Christmas is Back....

5 years ago I abandoned Christmas.   5 years ago I stopped sending out my Christmas cards; I stopped making my goodie baskets for friends and associates; I stopped doing the extra fun stuff that is all Christmas;  and I didn't put up a tree.  5 years ago I didn't care if Christmas came or not --- 5 years ago I lost my sister and my dad.....Christmas was never to be the same again.....I just didn't want to deal with any of it.   It has taken 5 years for Christmas to fully return to our home.

For the past 5 years we have run from Christmas.....going to Kansas the first year because there were no memories of my sister and my dad there....it was a different kind of day for us.  4 years ago, we put up the tree but we didn't do much of anything else since the day after Christmas my daughter was having surgery to remove the football size tumor from her ovary.  3 years ago we put up the tree but nothing else. 2 years ago we didn't put up the tree but instead went to NYC to spend the time with Sarah; last year we began our trek back to Christmas at home.   We put up the tree and we spent it together as a family.

This year Christmas came back to our home in full force.  It hasn't been easy but it is here.  This year I put up our tree.  This year I pulled out all things Christmas to decorate the house. 

This year I made an advent calendar for Caleb

and the Christmas Tree Box

and the new Christmas tree skirt

decorated 

our tree

This year there is an elf who sits on our shelf in a different place each morning.  This year Caleb and I search our home every morning to see where he is and giggle at the many crazy places we find him.

This year I am sending out Christmas cards.  This year I am making the goodie baskets again.  This year the music is on in our house everyday.  This year we will go look at Christmas lights.

This year we are celebrating the birth of Christ. 

This year we will remember fondly of the many Christmas' that we had with our family when we were all here to celebrate.  We will remember Robin and we will remember my dad....and we will miss them terribly but we will make it through this day with joy and love in our hearts.

For now the doctor is out......remembering a certain Christmas where 3 little girls snuck out of bed in the wee hours of the morning to see what Santa brought to us......