Christmas is coming!

We "put up Christmas" this week. Before we started, I lamented the

The four of us used to go and cut down our own tree. Deciding which one to buy would be a big deal. As we trudged through the snow, Paul would hang his stocking cap on a tree we liked so we wouldn't lose it as we continued our search. It would be a fun afternoon. We switched to artificial trees when we no longer were able to go together as a family. When we would decorate the house, the kids would insist on listening to "Goofy's Christmas" cd every year. I would always say, "No, not that one!" But they would persist! And, they would argue about which decorations they would get to hang on the tree. The honor of placing the angel on the top was decided by odd or even years, just to be fair. I came to the decision the process was way more meaningful to me than the product. So, why bother? Which caused Paul to call me

and that jolted me back to reality. So, we put on Christmas music (sorry kids, not that Disney one) and got out all of the stuff. We had fun, talking about the memories while we worked. That night, when we turned on the lights,

I was glad Paul had persisted.

Everything went right where it belonged, so when they come home, it will be as they remembered.

And now we wait

for their arrival!