Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat!

Ok, so I am officially a Christmas geek. I have been listening to Christmas music on my radio station (the old farts station for those that didn't know) for the last three weeks. They went all Christmas even before Thanksgiving...and I love it. You see, this is the first Christmas that really feels like Christmas for Mark and I. Last year we spent the whole holiday in Hawaii with my family, and yes it was great, but it still felt a little off because we didn't see his family at all. And the year before that was our First Christmas Together, but we were so poor because of car repairs, and so stressed because we were moving to P'cola the next week...that it was pretty much just miserable. Oh, and we really didn't see much of either of our families that year. So, this is it. The first Christmas that counts... in my mind at least. We bought a real tree and decorated it together. We already have presents for about half the people on the list, which is remarkably better than in the past. I don't even want to think about how many people simply got skipped in the last two years due to lack of money and time. Plus, we have four days in Atlanta together with both of our families in town, including my oh so precious niece. I am so excited to see everyone. While we are there, his parents are taking us to the new Atlanta aquarium, which is supposed to be great. We are going up for a few days before Christmas and then spending Christmas Day (which we both have off of work) in Pensacola.

Of course, what really has me excited this early is that we are hosting a party this Friday. I'm going to have quite a spread, the house all decorated, and even the carpets will be clean. The best part is we will be carrying on a tradition from Mark's family that we've always said we wanted to do in our own one day. It's the tradition of the "Do". Simply put, everyone has to do something, anything, with a Christmas theme. But an example of a "do" that his mom did one year really gives a better appreciation for the event. She mailed out a video-tape and package to every member of the family. The tape was of my in-laws dressed in spy attire with the theme to Mission Impossible playing in the background. Our mission, if we chose to accept it, was to wear whatever was in our package on the assigned day, and we would be contacted with further instructions. I had to wear a sweatshirt that said "I'm a Beaver" with a fuzzy smiling beaver face on it to all my classes that day. My forestry professor at the end of class told me I had a very creative mother in-law and handed me a letter that she had given him to pass on to me. That's right everyone, she had contacted my PROFESSOR. The project ended up being a photo scavenger hunt of sorts... but well, THAT'S a "do" project. Of course, many "do's" were much simpler. I think mine for that year was to sing a song. The point is just to get together and be creative. The best thing is that everyone, no matter what age, gets to participate so it really brings the family together.

So wish us luck and success; we are hosting a "do" with friends this Friday, and I'm sure it will be a blast. I'll post pictures and stories this weekend after its all over.