This Christmas feels different. No one was sick. We were all well. We spent some time doing gingerbread houses and trains that crumbled immediately, just as they do every year. Is it just me or am I an epic failure at those things? Next year, I’m doing something different, we can decorate a full gingerbread man. Do you think he will run run as fast as he can?-I kid:)

We even did a Christmas light scavenger hunt with some friends. We celebrated with several family groups and we were blessed at each gathering to be with family and even receive gifts.

So, what was different this year? I can’t quite put my finger on it. As I lay here getting ready for bed my heart is sad. Maybe it’s my focus. Maybe it’s because for the first year I didn’t “feel” Christmasy and it was reflected in a few ways. Maybe it’s that I didn’t really see that Christmas “magic” in my kids this year. Maybe it’s that we’ve been to busy to sit and be still to enjoy and savor this time of year. Maybe it’s that we have an intolerable toddler who can make the easiest of times difficult.

I don’t know what it is but I do know that I don’t like this feeling. So starting tomorrow, I preparing for next year. Preparing my heart and my home! This will be the year of
F-O-C-U-S! Focus on those in front of me, beside me, and all around me. Focus on the needs of others. Focus on Christ in me. Focus and what He needs/wants from me to make this a happy home! What does that look like or mean? I don’t have the answers but I know that He is faithful to guide me.
Please don’t think that we didn’t get or have more than we deserve. It was 80 degrees on Christmas and we played in mud puddles on Christmas Eve. We are blessed! Blessed beyond measure! Judd said it was the best Christmas ever because he got a basketball goal, but also the worst because I gave him deodorant in his sticking-haha!

2015 has been a great year! As I close, I just wanted to jot down these thoughts that are so fresh in my kind.