It's beginning to feel alot like Christmas...

I start preparing for Christmas in November because it's a month-long celebration in our house that we love. The memories, we cherish. But, there is always a moment when it starts to feel like Christmas that I cannot plan. It's usually just something small and sweet and isn't necessarily recognizable as Christmas to anyone else. However, after it happens, everything changes.

This morning, I ran out of coffee which is a completely unacceptable situation! So I grabbed my Henry in his footie PJs and we headed to Starbucks at 8am. It was cold outside, but the car was warm. The 'bucks was full of people talking and working. And there I was with my sweet boy on my hip wrapped in his favorite blue blankie. We found a little white stuffed dog wearing a green scarf on the Christmas gifts display to entertain us in the long line. He gave big hugs, kissed Henry's cheek and barked. And after I got my cup of joe, he tried to drink from my cup. "Nom nom nom!" he barked as he took his pretend sips of coffee. Henry giggled and squeezed him close. We loved that little doggie so when it was time to leave, it was hard for us to part. But we put him back where we found him and said our good-byes. "Buh-byyyyyy, puppy!"

Aside from the red Starbucks holiday cup and the decorations in the windows, it's a moment that doesn't mean much to Christmas at all. But it will hold in my memory with clarity forever as the moment when it began to feel like Christmas in 2011. It's a memory such as this when it all changes from trying to get everything together for gifts, parties and meals to something much more. The lights shine brighter, the presents are more thoughtful and the reason for the season becomes much more prevalent and meaningful. Christmas is truly about my family and sharing our blessed lives together. Sharing all those moments of love around a Christmas tree -- or in a coffee shop.

It reminds me of that line from Suess' How the Grinch Stole Christmas:

"'Maybe Christmas,' he thought, 'doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, mean a little bit more.'"