And the Stockings were Hung by the Chimney with Care...

This year while decorating the house, I had to think long and hard about what went where since I was (1) combining decorations and (2) didn't want to overwhelm Eric with my decorations.

I love Christmas. It's my favorite time of year. I love the decorations, I love how everyone is so merry, I love making other people smile when they open that perfect gift (or at least one they really like). And of course I love spending time with family. Because of my great fondness for this time of year, I go all out on the decorating, inside and out, usually. But Eric isn't into Christmas the way I am. So in the end, I limited my decorating this year and just got enough up to show some festiveness around the house. But next year... next year there will be more. That I can promise.

But for this year, I still have two decorated trees and a the standard stuff you expect at Christmas, like the stockings and greenery wrapped banister on the stairs. When the boys were over on Saturday, they had a blast with all of the interactive ornaments that have music, lights, and motion to them (thanks Hallmark!). Nolan was actually fascinated... he kept asking me to come over and press buttons... but by the end of their visit, he figured it out and started pressing buttons on his own.

I miss my outside lights. For me, that is tradition that dates back to when I was young in Palm Bay and my sister and I would go out and put lights on our roof and palm tree out front. Every year... and I always loved that time. So much, in fact, I carried on, by myself, at my house. All white lights for the most part, with ice cycles on the roof, my porch column wrapped like a candy cane, and the gardens lined with red and green. I'd put white lights on my small tree off the corner of my house, and on the bush at the other corner. And of course, my door had a wreath on it with with lighted greenery around the door itself. So eventually, I'd like to do more outside here... but I need to figure out what all can be done, first... we've got a great front porch to work with, so I guess we'll just have to see what sparks my imagination. I definitely want some lights to some extent...

Less than three weeks till Christmas!