The Holidays

Hello, All! It seems like such a long time since I last posted. This has been a week of relaxation and family and I am happy to say that there is more to come. Blake has been able to take a few days off here and there over the Christmas break. I am lucky enough to work for a company that gives me over a week off for Christmas - I don't return to work until January 5!

This Christmas was so much fun. On Christmas Eve morning we celebrated with my parents and brother then that afternoon we headed to Blake's aunt and uncle's. That night we got our Christmas pajamas. Christmas Day we spent HOURS playing our Christmas game, as is traditional in the Smith household. We opened gifts till almost 10pm (we started around 8 that morning)! Granted, we took off a few hours in the afternoon so that Blake and I could run to my parent's house and see some family but it was still an extended gift opening session!

Christmas 2008

Since then we have had a great time with SIL, BIL and Lil E. It has been so much fun! They are here for another week so there is much more fun to come I'm sure! This Christmas it was interesting to watch Lil E. She is old enough now to really understand what is going on and to be excited about Christmas. All she wanted from Santa was cookies and I have to say, Santa delivered nicely! SIL and BIL emphasized to Lil E that Santa and all the gifts were there to help us celebrate the birth of Jesus. Christmas has always been my favorite time of the year, unfortunately not always for the right reason. I thought a lot this season about how to enjoy and share Christmas with children, all while reminding them of the reason we celebrate. It has to be such a hard thing to do when our culture has saturated our environment with everything but the true meaning of Christmas. I love the decoations and gifts - it's striking a balance and placing the emphasis on the reason we celebrate that must be difficult for parents. Lucikly, Blake and I will have quite a while to figure it out!

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and our best to everyone in the new year!