With the snow outside (that we’ve had since the beginning of November, mind), the front porch decorated, and an array of ornaments scattered throughout the house, it’s beginning to feel like Christmas around here.

With the stress of gift buying (particularly when the gifts on the lists are impossible to get) – not to mention the madness in the stores and the harried traffic –  it is sometimes easy to forget what this season is all about.

But when I see the excitement in our children as December 25 nears, I am reminded of the true gifts that we have in our lives and it becomes easy to see what Christmas is all about:  Sharing this time with the people we love best.