12 JOYS of Christmas, 2015 (PART 1)

This Christmas I have my work cut out for me and lately I catch myself feeling like Mrs. Grinch instead of enjoying, and helping my family to enjoy such a very special time of the year. So this morning, as I was scrubbing my bathtub I was struck with the inspiration to write this post. Maybe it will be a one time thing or it might just become an annual tradition. Its amazing how much more joy we experience when we stop to focus on the good.

1. Rebekah is 3 this Christmas and besides her growing anticipation of opening presents she has noticed Christmas Music on a new level this year. Her favourite song is "Little Drummer Boy" and she will boldly announce that "Rubber Bum Bum" is playing whenever she hears the tune. SO CUTE! She also does an absolutely adorable rendition of "Go tell it on the Mountain."

2. Joshua opening presents. I had a preview of this while I was wrapping gifts. He got hold of one and I was happy to have him play with it while I finished up but I didn't anticipate how quickly he would figure out how to rip the paper off. There is something so joyful about kids ripping into their gifts. I remember how exciting it was (and sometimes still is) to unwrap a surprise.

3. Samara memorizing her lines for the church preschool pageant. She STILL likes to rehearse them for us even though the pageant performance was on the 13th. We are planning a bit of an encore on Christmas day. This was a huge accomplishment for her and rightfully so she is proud of herself.

4. The joy of lights. David mentioned this year that one of his favourite parts of Christmas time is when the lights are off and the Christmas tree is lit up. He even made furniture rearranging suggestions for maximum viewing. Driving around to see Christmas lights is always a highlight.

5. C A N D Y. Tomorrow we are decorating our homemade Sugar Cookie Ginger Bread Houses. We assembled them today and the kids can't wait to get their hands on the candies to decorate. Angeline made one already at a friends birthday party and was so proud of her candy covered mound. She also took the liberty if decorating the plate and concluded that next time the roof should go on afterwards so that you could fill the entire house with candy.

6. Family Portraits. This is definitely one of MY favourites. If it wasn't for me the rest of my family would be happy never to pose for a group picture. It means a lot to me to have us all together in one picture. It's a lot of work to get everyone looking at the camera let alone smiling but it's worth it.

I plan on posting a part 2 with an additional 6 Joys after Christmas.
Wishing You much Joy as you reflect on the many blessings this season brings.