Don't you love this time of year?

A pic of the front yard from last winter. It just seems to sum up my feelings today.

This is one of my favorite times of the year. I love decorating for Christmas and putting up lights and searching for just the right gift for everyone. I love searching all the Black Friday ads and planning out each stop I will make and at what time according to the priorites of the gifts and prices. I love the kids excitement trying to figure out what are in all those wrapped gifts and making their lists for Santa. I love that they believe in Santa and the "magic" of this time of year. I love sitting in front of the fire listening to the wood crackle and the smell of the wood burning. I even love going to church smelling like smoke from the fire. I love the cold weather and putting the electric blanket on the bed and crawling into bed on a cold night. I love seeing family and friends that I don't get to see very often and spending time with the ones I see all the time. I love when people are nice for no apparent reason and they want to help others who are less fortunate. It's just a great time of year. Why can't it be this way all year long? I guess it would take some of the "specialness" out of it if it were always like this. There are things about the holiday season that I don't care for, but I don't want to think about those things today. I just want to LOVE this time of year, if only for today!