Keeping Up With the Joneses: Images of Christmas- 2011

I'll be honest- I had already typed up a little "vent" post about this being my first Christmas without Dad, but I'm not posting it. Instead, I am posting about the positives of this Christmas. I initially had the draft all typed out, then I went back and deleted it all, replacing it with the post that you see now. It felt good to just type it out & re-read it to myself. I won't post it here for all to see. It made me feel better to do so, and that's what matters.
So, here goes...my "Happy Blue Christmas" post. :)

The truth- I was anxious about this Christmas. Normally, I am excitedly counting down the days, just waiting for it to get here. This year, I thought I would rather just sleep through it all. I thought, "Wouldn't that be great if it were possible?" Yet, everything was still going on around me in their normal ways.
At the beginning, I wanted to scream as loud as I could that everything's not normal anymore.

Yet, it was still a blessed Christmas. I knew it was going to be. I wrapped countless presents one night last week, and realized just how blessed we are. The base of our tree was completely covered (pics of that to follow). Not only that, but we brought home even more gifts for ourselves. Christmas didn't quite feel complete, and I don't know that it will ever feel complete again.
But, it was a good one. I can happily say that now. :)

The message of Christmas is still there. I witnessed it first-hand two Sunday nights ago in our children's choirs' drama. I witnessed it first-hand last Sunday night at our choir concert. Music always gets to me- much more than words ever could.

Christmas is still my most favorite time of the year,
and I think it always will be.

Here are some images of our Christmas this year. Some are courtesy of the new camera my sweetie got for me. Others were taken & edited with Instagram. Enjoy!...

What Christmas is all about...