christmas countdown

i'm always excited about the holidays (regardless of the fact that i do not enjoy shopping), but this year i'm especially excited because we will be able to see family that we haven't seen in forever. yay!
last night mike was nice enough to carry up all the bins of christmas decorations so that i could start counting down. first to go up was the advent calendar (made by mom). i love unwrapping each ornament from it's paper cocoon and putting them in the pockets and thinking about the original calendar hanging at mom and dad's house (especially the santa with a missing foot). i'm hoping to get a few other things up today. the tree will have to wait for a couple of weeks though (all the better, as i'm still working on the tree skirt). the best part of this all is knowing that next year we'll have a little person to share all the fun and tradition with - hoorah!