Hello December

December is here + the merriment as already begun at the Barker home. We chose the day after Thanksgiving (like the majority of folks) to decorate our little home. Personally I like spending and celebrating each holiday as it comes, resisting the urge to skip over them. Thanksgiving day was another tough day for me, pregnancy wise, but I knew with Russell's insane schedule Friday was the best day to get our Christmas on. There is something so joyful, + fulfilling about seeing that christmas tree all lit up. Kylie has been amazing with the tree, and hasn't even tried to take the ornaments off. The ones Russell did lower to the ground he secured pretty well to the tree I don't think her little hands could manage anyways. 

This Christmas is going to be a very special one again this year. I grew up with amazing parents who always made christmas a grand event. I don't remember a Christmas we didn't have presents. I didn't get married till I was 22, I always had my own job, which allowed me to always have enough to spend on friends, family, and myself. There were a lot of frivolous purchases made during this time, haha, but I could, so why not.  It's been different since having Kylie. Russell is still in school, and I'm a stay at home mom. For the first time in my life I've been experiencing Christmas's where it is more tight. At first I was more sad about this predicament, but I have come to realize buying stuff isn't what makes this holiday great. These two Christmas's have been full of such spirit for us. 

Christmas is great because it celebrates our Savior. It's a time to draw closer to our families. It's a time to reach out in service and love. It's a time to forgive and let go that years resentments. For me I'm learning to make the most of this holiday even when we have little on account of Russell still being in school. Russell and I have asked for more homemade gifts from each other this year. We are planning on sledding, seeing the lights, making sugar cookies, decorating gingerbread houses, and watching lots of Christmas movies!!! I'm excited for egg nog, family get togethers, having hot cocoa by our fireplace. I don't want to get caught in the trap where you somehow feel your Christmas will lack without more financial means. And I hope other families, like ours who still have their husbands in school, don't feel that pressure either. Christmas can be amazing, full of traditions, without spending a lot of dough. For example I wanted to get Kylie her own tree, but little trees can even be costly. So I thought our branches we used for our thankful tree would do just nicely for her to personally decorate. She loved putting the ornaments I got from target on it. Someday I know we will look back on these more humble Christmas's with a sense of sweet joy from those sweet memories that were made. 

Thomas S. Monson 2013 Christmas devotional... 

"Finding the real joy of Christmas comes not in the hurrying and the scurrying to get more done, or the buying of gifts. We find the real joy of Christmas when we make the Savior the focus of the season."