It's Almost Christmas

I love that Christmas is almost here. You can feel the excitement and anticipation in the air everywhere you go. I love the extra time off work. I love the extra time I get to spend with my family & friends playing games & relaxing. I love watching other people take time out of their day to do something for someone who has fallen on hard times. I love reminiscing about the memories of Christmas past.

I love when I go to decorate my Christmas tree that almost every ornanment has a special meaning behind it to me or my family. A lot of the ornaments I have were handed down to me after my mother passed away and my father remarried. Some of my ornaments remind me of our family vacations to Bar Harbor Maine, Biltmore Estates in North Carolina and childhood memories of time spent with my family. Everytime I look at my Christmas tree I enjoy going down memory lane and reliving those memories.

I remember when I was little my moms family would have traditions that we would do every Christmas. On Christmas Eve night we would drive into downtown Salt Lake to have Christmas dinner at Grandma & Grandpa Wilder's house with all of our Aunts, Uncles & Cousins. Grandma would make her homemade rolls that were so delicious. We always found a way to fit 25-30 people around a few tables to eat Christmas Dinner. After dinner we would gather around the piano to sing Christmas carols and read the Christmas story. Aunt Jean would read the story of Twas the Night Before Christmas. My mom's family draws names for swapping presents. We would make sure presents were passed out and then all hop into our cars to go looking at the beautiful Christmas lights around town. I remember Jason and I would look out the car window up to the sky in hopes that we would see Santa and his 8 tiny reindeer.

I love the memories that come to me this time of year. I love reliving all of the pleasant memories of the past. I look forward to making many more new memories. I hope to just take time to enjoy the simple things that Christmas has to offer to me, my family and everyone.

Exactly today marks 5 months to the date since I had weight loss surgery. I haven't weighed myself over the last 2 weeks but the last amount I was at was 110 pounds. I am excited to get on the scale tomorrow to see how much more I have lost. I am so glad I decided to have the surgery done. I can't wait to see what my future holds for me in 2010.