Home at Christmastime

I just love my house at Christmastime. I think we have the perfect house to dress up in Christmas cheer. I love the banisters wrapped in garlands, the stockings hung from the chimney with a pinecone garland draped across, our beautiful tree with all the ornaments from my childhood and today (and Daryll's lone ESPN ornament), the 4 wreaths that adorn our doors and staircase, the vintage sheet music window hung behind our couch, the bells that jingle when the front door opens, the cards that crawl up the holder on our wall, the cookie jar that is seldom empty this time of year... The Christmas season always goes by way to fast in my opinion. I love the feeling of this time of year, and this year especially we are trying to get back to the real meaning for Christmas. That means spending less money on fewer gifts, spending more time enjoying time with each other and our family and friends, and remembering how truly blessed we are. I am so blessed to have a wonderful family who gives me a ton of love and support through everything. I hope to continually repay all that they have given to me, but I'm not sure I'll ever be able to catch up!

This year I decided to make most of my gifts for Christmas, which means everybody is getting at least one thing handmade by me. (Pictures will be shown when the gifts have been given!) The idea came about initially as a means of saving some money, but it has grown into more than that. It has truly been a challenge to come up with unique but (hopefully) likable gifts for everyone on our list. It was an experiment in finishing. So many times I thought it would just be easier to go buy gifts from the stores, but now that I'm finished I feel so rewarded. I can't wait to see everybody's reaction to their handmade creations!

Tonight is my last night at home before Christmas and I'm going to relish in every second of it. The tree is lit, Daryll's playing Christmas music, and the puppies are cuddled up sleeping next to me. Life really doesn't get any better than this.