The Holidays

Is anyone else beyond excited that Thanksgiving is in a couple of weeks and it's officially "that time of year"? I freakin' love the holidays! I love the music, the decorations, all the fun family activities available through the community and different venues. I love spending time together as a family, staying inside on a cold day, having extended pajama weekends. I love reading books together, watching movies, cuddling under lots of warm blankets...

This year is especially exciting because Sassy is really getting into it. She was way excited about Halloween, and now she is enthusiastic about Christmas. Every time we go to the store, she asks to look at the Christmas stuff... she loves all the colors and lights and sparkles. I feel really blessed that we will be able to travel home and see family this year. As stressful as the travel is, there's really no comparison. Plus, everyone is waiting patiently to meet Little A!

I have been doing my usual stressing about holiday shopping, our budget, and gift-giving. It is something I enjoy very much but also something that proves to be difficult every year. It has been rather cathartic to sort of let go this year. We are keeping things to a minimum. We are making homemade gifts. We are trying very hard to choose things for our family that we think they will love. We are focusing on quality over quantity. It's going to be great! I saw something in my Wondertime magazine yesterday that I thought was fabulous. I think we are going to try this as a family this year. It's to buy "Something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read". I love it!

I had to include this little picture of Sassy atop my post. She wanted to get "dressed up" yesterday... (read... to wear tights). She looked so dang cute and as soon as she got dressed, she asked to take pictures. HA- do I have this kid trained or what? She reported straight to the front door to go to "our spot". And, she even found a prop- her leaf. Too cute!