Saturday, November 29, 2008

Goodbye Thanksgiving, Hello Christmas!

Well, Thanksgiving is over, and we had a great time! We had Mimi, Papa, and Uncle Hogan join us, and we ate, played games, and then lounged around visiting and watching TV while getting ready to eat some more!

Take a look at my three kiddos at their Thanksgiving best! :) ...


Here is the crew right before the feast...too much light in the background...oops!
I took this one so I could have everyone else in it.
Carson was taking his nap...by accident? I don't think so! We gave thanks for a nice, civilized meal!
Yes, he got his feast a little later!
And mom took this one so that I could be in it...
That gathering wound up this morning, and this afternoon, some old friends came by for a visit. We had not seen them in years. Emilee, their oldest of three daughters, was Caylie's first neighborhood friend. They were best buds from the time Caylie was about 1 1/2 until she was probably 4, and they moved to Louisiana. They are both teenagers now, and hadn't seen each other for 7 years. How time flies! We all enjoyed getting some time to catch up.

Now it is officially time to switch gears. The Christmas season has arrived! Tonight, after Carson goes to sleep, I think the rest of us are going to pile into our bed, and watch White Christmas. Maybe that will get me motivated to pull our overwhelming amount of Christmas stuff out of the attic??? I have not even started shopping or decorating...I'm thinking that the decorating might start tomorrow after church...maybe!

While I LOVE Christmas...really, really love Christmas... I dread pulling it all out, and finding just the right place for everything, and then putting all of the partially empty containers back into the attic, only to bring them back down to reload all of the stuff in early January, and then put it back again. I've been dreading that part for a month now! I am going to develop a way to simplify...not quite sure how, but I am determined!

Today, Corey and I saw a commercial where the wife and husband head out to run errands...him to get the tree and lights taken care of, and her to get the Christmas gifts. At the end, it showed her standing in her beautifully decorated living room later in the evening, just soaking it in with a smile on her face (and all of the gifts purchased and wrapped I assume!). I told Corey that was my goal...to simplify Christmas to the point that within one day, we could get all of the decorations up, and the leftover boxes, etc., cleaned up, and have the wrapped gifts under the tree, and then just relax and ENJOY....the fire lit, sipping hot apple cider...that is how I imagine it being. Is that too good to be true or could it really happen?

I want the season to be slow enough to be able to focus on what it is really all about...Christ's birth, and what that means for all of us. I want my kids to learn to appreciate that part above EVERYTHING else, and not to associate Christmas with all of the crazy hustle bustle and spending, etc...maybe I can navigate my way into that kind of Christmas...simple and Christ focused.

That's my Christmas wish this year!

Writing The Waves,
Christi

1 comments:

mer@lifeat7000feet said...Best Blogger Tips

I hope your wish comes true for me too. I really have simplified since moving here...and I enjoy the peace that comes with it. I still make myself crazy at times though.

Do you ever feel like there's so much pressure on us as moms to make everything special and magical for our families? I do...and that's where 95% of my stress comes from.

 
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