Decked

Getting ready for Christmas has been exceptionally hard this year.  Christmas is my absolutely favorite time of year, and I adore everything about Christmas.  But I'm going to be completely honest, it can be a little stressful.  Trying to find gifts for everyone, making sure everything is mailed off on time, getting every gift wrapped, all the holiday parties, making sure I do enough activities to make it a festive time for the boys - there's just a lot to do over the holidays.  Add a newborn baby and the fact that I haven't slept more than 3 hours in a row for almost a month, and that Hubster just finished finals and is taking boards in less than a week and has been studying nonstop - add all that to the mix, and I'd say this has been a very challenging holiday.

But I'm still trying to enjoy every minute.

Hubster, Bug, Monkey, and my mother made the trek to the tree farm and selected a beautiful fir tree (Duck was only a few days old, so we stayed home.)

The tree is up and decorated, almost exclusively by Bug and Monkey.  My beloved cardinals are in place on the branches.

The stockings are hung on the mantle, waiting for Christmas Eve to be filled.

 

The Advent calendar is filled, each day a different activity (that I may or may not have been successful on getting to.)

Reindeer were visited.

Paper snowflakes have been made.

Gingerbread houses have been decorated.

Christmas cards and presents have been mailed.

Chocolate pecan fudge was made and then consumed.

Nearly all the presents for our family are wrapped and sitting beneath the tree, continually tempting Monkey to shake them, just to see if he is getting the Legos he keeps asking for.

Look closely, and this holiday is much simpler than previous ones.  The gift wrapping is less elaborate.  The Christmas lights are a little more sparse. There are not plates of cookies.  But there are still nights by the fireplace, reading The Polar Express and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  There are still sleigh bells on the front door, ringing happily with each entrance and exit from the house. The tree is still beautiful.  There is still magic.