Christmastime

I took down the fall decorations and put up the Christmas ones tonight. I love this time of year. And my absolute favorite thing is putting up the Christmas tree. Every year I pull out the ornaments and feel overwhelming nostalgia as I look back on what they all mean to me. The people who gave them to me, the life we have created, the children we added to our family. I have an ornament that was given to me by my parents for my very first Christmas, and it is always the first one up on the tree. I have three ornaments that were given to me by my best friends in high school, and though we are no longer the friends we once were, I love the memories that flood back whenever I pull them from the box. I have Evie and Catherine's first ornaments, from the years they were born, and salt dough ornaments of their tiny handprints. I have an ornament that a little boy made for me that I just can't bear to not hang up, and a scribbled on ceramic ornament that Evie colored for me last year.

I can't believe we're coming up on another holiday season. The years are just ticking away so quickly, and every year as I add a new ornament to the tree I am reminded of how far I have come, how far Jordan and I have come, and I can't wait to see what else is added to our tree as we continue to grow.