My Christmas List

I'm feeling a touch sentimental today. I'm not sure what has brought it on. Maybe the fact that we've been sick for so long, and I'm just grateful for what it is...and what it isn't. Either way, I've just been thinking a lot about the Christmas season and why I like it so much.

I like Christmas baking. I'm not going to lie. It makes me glowie. I like doing it, I like smelling it, I like eating it. I like sharing it. I like when people like it. It's all around good. Pumpkin Roll; Toffees; Sugar Cookies; Turtles; Shortbread; Almond Rocca. Almond Rocca is one of my all-time favourite Christmas treats and I have no idea how to make it. I made gingersnaps today. The house smells amazing. Tyler's Grandma's recipe. I like using recipes that were special to people. It's good to find a good recipe from a good website or something, but nothing beats an hand-me-down recipe. These ones are perfect.

I like Handel's Messiah. I was recently called as a Ward Organist, and it inspires me to learn how to play Messiah. Every year since I can remember, my family and I have gone to the Calgary Stake's presentation of Handel's Messiah, led by Keith Wood. Eventually, when I was old enough, I sang in it. Every year I would marvel at Sister Shauna Murdock and her ability to play the organ like that. And I wanted to learn. I guess being called as an organist is my way of starting. I sat down at my piano today and played a few of the songs I already know. I love it. Nothing beats the Hallelujah chorus at full volume. Plus, I always get emotional in those songs, and find it easier to play them than to sing them.

I love clean sheets. I know it has nothing to do with Christmas, but I do love it. And today, clean sheets are making me happy.

I love advent calendars with those little chocolates. They're awesome. My kids get one every year. They get so excited to have their little chocolate and to count down the days. I remember growing up, my mom had a flannel-board advent calendar with the Nativity. I loved that. Everyone got to take turns, putting on shepherds, wise men, the star, sheep, Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus. It was old and fell apart, but I loved it. I need to get me one of those.

I like to have my Christmas lights on all the time. The prudent person in me feels it is a waste of money to burn that electricity all day, and I worry about burning out my lights (we've had them for 8 years now and they're still going strong), but then I see the tree all glowie in my living room, and I love it. Who cares if it's noon?

I love Christmas music as soon as I can possibly get away with listening to it. American Thanksgiving seems about right...or a few days before. My favourite song this year is "What Child is This" by Andrea Boccelli and Mary J. Blige. I just like it. I'm sure there are better songs out there, but that's my favourite right now. "O Holy Night" is my all-time classic favourite. Pretty much sung by anyone.

I LOVE Christmas shopping. I love anticipating what people will say, or think when they open a gift. Especially for my kids. It's really easy to go overboard, and I REALLY try not to, but alas.

I love a cool crisp air, with a beautifully warm house. Especially this house. I have loved all my houses that I've lived in and have been grateful for them, but this year I am SO grateful for this house. I was thinking about it this morning. What a blessing this house is. It's amazing to me that we have this house. That WE live HERE. Truly a blessing.

I love Christmas dinner. Seriously, whoever thought that turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, buns, juice, cranberries, and veggies would be the traditional Christmas dinner was a genius! I love it. I love smelling it. I love eating it. I love leftovers of it. Love it. (I also secretly love that my dad insists on fancy Christmas dishes - we tease him, but I love setting the table with fancy Christmas dishes and linens).

I love snow. Warm snow. Haha. We haven't had much snow yet. The grass, in fact, is still green...which is weird to me. We've had a lot of rain, and I'm not complaining, because bundling kids up in boots and snow pants and hats and mittens, etc is a lot of work every time you need to leave the house. But I love snow. I love squishy snow. The kind that gets mixed with a bit of street dirt. It doesn't look as pretty, but it's super fun to step in and squish with your boots. Snowmen. Snow forts. Snow balls. Snow Angels. Clean. White. Snow.

I love trying to come up with something really AMAZING to blow my husband away with every year. Love it. Traditionally he's the master at gift-giving...but I'm coming into my own.

I love reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas." I bought a copy of it when I was pregnant with Lucy. I love pulling it out every year. It's beautiful. And I love the copy my parent's have. My mom has a huge collection of Christmas stories, and I love reading them to my kids. My favourites: The Christmas Sleigh (I want ice-cream made out of snow), Twas the Night Before Christmas, and a little one about a giant Christmas tree in a forest that all the mice and forest animals decorate...can't remember what it's called.

I love Christmas PJS! And new slippers. I seriously hope my kids get me slippers. I wear them all day, every day...and until we moved to Kingston, I even wore them in the summer. Bare feet on the floor feels weird.

I love Nativity sets. I'd love to have a collection, but for now I only have 3. Does 3 count as a collection? And I can't find one of them. I have my traditional Willow-Tree nativity, and little tiny snowman nativity, and another little one that the kids are allowed to play with, and I can't find now, as a result. Oh well.

I love sending and receiving Christmas cards. I'm not usually on the ball. But I love it. I actually have all my cards written, and addressed already, I just need these kids to get healthy so we can take a family picture to include with them. I'd rather the picture not include puffy eyes and runny noses. But, beggars can't be choosers. I may have to resort to that kind of picture.

I love Christmas lights. It seriously makes any neighbourhood seems SO much more pleasant and friendly. My street is looking pretty amazing. I'd love to go all out on my house. Maybe someday we will. "Ooooh, look at the lights!"

I love the new Bible videos that are on the lds website: lds.org. They're great. I've watched them all. So far, my favourite it the one where Jesus is presented at the temple. But they're all good. I love the First Presidency Devotional every year and listening to the Mo-Tab sing Christmas music. They just do it best.

I love singing Christmas Hymns all month in December. I wish we could come up with a reason to sing them a few weeks longer. Favorite Hymn: Joy to the World, oh, and O Come All Ye Faithful...and Angels We Have Heard on High...and, well, all of them I guess.

This year, I think I love traveling at Christmas...we'll see! An airport, 3 days before Christmas with 3 kids...who knows? But it's WORTH IT!!!

I love Cochrane Ward on Christmas Day. I'm looking forward to hearing that singing! I miss Sarah & Janeen & Janie, and Shannon, and Ali and Becky and Sydney...can't wait to hear what you ladies have cooked up this year.

I love Christmas breakfast. Pancakes and waffles, french toast, eggs, hashbrowns. Mmmmm! At our house, we always had our favourite cereals on Christmas morning. We would eat shredded wheat and shreddies all year, and then Christmas morning was a blow-out of Corn Pops, Fruit Loops, Golden Grahams, Frosted Flakes. Mmmmm. There's something about waiting that makes it so much better.

I love Christmas Trees. I love OUR Christmas tree. It's a good one. It's been the same every year since we got married. We've added a few decorations every year, to replace broken ones, but pretty much, it's the same. Sometimes I wonder if I should change it up year to year, but then we decorate our tree, and I just love it. We have a tall skinny tree. We do Green, Red and Gold. We're traditional here. I love it. The whole tree is decorated with stars and jingle bells. Again, traditional. Just love it. I have these gold stars that I ordered from one of those Home Parties years ago. I only have 12 of them, and every year, they are my favourite decoration. 12 gold stars on my tree. And now I have 1 more...a gold star for the top. Finally.

I love watching my kids get into Christmas. This is the first year that Logan is kind of getting it. He knows who Santa is...I don't think he really knows what Santa does. But he likes to say, "Ho Ho Ho". And he can identify baby Jesus, which is so sweet. Even on my little snowman nativity, he knows that the tiny snowman in the little sleigh in Baby Jesus. I love that my kids enjoy watching the Joy to the World DVD with me. I love that they know the story. I love that when we ask them what December 25th is, their first answer is "Jesus' Birthday!"

I'm sure there's more. I just love Christmas. And today, that's what is making me happy.