I'm back! But, I really don't want to be back because Christmas was absolutely amazing this year. Sure, there were less presents under the tree, but my kids did not seem to notice and it definitely did not put on a damper on our Christmas spirit. In fact, our in-house Scrooge, Elliot, who after opening his presents, indulging in chocolates all morning, and wearing only jammies for two days straight, declared "This is the best Christmas EVER!". And, frankly, I would have to agree with him.
This Christmas, like our past Christmases, was filled with family, friends, food and a ton of fun, but I think the difference this year was that over the course of this very difficult year, I have grown deeply appreciative of all the blessings in my life. My life is so far from perfect, and yet, in spite of all it's imperfections, all it's heartaches, it's disappointments, it's trials, and it's frustrations, it is absolutely beautiful. I realised this Christmas season, as I stood back and reflected upon the journey we embarked upon in 2012, that I truly would not change a thing if it meant that I would have missed out on even a fragment of all this:
family,
happy, healthy kids (yay, Zoe!),
treats, treats and more treats:
handsome men wearing matching Christmas jammies:
home-made gifts:
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| Zoe's gift to her Grampy Skov, which is now hanging in his living room. |
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| Fleece blankets for some special kiddos in our life |
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| A Boat Dress for my sister, Emmy |
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| A compilation of all my blog entries for our parents |
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| and pillowcases for our extended family in Utah |
Christmas dinners and dances with friends:
lots of cosy spots for reading, watching movies, and snoozing in:
plenty of snowstorms to keep us snuggled up in our home:
snow-time fun with good friends:
lots of lazy evenings:
and even lazier mornings:
And so along with Elliot, I declare this to have been the BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!
I can't wait to see what 2013 has in store for us because, as I learnt this past year, in spite of it's ups and downs, life is wonderful if you are willing to make the most of it and if you remember to count your many blessings.
So glad to hear that your holiday was a special one and that you enjoyed the best Christmas ever. There should be lots of exclamation marks there but I am using my old laptop and the button doesn't work.... I felt the same way about Christmas this year. Wishing you all the best in 2013.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Andrea! I am glad to hear that you had a great Christmas too. Oh, and your beaver IPod case was a HUGE hit! He loved it. :)
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