A Little Grinch

Remember in the story of How the Grinch Stole Christmas how the Grinch went to everyone's houses stealing their Christmas trees, ornaments, decorations, stockings, food, etc? Well, do you notice anything strange about our tree?

Like how only the top half of the tree is decorated and how the bottom portion is bare? Do you also notice the little ornament thief trying to snatch another ornament, without realizing that she's being caught on camera? Yes, we have a little Grinch in our house, trying to rid all evidence of Christmas. She also managed to break one of my snowman decorations I was going to put up on the mantle.

Little does this Grinch know that Christmas lies in our hearts, and not in all the material stuff she is attempting to discard of.
In all seriousness, the girls absolutely love this time of year. Christmas is also my favorite time of year, and it's even more amazing to watch the wonder and enjoyment of the season through my children's eyes. Every time Addie sees a snowman, she yells, "Maman! Maman!" Truly her favorite winter symbol. We also love driving around the neighborhood at night to see all the lights, and listen to the girls "Ooh" and "Aah" at the decorations. Just the other day, Eliana said, "I wish it could snow, but we just have to wait." That would be the icing on the cake! Still, with all the wonderful things that make Christmas such a warm and festive time of year: caroling, Christmas cookies, family, hot cocoa, shopping, warm sweaters, twinkling lights and glitter... it's easy to get caught up in all the sights and sounds of the holidays and forget the true reason for the season. Whenever the girls get giddy and excited about all these fun things, we try to remind them that Christmas is the time of year when we remember the birth of our dear Savior, Jesus, an event that should be celebrated year-round.