When you come back down.

The tree is down. The Christmas dishtowels are in the laundry. The presents all have new "homes" within our house. And there is a small pile of items to return (we gave my brothers gifts which did not fit).

We took the traditional photo of Emme with her loot after her first Christmas. It's hard to find her among all the stuff she was given. The people in our lives are very generous...I wish we could return the favor more often

I was up until 2 am trying to remove any remnants of Christmas from our home...put them back in their green tupperware storage containers and get back to daily life. It brings mixed feelings.

Our tree was so completely dead. We stopped watering it 2 weeks ago since it stopped taking water and was just sitting in a puddle. Part of the charm of Christmas trees is the fact that they are only around for a short while.

I updated the refrigerator with new photos we received from friends and family in Christmas cards. I spent some time comparing them to last year's photos...it's hard to remember that as I grow up, so does everybody else in my life...we all change.

We spent a lot of quality time with Brad's mom and brother since he made the annual trek to Missouri for Christmastime. Next year he'll be married to Jen. She'll be my very first sister-in-law. I'm very excited. Not only because she's a good choice...but since she's originally from New York, we get to travel to a very exciting city for the wedding!

Brad and I reached a milestone. We're past Target jewelry. Although some of the most frequent comments I receive are on pieces I've received from Target...I encouraged him that after 5 years of marriage it'd be okay to get me some more of the real stuff. In true "if your wife says it enough" fashion he caught the hint and gave me a sparkly diamond necklace for Christmas. "That's one full 1/10 carat there baby!," he said jokingly to remind me that these are still the years of stretching each dollar.

We had a good year. We're looking forward to another one. We've got each other and a knowledge of the saving powers of our Jesus. In this time of gifts and giving it's good for me to remember that this life is temporary...my treasures are in heaven.