Holiday Cheer

This holiday season has definitely seemed a bit different than the past few. While I am generally in favor of attending every holiday function and volunteering myself for the most demanding of tasks, this year has been just the opposite. I have felt overwhelmed at the thought of "doing it all", and as a result, I feel like I have cut myself loose from some holiday obligations.

Last year, I went above and beyond with my Christmas cheer. I participated in a December Daily photo challenge, and because of that, I felt like I tried even harder to make memorable {photo-worthy} moments. This year, I couldn't bring myself to do it. Plainly put, I felt tired of trying so hard to make a picture perfect life.

As a result, I have significantly less photos this holiday season and, ironically enough, a much more grateful heart. Rather than spending every moment focused on capturing my perfect day, I was able to see things that may have went unnoticed. The simple things, such as Wyet turning on the Christmas lights before I get home from work {because he knows how much I love seeing the house lit up} and the freshly shoveled walkway are daily occurrences that have previously went unnoticed. Now, I see the importance of the everyday moments {the way the dogs sit in the windowsill waiting for us to get home} and how those little things are what I truly want to remember.

Just because I am in a bit of a holiday funk this year doesn't mean that all of our traditions went out the window. We still held true to those traditions that mean the absolute most to us. We still decorated sugar cookies, went to A Christmas Carol and celebrated the birthday of Matye. We focused on the important aspects of the season; family and spending time together.

I am sure that in years to come I will have those holidays seasons where I go overboard and want to do everything just perfectly. But for now, here is to a holiday season where I didn't try so hard, and it turned out fine.

Taking pictures for our Christmas cards turned out to be quite the adventure. The day before these photos were taken, I had every one dressed up nicely and was working so hard on getting the perfect photo. When nothing was turning out right,  I bagged the idea. We tried again the next day, and while the photo is simple, it is real.

The cat refused to be a part of our family photo

I spent a Sunday with some of my closest friends watching A Roman Holiday {a black and white classic} followed by a stroll through the Festival of Lights. I am so grateful for these friends in my life.

Frosting sugar cookies is something Wyet and I started doing together years ago. When Wyet first told me Kev was coming over that night, I was irritated because I wanted it to be just the two of us. However, sometimes it's true that the more the merrier, and we ended up having an awesome night.

While Wyet and I didn't make it to every Christmas party this year, we did make the most of the ones we did attend. Wyet even won the ugly sweater contest {obviously}.

Now that Ash has such a crazy work schedule, we didn't get to spend her entire birthday together like we usually do. Nonetheless, I am happy I got to spend a bit of the morning with her at least. She is truly a great friend, and I am grateful for her presence in my life.

Setting up Matye's Christmas decorations.

After A Christmas Carol, my parents treated us all to dinner at the Spaghetti Factory. Having the whole family together is rare, and I treasure these photos and moments together more than anything. These are the moments that holidays should be filled with. These are the real gifts of Christmas.