Fire in the fireplace, lights on the tree

Here's a re-cap of my Christmas through my favorite holiday pictures:

Mom found some mistletoe in the yard and put it up in the doorway.

Oh Christmas tree! Oh Christmas tree!

We had a little snow flurry on Christmas Eve that resulted in a lot of excitment in my hometown in East Texas where it hardly ever snows. Mom, Candace and I were standing in the back doorway watching it come down and Daddy came running up from his shop yelling,

"It's snowing!!"

Funny, classic Daddy moment.

We were shooting for a family picture in the snow, but you can't see the snowflakes.

I still love this one though.

This is my favorite ornament. It was my dad's when he was a kid. Santa would leave some money in it each Christmas. I've just always loved envisioning him putting it out on Christmas Eve as a little boy in my grandparents house, long before we all were even a thought in his head, and now his girls put it on our tree.

We open presents with my Nana on Christmas Eve. She got some special crossword puzzle books she wanted and was just tickled! She is so cute. She couldn't wait to get home afterwords to use them and the next morning she said she was up to 2 a.m. doing puzzles. Goodness!

Candace painting Mom's nails on Christmas. She's loved painting nails since she was a little girl and is the family official nail lady and keeper of the polish. :)

Me, my cousin Chris and Candace and Mimi and Poppa's on Christmas Day.

Chrismas kisses. xxx.

The day after Christmas, I went over to Logan's to play with William and his new toys. William is Logan's 2 year-old brother, and Santa brought him a motorcycle like his daddy's. We love this little boy and he is so much fun. Logan still has face paint on from that morning's duck hunt when we were all playing in the yard.

I know that songs have been a part of a lot of my previous posts, but music really does speak to the heart. This year, Sara Groves' album "O Holy Night" was the one I played over and over and made copies for friends and family. Her song, "To Be With You" really says what my heart feels at Christmastime. And here are the lyrics:

We come in from our travels,

Lay our gifts beneath the tree,

My mother's in the kitchen,

The parade is on TV.

My father's with his father,

They're setting out some toys,

The kids all want the train he's had

Since he was a boy.

To be with you, To be with you,

I love this time of year,

It always brings me here,

To be with you.

I fall in with my sisters,

Just like when we were young,

My grandma holds the baby,

She rocks and softly hums.

We gather round the table,

We close our eyes and sing,

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow,"

To be with you,

To be with you,

I love this time of year,

It always brings me here,

To be with you.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

We set out milk and cookies,

The kids are quick to bed,

They know Saint Nick is coming,

And nothing need be said.

We gather by the fire,

And we are warmed by its light,

The kids'll be up early,

But it's hard to say goodnight.

To be with you,

To be with you,

I love this time of year,

It always brings me here,

To be with you,

To be with you.

I love this time of year,

It always brings me here,

To be with you.