Merry Christmas!

Yesterday was Christmas for my family. Jen [the sister] and her husband [Chris] can only be in town through tomorrow because her husband is a Marine and he pulled Christmas Eve duty. The Marines are brave and heroic people…but the Christmas Eve shift is LAME. Anyway, no problem, we just shifted Christmas to today and celebrated in our traditional way and it was positively lovely. This year I especially felt the importance of the spirit of the season and being with family over anything else.

As you might recall from that time I told J&C’s love story they have been together since high school and therefore both of our families know each other very well. We have shared Holiday dinners together for a couple of years now and it’s a really delightful tradition. We all get along and no one has to miss out on family time.

Our Christmas includes…

Festive decorations

Puzzles

Puppies!

Delicious food cooked by Mama

And presents.

We kept it low-key this year and I’m pleased. The season is not about material items, it’s really not.

…However, my sister is a skilled gift giver and she absolutely blew me away with her fantastic presents this year.

Jen is a very thoughtful with her gifts and this year she outdid herself. My gifts had a theme: Gardenia

She gave me…

Beautiful and delicate Gardenia earrings

A fantastic Gardenia hair clip

This adorable knit hat with a Gardenia embellishment!

{All from Etsy Shops}

AND

A collection of scents from Bath & Bodyworks that include Gardenia in the fragrance.

This was a truly exceptional Holiday Season. I love being with my family and I'll be sad to see some of them go tomorrow.

Merry Christmas everyone!