52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge. Weeks 44 & 45

My life has recently been thrown into a chaotic whirlwind, and last week I barely found the time to breathe. I miss blogging when I don’t keep up with it though, so I’m at least going to catch up on this challenge!

Week 44: Your favorite holiday

My favorite holiday is Christmas (Thanksgiving is a very close second). I love everything about Christmas… celebrating our Savior’s birth, the lights, the presents (mostly giving, but I enjoy getting too 😉 ), the decorations, food, music, movies, festivities!! I am all about traditions, and Christmas has lots of them! This time of year brings out the child in me.

It is tradition in my family to give each other an ornament every year. We usually tape it to the outside of the package. This will be the first year I don’t receive one from my mom and it breaks my heart. However, I did do an ornament exchange with my husband. I plan to share an entire post about this next week!

This year my husband and I started a new tradition together, a Christmas date night in. Just the two of us, no tablets, phones, completely unconnected until the end of the day when we share our photos & day with friends on Facebook. We watched Christmas movies, listened to music, made a crock-pot meal, decorated ginger bread houses, and just hung out! We are already talking about what we want to do for next years date!! This got me into the Christmas spirit!

This year has been harder for me to get into the spirit than usual. Christmas was my mom’s favorite holiday and she and I have shared many traditions over the years. It’s not the same without her, but I’m making new traditions, while keeping some of the old ones, and I’ll always have her with me, even if she’s not here physically.I promised my mom before she died that after she was no longer with me, that I wouldn’t stop loving Christmas, that I would continue to act like a child this time of year and get excited, and of course, to remember it’s true meaning. This was hard for me at first, I didn’t want to even celebrate it at all, but I forced myself, because I make a point to never break my promises, and that was something my mom always admired about me. So I went all out! Every inch of my living room is decorated, my kitchen, dinning room, and even bathroom have decorations. I went all out. I even made a new wreath for my front door! I think my mom would have loved it, and I know she’d be proud of me!

What is your favorite holiday?

 

Week 45:

What do you do for fun?

I do many things for fun, such as; reading, writing, crafting, baking, cooking, watching movies, listening to music, hanging out with friends, planning date nights with my husband, photography, scrapbooking etc…

This weekend I’m going to geek out over Christmas movies, baking, and finishing my Christmas cards. For the last two years I have made my Christmas cards, and this year is no exception. If I have your address, you’ll be receiving a card this week. I’m a little later than usually. I like for people to receive my cards the week before Christmas, but as I mentioned earlier, my life has been crazy hectic, and by the time I get home. I’m just too exhausted.

This weekends fun includes:

• Finishing Christmas cards and getting them out in the mail
• Baking Peanut Butter Cornflake Candy
• Watching A Christmas Carol
• Getting ready for the Asset Development Christmas party on Monday (wrapping my gift for the Chinese gift exchange, making macaroni & cheese, and laying out my Christmas sweater & accessories.
• Wrapping my dad’s presents
• Writing my grocery list for Christmas Eve & Christmas dinner (I already have the ham! Yes, I love making lists)
• Watching The Polar Express
• Cookie baking with my friend Amanda

I think that’s it for now. What do you like to do for fun?

 

Love & life lessons,

Kristian