Holidays

Well helloooo!  I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year!  I am just now dragging myself off of the couch.  I had a bit of recovering to do!

So now I'm recovered just in time for the arctic storm.  Excellent.  Perhaps I should just go back to my couch....

Anyway, here's a little recap of our Christmas.  Despite a little bout with the flu, this year's holiday season was extra special.  I think it's because Liam is old enough to *sort* of understand what is going on.  I don't think he really understands presents and where they come from, but he definitely enjoys opening them!  In fact, ripping off the paper may be his favorite part!

There is just something extra sweet about experiencing the holidays through the eyes of a child.

We were gone for 9 days as we traveled to spend time with family.  We had five different holiday gatherings, and we got to spend some quality time with our loved ones.  It was a wonderful whirlwind. 

Liam enjoyed several days of playtime with his cousins as well.  

These two are pretty close in age.  They're going to be buddies. 

Dressed up for Christmas Eve mass

So much excitement on Christmas Eve

I wish I knew what they were saying to each other....

We  barely got these two to sit still.

He also got to spend some time with all of his grandparents and aunts and uncles.  

Like a little bird wanting Grandma's peanut butter pie

Legos!

Great Grandparents

Checking out Grandpa's new shoes

Andrew's brother gave us matching hats

It was quite the holiday for our family with so many memories to cherish.

Life is good....and we are so very blessed!

xoxo

Four Gifts for Christmas

Last year, during the holidays I was reading this blog post and was very inspired by the "Four Gifts" idea.

I told Andrew about it, and we agreed that we would adopt this approach to giving Christmas gifts to Liam.  

Let's face it.  We live in a world that is consumed by "stuff".  As a parent, I think it would be very easy to fall into the trap of over-buying for your children.  I'm grateful that I came upon this idea when Liam was only a year old so we can organically make this our way, without having to get him on board. 

Here's the idea:

Source

Instead of giving an overabundance of presents, the child receives four meaningful gifts:

Something he or she wants
Something to wear
Something he or she needs
Something to read

I really love this idea.  I love the simplicity.  I love the focus on making the gifts meaningful. I love that it will teach Liam to be grateful for the gifts he receives.

I will say this isn't easy for me, because I love to give gifts.  An unexpected surprise, however, is that it has made me more intentional in what gifts I choose for him.  Rather than just buying because I think he's going to like it, I find myself being much more selective.

As he gets older, I would like to incorporate these four actions into the mix as well:

Source

My hope is that by starting these traditions, Liam will grow up understanding the true spirit of Christmas, which isn't about receiving but about giving.

'Tis the Season

I adore the holiday season.  Every year, I get excited as Thanksgiving approaches.  The holiday season always reminds me of my childhood and the anticipation of decorations, parties, sweets, gifts, and precious time spent with my family.  

Here are some of my holiday favorites:

Family gatherings.  Each and every year I am reminded of just how blessed I am.  And now that I have a child, I consider these gatherings even more precious.  Family is truly what it's all about.

Liam and his cousins last weekend in their Christmas jammies

Food.  I love to eat.  And this time of year gives me a happy excuse to indulge!  I'm also obsessed with all things peppermint.  I made this peppermint fudge last weekend for our family celebration and it was a huge hit. 

Source: 4littlefergusons.wordpress.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Twinkling lights, Christmas trees, garland, all of the holiday decor.  I have always enjoyed decorating for Christmas.  I love nothing more than sitting in a darkened room next to a lit Christmas tree.  By the way, my tree looks nothing like this.  Ours is only decorated on the upper half because of a certain curious one year-old!

Source: http://pinterest.com/luxechronicles/it-s-beginning-to-look-a-lot-like/

Christmas books and music.  As a little girl, I loved reading Christmas books and singing carols.  These days, I'm enjoying reading those same stories to Liam.  And every afternoon we listen to one of the holiday stations on Pandora.

My Balsam and Cedar Yankee candle.  I have been burning this everyday since October.  The smell reminds me of the burning pine in the fireplace of the cabin where we stayed in Colorado.  It's a perfect holiday smell!

Hot chocolate.  Even though it hasn't been that cold out, I still love a good cup of hot chocolate.  Now, if I only had these cute reindeer mugs to go with it....

Source: http://pinterest.com/pin/107171666104305966/

Watching my son experience Christmas.  He's still too little to really understand, but he is already learning to enjoy the holiday fun.  I can't wait to watch his excitement grow each year as he experiences pure joy.  Children give the holidays a whole new meaning.

Learning to open presents

Grandma lets him lick the fudge bowl.  Yummy!

May your season be filled with peace, love, and joy.


xoxo
M