I know it's been awhile since I last gave you an update on my Winter break, which was a few days after coming home from school.  It's been a bit harder this year, getting into the Christmas spirit.  I've been struggling with some things, and besides that, it's just getting harder every year to feel the Christmas spirit when we're all getting older.  It's not the same as it used to be, when we were all little kids getting lost in the excitement of Christmas specials and making cookies together and getting giddy over Santa Clause and driving miles out in the middle of nowhere to a tree farm to find that "perfect tree."  Some of the family traditions have faded and we're not together in the same way we used to be.  Time has changed, things are different, and for some reason this year was more difficult to get through.  

I feel better now, though.  It only took a couple of days before Christmas Eve to get into the spirit!  It's definitely been gradual -  some lights on the tree here, some wrapping of presents there, but I  think it was making Christmas cookies last night with Mom really got me back into the spirit.   I've had to get used to the reality that Christmas won't be exactly how it used to be... and that's okay.  After a long month, it's finally starting to resemble past Christmases.  Though it's not quite the same, it's still Christmas, and I thought I'd share snapshots of what all's happened since my last holiday post!