Month of Thankfulness: Day 9

I am thankful for Christmas Shopping!

I know that seems silly on the surface, but I am extremely excited to be able to shop for the ones I love. I get a huge thrill from imagining what will light up their faces when they unwrap that present and see a big surprise! To think about what these precious people desire and like is such fun, a test of "how well do I know my girls?" Or to see them have their eyes on something for a while that I just *know* will make them very happy to find that item under the tree on Christmas - and be able to fulfill that dream of theirs. Priceless.

I know Christmas is not all about receiving gifts, and we are very intentional to teach our children the true meaning of Christmas. But there is such joy in GIVING gifts. I imagine we get this joy of giving straight from the heart of God, as I am sure He finds complete joy in bestowing blessings and gifts upon us, His children. And I hope my children also learn the joy of giving.

This year has been the first year that we were able to set money aside throughout the year specifically for Christmas. We were able to create a list of things we wanted to get the girls and each other, and then we were able to do some shopping here and there along the way. It is not even December yet and we are mostly done with our shopping. I think this has been by far my most favorite holiday year and we haven't even gotten to Christmas yet. 

The only downside to having shopping done so early is that now we have a whole month to wait before we can give these gifts! 

It is a good thing they are oblivious to the bags/boxes hidden in the attic.