We're feeling the Christmas cheer here, despite the fact that the stomach virus has latched onto Grampy and isn't letting go. Our plans for today include making cookies (chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin), making banana bread to have as French toast for a special breakfast tomorrow, and enjoying some southern jambalaya for Christmas Eve dinner. All the stockings are hung above the woodstove with care, and we're slowly pulling out wrapped presents to put under the tree. The girls are being good about not trying to open them, but I'm still wary.  

All of the ornaments on our Christmas tree are sentimental.  Many years ago, Steve and I started picking a special one every December to hang on our tree. Our first one was a wooden bird, in honor of our parakeet, Antoine. Our second one was a dog that resembled Charlotte. I've lost track of which one was next, and unfortunately for the past few years (including this year) we haven't continued that tradition. 

Here are some special ones:

The angel on our tree. It's a little girl hugging a sweet little brown dog. We've used this angel since we lived together in Hadley. I imagine we'll always use it.

"Our First Christmas: Steve and Jess 2005"

A beautiful ornament to honor our beautiful firstborn girl, Anna Louise.

Anna's very first ornament that she made for our tree, just this past month at her nursery school.

A reindeer that Anna made. Note that the antlers are her hands, and the head is her traced foot.

The one with the green bow is an impression of Eliza's foot, and the one with the red bow is am impression of Anna's hand.

A beach chair, to commemorate our summer vacation with Granny and Grampy in New Hampshire. 

And here are my sunshine girls, who have made Christmas special again. I had lost the Christmas spirit for awhile before I had children and was feeling lost amidst the disgusting quagmire of commercialism, but this year Christmas feels just right. It is just how it's supposed to be.

Santa comes tonight!