Christmas Spirit

I've always been incredibly annoyed at the Hallmark-ness that has become Christmas. Decorations out by the end of September, Christmas lights up at the mall, that sort of thing.

This year I've decided to ignore the commercial aspect that has become my favorite holiday and just enjoy it. At work they have the lights up and Santa out and while I'm not quite ready to take my kids to see Santa, the lights do make work a little more sparklified.

I'm already making mental Christmas lists and putting aside some gift money.

I also wonder if it has something to do with the weather. In Arizona the Christmas stuff comes out when it's still 110 degrees outside so it's easy to laugh at it. But when it's 48 degrees outside it's easier to envision the coming festivities.

So there you have it. The holidays are in full swing around here.

And an extra bonus is that we're not having Thanksgiving with Jim's family. There's a family in our ward that is not spending their holidays with family either, so we're having them over instead. Don't get me wrong, I love my in-laws but sometimes it's just too much. This will be nice I think.

Jim wants to be mostly packed up and ready to move by mid-december. I can't leave before Christmas because of work, but we'll probably be out of here right after that. We're still not sure what the near future holds for us. It may still involve the Cape for a month or so (hopefully not, but we do what we have to do)

They're announcing some big changes in January and I think Jim doesn't want to sign a lease until we're a little more certain of what next year is going to look like geographically and financially.

The girls and I are home from church today because Ainsley's still coughing. I don't have a humidifier and I'm hoping it doesn't get bad enough for the breathing machine. She sounded awful last night while she tried to sleep, but seems a little better today so maybe the worst of it is over.