Deck the Halls

When did Christmas become so hectic??? It's not even just December anymore, but the rush starts well before Thanksgiving. There was a time when I had my whole house decorated Thanksgiving weekend. Then came kids, and each year life started moving faster and the decorating started getting farther away from Thanksgiving and much closer to Christmas. We started new traditions. Don't get me wrong....I LOVE our traditions and I REALLY LOVE that my kids, especially Trey, love our traditions and look forward to them. But...traditions take time and that's where the whole time crunch comes in. The Christmas that we were expecting Trey we went to Callaway for the first time. That became our first tradition and now each year we juggle our calendar and find a weekend where we can get away. Trey's first Christmas we began the tradition of going out as a family, finding our tree, and actually cutting it down. Wow has it become hard to find a Saturday where we can all go but somehow we always manage. This year was actually a lot less stressful than last year. Our tree was much easier to find and Trey did most of the decorating with the many ornaments he has collected over the years. I was also able to set out all my stuffed animals this year and my Nativity and Jesse has *mostly* stayed away from it. I don't know if we've gotten better at time management, or juggling, or what, but this year we've been able to really enjoy the Christmas season as a family. And for that I am very grateful. For I know, that as much as my boys love our Christmas traditions now the day will come when I will get the eye roll and the "Mooom" when I suggest going to Callaway or going out and cutting down our tree. So for now, I am enjoying making these special memories. Merry Christmas everyone!