And that is how I named the blog......

I love Christmas....let me say that again....I. LOVE. CHRISTMAS.!!!!!!!!!! Not the typical kind of love most people have, like "let's put up a Christmas tree....let's put up a few outside decorations....." I am talking about a borderline insane, let's decorate the second week in November, change the sheets to Christmas, change the dishes to Christmas, minimum of 5,000 lights in the house kind of love! And it isn't just about the decorations, although I do LOVE them...did I mention that??? I also love, LOVE the fact that Magic 96.5 begins playing Christmas music almost as early as I decorate.

Dear Magic 96,
I heart you!
Michelle

But seriously, I am so full....full of EVERYTHING....at this time of year, that I almost feel like I could explode. I think that through most of the season it would be absolutely impossible to feel any more joy....not that I don't have bad days, bad things, but the overall tone of the season fills me with intense completeness. I have already been scouring the few magazines that I get for ideas to enrich the season for my kids.....and I do realize that it would be easy for them to get a little caught up in the NOT meaning of the season....so I do try extra hard to add things into the season that will allow them to experience the season and the act of giving. And we talk A LOT about how we can serve others....and it is through these talks that I began to be accutely aware of my blessings....please don't misunderstand. I have ALWAYS known that I was blessed beyond measure, but when you begin listing specifically your blessings for someone who maybe doesn't even understand fully what blessings mean, well....it blew me out of the water. And the basics of food on the table, roof over our heads, jobs....those are HUGE blessings but not ones that we take for granted.....and then there are MILLIONS of other things...my children, the most awesome man I have ever met as a husband, my salvations....again HUGE....and in listing these, the fullness of CONTENTMENT comes....and it just seems like I take the extra effort to linger on these during this season....which is kind of backwards since we are typically so busy....but I am just ABUNDANTLY BLESSED!!!!!! That is the long and short of all that I am and all that I hope to be....

And, for your enjoyment, here is just ONE little situation that makes me chuckle a little and although it wasn't an 'enlightened' comment it did make me remember, once again, that I am abundantly blessed!!!!
Last night, Leighton was looking through a toy catalog and making ANOTHER
Chrismas list (he has made many but they all pretty much contain the same
stuff - score!). As he was making the list, he said to us "Do you know what
the best part about Christmas is and about Santa Claus coming and bringing
toys?" And I was pretty much thinking he might say that the best part was
Santa bringing toys, so I was intrigued to hear the rest of this story. When I
said, "What?" He said, "We don't EVEN have to pay for all of that stuff!"
And when he said that, I knew he still 'believed'! Isn't childhood precious?!