Bring on Holiday Season 2013!

All week long I've been feeling it.  There's almost been a crackle in the air. My heart started beating a little faster just thinking about it.  I knew once I woke up Thanksgiving morning it would have begun. Holiday Season. Every year I swear to slow down, enjoy it more, stress less.  But every year I seemingly fail.  By the time its over I am sick of shopping, tired of planning, I'm exhausted and all I really want is a nap! Not that I hate the Christmas season, I really don't, but the crammed schedules and so much to do leave me entirely spent.  So I have to admit, the anticipation of the start of all the holiday madness filled me with a bit of foreboding.  It was about to begin and I couldn't wrap my head around it. Over half of my neighborhood already had their lights up and I still haven't even checked the 4 storage units to see how far back all the lights for the house are buried.  The task of putting up Christmas decorations in my house that I haven't even been able to set all the way up is more than daunting.

I looked on in pity late Wednesday afternoon at the guy camped out in front of the Target around the corner from my house.  He was bundled up in his sleeping bag and had about six 2 liter bottles of soda stacked next to him.  I paused for a minute and just watched and wondered what could possibly be for sale, so steeply discounted that it would seemingly be worth it to just hang out on the pavement in front of a business all through the Thanksgiving holiday.  Too many are skipping right over Thanksgiving these days. Too many are missing out on time with their families!

The week before Thanksgiving, Tara and her family decided to come visit for the holiday.  I couldn't have been happier! We have missed them so much!

We ended up spending Thanksgiving with just our family of 6, my parents and Tara and Jason and 3 of their 5 kids.  It was a little sad not see all of our extended family like we always do, but with such a small group and zero traveling to do, it was the most relaxed Thanksgiving I have ever experienced.  

Tara, Jason and I all went for a run after the whole house had slept in a bit.

We finished making food while the boys played football at the park next door.  

We all fit at just one table (with a few creative additions to the table).  

Our house was the most put together that it's been in so many months.  All the piles of things that have been waiting to be put into place are finally in their new homes. We are putting the finishing touches on many of the rooms and starting to bring things out of storage.  It feels so good to finally be wrapping things up.

 After dinner as we sat looking at all the black friday ads Tara started talking to me about how she's been doing all of her regular shopping on line and got me to looking and thinking. With my Amazon prime account and their free shipping it is actually way easier to order things from there than to drive down to Toys R Us. I could  save tons of time!  I  started feeling hopeful for getting things right this holiday season.

(Ashlyn was "trying to teach Wes how to be flexible)

I won't be all the way done with the house renovations for a few more weeks. My living room furniture wont get here until the end of January and I'll have to make do for all our Christmas gatherings with a mish mash of old stuff from my moms old furniture and mine.  I may not be able to get all the way back to all the decorations in the back of the storage units, but  if there is one good thing that I have gained from living through the chaos of this remodel, it would have to be that I have learned to let go a little more. I am learning to relax a little bit when things are totally out of my control. I am learning to take things moment by moment and just be grateful for what is.  I spent Thanksgiving feeling calm, peaceful, and so incredibly grateful for so many things.

 I woke up a little late Saturday morning and Christmas was in full swing everywhere I went, I was surprised to realize that it didn't bother me a bit. I may not be physically ready to get into the Christmas groove, but the foreboding feelings are gone. My head is ready for it.  This year I'm going to get it right.   Bring it on December, I'm coming at you with a grateful heart.