A Bloggy Christmas Card

Love came down at Christmas,

Love all lovely, Love Divine,

Love was born at Christmas,

Star and Angels gave the sign.

~Christina Rossetti

I love sending out Christmas cards.  I love receiving them, but truly, I love sending them out.  I love reaching out across miles, across years and saying hello to people, remembering so many loved ones in so many places.  This will be the first year since Ken and I have been married that we (ha ha - we) aren't sending out a card.  The choice to take a second year off work (infant care leave) is an expensive choice, but worth it, so worth it.  Mailing out cards wasn't high enough on the priority list.  (I'll call this one of our Christmas austerity measures.)  And because I'm not mailing out a postcard I can write reams and reams... okay, I won't, but I could!

2014

1.  Being home.  I can't say it enough, my heart is here in my home.  I love being home.

2.  Ken is providing for his family.  I am so thankful for him, for how hard he works for us.  I am thankful everyday for him, who he is as a person, a husband and a father.

3. Kate is an SK.  She is enjoying school more this year.  We still play hookie sometimes (shh don't tell) but she's having a great year at school.  Kate's two favourite things are reading and art.

4.  Alice loves pre-school.  She goes twice a week.  She cried the first day because she didn't want story time when the teacher said it was story time, but she got over it, and now she loves it.  Alice is such a loving little girl, and so funny with Fiona.  She loves being a big sister.

5.  Fiona.  I was tickling her tonight and listening to her laugh.  Is there anything better than the laughter of a baby?  I don't think so.  She is working so hard at keeping up with her big sisters.  She is in that fun language acquisition phase that I love so much.  Yesterday she learned the word "heavy" or as she says it "heaby".  All day today when she would drag things around "heaby, heaby."

6.  I used a hashtag for the first time.  Hashtag.  It's a weird word.  
I still think of it as a number sign - or a sharp.

7.  I used the hashtag #bacON14 for the Bacon Family reunion that happened in Ontario the first week in July.  Seeing my brothers, my sister, their spouses, their kids, being all together with our parents, it was so awesome.  I wish that we lived closer to our Bacon cousins.  

8.  Going to Connecticut in August.  Thank you Ken for working in the basement of my 
sister's house, so I could hang out with my nephews and niece.  I don't even know how you 
dealt with the noise, oh yeah, ear phones!

9. Kate completed a 100 book reading challenge this summer, and has been working on a 200 book challenge.  Alice completed her alphabet challenge earlier this fall. She had to independently arrange her magnetic letters in alphabetical order.  I love that the girls love to learn!
10.  Our faith continues to be the centre of our family.  It sustains us, it comforts us and it challenges us to be better, and to do better.  Christmas is such a special time of year, because it is, or should be, about Christ and trying to do good to your fellow man.

To all our friends and family wherever you are, we love you and send you the warmest Christmas greetings and wish all good things for you in the New Year!

All photos taken by Emily Jones, of Simply Emily Photography.  http://www.simplyemilyphotography.com/