It all started as April's journaling challenge

over at SNC. So yup, I'm blaming April for the creation of this adorable album.

Her challenge was to journal about Christmas.

Well in plowing through the way-back box I found random photos

of Christmas that may or may not have been scrapped at some point as prints.

Well these are the originals. 

*gasp*

 I know.

I could've made separate pages but there was kind of a theme when I pulled these.

Most of them are me and my brother from childhood with

ancestors we were blessed to know. 

Really get to know.

This photo is 4 generations. If you look at my brother and I's body

language we're leaning into our great grandmother because

we  were so priviledged to know her. It helps to have kids

early not so much for photo ops (which I'm not above loving)

but I felt very enriched knowing grandmom.

So of course, my grandpop and mom are in this too.

And my grandparents. This photo was taken after we had moved

to Florida and left them behind. And when gram sent that 

photo, even as an adult teen (if there is such a thing)

I was taken aback that they were enjoying

life while I had been taken to Florida.

It's a great photo of the two of them as gram hated to have her picture taken.

It was getting mussed up in the box so now it has a good home.

And there's my brother as a toddler getting up to Christmas morn

and a wonderland of goodies.

So these next two are my brother and I with our gifts but it also talks about 

the tradition my parents had of not doing any kind of deccorating until

after we went to bed on Christmas eve so that when we woke up

it was to an awesome sight of a Christmas wonderland.

That continued until junior high.

Another tradition was always having awaken to stockings stuff to the max

hanging on the door to our rooms.

So that's my brother's head peeking up in the photo of our

retro tree when the parent's decided to be cutting edge.

This was also after we had moved into our new home in the country.

This is mom's tree in our Florida home and a

present she cherished.

So the book ends with my kids - now grown.

And how blessed the holiday was when Nick as able

to make it home on leave. 

I also point out that I have become a tree nazi.

NO ONE touches the tree EVER.

I have been known to decorate the tree, not like it, take

everything down and start again.

Except when they were kids and I'd rearrange all the ornaments

that they hung on one poor branch.

Because we lived in Florida it was hard to continue the tradition of

decorating on Christmas eve. The weather didn't lend itself to the whole

winter wonderland thing and

it seemed that people in the south loved the holiday

 they'd start early.

Really early. 

Like after Thanksgiving.

So thanks April - I have this all in one spot.