Christmas 2013

The best part of every part of my life is family. And since becoming parents, the best part of every holiday are the children. In our family we now have three little ones between my little family and my sister's, and really, nothing is better. It was Charlie's first Christmas and it was a good one. We spent Christmas Eve with part of Hank's side, then came home to do our own traditions. Growing up my Dad would read The Night Before Christmas every Christmas Eve to my sister and me, and once Hank became a father he gifted him a new copy with the sweetest inscription. And that's one of the neatest things about being a parent; getting relive your own childhood once again with fresh eyes and the foresight to really take it all in.

Christmas Day was full to the brim with family, good food and presents. Hank and I don't actually exchange gifts with each other outside of doing stockings and instead focus on traveling throughout the year. The boys though, got some really wonderful books, puzzles, and a few new toys. Henry's "big" gift this year was the kid's kitchen from IKEA, and he was really excited. We got my Dad a telescope and my Mom a gift card to her favorite spa, and there were smiles all around...between the little talks we had to have with Henry about why every present isn't for him, and why it's so nice to give presents to other people, too. It's tough being three...

It's hard to convey the feeling I get when I look around a room full of my family, all smiling and happy and healthy, together in one place. I feel peaceful. And so, so lucky. I know things never stay the same, but this year, right there in my living room surrounded by the people I love the very most, I had to stop and whisper a little "thank you" into the air, for all of the goodness. Because even though we were opening presents and getting "things," it still reminded me that the best things in life aren't those things, they are these people. Lucky. Happy. Healthy. Wishing for the same over the next year and beyond.

Happy holidays, from our family to yours!

Little Bits of Christmas

Growing up Christmas was always such a special, magical time. I have vivid memories of my Dad climbing up into the attic to get the big brown boxes, little pieces of glitter falling down like snow as he climbed down the ladder with our decorations in his arms. There were ornaments and banners, a huge stuffed Rudolph bust for the wall, snowglobes, photos, and garland. My sister and I would always sit for hours looking through all of it, new to us yet again after being put away for the past year.

And in my home I want to bring that same kind of excitement. I love the holiday season, and I love making our house feel warm and cozy, especially during these cold winter months. Nothing's better than seeing Henry's face light up when he looks up at the tree, full of ornaments from different times in our life or the smile he gets when he's shaking up a snowglobe and asking me "how does this WORK, Mommy?!" Have I mentioned how much I love being a parent during Christmas? I mean it's always so much fun, but this time of the year is the MOST fun.

Here are some little bits of Christmas around our home-

Cloud ornaments- Baby Jives
Merry & Bright banner- Steph Loves Ben
Holiday hoops (boys' names and "Silent Night")- Sara December Rose

A Good Handful of Years

Tonight I realized there's only a good handful of years that will ever be like this. The magic. The newness of it all. And it's like that with anything in life, you know? Relationships are only sparkly and new when they're sparkly and new. And the first time you read the best book of your life will only be that first time you read it. And Christmas as a child only lasts as long as you're a child, and before the world kind of creeps in and changes things up a bit. So this right now, the whole wide-eyed, magical experience of Christmas, will only be here for a short time. I know this. I thought about it as I watched Henry sort through our ornaments tonight, marveling over the shiny ones, the sparkly ones, the ones shaped like stars and sleds and snowflakes. He believes Santa will be coming down our chimney with a sack full of gifts. He believes we will be seeing him on the Polar Express this weekend, and going to the North Pole. He knows with every ounce of his little three-year old body that this is true, and that Christmas is a time for MAGIC. And to see him believe and see him feel all of the happy feelings that bubble up in every moment during this time of the year is enough to make me cry just typing it out. I feel SO lucky. And in a blog post it can be hard to convey these types of things but I just have to say it because that's all I can think about. I feel so lucky to have this little block of time when everything is new and fresh and sparkly, and Santa is real and his reindeer are real because I'm reliving it all over again too. I'm a child again, stars in my eyes as I hang ornaments and bake cookies and allow a little part of my heart to believe in the beauty and simplicity of everything this season brings. The spirit of Christmas is alive and well in this house, and for that I am so, so thankful.