Oh My...

I am positively shamed to see how long it has been since I have chimed in here....we really are alive and doing well, just a little distracted by the holiday cheerfulness. The tree is up, the packaging is finished, only one more sock to knit, the baking is done, except for the second batch of almond cookies that I will need - the first batch somehow disappeared (grin).

Our home feels so warm and cheerful this season, more even than in past years. Partly, I think, it is because the kids are old enough now that they really are active in all that we do, rather than come-and-go participants. The bulk of the decorating has happened through their little hands. The gifts have all been chosen and wrapped with their involvement, and their little fingers taste tested each and every bowl of cookie dough. This year Christmas feels like a family endeavor, rather than a Mommy led 'event' as it sometimes has in the past.

To top it all off, in a heartfelt effort to simplify our lives lately, we have shunted many, many boxes of 'stuff' to the local second hand store, and found homes for most of what remains. We have tried to focus more on the experience of the holidays and less on the 'things' of it, and our home is feeling lighter, more peaceful, and more like the haven it is supposed to be because of it.

I have a few more days of work to get through this week, but we should still be able to get in lots of home time. We are looking forward to Christmas eve with our own little family, Christmas day with Pop, Uncle Steve, Aunt Mindy and Griffin, and then Boxing day hosting Grammy, Auntie Bonnie, Uncle Ted, Max, Tory and perhaps even another family friend at our home.

We are looking forward to a few weeks of family, friends, celebration, and relaxation. What more could one want for Christmas?

I really have been taking photos during my 'absence', and I promise to get caught up soon along with some shots of the holidays in our family. I hope that you are enjoying peace and loved ones wherever you will be over the holidays.

Thanks for sharing this space with me and have a Merry Christmas!!