My favorite time of the year. I (for one) love the snow, bundling up all cozy like in front of the fire drinking hot chocolate, going out and chopping down a tree (thank you Korea for ruining that one, I had to go out and buy a plastic fake tree), making a bazillion Christmas cookies, and enjoying all the holiday parties. Yes, Christmas is good.
My love for Christmas hasn’t dwindled since we moved to a country that doesn’t really celebrate it too much. It’s more like: “Oh hey! It’s Christmas, <smooooochhh> I love you.” The end. I kind of feel like it’s my mission to spread the holiday cheer. My students have been crafting snowmen, cutting out snowflakes, writing Santa letters, and singing ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ since Dec. 1 hit, and to be honest, they’re probably wondering what in the heck has gotten into me. If they haven’t already, I’m sure they’re beginning to see that Christmas is a huge deal to me. It’s fun to watch them get into the festivities with me, even though a good majority don’t have Christmas trees at home, or the fact that they won’t be expecting presents Christmas day.
Our Christmas this year is about as non-traditional as it gets, we don’t even have gifts for each other! You can blame that one on Hawaii/Asia. I will, however, keep the tradition of making cinnamon rolls for breakfast alive. That’s important. I’d imagine later on we will prepare a feast just for the two of us, and spend the day eating, talking, playing games, and watching movies. Apparently Derik and I have a lot of traditions involving food. Sigh, we just love food. I’m thankful for every day I get to spend with my husband, and I’m even more thankful to have yet another holiday to be with him. Christmas is a wonderful time to reflect on the past year and talk about all the things we were able to experience!

Please disregard the fact that this picture is a year old and didn’t make the cut for my 2012 Christmas photos. Derik refused to take pictures this year. How you bloggers get your husbands to take family photos each year is beyond me.
Merry Christmas to each and every one of you dear readers. I hope it’s filled with love, laughter, giving, and holiday cheer. :)