Merry Christmas!

With only a few days to go before Christmas, this house has about maxed out on the excitement level. We've already gone to two of our family parties with two more we've yet to attend.

I love this time of year. I love the get togethers, the visits with family and friends we don't see sometimes for an entire year at a time. I love the Christmas cards in the mail every day, the kind hearted way a complete stranger in the store wished me a Merry Christmas after I almost ran him over with my cart while lost in shopping-list-trance.

I love the way the children count down with a paper chain until Santa arrives, the decorating cookies, the kitchen warm and our faces flushed from all day baking that produces our favorites: truffles, and ginger snaps, and iced sugar cookies. I love the excitement, the tree glowing in the corner, the way my two year old points out each and every house that has lights with such enthusiasm you would think each one she sees is the very first.

I love remembering often why we celebrate Christmas and hearing that message spoken by the little children at their Sunday School program. I love gathering close with my family on Christmas Eve- all of us crowding into my parent's house because moving that party to a larger place just wouldn't feel quite right. I love singing carols, hearing the children hum along over the parts they don't know yet, and just feeling content and blessed in my heart.

I love all the moments I've put into the little presents I'm making for my children, imagining the delight on their faces when they tear open the paper on Christmas Eve. I love the traditions we are creating and building upon in our own little family while continuing with the traditions we've been brought up on for as long as we can remember.

So, wherever you are this season and in whatever way you are carrying out your own traditions, my wish for you is a wonderfully happy Christmas and joy in great abundance.

Merry Christmas!