the holiday season is my absolute favorite time of year. it always has been and i imagine, it always will be. i've always had a kid-like excitement for christmas, and at almost 30, that excitement hasn't faded and it's something i'm so grateful for because it's rooted in so much.

cress family christmas morning (missing the biggest brother) circa 1986.

my christmas lists are always written by the end of october (and these lists are detailed so there can be no mistakes,) holiday tunes are the soundtrack of my life throughout all of november and december, i now stay up late to wrap gifts, anticipating the sheer joy on the face of our almost-3-year-old. i remember pulling the tape away from gifts while my parents were out of the house just to see if i could sneak a little peek. (sorry, mom and dad.) sadly, i almost did the same thing this week with my gifts under the tree...don't worry, i've grown out of it.

the gifting spirit, though, isn't what it's all about. i would say that i love gifts just as much as the next person, but that would be a lie. i LOVE gifts, likely way more than any 30-year-old woman should, but somehow, that's not what christmas is about.

for me, the holidays are about family, about memories. for me, the holidays bring on a certain nostalgia that nothing else in the world brings. the frenetic energy in the air and the spirit. the holidays make me miss being around my loud, beautiful, loving giant iowa family; the holidays bring me such gratitude for the small (but just as loud) family I am a part of now on the east coast; the holidays give me hope for making memories with the small little family we have together.

from trimming the tree, to making gingerbread cookies, to the winter solstice party at playschool, THIS is what it's all about for me.

these moments, these memories created from love. this is christmas to me.

happy holidays to you and yours from me and mine.