It's beginning to look a lot like....

well, you know.

The day began with a trip to see Santa....

And ended with a tree-decorating, homemade apple-cider making, decoration hanging, Christmas music playing (at least until the Steelers game came on), memory-making family night! The girls are at an age where Christmas is magical and amazing... and they were so excited to have help me with the tree. I must say it took a little effort on my part to resist the inherent OCD in me and let the girls have free reign instead of constructing it to look like a Martha Stewart magazine.

(Holy baby bump!)

My mom was never that kind of mom. Every year, she would pull out the decorations and let us go wild. Our tree was bare in some spots, and crammed full in others. Ornaments were collected randomly through the years, different colors and styles... and more often than not, homemade by little hands (paper, clay... falling apart or missing a googly eye... it didn't matter!) To her, the memories were what mattered, not the way the tree sparkled when guests walked in the door.

And so it will be with me.

(Okay, so I may just move an ornament or two when little eyes aren't watching...) :-)