our precious blessing!: the most wonderful time of the year

Christmas has been in full swing around our house since the day after Thanksgiving! All of the fall decorations took their place back in the attic, and the lights and garland adorned the mantel. Josh had a fun experience hanging the lights on our house for the first time... And our tree has been quite a pest, to say the least. THE tree was selected, brought home, centered perfectly in its base, lit and decorated. Only a few minutes later we noticed that it was leaning a little to the right. The tilt was fixed, only to find it laying on the couch the next morning. So, sweet Josh came home and fixed it on his lunch break. It fell again right after he left. All in all the tree has fallen 5 times...next year we are getting a smaller tree. But for now, my ingenious husband rigged wire and bolted it into the window sills to hold it in place. The tree still leans a tad bit forward.

No matter which direction the tree is leaning or whether its standing straight up or against the window, Cade is absolutely fascinated by the bright lights and ornaments. He could sit/lay in front of the tree all day and stare at the pretty colors! He is our inspiration. Our prayer has been that we would find as much wonder and excitement in celebrating Christmas as Cade does. How fulfilling to celebrate Jesus' birth with a wonder-filled heart. We've been reading a chapter of Luke every night to focus our hearts on the real reason of Christmas. Yes, lights, garland, trees, ornaments, cookies, and presents are wonderful things, but the reason for all of it is to celebrate Jesus' birthday. The biggest birthday celebration of the year! I pray that you too will be filled with awe and wonder as you and your family celebrate the real reason for CHRISTmas.

Here are some pictures of our little gift...
punkin.