Ramping up for the holidays

Well it's official, I am on vacation from work. Seems like it's been a long time since I've had a break with the latest project turning the month of December into a blur. Time to get cracking at the holiday finish line as the days are coming quickly. It will be Yule on Friday, the Pagan celebration of the winter solstice and the longest night of the year. This year it doesn't quite feel like winter. We had a cold snap in the beginning of the month and even saw snow flurries, but since I returned from Tampa it's been nearly 70 degrees each day. So much for coming north for the cold. After that it is the Christmas holiday. I'm looking forward to spending time with the extended family this year. I have missed the gatherings from when I was growing up and our recent years we've been apart from everyone. This year that's changed.
With work being so busy, I have really missed out on a lot of my favorite things this year, the baking and time spent making memories in the kitchen. I get stressed with the decorating because I am impatient and I'm not very good at it. We have the tree up and lights on the house, the stockings are hanging in hopes that Santa will still come visit.
It's been a long year with many events and milestones. First dance recital for Morgan. First home purchase. The big move. Learning to work from home. Alex's first soccer moments leading up to his first goal. Learning and growing to be a veteran at work instead of just the young kid. Still didn't take all my vacation time. Learning that it's nice to be able to be a handy man and fix things. As we move into the new calendar year (the new wheel began at the end of October), I hope that we can continue to grow as a family, learn to be closer with one another and truly settle into our new home.