Illuminated

We all know how this goes. You get everything out of the attic. The children can't wait to get their anxious fingers on the stash of surprises in the boxes marked "xmas". You verbalize the careful order of how the tree gets trimmed, which sails through one elf ear and out the other. You hold them off long enough to get to the lights.

Hmmm.

This is where I get lost. Can you call them lights if they don't light up when you plug them in? Does this have to happen every year? Out to Walgreens I went after placing Juliana in charge and throwing candy canes at them to keep them sticky and busy until I got back. The new lights are lovely though, and long!



The rest of the rituals ensued. Juliana being in charge of secretly rearranging ornaments when the little ones turned their backs so that all the ornaments don't stay on the lower 1/3 of the tree. They just kept coming back and putting them in the same spot not ever figuring out why that branch was still vacant. So cute.

Every year I have to show them (again) my favorite two ornaments that I used to hang on my parents' tree. One, the golden boot. Isn't it gorgeous? It was always magical to me. And two, the beaded ballerina....do you love her?? No surprise my favorites were a colorful girl and a gold accessory. Go figure.



I know I'm not alone in feeling that Christmas decorating is about memories. It's like opening up a photo album of your childhood. But instead of looking at just photographs of yourself and your family, you're feeling and touching your warmest memories all over again. And they are all there, packed up carefully in a box waiting for you to remember every year.



I also love this little Nativity that was handmade and given to my Juliana when she was little. It is so humble and simple. A perfect reminder of the humble story of the birth of Christ. The simple offerings of the wise men. Look at how the light through the window caught Joseph today. In fact the phone just rang to let me know that my Joseph is at school with a fever and needs to be picked up. Gotta run.

So that's today. Thanks for everyone's lovely wishes for Isabela and the little arm, she's doing great.

Wishing you illuminated days & hearts in anticipation of a beautiful Christmas.

xoxo,AM