Christmastime

I love this time of year, even though it feels like the stress level shoots through the roof!  Having kids at Christmastime is the best.  They are in total awe and wonder at the lights, the trees, presents, etc.  It's so much fun!  Of course, we have yet to put up our tree....that's this weekend's project!  We just got back into town the Sunday after Thanksgiving, then I had to turn right back around and drive back up to Atlanta Tuesday for my class on Wednesday.  So there's literally been zero time to decorate for the holidays.  Hopefully we'll remedy that soon....

I had a GREAT time shopping with my mom on the day after Thanksgiving!  She recently had shoulder surgery so I wasn't so sure she'd be able to go all out like she usually does, but she was a trooper and hung in there all day long (with the help of a little Lortab I think!).  People think I'm totally nuts going shopping the day after Thanksgiving with all the other nutjobs out there...but for me it's more about having uninterrupted time with my mom than marking stuff off my Christmas shopping list (although everyone that knows me knows I LOVE being able to mark stuff off a list!).  And a huge thank you to Jerry and Ken for watching the girls all day long while we were out running around!

All that shopping got me to thinking, though....exactly how did we get from Christmas being a religious holiday to one that we go out and spend gobs of money on the people in our life?  This in no way is a religious rant or anything...I'm just truly curious as to how it all evolved.  I guess I could Google it and find out.  But it just made me think that it was sort of silly to go out and spend all this money at this one particular time of the year.  Don't get me wrong - I love buying stuff for my kids and seeing their eyes light up when they get the toys they've wanted.  And I enjoyed a very blessed upbringing where I was never left wanting for more, and so did Jerry.  And we have the means to buy pretty much whatever Carrie or Anna may want/need (at least for now....get back to me when their wish list starts to include things such as "new car")  I love buying things for the people in my life that I love.  I do it to show them that I care about them and I love the feeling of giving to others.  But there just seems to be so much pressure to buy, buy, buy, spend, spend, spend that it gets a lot of people in trouble financially, not to mention the whole premise behind Christmas gets lost. 

My family decided this year to only buy for the kids in the family rather than even swapping names of the adults and buying for just that person.  I thought this was a great idea.  Maybe in the future we'll take it one step further and perhaps adopt a charity or a needy family in addition to the kiddos and "pay it forward."  I know it sounds cheesy, but it's just how I'm feeling these days.  I am planning on setting aside an afternoon very soon to have Carrie help me go through her toys that she no longer plays with or has outgrown and pick out some to donate.  It's important to me that she grows up learning that not everyone has everything they need or want and that we have a responsibility to give back.  I'm not sure how this whole process will go....I'm thinking probably not so well :)  But I figure if I start now perhaps it won't be so "painful" for her in the future. 

I know this post is a little all over the place.  Sorry!  That's what happens when I have a bunch of stuff rattling around in this head of mine....