Christmas.  Lots of thought going through my head this time of year so I’ll just list them.

• Great Nana and Emma made the famous Christmas cookies today.  I grew up eating these cookies every Christmas.  It was fun to watch Emma get in my mothers Apron from when she was a little girl and make and decorate cookies with My Nana her Great Nana.  These are the moments that Christmas is all about for me.  To celebrate life with family and friends and to celebrate the redeeming Son of God named Jesus.
• Home for the Holidays.  We have woken up on Christmas morning at our own home now for the past three years.  It’s starting to become tradition.  Dave’s family is in FL and they sometimes make it here but they are pastoring a church so the Holidays for them remind me of my holidays growing up as a pastors kid.  Always somewhere to be that is not with your whole family.  It stinks but that is the call of ministry at times.  
• We attend the Christmas Eve service at our church each year… we come home and get in our Christmas pajama’s and have a family game night. Then Christmas dinner on the 25th etc.
• Last year we left the reindeer carrots and this year we are leaving glitter and oats per Emma’s teacher at school.  Emma still talks about how the reindeer ate most of the carrots.
• We are those people that embrace Santa.  The childhood imagination is a wonderful thing and we celebrate the world of make believe.
• We are those people that embrace with everything we can the true meaning of Christmas.  It is the stake of our faith.
• Coming into Christmas I can be a real Bah Humbug.  Is that how you spell it?  I HATE buying random gifts for people because I feel like I have to.  I would do away with gifts in general if it were up to me. Unfortuneatley it’s not.  We have many people in our extended family who love to celebrate with the giving of gifts.  I do make every effort to me a great steward of money and always try and get thing that have meaning to them.  I normally do pretty good but there are always a few things that are I had to buy it just to buy something. 
• Dave and I don’t exchange gifts.  We never have.  There have been a few years where he has got something for me but it has always ended in a why did you do that because I don’t have anything for you!  We take our birthdays to really celebrate each-other.
• I am a contradiction when it comes to designer things.  Remember my post of the jeans?  Well I may not have a pair of designer jeans but I sure have other stuff that is.  Just wanted to clarify that since reading some of my old posts I thought that came off a bit contradicting.  By the way the next day after that post I saw a pair of jeans at Costco and almost bought them.  It was as if they were just sitting there for me.  Good thing I was low on money!
• Emma and Izzie got the best gift this year. Their friends Simon and Addie Gail sent them a card in the mail that said that they were part of feeding and nurturing children through world vision and that a donation was made in their honor.  Now that was a gift that was so fun to explain to Emma.  She’s getting the picture slowly but surely.
• Did I ever mention that a few years ago someone bought us a goat.  We loved it!
• Did I say anything at all in this post?  Feel like I don’t have much to say lately.
• Oh one last little rant.  I want to wish you Happy Holidays because parts of the Christian community that I hate being attached to say that if you say Happy Holidays and not Merry Christmas then you have problems.  Even to the extent of telling people to boycott stores that don’t use Merry Christmas.  It mind boggles me how as we as followers of Christ can expect people that are not or places that are not to act and be christian.  Well anyway, Happy Holidays to you!
• I’m done now! 🙂  Promise!