These are my two. They are my world, my joy, my reason for living.
We had such a wonderful Christmas. It was laid back, relaxed and not rushed in the least; a far cry from our earliest Christmases together.
That seems to be an issue around this time of year, the hustle and bustle to get it done and then it's gone. And every year, it always seems, without fail, someone's feelings get hurt because you weren't able to spread yourself thin enough to visit long enough.
Aaron and I used to set our alarm for 6:30 am Christmas morning so we could wake Abi up to open presents. Then rush, rush, rush. Get ready really quick to go from one parent to the other, back to the extended family, cooking to make a lunch that you'll be an hour late for anyway, all to be too exhausted to enjoy any of it from doing the same thing the day before. Where's the fun and joy in that??
I remember riding in the car and Aaron and I looked at each other, weary eyed, and swore we wouldn't do it like this again. And we haven't!
Sometimes you have to say "no", or if you're like me and that isn't in your vocabulary, you learn to compromise. Now, we spread Christmas celebrations with extended family members out over the days leading up to Christmas. We let Abi sleep in (which ironically turns out to just be until daylight on Christmas morning). We enjoy coffee and breakfast and talking about why we even celebrate around Christmas-time; the real reason for the season. We play with the presents instead of putting off opening them because we have to go get dressed to leave. We try on every article of new clothing because Abi wants to model it all. We shoot Nerf guns and put together the toys with the tiny parts because she JUST CANT WAIT TO PLAY!!!
We've learned the time we spend with our children, who will only be children once, is the most important thing. Don't let the busyness of this world distract you from the things, and the people, who matter most!
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