Christmas Is OVER?

With each passing year... I realize how precious time is.  Aurelia is already almost TWO YEARS OLD and somehow Christmas time has already come and gone. 

It is yet another year to be thankful for--This year was especially nice for me.  My whole family was able to get together yesterday (which is a fairly difficult task), and all of Jon's brothers and sisters were able to fly in as well.  With two of his siblings in the military and one in college so far away, anytime we are all able to be together is precious. 

I also fell a little more in love with my hubby- he is constantly making me a better human being, and for that, I am forever grateful.   Jon has this amazing ability to always see the good in people and any situation and also be such a humble man.  (I have no clue how he does it!)

Below are a few pictures from our family's very busy holiday weekend:

Where there is Jon... the kiddos follow!

My dad LOVES to sing and dance...

And this is how we all felt at the end of it all.....

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas as well!!

Counting My Blessings....

It's always easy to forget how very lucky our family is.  We live in a warm home, we have access to easy transportation, we eat well, and we have eachother.  This Holiday Season... I am so very thankful for Jon, Aurelia, my friends, family, coworkers, a job, my home, and so much more!

As Aurelia grows up, I hope to teach her to count her blessings.  My friend Naomi (she has the cutest ideas!)and her son Owen wrote down things they were thankful for and put them in a jar during Thanksgiving.... I think I might do this with Arie, but year round.  We can put things in the jar as we go along all year long... and on Thanksgiving, we can share and count our blessings from the past year.

I know Arie is still a little too young to truly participate in this right now, but I think we'll be able to enjoy this next year... for now, I can start our Blessings Jar for us.

In the Midst of Holiday Activities.....

I was reminded today by a friend (via the blogosphere) that the Holidays are a time of the year to be present, and "centered" as she wrote...

I've been forgetting that a little lately, I am a bit overwhelmed with all of the Holiday parties, chores, and the many last minute things I need to get done.

However....

Jon, Aurelia, and I have started our own Christmas tradition....after Arie gets ready for bed (some nights before by Arie's request)... we turn down the lights, turn on the Christmas tree lights and dance to Christmas songs. Her favorites are Christmas Canon by the Trans Siberian Orchestra and All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey. She tries to sing along, and she wiggles to the music... we hold hands and dance along....Jon and I get to really enjoy Aurelia at this time of our day.

We are both so busy, and it's so hard to always give her the attention and love she deserves, but whatever it is that we are doing....we always make time for our dancing time...

I feel absolutely blessed.

Christmas Tree Fun!

We had a blast decorating the Christmas tree with Aurelia this year. She LOVED hanging the ornaments on the tree so much she started crying when we were done! She was absolutely fascinated by the lights as well.

I can't believe how fast time has flown by....last year Aurelia was just a stumblin around... and now she's her own little person....