Today...

Today I am grateful for...
Smiles and laughter
that it's snowing outside
our Christmas chain counting down till Christmas Eve
Nutcracker music playing in the background as I'm typing this
Little brothers who play pirates and soldiers
forgiveness
my Jesus
a laptop to use
my camera
photoshop
sunrises & sunsets
healing
love
family
colorful scarves
Christmas lights outside
and...
you!

It's wintry and wonderful outside with the snow blowing and the weather up into the 20's! I'm feeling grateful today for many tings, and wanted to share a couple with you.

Christmas time is undoubtably my favorite time of the year. Remember those posts about fall being my favorite season? I'm just now realizing that that's not true. While I love autumn, winter has replaced it. It's always been that way -- I say that I love fall, when really, I love winter. While some people hate this time because of the cold and snow (and I'll admit, I have been known to grumble when it's in the negative 20's) there's something refreshing about this time.

I love winter.

Isn't our Savior wonderful? Think of all the beautiful seasons that we've been blessed with; unique and wonderful in all of their differences and the changes that they bring. I'm so grateful!

Part of the reason why I may love winter so much is because Christmas is coming up. November through January 1st rank as some of my favorite months of the year. (And I just realized how many times I've said, "favorite" in this post.) I love June and July, but there is something magical about the Christmas season.

In the midst of it all, I don't want to lose the true meaning of Christmas. Jesus. I'm so excited to celebrate His birth again -- and it's my prayer that I would celebrate it every day. Not just at Christmas time. But how wonderful that we have a whole season dedicated to it!

I love the Christmas cookies, carols, Christmas-decorating, tree-trimming, visits down-town (a family tradition), reading the Nutcracker (another tradition), family get-together and visits, gingerbread house & cookie making, wintry days, snowball fights (along with snow angels and snow forts), holiday foods, Christmas lights, holiday photos, and thousands of other blessings and wonderful things that if I tried to write out, I would take up pages and pages. I love this time of year.

Jesus is the center. Or to put it into Christmas terms, He is the star atop the tree. The other ornaments are hung on the tree in different layers, farther and farther down due to importance. (or in the case of our family, due to who's hanging them). But always, the star is atop. The head. The crowning glory. JESUS is and needs to be the center.

Always.

hope that you all have a beautiful, blessed day, sweet friends! Enjoying the wintry weather up here in MN -- how's the weather where you live? and more importantly...what are you grateful for?