Deck the Halls

Both Steven and I were raised in families that were rich with traditions. It's something we treasure from our childhoods. And many of those exact same traditions are now part of my children's lives. At Easter time you can find my kids hunting for a golden egg in the exact same woods that their daddy did or having brunch at Great Uncle Dick's home just like Steven always has. At Christmas, they will listen excitedly to my father as he begins gift-opening time by reading the same passage in Luke that I heard each year as a small child and munch on the same recipe of my mom's cinnamon raisin bread that I woke up to every Christmas morning.

But Steven and I wanted to start our own traditions. Ones that involve just our little family. We hope our kids look back with fond memories on Christmas Eve as a fun-filled family pajama day beginning with a bagel breakfast in front of Charlie Brown Christmas. Another one of our special tradition days is the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It's the day we decorate house for Christmas and put up the tree. We end the day with a "fireplace meal" involving only foods that can be toasted the fireplace and setting up the nativity while Steven reads the Christmas story.

So here are a scant amount of photos from this year's day of decorating...