My FAVORITE day of the year!

Yup, today is my all-time favorite day of the year; Christmas Eve! I told John-Paul (5) that this morning, and he was shocked. His little mind could not understand how anyone could like Christmas Eve better than Christmas Day. Come on, Mom, we get PRESENTS on Christmas Day!

While I do love getting, and more importantly, giving presents, after all the Christmas morning hoopla...that's it, it's over. And we have to wait a whole year to experience it again. It's a little depressing, actually...kinda reminds me of the morning after my senior prom. I had done so much work preparing (buying the dress, eating right and exercising to look good in said dress, waiting for the cutest guy in school to ask me, getting my hair done, etc.) and when it was over, I realized I would never go to my senior prom again. It was done, kaput, finito.

At least with Christmas, we get to experience it every year, and the preparation for Jesus' birth is the most exciting part. We pray our Advent prayers, go to Confession to prepare our Souls, the house gets cleaned and decorated, holiday candles are almost constantly burning, and I am thinking of all the people in my life that I love and figuring out the perfect gifts to get them. ANd let's not take for granted how easy it is to turn a child's sour mood into a good one by reminding them who's watching! (We actually say that Jesus is watching, and He's friends with St. Nick!)

It is this anticipation of Christmas that fills me with warmth and happiness, and today is the culmination of all that. Sure, there is still work to be done...presents to be wrapped and Jesus' birthday cake to be made, but I will do it joyfully and try not to take for granted every special moment that occurs in the meantime. Because, with the holiday stress and hustle & bustle, we MUST remember the true meaning of Christmas...that unto us a Child is Born, God made Man, a King and Savior for the world, so that we could enter the Kingdom of Heaven for all Eternity.

Wow, how lucky are we to receive the Greatest Gift of all!! Merry Christmas to you and your families...