It's Christmastime in... my mind...

I'm ready. Let's start Christmastime.

I feel like even if we have accidentally splurged for the holidays before we've never really splurged on the right things. We've splurged more on random gifts than on making the holiday what we really want it in the first place.

Last year we did a great job not splurging so that our little mini-family Christmas was perfect. But the whole holiday season felt... like a chore. Not the time we actually had with our family obviously, but the planning and the counting of every penny. All good and needed at the time. But this year what I'd like for us is to really enjoy the whole season. I want to continue the traditions we've set up of only giving these very specifically traditional things to each other, but this time we are going to make the holiday what we want it. LOL I say this even though I will delivering a baby... Well, BUT that's why we'll start early. Perhaps not before Halloween... but that will be my plan. That way when baby does arrive the house will not just be ready with decorations but festive feeling as well!

If anyone is interested in evergreen products - like fresh wreaths and pinecones and uh branches and stuff, let me know. We have a mini- fundraiser at the school for the teacher's bonuses. However, only if you want evergreens - because this does NOT take the place of your Orange sale commitments. Don't even think about not ordering Oranges from me. Point being, I'm planning on a few LIVE things this year (not the tree) so the house will smell really nice I think.

What else? I'm just happy. We have exciting things at the end of the year and while I may not be hormonally able to be pure happiness at the time, I figure the leading up to it all will count as well. I don't have high expectations (except of course a healthy baby showing up) that can be squashed by someone else's actions or attitudes, I just plan on making this the way we want it and part of that is being more inwardly focused with what we want. For me that means no focus on the gifts, but focus instead on the things that make Steve happy - like being artsy with the tree and being allowed to buy new lights for it, things that make me happy - like being artsy with photographs, and things that make Abby happy - like everything holiday.

A note on pictures. As I've been going through ALL my pictures either because I am putting finishing touches on scrapbooks or scanning old pictures I have just become stronger in my feeling that it doesn't matter how things are going or how much of a pain it feels like at the time, let someone snap your picture - ask someone if they don't.

Steve and I have been married 8 years and we don't have Christmas photos for two of those years at all, another two that were so much afterthoughts that I'm glad to have them, but they are slightly disappointing. It's a similar story even since Abby has been around. Of her four Christmases we did a good job getting a mini-family picture once! Now, I have a certain pride in that because the day is always so hectic I don't want to actually squash Abby or Steve's spirit or fun by forcing a pose, and obviously I've been fair about that. I mean, don't get me wrong, I still take a lot of photos, but the ones that seem to put the most stress on them are the ones where we're all together. And that's what I want. SO there has to be a middle ground. And that may be artsy - i.e. ask someone to take ten as we're talking about posing and then maybe, just maybe we'll get a posed one as well - but at least we'll be represented and artsy are more flattering half the time anyway.

Looking through I realize I have even less of the two of us on the actual holiday (either eve or day). Is that important to me? Probably not as MUCH...oh FINE, I'll let that one go. So my priorities (for I have to have some in order to make it least painful on the rest of my picture abused family) for our family Christmas picture will be *:
GET 1 pic of Steve and I, 1 pic of the whole mini-family
Let it be holiday season evident - i.e. dressed up and hopefully with a tree or other seasonal evidence around us.