My favorite time of the Year!!

As the Holidays are almost here, I can't help but get in the "holiday" spirit. Getting out the Christmas decorations and Halie getting excited to help, reminds me of when I was a kid and helping my parents decorate. There is just something about Christmas music that makes you feel happy and cheery! The smell of Christmas cookies....no other smell in the world! Going to the mall will let you know it's Christmas time for sure! I can't wait until we get our Christmas Tree because this will be the first Christmas that Halie will actually care. I'm really excited to drive around at night and show Halie all the Christmas lights that people put up outside their house, she is going to love it!

I think almost every family has traditions they do every year. One of the traditions I'll always remember is the night my dad would put up the Christmas tree, my mom was in the kitchen baking Christmas cookies (with us kids going back and forth helping both because both were fun to help with). The whole family would help put on the Christmas lights and decorations on the tree while playing Christmas music. We would talk about the ordimates we remember making as kids as we would get them out of the boxes.

Another tradition I won't forget is the morning of Christmas. We would all get ready in the morning and then my parents made us all sit on the stairs and wait until they had the cam recorder set up and had taken our pictures. Even when we were in college they made us do it! haha! They loved seeing our faces as we came around the corner and raced into the living room to see all the presents! Even through all the excitement of giving and receiving, my parents made sure we remembered the reason for the season and didn't lose sight of that.

I can't wait for Phil and I to start our own family traditions with Halie, since she is now old enough to kinda understand. We love going to Christmas Eve candle light service, and I will most likely continue the cookie making while decorating the tree tradition. Teaching Halie about baby Jesus and His story is very important at an early age. So excited for good food, family time, playing games, watching Parades on tv and reading about baby Jesus with Halie. I really do love this time of the year!