I'd Like to See the Grinch Try and Steal This...

I'm a big fan of the holidays. Thanksgiving and Christmas are two of my favorites, because it gives me a reason to see and hang out with my family (whom I love dearly). We are quite the crazy bunch, and because of that, there is no shortage of awesome that goes down.

• The family now has two sets of twins under the age of two (Clayton and Caleb--Eathan and Landon) and they are straight up adorable. They can be a handful, but playing with the little guys renews my faith in innocence and love. All I want to do is give them plenty of attention, chase them around, and coo and make the weirdest noises known to man.
• We also have a three-month-old addition to the family. Her name is Caydence. She is quite the beauty. Such a tiny thing and yet such a reminder of the love that God has for his people.
  
• About ten minutes ago, we finished our annual White Elephant gift exchange. For all intensive purposes, all you need to know is that mass hilarity ensued as usual. However, since inquiring minds want to know, I am currently wearing my plunder (an amazing knitted hat to keep me warm in subzero temperatures).
  
• Yesterday, I spent hours icing made-from-scratch sugar cookies that I won't eat. I'm not sure why. It's just one of those things. Maybe I look at them and feel like I might die because of the amount of sugar and butter used to make all of that goodness. Needless to say, there are some pretty awesomely designed cookies that some of my family members got to enjoy today.
  
• This has definitely been a weird holiday for me. I've been dealing with a bunch of nonsensical, completely pointless things. But one thing has been certain--I've been blessed with a handful of amazing ladies that are willing to do whatever it takes. MeLissa, Erin, Jamie, Sarah, Grace and Molly have been hardcore awesome for me...thanks!
• I've become more and more in tune to what the Christmas season means (even though December really is just an opportunistic place to put a holiday)...the fact is, Jesus was born. And he wasn't born the way people thought he'd be born...he came into the world as a baby...slept in a manger...and Herod viewed him as a legitimate threat...into the most humble of situations, the Savior of the world was born...

So try and steal this Christmas, grinch. Try and take away what joy and life and salvation mean. But I'm going to withstand you at every turn. I'm going to look you in the face and smile, knowing that I have got the gift of heart...and love...and faith.