It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!!!!

Yes, yes, yes, we have decorated for Christmas. This is the norm for me. I have so many decorations and they take so long to put up that I decided a few years ago to decorate early. We enjoyed it so much that we've just made it tradition to do it the week or so before Thanksgiving. My house is so cozy and the spirit of the season is in the air. I LOVE IT!! So, call me what you will, but for us in the Morgan house, Thanksgiving and Christmas are all rolled up in one special holiday of family togetherness!

We have a special "Morgan Mix" CD that we listen to EVERY holiday season. It's a compilation of Christmas songs that Chris' dad put together on tape when Chris was just a small boy. He loved this compilation of songs so much that when he got older, he made a list of each and every song on the tape, which included the name of the song, the name album, the record label and the catalog number of the album. He saved that list for years, making sure it was safe and sound with him during each move he made after he left home in 1988. In November of 2004, we pulled out the old tape of The Morgan Mix to listen to. It was old and sounded like CRAP! Chris pulled out his list, that surprisingly, was still complete and decided he was going to remake the album on CD. It became a quest to find the EXACT album and song. After a lot of Media Play runs, internet searches and CD purchases, we were only without 2 songs. We never did find those two cd's, but Chris' dad recorded them from his vinyl LP's and Chris digitally enhanced them to remove the crackles and pops. He re-compiled The Morgan Mix and man did it sound SWEET!! You have NO IDEA how much that compilation means to us. It just isn't Christmas without it. Our kids absolutely LOVE it and I love that it is something we can pass down from generation to generation. I'm hoping to put a few of the songs on my blog, but I don't know if I can. I'll have Chris try to figure something out. Anyway....we put that CD on decorated the tree, as we do EVERY year. The kids were so giddy and excited. It made me smile as I watched them help decorate. My heart overflowed with pure JOY!

My sisters and I have started making fondant for our chocolates this year. We're going to finish up the last of it this Saturday and then start dipping after Thanksgiving. I'm so excited. This tradition brings back so many memories of being a small child, like my own kids are now, and watching my parents and grandparents dip chocolates. We'd go into my mom and dad's room, where the window was open so the chocolates would set up, and try to sneak one. We could NEVER get passed my grandpa. That man, I swear, had eyes in the back of his head and ears that were tuned into the slightest sound of that bedroom door opening! IF we did manage to slip in the room and actually swipe a chocolate, there was ALWAYS evidence of it missing because it leaves a print on the waxed paper. NOBODY ever got away with stealing a chocolate, but it was sure fun trying!! I'll be posting pictures of the dipping later on, so stay tuned!

I REALLY love my tree, but pictures just don't do it justice. You have to see it in person. My entry way really adds to the ambiance, too. It's so cozy at night. The stockings you see are another family tradition. My grandma made mine when I was 6! She made one for EVERY member of our family that was born by December of 1978. I was really upset that she spelled my name wrong, but what do you do! I couldn't ask her to fix it, although I really wanted to back then, but it doesn't matter now. It is so special to me and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I made one for Chris when we were married and then one for each of my children as they were born. And, YES, they are stuffed FULL ( but not just with candy)!!! I LOVE to just sit in the quiet and stare at all the lights! It's a great way to unwind at the end of the day.