We received this card from my mom Tuesday and it left me feeling appreciative and excited. I survived 2014. Not that I was in danger of not making it through 2014 but it was a challenging year. One that left me feeling beaten and worn down. But here we are in 2015 with the possibilities and hopes a new year brings. 

When I was little I remember Christmas being so magical and fun. My parents used to do a big Christmas tree and it was full of ornaments from our childhood but it hasn't been put back up since all the kids moved away for college. So for the past several years I have put forth just enough effort to not be a scrooge. I decorated a few small fake Christmas trees around my house and put a fake wreath of cranberries on the front door and called it a day. However, this year Alex and I are spending Christmas under the same roof for the first time and I truly feel like I am in the Christmas spirit again.

We have been mixing old traditions and finding new ones and I think we have navigated this merger spectacularly. For starters, we have a real Christmas tree with two different sets of lights, multicolored for Alex and plain white for me. We also will have a Christmas Eve tradition from Alex's family in which Alex will be reading aloud a pirates version of a Christmas story. And I will be contributing my family's tradition with a visit from Santa Mouse who leaves a movie in your stocking every year. I know these will grow and change but I will cherish this first Christmas and the combining of two families traditions into one.