The Christmas Season has begun!!!

We spent last week getting ready for our Thanksgiving dinner. We had my husband's family over and it was very relaxing! My husband and children went to a football game on Friday. We pulled out the Christmas tree and all the decorations on Saturday and went to work! Our house is decorated for the holiday season. I usually have all my Christmas presents bought and most of them wrapped by now. This year, due to my back sprain, I haven't been able to shop like I'm used to. It's been very hard for me, but I am learning to pace myself and not try to tackle too much. I am one who likes to do all my errands on one afternoon, but lately that's not been the case. I can only run about three, maybe four, whereas I was used to running ten to fourteen places in one day! So, you can imagine that I am learning how to work within a certain time frame and also learning to be patient! Isn't it funny how we think we have conquered that wonderful thing called patience, and then when we have a trial, we realize how the Lord still needs to work that character in us? I can attest that I have definitely been learning about character training these past few months. I believe it's really been a time of pruning for me. God has definitely extended grace to my family as we've worked through this trial.

I hope to write some posts on how to keep the stress level down during the holiday season. I know how easy it is to take on more than we can handle, especially during this time. I always want to make sure our children have fond memories of Christmas. I really believe that can be accomplished by keeping things simple and not planning too many things to do.

May your Christmas season truly be a celebration of the birth of our Saviour!