I have always loved Christmas time, I would say the most since we have moved to the United States. Christmas is celebrated differently throughout the world, but to me it can not be better than going to church and celebrating with family. Jesus Christ was born, what a precious baby, so it can not be anything less than a huge celebration of life! When I was younger, presents were definitely on the higher level of excitement, you just canโt fight the curiosity of what you are getting and whatever it is that you get, just always seemed perfect. As I get older, it has become more about giving than receiving and there is no better feeling. Kids definitely change your prospective on gifting and you wish you could gift them the world, but at the end materialistic stuff is what looses value really fast. The memories created, time spent, hugs and just pure love is what stays. Which is why family and time spent together so important to me. Having hot chocolate while bonding is always a plus ๐ I am glad the hot chocolate only happens during the Christmas season, otherwise we would be in trouble ๐ Itโs great that each year will be different than before with building our own traditions, watching kids interact and understand what Christmas is truly about. We read the birth of Jesus to Bella various times during this beautiful season and the more we read it, the more she remembered it and was more excited to read about it. Listening to her sing โOh Holy Nightโ is another story and each time I canโt help but get so grateful that I can teach my daughter more than just โJingle Bellsโ or โRudolphโ One thing we did this year as our little family was we worked on a ginger bread house (we thank Nonie for gifting it) Even though Bella was coming down with a cold that night, she still enjoyed โgluingโ the candy on the house, while licking her tiny fingers from the frosting ๏ I think it might be something we will do each year. We also loved watching her open her stocking on โChristmas morningโ (as we celebrated earlier) and all she wanted was Lollipops. Every time we would ask her, Bella what would you like for Christmas, her only response would be: โLollipopsโ with a huge grin on her face ๏ I looked at Barry and said, if only she would ask for the same thing for the next 20 years, it would definitely make our lives less complicated ๐ Indeed, out of all the things that were in the stocking, she could not stop smiling when she pulled out the lollipops. Normally she would have one maybe once a month or so and never on an empty stomach or before meal, but we broke rules and let her have one right then ๐ She could not believe it.
Our schedule went something like this: We went to church on the 23rd this year and the service was amazing as always. Close to 41,000 people attended Bayside Church this year and around 2,500 raised their hands to accept Christ- wow, what a gift! We have invited a couple of our friends, but they unfortunately could not make it. There is always next year ๐ On 24th in the morning, we celebrated our own Christmas and let Bella open her presents. She loved everything she got. In the evening we went to my parents house and of course had the most amazing and delicious food that one can imagine. It was not only breathtaking looking but oh so delicious! My parents have truly outdone themselves. We loved every minute there. On Christmas morning we gathered at my parentโs house and had one of our favorite breakfasts of the year, which included hot chocolate ๐ The rest of the day was purely to spend time together with exception of one of us going on a nice bike ride and leaving the rest behind ๐ we will not mention any names. On the 26th we had Barry’s side of the family come and spent a great time visiting, sharing a meal and exchanging gifts. Below are some pictures from the beautiful season. Merry Christmas!
