Christmas Cheer

Merry Christmas! Well Todd & I are very excited to be in our first new home this year for Christmas. We have lots of traditions that we plan on starting. A few family ones we will continue like watching It's A Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve.
However our new ones will be:

• Going to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve at the Immaculate Conception Church up the street
• Serving a meal at a homeless shelter on Christmas Day from 11am-2pm--this year is at the Urban Ministries downtown Durham
• Going to see a movie late in the evening on Christmas (I used to do this back in my college days with Heather, Tracy, & Kelly)

• We just got each other stocking stuffers for Christmas and are only buying for a parents, (until our siblings start having kids that is, we'll buy for them) but lets just say it's something that makes the world a better, less hunger filled place.

I feel very free this year, no shopping, hussel & bussel, just enjoying time with friends, neighbors, co-workers, and our house church. I feel more focused on what this season is all about- Jesus. Being more generous, more peaceful, more loving, more kind, more joyful, etc. My mom visited the first weekend in December and it was very nice to get some QT with her since I won't be seeing her or my family over Christmas.

Here are some pictures of our home decorated and us baking Christmas cookies with our next door neighbors- Charnel & Calvin Jr. (CJ)---we had a lot of fun and gave all the cookies away to the rest of our neighbors.