A Griswold Family Christmas

Christmas at my house is nothing short of magical.  It always has been and I can only hope for many, many more years of it's twinkling, sparkling goodness.  The Husband and I both come from big families who might make others feel a little uneasy because of the immense love that we all share.  Both of our families will love all there is to love about you, squeeze you real tight until you are just about to squeal, and then they'll squeeze a little tighter.  We are really blessed.  I've always admired how we brought together two families that cannot seem to out match each other in love and pure craziness.
At Christmas it is amazing that our house does not explode with the amount of energy running through it.  My mama spends much of December as a cosmic ball of energy making sure that everyone's Christmas is magical.  She really has a connected spirit with Clark Griswold.  "Is your house on fire, Clark?"..."No, Aunt Bethany, those are the Christmas lights."  A lot of times you can't see the Nettie whirlwind, but she blows through with greenery here and candles there.  You'll smell the Chex Mix and bacon.  You'll hear the ancient Christmas tunes of my grandmother's play on itchy record albums.  It is wild and crazy, but it is what Christmas has always been to me.  No matter what-we always slow down to eat together- even if we have to force Nettie to pump the brakes and sit a minute. 

The slow down is when we actually get to look around and see the little parts of our Christmas.  This was a Christmas of many special little parts, but there were three that really made the Smith house even more exciting.

Lula

Miss E

Lukins

It's the little details that Nettie adds year after year that I love.  I can remember the year we added icicle lights or the year we gave her the glass crystal Christmas trees.  My favorite addition this year was the tiny Christmas tree that sat in the kitchen with my great aunt's old Christmas tags hung on it (it was the Depression-they seemed to save everything). 

Snow was a beautiful finale to our magical Christmas this year even though I always hate to see the season end.  Although the crazy may slow down for a bit, the love our family shares never seems to dwindle.  It's part of the magic that continues to grow throughout each and every year. 

Our Bridge

Jason and Lukins

Jack and Bailey

Think again, Bailey.

   Merry Christmas to all.  See you in 2011!!