Just two more sleeps, until the magic of Christmas morning. Two more sleeps until our sweet babies wake us with excitement and joy and their eyes reflect the wonder that is believing in the unseen. Two more sleeps until they bound down the stairs with more energy than Aaron and I will be able to muster, on what is sure to be an earlier than usual morning. Two more sleeps until all the waiting is finally over and we can see their faces light up as they open the gifts they've been wanting so badly. There aren't many things that make me smile more than seeing our children adore and enjoy the excitement and anticipation of Christmas. I revel in seeing their eager fingers pull the link off the paper chain each night, search for our Elf on the Shelf each morning, write letters to Santa, dance to Christmas music, hear them "ooohhh" and "aahhh" at Christmas lights, gobble up Christmas treats, kiss baby Jesus in the manger of our Nativity, and learn the words to "The Night Before Christmas" as we recite it together each night. The kids are old enough now to understand that Christmas is truly about the birth of Christ and I have enjoyed talking to them about that as we've gone to masses this Advent. The magic and true meaning of Christmas is still alive in my heart after all these years and I absolutely cherish witnessing my children live it every day as we have count down the sleeps to Christmas.
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| Clara & Colton with the big guy! |
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| Our gorgeous tree, albeit a bit crooked! |
The days preceding all the sleeps leading up to this time have been filled with their own wonder and joy and excitement.Christmas in a new house and in a new town means making new traditions and finding new ways to carry on already important ones. Clara and I managed to find a local production of The Nutcracker to see earlier this month and we have discovered a great little Christmas village full of lights, a tram ride and Santa that we explored with some new friends. We saw Disney on Ice and are trying some new tricks with making Christmas cookies. Naturally, Giselle, our friendly family Elf on the Shelf returned this year and we have had fun each morning discovering where she has found to hide in the new house.
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"Giselle"
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Decorating in and out was fun as we had to figure out new ways to use the old decorations. We have been enjoying our first real Christmas tree since being married. We'll will be spending our first Christmas in our home and not traveling up north to be with our extended families this year, so I just couldn't wait to have a real tree. There is nothing like walking into the house after work and smelling the aroma of a fresh tree. I love it!
It is bound to be a magical Christmas, but we'll just have to wait two more sleeps to find out how magical!
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| Best looking house on the block! |
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| Merry Christmas, from the Barrett Family |
