Thanksgiving for the Holidays

I try to spend a little bit of time each day to be mindful of all that I have in my life for which I am thankful. I have a whole lot of thankful, for my husband, for my children, for my family and my friends. I am thankful for the life I get to lead and for the people I get to share this life. My blessings are many and I never want to forget how grateful I am for all of them. I remember all this on Thanksgiving, but I am also a whole lot of grateful that Thanksgiving marks, at least for me anyway, the beginning of the holiday season.

It's Christmas season people. Game on! Holiday cheer, christmas music, twinkling lights and baking galore! Holiday television specials, hot chocolate filled with marshmallows, christmas decorations and a whole house decked to the halls. I love Christmas.

It was almost like the weather got a memo that the holiday season was upon us, because Black Friday dawned with a scattering of flurries across the sky. We went into today with at least six inches of snow on the ground. We celebrated with snow pants, gloves and hats and the first hot chocolate with homemade chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven. Life doesn't get much better than that on a Friday afternoon.

We have had a lazy few days, spent at home in our pjs. We unpacked christmas decorations in between snuggling on the couch under blankets watching a movie. I love the winter and the nesting it brings all of us. It slows us down and gives us an excuse to hibernate with the people we love the most.

Yesterday, we unpacked our Playmobil manger set. I gave it to the boys and asked them to set it up. Griffin asked what all of it was and I told him that Aidan could explain all the figurines and the setting to him and Brennan as they set it up.

Aidan looked at me thoughtfully and nodded, but after a beat he said, "Actually Mom, I think my bible would do a better job at explaining the whole thing." He ran up to his room, grabbed his bible, found the right page and read the story of Christmas to Brennan and Griffin.

After a few minutes of Aidan's reading, Griffin looked up at me with a crossed brow and said, "Do I really need to listen to all of this?"

Heh.

Today, we are off to get our tree. With the falling snow and holiday carols, it is a perfect day to find our Christmas trees. As long as you don't mind the windchill.