What is Christmas?

I've been away from blogging....just couldn't seem to get here.  I haven't created anything either....after the nor'easter on Halloween weekend....I just had other things on my mind.  How do we roll so fast from Halloween to Christmas week?  Retailers kind of push the plate on that...I wish we could restore Christmas to what it truly is....and it's not finding the "big deal"  at 4:00am on Black Friday....that I am sure of.

I fee like I've already celebrated Christmas...my sister and husband were here to celebrate her birthday and we exchanged gifts;  and I and many others helped  to spread the word about an injured Marine in my son's unit that resulted in many generous people giving their time and making a donation to help get his life back on track.  God bless him!  So....I don't really need anything else except to go to church and give thanks and pray for those who aren't as blessed as I am this Christmas.
Here are some photos from around the house....

There's something special in each of these photos for me....