Christmas in July 2013

"It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air." -W.T. Ellis

It's well known among many of our family and friends now that one of the many many MANY traditions David and I have created for our marriage and now nuclear family is Christmas in July.  We started this the 2nd July we were married and it's always a fun time.  While it's meant to be a silly celebration, I also think it's a good time to teach Joseph that the birth of Christ is relevant to our lives year round and that His free offer of salvation is available at any time.  We always celebrate the last weekend in July, and this year that happened to be just after Joseph's surgery.  It was fun to treat our sweet boy to a little random fun while he was recovering.  We joked that Joseph had a look on his face Saturday morning as if to say, "It's Christmas again already?  Hmmm.  Wow, feels awfully warm for Christmas!"  Here are some fun pictures from our celebration.

I woke up Saturday morning to the sound of Christmas music playing.  I walked in to the den to look for David and there he stood, in his shorts, t-shirt, and Santa hat.  He'd woken up early while I was still asleep, snuck out of the house, and went to Starbucks to get a grande chai (my favorite!) for me and a tall coffee for himself.  How many husbands are this fun?  I'm so blessed!  He has also put out some Christmas decor since we were too tired to do it the night before.  Here are our Starbucks treats with a decorative Santa...

He put out our stockings, and our miniature Christmas tree that we use for Christmas in July.  He also put out the presents (both in the stockings and under the tree).  Santa got some presents for us from the Dollar Tree, and David and I also chose Dollar Tree for our presents for each other.  Santa, as well as David and I, got Joseph's presents at Toys R Us. 

Then it was time to open presents.  Joseph got a little help from his Mommy and Daddy on his...

Here are the opened treasures for all three of us...

Every Sunday night we go to my grandmother's house for dinner with my grandmother and my parents, and so the next evening they joined in on the Christmas in July fun by giving Joseph a couple of cool presents as well!  He ended up with four new toys in total - one from Santa, one from Mommy and Daddy, one from Papaw and Nonie, and one from his Great-Mimi.  He loves having new things to play with!

Merry Christmas in July, everyone!!!