But I Still Love Thanksgiving.

I'm listening to Christmas music while I clean this morning. It is a blatant violation of my "no Christmas music until after Thanksgiving dinner" rule. But I find that while nothing else is getting me motivated to clean my house, this is.

I am with the majority of the public in being disgusted at buying Halloween candy at the grocery store on October 31st and having to look in the clearance racks because Christmas goodies have already taken over the seasonal aisle. However, last night I went out and did a little more shopping, (saved a bundle by using discount coupons and forcing myself to wait for sales on the things I needed), and Drew came along to help. We happened upon a display of artificial Christmas trees and his tiny, little elf voice shouted, "It's boo-i-ful!" He was mesmerized by the glowing lights and sparkly ornaments on the trees. I nearly had to drag him away when we were finally done admiring them. I have to say that he infused me with the joy of the season.

Today I am so glad that I have such a wonderful family to spend the holidays with. I am overjoyed that Andrew called me last night on his way home from work to tell me that he heard a Christmas carol on the radio and it actually made him excited. (He normally hates Christmas with a passion, so this was good.) I am thankful to have four beautiful kids to share the simple joys of Christmas with. They look forward to bringing out the decorations, cutting a Charlie Brown tree from the mountains, the first snowball fight with Dad, and a fistful of other things. I love nothing more than sitting in the dark with my pile of kids and seeing the lights of the tree reflected in their shining eyes. Everything having to do with Christmas, from the baking to the glorious birth of our Savior, fills me with a flurry of elation, so forgive me if I harness that power before Thanksgiving even, to accomplish all the mundane tasks that have been put off for far too long.