This is quite possibly my favorite time of year. Fall weather means crisp, cool air, and gorgeous hillsides covered in brillant shades of rich reds and oranges. The fall leaves are simply stunning and have always been a favorite sight. But as the weather turns colder, it becomes perfect for sweaters and hot chocolate, which gives way to the magical first snow. The mountains look even more majestic, dusted with perfect white and the air feels clean and fresh. Halloween is approaching, a holiday that was always fun but has become even more so the past few years. My passion for theatre fueled a brief craze of building haunted houses during my college years and coming up with creative, head-turning costumes. But now, haunted houses terrify me and my own costumes are not near as much fun as those of my beautiful children. Planning, designing and hunting for a great idea is such a blast. This year, Butterfly helped input as she went nuts over various costumes we looked at. But alas, all the pieces are coming together and there may even be a family themed costume in the works... :)
And Halloween is just the first of those exciting, fun filled, family oriented holidays in this wonderful season. Next comes Thanksgiving which makes me excited for three main reasons: 1. being with family! 2. the anticipation of leftover turkey sandwiches, and 3. Black Friday. We get to see sibling and cousins that we seldomn see and everyone is happy and excited with children that have grown so much since I last saw them and full of fun and exciting news. Late in the evening, we put all the kids to bed and the "adults" sit around talking, watching movies, playing guitar and sneaking in more pumpkin pie. And the Black Friday choas really can't be paralleled. This is something that my husband introduced me to. We pick up an ad early in the morning and spend time throughout the day pouring over the pages, circling, comparing and dreaming. We make lists and plans, give out assignments and plan strategies. The 4 am crowd is half frozen but friendly and excited. There's something great about being in that group that shares the anticipation and fun with you. I know not everyone shares my Black Friday enthusiam and that's okay. I will clarify that there are certain stores that I do think should be avoided as the pandemonium and ruthless crowds are not worth any potential purchase. And in the past few years, we have found that most of our Black Friday hoped-fors can be found online so the Black Friday savings can now be done from the comfort of my own bed and fuzzy pjs. Plus, I really like sleep. So online is now the preferred method, but searching the ads all day is still half the fun.
And the weeks continue into regular snowfall, beautiful and magical. There are holiday parties and get together with friends and families. We hike into the woods and pick out a perfect free, cutting it down and hauling it home. I finally give up on trying to make the lights look exactly the way I want on the third try and my husband comes to my rescue. He helps me haul my extensive and beautiful Christmas Village out of storage and my girls destroy all the packing materials as I set it up. And one of the best parts--holiday shopping. I love it. I love being out and coming upon a perfect something for a particular person and having the perfect excuse to buy it for them. Or even better, coming up with a fantastic idea and making a gift. I love making treats to take to the neighbors and going to see the lights of Temple Square. I love decorating gingerbread houses with family and building snowmen. I love the music, slow or upbeat, silly or meaningful, fun or spiritual. I love feeling that true meaning of Christmas through service. And I think this year, I am most looking forward to the excitment in my daughters' faces at all the amazing things they are going to discover and experience.
**It's the most wonderful time, of the year!!**
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