the season of giving?

it is indeed better to give than to receive. i have found an extra joy in that since becoming a parent. this time of year, a lot of people look at it that way, which is nice. but this year, we are looking at the whole gift giving scenario a little different.

this year has been hard on a lot of people. we have been blessed to have not been hit too hard by the economy. i thank god that we didn't rush into buying a house when we were pregnant, because god only knows could have happened. we are happy, healthy, and so is our family.

i started thinking about christmas gifts in the beginning of october. it feels wrong to be thinking about giving and receiving gifts when a lot of people aren't even going to have a home to live in. that's when i decided we were cutting way down on gifts this year. i told our families to only expect one gift each and to please do the same, or even less for roland and myself. i am not evil, i am not taking christmas away from my child, don't worry. kaleb is the only person getting more than 2 gifts this year...but his are from santa, so does it really count anyways? roland and i have also decided not to get anything for eachother this year that doesn't fit in our stocking.

it's so nice to not have to stress about finding these gifts for all these people, who we love, but we should just be grateful for what we already have. i know people have been like this for a long time. i know every christmas, people go without. we have had so much sadness thrown in our faces this year with people losing their homes and jobs and families falling apart because of the economy. this year, i just want to sit back, and enjoy the fact that we have a home to celebrate christmas in.

i encourage you and your families to do the same. we already have everything we need. i am hoping that this starts a trend in our family. i look forward to every year, spending less and appreciating more.

"He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree."