Hi again! The countdown is on until Christmas and my girls are starting to get excited! Today was the last day of school and tomorrow we pack up and head to the lake for a few days. How do I know the kids are excited? That’s easy because the snooping around the Christmas tree has begun. It’s about more than that though! On the way home from school the topic of conversation was about spending time together as a family. Sure they are excited about the presents, but they are even happier hanging out as a family and getting together with relatives.

So what makes this time of the year so great? There are so many things that I could answer that question with. One of the things though that I like the most, is the endless singing of Christmas carols in our house. You just never know when or where we are going to break into song with “Rudolf The Red-Nosed Reindeer”! There are so many reminders at this time of year that take me back to my own childhood. As a kid one of my favorite memories was the night my family and I put up the Christmas tree. We would spend the night decorating and listening to carols. Nothing fancy I know but it was family time and it was just a time to be with one another. So when I started putting this post together in my head I thought why not include some carols!

Listening to carols now can’t help but trigger all kinds of memories and make them come racing back! I can remember things like my dad singing “O Holy Night” at the top of his lungs as he made his morning coffee. I miss my dad when I think of memories like this! Or I can remember eating breakfast Christmas morning with the family, and how one of my sisters and my father would challenge each other to who could eat the slowest before getting to the presents!

Of course there were also certain movies and shows that I can remember watching at this time of the year. Things like “It’s A Wonderful Life” and of course all of the holiday shows like Rudolf, Frosty, Little Drummer Boy, and others like The Grinch! So of course we keep on with that tradition with our own kids. Of course no Christmas in my family would be complete without watching “The Sound Of Music”. It isn’t a Christmas show however it was put on t.v. at this time of year. To this day I can remember dad sitting in his chair in the living room as we opened presents singing “Edelweiss” silently in the background.

Memories during this time of the year are so great but the most important part of Christmas is remembering the birth of Jesus! Without a doubt this is the best gift we could ever receive. You can have all the other memories and other things that go with them but they all take a back seat to the birth of that little boy born in the manger! Merry Christmas everyone! I hope that your Christmas is filled with joy and peace!