Holiday Memories

I can't help but feel a little nostalgic this time of year. Yesterday we spent the day with my parents. A yummy lunch, with the now traditional pizza. Opening gifts, the traditional way with the littlest ones opening first, everyone one at a time so we can all see what they get. A heartfelt gift from my mother. And then a long drive home.

We all couldn't help but chuckle at the fact that mom got our 'big' gift from a garage sale, but after the trip home I couldn't help but feel nostalgic about the Longaberger basket that I received. It was a 1998 Dresden Tour basket, that is signed by 3 or so of the basket makers. 1998 happens to be a special year to me because that was the year my first son was born. I received a Christmas basket that year (1998) that I still have.

I got the basket down this morning, and after cleaning the dust off read through the cards that I've been storing in it. It was fun to go back through old birthday, Mother's Day, and Christmas cards. Plus there were some photos from when Alex was born. Pretty special.

We were discussing last night what we wanted to do this year for our Christmas dinner, and I found that I didn't care what we had for dinner because breakfast is the important meal to me. My mom would always make a fancy, huge breakfast. And that's what I enjoy doing for my family. Joey on the other hand likes the big dinner. This year we are going to do both. Some of my favorite dishes for breakfast and some of Joey's for our late lunch. I want our kids to have special memories of the time we spend together. I really don't remember too many of the gifts I received as a child, just the special time we spent together.

This year make time to create small, special memories with your family.