Christmas Bells

So it turns out that my work isn't going to let me have a vacation for Christmas so we wont be going to St. George for as long as we had anticipated. So, we decided that we needed more Christmas Spirit in our home! WE GOT A CHRISTMAS TREE! Hallelujah!! It's so exciting! I absolutely LOVE christmas! I love the decorations, the meaning, the nice things people do for each other the stories, and the snow! It's all so wonderful. Growing up my family would pick another family that we knew and would sneak around their home in the cold and drop of presents for 12 nights in a row before Christmas! It was always so thrilling- especially when the family started watching for us. They didn't know who we were, but it always left me with a good feeling knowing that we helped someone else feel of the Christmas spirit. And every Christmas Eve mom would buy a new Christmas book to read to us. They weren't always about Jesus or His birth, but about good meanings and morals that have to do with Christmas time. I love those stories! Now this year will be my first Christmas away from home... and it breaks me heart. I'm going to miss my sisters' beautiful and excited faces as they open presents around the tree. I'm going to miss mom's cooking and her laugh. I'm going to miss dad's attempt to keep order as my sister climb over each other to get to their presents :) The smells, the feelings, the memories. I miss my family.
On the happy side though, this will be my first Christmas with Ryan! And that is exciting! We got a tree that is pre-lighted, so that was nice and mom sent us some ornaments! And I cut out tons of paper snowflakes for the tree and window! It's so happy looking! Now we just need to remember what Christmas is all about- being with family and serving others.