family+cookies
Sunday, December 19, 2010 at 3:29PM Christmastime has ALWAYS been my favorite time of year. I just love to get caught up in the magic and wonder of it all. Six years ago will always top my list of favorite Christmas times because my husband proposed to me on Christmas Eve under 10,000 white Christmas lights and mistletoe in the middle of the woods. I get all mushy and teary eyed every time I think about it.
While that Christmas will always mean so much to me, there is something unexplainable and magnificent about experiencing Christmas with children. My son turned two in August so this year he is able to communicate in sentences and understand the things that we tell him about Christmas and what it all means. It is amazing to me to see the world anew through his eyes.
As a child, one of my favorite things about this season was getting together with my mom and my aunts to make Chex Mix and Christmas cookies. Keegan and I were able to share in that tradition with my Mama this year when we went for our visit to Arizona. It made me feel like a kid again when my Mom got out all of her old cookie cutters that I used as a child. We did it just like we did when I was a kid, playing Christmas music and singing off key to every single song as we cut out our cookies.
This next photo might be one of my favorite images of all time. My mom will hate it because she thinks that she has "old lady hands". I think that they are beautiful. I think that they tell a story. They have held me as a baby, they have dried my tears, bandaged my wounds and held my hands during my most difficult years.
This is a photo of her smashing together dough and flour so that her grandson can experience the joy and wonder of Christmas the same way that his Mama did when she was his age.
This is beauty in it's purest form.
Reader Comments (6)
Thank you Shan, I am crying. Our Christmas Cookie baking time is a tradition that I will always remember. It goes way back to when I was a young girl and made the cookies with Aunt Rose & Aunt Chris. Let's keep our tradition going for years to come.
Love you
I cried when I read what you wrote about your mom's hands. How beautiful they are.
Oh dear I'm teared up! There is nothing better than some good ol' Christmas tradition!!!!
Ok so post #2. I didn't realize these pictures were all under the sane comment section. What I was going to say was I absolutely love all the pics of keegs and the Christmas traditions. You even put the cookie cutters in the background! This would be like the all time greatest Christmas card. Shannon your words and your photos touch my heart every time. I feel so much love and wisdom in your words and see it in your photos. I'm usually crying while reading your blog. Thanks for sharing your beauty. So many times you put things back into perspective for me and you do it without knowing it. I love you and am so grateful your in my life.
How awesome that you got to share that with your mom again and start that tradition in Keegan's life..nothing like an awesome tradition that makes you feel like a kid again!
Hi,
I love the creativity shown in your photos, and such a handsome little toddler you've got!
Did you use a special holiday template or texture to put the photos into?