Finally!!

With the move and all it's been a little challenging, but I think I've finally gotten into the spirit of Christmas! Reynaldo, our "Elf on the Shelf" made his first appearance on December 8th. We had our tree up by December 14th and I got Cadence her "First Christmas" ornament a few days after that. My friend brought me a huge container of cookies to indulge in and I finished Cadence's stocking to hang by the fireplace. Alas, none of these made me feel the excitement and anticipation that usually starts right around Thanksgiving. The Mommy Guilt was creeping in. How could I not be over the moon excited about Cadence's first Christmas? I should be making this one of the best experiences of her life, right? We should have pictures coming out the wazoo of good times and cheer. But I wasn't feeling it. Cadence has been minimally interested in the tree (probably a good thing!) and she has not been a fan of Santa (not unexpected). We've bought less presents due a big "family gift" of a trip to Great Wolf Lodge. I've only used a portion of my Christmas decorations since most are packed away in the garage. We are in a different house, one that is not our own. We haven't seen Brad much due to extra time in the OR and to top it off I have been facing a long, four day stretch at work. (When it's 12 hour days they are pretty consuming.) I am at the end of the stretch and finally, 3 days before Christmas, finally, feeling like it's the holidays! I anticipate baking a few cookies and wrapping all of the presents in the next day or so. Brad and I will enjoy our longest stretch of days off together since Cadence's surgery. The kids are out of school and things will shut down for a couple of days. I'm planning on excessive time in pajamas, curling up on the couch with the kids, watching "Polar Express" and "A Christmas Story". We will be lazy and overindulgent with the cookies and hot chocolate. The kids are anxious for their sleepover under the tree. If we're lucky, we may sleep in a bit! We will open gifts with excitement and watch each other opens the things we have given them with even more excitement. And we will be surrounded in the love of our family. While the excitement was slow to come, I hope that this is what Cadence feels the most... the love of our family!