Christmas... oh Christmas. With the joy, love, stress, and anxiety it brings, is just around the corner. You can't walk into a single store without being bombarded with sales adds and catchy carols. In search of the perfect presents for those special people in your lives brings a smile to your face that you hope to see reapear on their's when they tear through the brightly colored wrapping paper you gave them. Neighborhoods filled with twinkling lights and trees peering through windows makes you basically smell Christmas lingering in the air. Not that the evergreen trees don't help too :) Snow has finally touched the ground and now we can all look forward to having a white and chilly holiday.
Hannukah has also arrived! Today December 11th is the first day of Hannukah 2009 :) People may or may not know this about me but I am half Jewish. Baptized as a Christian but by blood Jewish. Every year, especially around the holidays we try to embrace our religion and celebrate the holidays. We make Latckes (potatoe pancakes), play with dredels, and open our Hannukah presents! Although I don't practice Jeaudisum year round, I am proud of my backround and enjoy celebrating the traditions associated with it. Each year I think I learn more about the Jewish when I'm older I hope to pass it along and teach my kids all about religions and not only Christianity.
Another excitement that comes with this time of year is when we take our yearly trip to Iowa. Now I know that sounds like torture; driving 10 hours with your family who can’t seem to listen to the radio without singing and dancing, living in farmland miles away from civilization for a week, and every time you walk outside being greeted with a not-so pleasant scent but it actually is a blast. My mom being one of 8, our family gatherings are always huge and exciting events we look forward to all year long. Catching up with the cousins is always a highlight of the trip! When we get together after being separated for months, we sure have a good time. Since they are just about my age we have so much in common and could share stories for hours.
Finally, over our winter break we have New Years Eve. Say goodbye to 2009 and welcome 2010 with hope for a better year than the last! Every New Years Eve, I think back and reflect on everything that happened that past year and I haven’t been disappointed yet. It is a time of year where my appreciation for everything I’ve gotten to experience in my short life is greater then ever.
