Christmas time in a house full of children is so wonderful. Den and I have tried to stay with our tradition of setting up all of our Christmas decorations Thanksgiving weekend. I dont know who gets more excited about all the festivities the boys or the parents.

River and Dennis handled the outside lights. Actually, River did the majority, and he did a fabulous job. At first we were disappointed to be setting up all the lighted decorations on the plain dirt ground, but the weather came through and began to sprinkle plenty of snow to make it look like a winter wonderland.

I, on the otherhand, decorated the tree and wrapped all the gifts that were purchased on Black Friday. Den and I relish our day of shopping for our boys. Each item we buy is thrilling when we think about the smiles that will come across their groggy faces on Christmas morning.

Every window has Christmas or winter cling-ons smeared on by little hands, and wreaths are hung on doors inside and out. Lights are lit up on every strand that we can possibly find an outlet to plug them into. Snowmen and Santas are dragged out of Christmas labeled totes, and dusted off and tugged back into shape. As we discuss whether this snowman should be placed here or there, Roman is sneaking mini candy canes that have been lowly hung on the tree. We make sure that Christmas music is piped into the house while we bustle about with excitement.

The Christmas countdown begins.