Holiday Happies

*Christmas cards: Such a nice break from the sea of bills and ridiculous catalogs in the mail. We love seeing updates and photos from everyone.

*"O Holy Night"- my favorite Christmas song. The Mariah Carey version is beautiful.
*Scarves and gloves.

*Fires at home and lots of cuddling. Hot tea with honey and hot chocolate.

*My famous toffee- this stuff is addicting. I only make it once a year. Yummmm. My aunt made this with me as a child each year and I've passed on the tradition.

*Sparkles" as Alex says for Christmas lights. Here is a picture of her in our sleigh in the front yard.

*Teaching Alex about Christmas. Every SINGLE toy commercial we get "That's what I want for Christmas REAL, real bad. I'll have Santa bring me one when he is at shoppin' with his coins."

*Watching The Wizard of Oz. A holiday tradition for our family. Not sure why, we just always watch it together. So, this was Alex's first time to watch and she loved it. Toto was her favorite! She asked "mommy, can I get a magic wand from Santa for Christmas and bing Emmy and Macy into Toto?" Translation: she wants to turn our dogs into Toto. She loves to "bing" her wand :)

*The smell of a fresh Christmas tree.

*Our Elf on a Shelf: an awesome new tradition in our home. Alex named our elf Criddle.

*Having my hubby home for many days. I am a quality time person, and I really am looking forward to spending time with my fam, the kids and Nathan. My parents are going to spend the night on Christmas Eve and be here when Alex wake up to see what Santa brings.

*Teaching the kids about Santa and Jesus. Alex thinks baby Jesus is in my tummy?! We clearly have some work to do.

*Annual photo with Santa:

This year more than ever, I am truly reminded of the reason for the season and so incredibly thankful for the abundant blessings in my life. This Christmas I am most excited about the little ones and loved ones that will surround our Christmas tree!