came out the day after Thanksgiving and went back in sometime in the middle of January. I liked it that way. It made them special.
Christmas stories. A different one every night. and although we are not at a point where we can do one EVERY night, we do have a couple for Christmas eve.

There are a lot of traditions I wish we could do, but lets face it. You have to pick and choose the ones that you and your family like best.  So to you and yours. Merry Christmas and enjoy your family and it's many traditions, whatever they may be.