After brunch on Christmas Eve.

The best recent addition to Christmas traditions in our home is, hands-down, the girlfriend stocking.

Maralee and I have been exchanging stockings for a few years. We picked up these bright and playful pink stockings from Target one year and decided to fill it up for each other. It’s always fun and special to see what we’ve picked out for one another.

This year my stocking is, apparently, overflowing and I’m having a hard time waiting until Christmas morning!

(Sidenote: I also bought some chocolate items to throw in my own stocking and guess what? Those treats didn’t survive 24 hours in my possession. I busted into them almost immediately. Good thing I’ve got a this pink stocking waiting for me.)

Goodnight, cupboards.
And goodnight, lights.
Goodnight, compost bin.
And goodnight, dishes bright.
Goodnight, orchids.
And goodnight sink.
Tomorrow is a new day,
When my dishwasher arrives at last.
Sweet dreams, kitchen.

Christmas elves stopped by last night and this afternoon bearing treats that have warmed up our hearts this year.

Be a Christmas elf.

What 43 year old Rebecca would tell Newlywed Rebecca about the holidays:

Hello there!

Do you remember crying for no reason during the month of December as a kid? Well, hang in there cuz those feelings won’t really go away. You will feel both love and struggle when the holidays roll around—but don’t worry, you’ll soon realize that’s pretty normal and it’s okay. Your personality will want to decorate beautifully and host with great warmth and prepare all the yummy seasonal cookies and dishes to share. You’ll also want to donate to every charity under the sun, you’ll feel badly when you pass those Salvation Army bell ringers without putting something in the bucket, and you will **never** want to be pressured to buy a generic gift from a box store. So basically, if you want to enjoy the gift-giving process, start early, girlfriend. But that other stuff? Let’s talk.

You won’t be able to do it all. Truly, no one can. So pick what you love doing the most and enjoy the heck out it. If you want to host, make sure guests bring something to share because you will not be happy if you have to clean to host, prepare ALL the food, and then entertain everyone during the event. Internally you will refer to this as “The Rebecca Show” and you will wonder why you killed yourself so everyone else could have a good time. You are an extrovert and will put on a song and dance in the moment, so just stop before you start and enjoy a few small moments instead. Quit making Christmas cookies because you don’t like them anyhow. Do it for your kid but not because you think it’s the right way to live in the month of December. Don’t sign up for a cookie exchange with anyone—it’s not your thing, let it go. And when you have a little bit of expendable income, go buy a variety of treats from a local bakery. The two things you really should nail down are these: 1) figure out what charities you and Jeremy want to donate to and 2) figure out who you’d like to serve this month. Playing Santa to a family in need or making treat plates for church elders or college kids will be one of your very favorite things to do. Make sure you have energy reserved for such things.

Note that you do not have a lifelong commitment to Christmas decor. You don’t have to keep something that someone gave you or passed down to you. (Marie Kondo will help you figure this out.) However, what may appear to be a ratty Christmas tree in Year 2 could turn out to be a very sweet and sentimental and adored tree in Year 22. Life is weird like that. Buy new decor items on sale right after Christmas, give away what doesn’t bring you joy anymore, and move on with your life. Some of the most cherished pieces in your home will be made by your daughter’s small hands–and other homemade items will be saved but never put up again. That’s okay, too.

Finally, you will probably never settle into a fantastic Advent routine and you’re going to have to be okay with that. I’m going to go ahead and suggest something and it’s that Advent is a little overblown in your circles. I’ve written about how Advent is about remembering something that the Christian celebrates every day and it is the truth that Jesus came to earth to save us from our sins. It’s a reality fully connected with the great news of Easter where we serve a risen Savior. This is your daily grace. This is your daily rhythm as a Christian and come what may in December… whether you have enough money or not, whether you are sick this month or not, whether you decorate beautifully or you can’t bear to put up the lights, whether you’re fostering a newborn or grieving your infertility in a month of expectation, JESUS IS RISEN. Your Advent traditions and reflections are just that. They are moments for introspection and while they should be encouraged, they will never achieve the heights of the gospel that you embrace day by day. Instead of being beholden to traditions, try to be present instead and rest in the truth that Jesus adores you and died for you and thinks your life is important.

Merry Christmas, you pretty young thang. God is faithful and will carry you. Your task will be choosing to remain faithful to him through this crazy life of yours.

One of us is remembering his European adventures. One of is us dreaming of her future European adventures. And the other is likely dreaming + + asking questions + getting distracted by other questions + thinking of her next project for the afternoon.

While I have long adored a good iced coffee, I must now proclaim 2020 as the Year of the Iced Coffee. It is satisfaction and encouragement in a cup. My homemade versions are my favorite, surpassing the drive-thru less than a mile from my house that likes to charge exorbitant amounts of money for the same thing. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a barista making something good for me, but as it turns out, mine is better. All the memes and odes and love letters to coffee are well-deserved as it turns out. I’m a fan.

This is Shiloh Roosevelt Tredway.

He is my favorite dog in the entire universe and he’s utterly bewildered why I 1) made him put on his collar and did not actually take him somewhere and 2) made him sit on the dining room chair when he’s not allowed on the furniture.

Despite his confusion and my insistence that I’m not a good pet photographer, we came up with this precious shot. Shiloh is sporting his Christmas present, a Ruff Rambler bandana (made by Lincoln locals and friends Bryce and Karen!), and I’m only now wishing I had moved his tags to a different spot. Turns out that keeping my model on the chair and focused on the treat in one hand while my other hand shot the picture was not an easy feat. I have no clue how Bryce and Karen are getting such beautiful shots, but I suspect there are a gazillion images in the trash bin, too.

Shiloh is our 11 year old Coton de Tulear and he’s a small, faithful, spirited little shadow that I have come to completely rely on for comfort and companionship. He’s a good dog brother to his human sister and he is a perpetual barking thorn in his master’s side because he thinks he must protect the missus of the house. He sleeps in the cutest positions ever, has never met a dog he doesn’t love, and will wait on the front porch to be let back in if his owners forget they let him out. His middle name is Roosevelt because Liv and I say so.

We love you, sweet Pooch-a-woochers.

I long to get away for more time with friends and to see new places and at the same time I cherish this year of late breakfasts of scrambled eggs and hot coffee for my sweet family of three. We’re all here. The gang is all here all the time, and the daily agenda is largely ours to set. Work and school and play and meals and snacks and movies—it’s all happening here.

Will there ever again be a time like this one? I doubt it. Feeling grateful for this strange gift of time together.