I think this is the first year I've really come to appreciate our quiet little Christmas's. Of course our doors are always open to family who wish to celebrate with us but I've grown quite accustomed to the newfound quietness and slowness of the season.
We started off the season with Scarlett's annual Christmas concert. It was cute and really fun to see her singing at the top of her lungs! She's really come into her own this year, it's really cool to see her finding herself and her voice.
I've really lost so much time with Scarlett now that she's in full time school, it's been a hard adjustment for all of us. I'm choosing to focus on all of the one on one time I have with Bodhi now and savoring all these moments because I know it wont be long before he's in school too.
So Bodhi and I baked gingerbread cookies. I found a really great vegan recipe that tastes just as good (if not better) than any previous non-vegan batch I've made. We left them to cool on the table so that Scarlett could come home to a fun cookie decorating surprise!
They had no fun at all ;)
I worked right up until Christmas Eve. We made Christmas eve special for the kids, focusing on the magic of the season. We set out cookies for Santa, decorated his plate with a note from the kids and sprinkled fairy dust from Grampy and Grammy (as seen around Scarlett's neck) so that Santa's reindeer could safely land with no snow.
Adam and I then enjoyed some wine and wrapped all of the Santa gifts. I purchase a special wrapping paper for each kid that reflects their personality, Scarlett's had unicorns and sparkles on it this year. I really enjoy this quiet time, just the two of us, sipping our favorite wine and feeling that excitement and anticipation of Christmas morning when we can revel in their happiness. I feel so fortunate to be able to provide this for them.
We keep Christmas pretty modest over here sticking to the "want, need, wear, read" theme. I personally believe it's more important to fill our lives with experiences rather than things and I really really hope to save money to fly east this summer so the kids can experience a PEI summer.
Christmas morning mother nature gave us the most perfect gift. We fell asleep to a green/brown scene and woke up to the most beautiful hoar frost, everything was encased in it, the grass, the trees and the horizon covered in a thick icy fog. It was cold but it was perfect.
Their gift to me was coming along (tripod in hand) to capture some photos. I wish we could have stayed longer but it was really cold and the kids were less than impressed despite being bundled up!
Sometimes I long for the extended family celebrations that the holiday's used to accompany but for some reason this year just felt right, comfortable and happy. I love the life that Adam and I have built here and the little one's we now get to share that life with.
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