Our first Christmas in the new house

 This year is our first year in the new house. There are lots of first. Like the first chipped floorboard, first stains, first time I bit it when walking around in the night. This first though, is so much pleasant. For the first time our family has the Christmas I've always wanted for them. A real tree (A tall one at that), a fireplace for Santa to come down and plenty of room to enjoy it.

 Having a new house though means everything is empty. Its so hard to create spaces when you feel like you have 100 rooms to decorate. Christmas was a good stimulus though-- I probably took four trips to home goods this year. In 2013 I learned that I LOVE home goods and then in 2014 I resolved to try really hard not to go to home goods every week.

 So, here we are, our first tree, loaded with many ornaments from our various travels. Whenever I go somewhere I try to buy an ornament or magnet from the spot to remember it by. This particular one is from Chinatown in San Francisco.

 This year is our second visit from Buttons the elf. He appears after Thanksgiving, hides everyday, and reports back to Santa how the boys are doing and then dissapears again on Christmas.

There is something wonderous though in beginning to create a holiday for your family through the magic of Christmas. This year was a fun start, but I look forward to how it grows and expands in the years to come.