Holidays...I love Christmas, the idea of Christmas, the music, the smells, the baking, the activities, not so much the shopping and I really do despise the wrapping.  With 8 children, son-in-law, 2 grandbabies, husband, extended families, spending gets out of control.  But I do look forward to the anticipation of Christmas.  I am a giver, I like to give to those I love, but it gets expensive.  I spend most of the time thinking I haven't gotten enough and then after all is said and done, realize I once again over did it.  Gifts go un-played with, or not worn.  Things get returned, exchanged and all the decorations go back into the basement. I usually keep the lights and garland up for a few months after Christmas, just because its a pain to take down.  One thing I realize is as I get older and my family gets older, is its not about the giving of gifts but the receiving of the ultimate gift of Christmas... Christ himself.  Christ birth is the reason Christmas exists and as the country and world grow farther and farther from that truth... I realize that I need to grower closer to the reason for the season and not worry about if I have gotten enough gifts, or the right gifts, but that I embrace the real gift, the Birth of a Savior.