decorating day.

The day after Thanksgiving was magical this year. We stayed up very late on Thanksgiving night and then all four of us slept until 9:00 Friday morning. It was like a revelation: this is what life could be like!

David drove to Publix and bought croissants for Brie-and-bacon sandwiches for the grown-ups and donuts for the kiddos, after which we took our respective coffee and tea to the living room and got to work Christmas decorating. It was the first time I let myself turn on Christmas music, and you better believe it will be playing nonstop in our house through December 25th.

Judah and Amie took their tree-decorating responsibilities very seriously, unpacking and laying out all the ornaments and then, once the tree was up and lit (we’re fake-tree people), helping to hang. My favorite part of this Christmas season, thus far, is overhearing Amie play make-believe with the Christmas ornaments throughout the day, which is one of my own favorite Christmas memories from being a little girl. The kids are allowed to remove ornaments and play as long as they’re very careful and put them back (another revelation: no constantly keeping little fingers from the ornaments).

As I sit and write this post, Amie’s laying on her back next to the tree, playing with Gingerbread Man and Gingerbread Woman, who are singing at the top of their lungs about their grandparents.

After the tree was finished, the kids and I made two chocolate pecan pies. Confession: I used store-bought crust. But the whipped cream was homemade. Also, I experimented with sprinkling coarse sea salt on top this year and it was divine.

Some more confessions: No, the crust was not gluten-free. Yes, I paid for it with a headache. Yes, it was worth it. Also. Yes, there is a generous helping of corn syrup in the pie recipe.

Chocolate pecan pie is the best (But it’s better with homemade crust. I’m going to start practicing for Christmas I think).

We rounded out our quiet Friday with a neighborhood walk and big plates of Thanksgiving leftovers for dinner (thanks, Mom!). Also, with our annual viewing of Elf.

Welcome, December!