Tradition

With the Christmas season in full swing, I always look forward to all the traditions we do every year.

A few years ago, we started going to Nations Tree Farm out in Schagiaticoke. It's huge and even has a back field which we always end up going to because we can never find a tree up in the front! We always seem to get our tree 2 weeks before Christmas, sometimes a week and a half, but this year we got our tree the first week in December! It's great! It's all lighted and decorated and looking pretty! Now we don't have to worry about huge snowstorms coming! Bring it on, Weather!

Ever since we started going to Oakwood, we've always gone to the Christmas Program. A few more years and we probably won't since Dave graduates in 2010. It's bittersweet since I've participated in ALOT of those programs...

Then, of course, there's the family Christmas parties! I always love these! I feel so blessed because pretty much most of my extended family lives in NY and we can get together around the holidays! It's one of those things I'm thankful for: that I can have relationships with my extended family because not everyone does....at these family festivities when we were all little, "Santa" would come to visit us at the Wallace Christmas party, but Grandpa always seemed to miss him by a minute...now we're all grown up so "Santa" doesnt make his appearance much anymore because now we're all smart and know that there really isnt a Santa Claus....but then again, there's some little guys (and a little girl on the way!) now, so maybe we should give "Santa" a call and tell him to drop by soon...

Christmas Eve comes and every year we go the Christmas Eve service at church...a few years, Laura, Mike, and I were on the Teen Mission Team and we did the service...once I was in the teen choir and then 2 other years I was working in the Tech booth...i remember the one year we incorporated some scenes from "It's A Wonderful Life" and how quick we all had to be in the tech booth to fade out the scene....Jake Russo said, "Anybody who thinks that was hard, raise your hand."....we all did!.....After the service, we'd go home and pig out on appetizer foods, veggies, chips and dip, and cheese and crackers....just recently the harry and david dip and sausage cheeseballs have made it into the menu! While we feasted, we would pop in A Christmas Carol (with George C. Scott) and watch it all night until it was time to go to bed. We've done this ever since I was little and it will be weird when I don't anymore...but I'm thinking too far ahead....for right now, this is my family's Christmas Eve tradition.

As for Christmas Day....we'll we do what everyone does....eat breakfast (specifically the sour cream coffee cake Mom makes for every Christmas)...and then we open PRESENTS! the Grandparents from both sides come to our house and then later in the day we have a big turkey dinner!

My favorite tradition is that we've always had family around for Christmas....not one Christmas has gone by without family being there (except for that one Christmas Dad and Mike were in Texas, but that's where the great invention of the phone comes in! haha)

So as Christmas gets closer, I pray that you will be able to spend it with family... and lets not forget why we celebrate Christmas!

Christmas challenge: Read the book of Luke and celebrate the reason why we celebrate this joyous season!