the magic of it all!

The world spins easier when children are at the helm.  Or at least so i believe.  christmas is no exception to this rule.  my most favorite holiday has only become more entrancing and magical as i live it through the eyes of my children.  watching their eyes brighten at the stories of santa claus, st. nick, or kris kringle make my eyes twice as bright.  watching their mouths gape at the beauty of seven million twinkling lights as we drive trough christmastown makes my mouth smile wider.  hearing the innocence of joy and the magnitude of magic as we explain the meaning behind it all, standing in front of a live Nativity (camel and all) in my four-year-old's voice saying, "this is awesome!" can only make it all that much more joyful and magical for me!  

i am so thankful for the joys of christmas, and this year (and i imagine every year here-after), i am eternally more grateful.  the magic of christmas was never lost on me as a child, even to the later years of my life, but i feel like there is nothing more magical and more "believable" now than a giant old man who rewards goodness with special secret gifts!  and if it truly were a rewarding process, my darling M would have gold and silver, and every other valuable thing in existence under her tree!  she is the epitome of good, and i am so blessed to have her!  i, of course, am blessed with my youngest B, although she may be seeing some coal sooner in her life than anyone else i could imagine!  she tests me to the nth degree, but then she smiles and snuggles and it melts my heart in a million different pieces.  she even said, "light" tonight... one of her first 'real' words!  

i hope you all are enjoying this christmas season.  i know it's hard to remember the beauty when there is shopping, baking, cleaning, sweeping (at least in my house- pine needles EVERYWHERE!), etc. to be done... but i hope you can look into the eyes of your children, or the children around you and remember that christmas is about giving the greatest gift of all- love, and about experiencing it in the eyes of innocence, joy and beauty!  enjoy!