Christmas At Home

One of the things I love about our daughters, and that we hope to preserve, is how content they are with simple things. They will sit down and draw, paint, or knit for hours. And although these shots capture them watching a movie, they don't have to be entertained. As we approach the six month mark of our time together as a family, it's easy to focus on how frenetic our lives have become. But as I saw them sitting by the fire with their mom, enjoying a movie while knitting Christmas gifts, I realized how important it is to give thanks for how good things are.

We are all on vacation now, and anticipating Christmas like never before. The girls love Christmas music and we play it throughout the day. By the way, our favorites are Moya Brennan's "An Irish Christmas," and Aimee Mann's "One More Drifter In The Snow."

Brennan's rendition of Christina Rosetti's poem "In The Bleak Midwinter" has to be one of the most sublime things I've ever heard. The entire disc captures the devotional spirit of Christmas perfectly and beautifully, while Mann's CD is more playful at times, but also quite soulful.

And, I must be honest and mention that "Christmas With The Chipmunks" is also a household favorite, but be careful, because if heard more than three times in one day, it can lead to insanity!

Christian is so amped up, he can hardly go to sleep at night. Rumor has it that Santa is considering a Polar Express electric train set, which has father and son counting the days!