Christmas Traditions

I'm a sentimental gal. I love traditions and rituals and warm, cuddly, heart-felt moments. That's one of the things that I love about the Christmas season. There are random things that have become traditions in our family unintentionally that I wouldn't trade for the world.

• Choosing our Christmas tree as a family. When we lived in Massachusetts, we would gear up and trek around at the snow-covered tree farm (sometimes for an hour+) looking for the perfect tree. Mike usually is the most particular about the tree, the kids usually end up running around, and I try and help Mike visualize the tree decorated. Of course, here in Georgia, there's no tree farm, but we still go together as a family to select the tree and bring it home.
• Lights and decorations. This too, is a family event. I'm the one with the patience to string the lights and then it's game on and the decorating begins. We usually have a fire and Christmas music playing...perfect.
• Bon-bons...or buckeyes...or chocolate-covered peanut-butter balls. Call them what you want but I will make these with either my mom or my sister at every Christmas possible. I love baking with them.
• 25 Days of Christmas...movies that is. Gotta love watching the oldie-but-goody Christmas movies like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Coming to Town and Frosty the Snowman. These classics are a part of every season.
• Yankee Swap. Some call it White Elephant. It goes by many-a-name, but this game of gift exchange has always happened at my large family Christmases. Upon moving to Georgia, we haven't been able to attend those family gatherings and have introduce our version to our southern friends...and the fun continues...
• Christmas morning....everyone must be awake and together we go to the living room. No late sleepers or early peekers.
• Driving around town at night looking at Christmas lights. Some are crazy, some are over-the-top, some are reserved and tasteful.
• Reading the Christmas story in the Bible. We all know the story, but I love to reread it every year. And every year God reveals something different to me. Through reading the scripture and listening to the message at church, God shows me more of Him and why He chose to humble Himself and come to earth. Oh, what an awesome love!

Creation perfection

I recently was going through some photos that I had taken this past summer, and was able to pause and reflect on the perfect, beauty of God's creation. No detail was left unlooked. The intricacies, colors, textures all point to God. How can anyone contest a creator?