JOY!!!!!

this is truly my favorite time of year!! its just something about Christmas that puts me in a good mood!! the decorations, the christmas cookies, family gatherings, watching a charlie brown christmas...it just sends my happiness into overdrive!!

as a kid, christmas was one of those holidays i looked forward to, but at the same time was something i dreaded. you know back then, it was all about what you got!!! i had the christmases where i got a lot, the ones where i got a little, and the ones where i got nothing!! (and it wasn't because santa thought i was naughty!!) each year was a surprise cause i never knew which one it was gonna be. kinda embarrassing nonetheless!! it was hard some days...but like everything else, it passed.

those were the times that molded me into who i am today. very appreciative of what i have and not taking anything for granted...knowing that the little i do have can be gone in a heart beat....helping others who may be less fortunate. it also set a tone of how i want my family to be when i get married and have kids...starting new traditions and carrying on some old ones. i finally saw the movie "This Christmas", and it set the perfect tone of what i would like...a christian based family, though they have their struggles, they stick together no matter what!!

most importantly, though everything i absolutely love about this time, i have to put more focus into what its really about....celebrating the birth of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!!! with out him, i would not have the joy and peace that surrounds this holiday. so my goal, this year, even though i am grateful to have a family to have christmas dinner with, a christmas tree, and the means to buy my own christmas gift if i don't get one from someone else :), is to celebrate the love of Christ, whom without Him, there would be no reason to this season.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!

Song: This Christmas, by hmmm... take your pick: Chris Brown or the classic Donny Hathaway!!