Christmas has always been a big deal in my family. My mother is kind of obsessed with it, actually. Christmas trees in particular. They are her big thing. When my parents were first married she would always joke that she wanted a "tree in every room" whenever they had a house of their own. I think in part it's because the Christmas trees reminded her of her own family Christmases. She grew up in northern New Jersey, her family of seven living in one the second floor of a two-family row house where each child had to share a bedroom with at least one of their siblings all the time. They would gather together in the family room (the palor as my Grandmother called it), and on Christmas Eve my grandfather would go out to get the tree and they would all sit around and decorate it. In those moments, while they were all sitting and looking up at that Christmas tree their tiny house suddenly seemed so large, filled with laughter and spilling over with Christmas spirit.
That's something my mother and father have instilled with my brothers and I since we were little kids. The idea that you can bring the Christmas spirit with you anywhere, as long as you have a tree to sit around and family members gathered around it. Which probably explains why my mother wanted a tree in every room. Because the tree represents so much more than the ornaments or the decorations. It's a little piece of Christmas spirit everywhere you turn. And a small reminder of her own parents and all that they did to make her Christmases so special. All the more reason she wanted to carry on that tradition to her own kids, and now - her grandchildren as well.
And this year, for the first time in a long time, we're all going to be together for Christmas. All twelve of us. My brothers, my sister-in-law and my beautiful little nieces. We'll all gather around the trees (they actually are one in nearly every room now), and the house will be full. In every way possible.
So, as Rob and I sign off for Christmas and head down to visit family, we just want to thank all of you out there for all of your support this year. 2010 has been quite a whirlwind so far and we can't wait to see what 2011 has in store for us. We hope that you all have an amazing holiday in a house full of your own friends and family.
And since every post is better with a picture, here's one of our favorites that we snapped on a recent walk around the city. Pretty much sums up NYC in December. You never know what you're going to see, but it will more than likely make you smile. And speaking of things that make us smile, keep an eye out for our next post coming very soon - Nancy & Jake's Easton Engagement Session. You won't want to miss it.
