'Tis the Season

I love Christmas.  The whole Christmas season.  Please don't ask why, no one quite knows the reason.  (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Really, I love the entire time from Thanksgiving to New Year's. I love the decorations.  The music.  (Ok, maybe not all of the music, but enough.)  How cozy everything feels.  And best of all, I love spending time with family.  That family time has changed a lot over the years.  Especially now that we have kids.  It's gotten even better.  It is soooo much fun to be a witness to kids' joy and amazement around this time of year.

A little taste of a big family gathering over Thanksgiving.  Most of my aunts and uncles and cousins on my mom's side and all of our kids were in the same house.  Kaelyn loved having so many kids to play with.

 On Saturday we went to cut down our Christmas tree.  The past couple years we used a fake one.  Since we were always traveling over Christmas it just seemed easier.  So this was Kaelyn's first adventure to a tree farm. Which one is dressed more appropriately for cutting down a tree?

Kaelyn wanted a little guy.  I had to resist the urge to “make” her pick what I thought would be a perfect tree.  The tree she chose is a little shorter than I would have picked but it really is quite beautiful, and actually the perfect size for our little house.

After several hours trying to get the darn thing to stand up straight and not fall over (next time I'm investing in the $45 tree stand, it's gotta be worth it) we had to wait until Sunday to decorate. She gasped at every ornament as she took it out.  She was so excited to decorate the tree she got a little weepy when I kept telling her to wait until I finished putting the lights up.  I let her put three up while I was still doing the lights but she just couldn’t wait to do the rest.  She was so excited to show Dada when he got home from the store.  She said to me, “I think Dada will say ‘Wow Kaelyn! What a beautiful tree.  You and Mama did such a good job.’”  Even though we struggled a little getting the tree up, it was all worth it.

Saturday night we went to check out the festivities downtown Franklin.  Even though he didn’t really know what was going on, Brennan got excited and giggled as we watched the “Lighted” Holiday Parade.  Seeing him smile with his “hillbilly” teeth and hearing him giggle is one of the best gifts I could get.  (Corny I know, but still true.)  We decided not to wait around for an hour for the downtown lighting ceremony, but did drive to see the Indiana Masonic Home grounds lit up which was absolutely amazing.  Kaelyn still gasps every time she sees lights on people’s houses.  Driving around she says, “Mama, Mama look at the colorful lights!” The colorful ones are her favorite. The excitement in her voice is another one of the best gifts.

So, when I tell people I don’t want anything for Christmas I mean it.  OK, mostly.  I mean there’s always stuff I want, but I know I can live without it.  And quite frankly, our house is so full of "stuff" right now I don’t know where I’d put any of it.  And it's about to get even more full with all the kids Christmas gifts.