TRADITIONS...Pass them on.

"Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens.  Bright Copper Kettles and Warm Woolen Mittens.  Brown Paper Packages tied up with string.  These are a few of my favorite things!"  Don't you just love that song?  I'm listening to the Lorrie Morgan version right now and it's so beautiful.

As we get full swing into the holiday season I always think about "My Favorite Things".  What do I really love? One that always makes the top 5 is Family Traditions.  Cookies with Becky (Sometimes only in heart), Getting my husband and kids outside to build a giant snowman that requires a ladder to complete, Christmas Eve Breakfast with my Step-Father Doug and Step Sisters Crystal and Aimee, Decorating our family Christmas Tree while listening to Christmas Carols, Christmas Morning with my amazing husband and children, Christmas Dinner with my Mother and Aunt Pam, New Years Eve Pajama Parties with Bills Family and I'm sorry Levi but I love making you (my German Shorthair Pointer) wear the silly Santa Jingle collar on Christmas morning .. makes me giggle.  (He's such a tolerant puppy.. he'll be happy to know that I bought him a bigger one since he's grown!)

Whatever you love about this season, however you celebrate it and however you worship, be sure to capture these precious memories.  Journal them for your children so that when you're gone they'll know what was important and special to you and why.  Take pictures for them to relive these moments whether they were with your or not.  It's important to pass on these traditions to our children.  Keep them firmly grounded in our family bonds and develop new traditions that only you and your family share.  A friend of mine used to do Christmas movies and cocoa in front of the fire on Chrismas Eve.  I love that.. it's so special.  I'm still trying to come up with traditions of my own for my family.  How do you find something that is uniquely you?

The only one I've managed to come up with that has stuck is this:  "I made a "Blessings Box" by decorating a small wooden, lidded box with fall scrapbooking materials.  Each Thanksgiving, each member of my family, including the kids (now 7 and 9) writes a hand written note saying what they are thankful for this year.  We date it an put it in the box year after year.  Many years from now, how incredible will it be for us to revisit those memories and see how we've all changed.  We have been doing that one now for 3 years and we've yet to read these secret notes yet, so it's very much like a very intimate time capsule of our lives.  And how amazing will it be when I'm gone and they have that? 

Will you share your traditions with me?  I really want to hear the special things that you are doing with your own families. Please post them as comments to this blog so we may all share our special family times and traditions and let everyone know that these amazing family times really do exist...And whatever you do.. Journal about them and TAKE PICTURES of THEM for future generations!!  Traditions.. Pass them on!

Ok.. I had to share just one picture of Levi in his adorable Santa Jingle Collar.  He's just so precious!!

May you all have a Blessed Holiday Season.  Merry Christmas!

Wrapping up the Santa Portraits

Friday night was my last night to hang with Santa for the holidays.  A believer in the idea Santa Claus and the warm fuzzies that go along with him, I had so much fun with these events.  Every Friday for the last 3 weeks I got to spend the entire evening with Santa and the children who visited him.  There were little ones who ran across the room and jumped into Santa or Mrs. Clauses arms for a big warm hug, little ones decked out in various translations of their own Santa outfit, little ones who wanted to see Santa SOOO bad but just couldn't get up the courage to get close to him and of course there were those who didn't want to be anywhere near the big red man!  Seeing the magic in some of these children when they looked up into Santas eyes was something that I truly cherished.  I smiled all the way through every evening.  This past Friday night we wrapped up with an incredible 204 kids making our Grant Total around 415.  We even had several groups do family portraits and about 15 adults come in for pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus.

I loved capturing this sweet little girl as she dictated her list to Santa.  She was just sooo adorable!

Thank You to the parents who gave me permission to share images of their precious children with you.   I'm really going to miss this event and all who attended. I'd love to hang with the Clauses next year!  Could this be an annual blessing?  I hope so.