'Tis the Season

This is my most favorite time of the year.  Christmas is less than a week away.  I love all of the decorations and traditions.  I love the feeling of love and thankfulness and joy in the air.  It's always a very emotional time, happy and sad.  Christmas always makes me feel sort of fluttery inside.  It starts just after Halloween, when we realize Thanksgiving is only weeks away. Then, as the big day draws near, the worse the fluttering becomes.  It's a good feeling, an anxious feeling.  Almost like I am a kid again.  Spending time with my family...often it's the only time of year I see some of them, the special, yummy food, the love I feel when I think about why we Celebrate such a special time.  I think what I have found to be the best part of celebrating Christmas, is the wonder and fun my son has.  Sharing the traditions of making cookies and decorating our tree.  His anxiousness only fuels my own.  Counting down the days on Advent Calendar, making things for the ones we love...it's all a part of that celebration.  He is just truly learning about what makes Christ so special.  Finally beginning to understand how the birth of a boy in a manger more than 2,000 years ago could lead to such a wonderous occasion.  He still doesn't quite "get it"...it will be awhile before he does on a deeper level.  But he does understand that Christmas is special.  Of course, presents are a part of that.  What 4 year old doesn't love getting presents (or adult for that matter!)  But he is learning that there is more.  The traditions that go along with the Celebration are just the beginning. 

Merry Christmas to all of my family and friends.  Each is truly appreciated and loved.  May Christmas and the New Year bring us all a little Comfort and Joy!