Happy Holidays!

Hope y'all are enjoying the holidays.  This one is a longer blog, because I had a lot to reflect upon over Christmas.  Photos are at the bottom. :)

Christmas came and went really fast this year.  I kept telling myself that this year I'm not going to focus on all the wrong things like gift swapping, holiday parties, etc.  But I ended up being guilt tripped to do all this last minute shopping.  The shopping frenzy was a bit overwhelming for me.  I don't remember the traffic being so terrible until this year. 

Although, giving gifts is probably my biggest love language, I'm not much of a fan of it during holidays like Christmas and V-day.  I like giving gifts just because, not because I'm obligated to.  I think the perfect gift comes to fruition when a lot of thought is put into it.  You get really lucky when you come across something that reminds me of a certain person.  If the greatest gift of all is love, I guess gifts can also look very different for different people.

Maybe for next Christmas, I may have to make it a year long process if I'm going to do this right.  That way I'm not strapped for time and giving people stuff that they might or might not want and most definitely do not need.

At first, all I could talk about was how much I really wanted this ferragamo bag, which I knew I couldn't afford (WAY WAY out of my budget).  I'm not even much of a bag person, and it's pretty rare when I find something that I absolutely must have.  This one just happened to be that hot item!  I really had to remind myself that I really really really did not need it. 

I am more than blessed with what I already have, and it's quite probable that I'd find very little fulfillment in it after I actually own it.  I was reminded of this past year during dts, where we were living more simply and relied on God for everything.  He always did provide for what I needed, and sometimes surprised me with little things that He knew I wanted.  The real joy came from knowing that in Him we live and move and have our being.  Why's it so easy to forget all that He's done.

Also wanted to share some Christmas-related photos.  Thought it would be very fitting. :)  Meet Kira.  She was full of energy and spunk.







She wanted to give us some sass.  Just being her model self.





The outfit was too adorable!