It’s only December 2nd and I already feel as though the month is slipping away. I think in a good way though. Our Christmas season actually began a few weeks ago when the kids and I were invited to a special “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” tree lighting ceremony at Balboa park. It was difficult to imagine a tree lighting ceremony two weeks before Thanksgiving but we are glad that we went. The highlight of our evening was that it snowed! As former Michiganders we were in our element – even if it was only artificial snow.
I’ve never put up the Christmas tree before Thanksgiving but that’s exactly what I did one week ago – right after poking fun at a friend for doing the same thing (sorry Barb, I’m such a hypocrite). Adam was out of town and I felt like the kids and I needed a little pick me up. Adam does not like the setting up part so I knew that he wouldn’t mind. The kids enjoyed finding their ornaments and placing them on the tree. (Each Christmas we all receive a special ornament from my mother-in-law. Our ornament collection goes back to the year before Adam was born.) The tree makes our house feel all warm and cozy!
A few days later a beautiful evergreen wreath arrived from Grandma D’s Tree and Wreath Farm in Oregon. The wreath is decorated with fresh cedar, juniper berries and pine cones making my house smell like Christmas too. I’d never received a wreath in the mail before so I didn’t know what to expect. I was impressed that the wreath was fresh and looked totally intact despite arriving in a shipping box. I’ve now had the wreath for over a week and it still looks and smells brand new. I thought about adding colorful ornaments to the wreath but then decided that I loved the simplicity of the original design.
I have yet to do any Christmas shopping myself but tonight our church community group hosted a party to raise money and awareness for human trafficking, sex trafficking and slavery. We sold hand crafted gift items made by victims survivors. The company that we purchased the items through is Made by Survivors. We also highlighted local organizations committed to the cause. Our church partners with a local organization called Generate Hope and there are others in the community as well. Because of it’s close proximity to the Mexican border, human trafficking is a growing problem in San Diego.
Phew, that about wraps up the last two weeks. I think we even celebrated Thanksgiving somewhere in between!
Please note, if you are interested in ordering a wreath from Grandma D’s Christmas and Wreath Farm, go to www.wreathsdirect.info. Enter the code W0834 when ordering to receive free UPS Ground Shipping in the USA.
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