A peek at my christmas holiday.  I have way too much to share, so Ill just break it up into several smaller posts!  This has honestly been the best christmas so far since my mother has been gone.  I felt her peace with us all along the way, and I have ALOT to be thankful for.

My inspiration for wrapping.  Im such a yarn nut for as little crocheting as I actually do.  I use it on everything else!  These are some of my favorite colors.

I love love love decorating my tree every year.  I have such a sentimental heart, and christmas ornaments definitely fall into that category.  I know pretty much where every ornament came from.  Im excited to grow this collection throughout my life, especially when we start getting ornaments from our own children!  This button ornament is a new one I bought from a friend, I just love it!

I hung up my paper chain I made last year.  Little things like this instantly make my house feel like christmas.  I will be a bit sad to take them all down.  You will most likely never see me decorate my house with santa claus figurines or anything like that.  Maybe a vintage deer figurine would be nice!  But I love when other people do, its just not for me.

Christmas eve me and the boy watched his favorite xmas movie, A Christmas Vacation.  It is funny everytime!  Then we caught the last half of A Christmas Story on the tele.  We actually didnt even have our hot cocoa b/c we were too stuffed from dinner!

I made my cousin Shane a pumpkin roll. (still cant figure out how to roll it without having it crack, I was soooo super careful)  This is a tradition my mom started for him several years ago, so when she passed away, I took up where she couldnt, so now I make him one every year.  Its about one of the most special things to deliver each year.

I made a big batch of banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, just because.  I ended up giving almost all of them away for gifts.  Yum yum!

Christmas morning James gave me one of my presents early!  This very beautiful coffee cup from my favorite store, Anthropologie!  I adore it.  Prettiest mug ever!

On the way out to take Violet to her pin, I gave her an early xmas bone!  (we dont do our christmas until that night when we get back from my Nannas)

On the way to Nanna's we listened to a Rocky Votolato cd James got me. (another early gift he snuck out!)  Its not a new cd, but new to me!  I love Rocky!

We spent the day at my favorite house in the world, my Nanna's.  I have gone to her house every christmas since I was born.  I cant imagine christmas any other way.

This christmas was very special to me.  It was the first year that nobody cried (at least not that I saw) about my mom.  It was also the first year that after opening gifts and eating, every person in the family was sitting in the same room together talking and laughing.  Usually everyone breaks up into different rooms and different conversations, or watched football or something.  This was so nice to me, I know my mom would have felt the same way.  And I received a meaningful apology for an old deep wound, which has lifted my heart from the chambers I have created around it.

Besides the obvious of having an amazing husband, beautiful (furry) children, and so many other things to feel blessed for, the christmas had alot of heart in it for me.  The only part I would have changed would be having my brother and my dad there with me.  I missed them both so much.  But I know my brother was having his own awesome christmas with a special girl, and I will be having a movie date with my daddy soon!  And we will be doing our own little xmas with James' family soon too.

I hope all of you who are reading this had many blessings this season as well.  And I hope they carry on throughout the year ahead.  I love this time of renewal.  Beginnings of new years always feel like beginnings in our souls.  A time of change where change is needed, and a new spring in our step for the excitement of what is to come.

p.s. LOTS more photos to come.  besides just xmas, i have so much to share!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

PEACE,

Laura