Christmas Traditions

 I want to preface with, "I'm coming clean ladies" but I hope I haven't put on any airs to tear down.

I have been dealing with hormone stuff and feeling VERY overwhelmed. I am OK and we are very blessed but just the daily "he hit me" "what does this mean" and constant toddler training and teen drama and all the little things to think through and the laundry and meals and budgeting for 7 people....it takes a toll on me. It takes a toll on our fun stuff. That is one of the points of this blog" To encourage to find the celebrations and the joys of the everyday.

I ordered Christmas cards. I took them to our Friday co-op and started to pass them out and then left them locked in a church 1/2 hour away that I don't attend. And now I don't have a car.

My daughter was frustrated that I didn't get the tree up on Black Friday so SHE put it up.

and asked the littles to help her. Most of our ornaments were broken. I have prayed and prayed and counted to ten many many times and we are discussing respecting boundaries. Not the festivities I had in mind :(



I hung our stockings that my husband's dear grandmother knitted for each of us (this is our first Christmas without her) ***All pictures are from last year--although things are hung pictures have not been taken yet:)

I got out our Advent wreath and candles but I couldn't find the devotional (we have more than one.) I planned a Christmas party but didn't get the word out until last minute so I don't know how it will come together...

We celebrated my husband's 40th with his parents and made dinner together. It was a good time. One of our best.

All that said to try to convince myself that it is Christmas time and we are doing fun things but....

It doesn't "feel" like Christmas. Could it be our beautiful sunny Southern Ca weather?  I know that we'll sit down to a campy Christmas movie together and I'll cry. And we'll sneak in some time with friends. We'll deliver cookies to friends. Christmas cards will start arriving. We'll find that Advent devotional and really dig in. I just don't want to miss any of those precious moments because I wasn't prepared to "catch" them.

Do you have any suggestions?