Thursday Thirteen

13 things I love about Christmas... 1. Our Christmas tree!! I especially love the way it smells and the way the whole atmosphere in our house changes when there's a big tree in the living room. We don't have a "pretty" tree, but it has bright, colorful lights and mismatched ornaments that each mean something to us. LOVE it! :)

2. Spending extra time with family. Ben gets an entire 2 weeks off during Christmas and it's so nice to have him around all the time and be able to visit our families without feeling rushed.

3. The stockings hanging on our mantel. My great-great aunt (I think!) made mine when I was a baby and my mom had a lady make Ben's when we got married. Christie's grandmother made Grayson's and Emma Claire's and I just love looking all of our beautiful handmade stockings hanging together.

4. The parties. We have been so busy lately and it won't stop until after New Year's, but I just love all of the parties that we get to go to this time of year. It's fun getting dressed up, eating yummy food, and spending so much time with our friends.

5. The music! I LOVE Christmas music and have been playing it in the car and in the house since before Thanksgiving. "Oh Holy Night" has to be the most gorgeous song ever.

6. Presents. Of course I love getting presents (who doesn't?!), but I especially love giving them. I'm SO excited about Grayson's gift this year---he's getting a train table, along with a set of wooden tracks and Thomas trains. He's going to be beside himself with excitement and I'm looking forward to Christmas Day for this reason more than any other.

7. The food! Especially the gravy! :)

8. The Christmas Eve service at church. I look forward to this service all year long, no matter which church we go to. This will be our first Christmas Eve at our new church and I know it will be just perfect.

9. My Christmas pillows. My Aunt Betty cross-stitches the most beautiful pillows and sends me a new one every year. It's always so much fun to open a package from her this time of year because I know it will be a new pillow. We have the pillows hanging all over our house and they make me smile whenever I see them. :)

10. The UPS truck. Ironically, it's stopping in front of my house RIGHT NOW! I do so much of my shopping online these days and it's fun to get packages, even if it's a gift that I'm giving to somebody else.

11. Christmas cards. It's fun sending them out (a.k.a. showing off my adorable kiddos!) and receiving them. I love seeing how much everybody's children have grown and changed over the past year.

12. Watching Christmas movies, especially National Lampoons Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story.
13. The true meaning of Christmas---that God loved us so much that he sent his son, Jesus Christ, to be born to Mary and Joseph so that he could one day die to save all of us from our sins. THAT is the real reason we celebrate CHRISTmas. :)

Merry Christmas!!!