It's beginning to look a lot like christmas!

The BEST time of year is here!!!  Here are some of the best things about this time of year!

1. You have to buy Michael Buble's Christmas CD!  Best Christmas CD ever!!!  His remake of Mariah Carey's All I want for Christmas is SO good!!!  We listened to it about 5 times on our drive home from NJ!

2. Having friends over for dinner!  Nothing better than decorating your house for Christmas and then inviting friends over for dinner!  It gives me a reason to make my mom's apple cobbler which is so yummy!!

3. Set up the Christmas Trains!  This is the first year for us to do this, but it is so awesome!  Chris' grandpa used to have this exact train set up every year as Chris grew up.  It was one of Chris' favorite things about Christmas and he claims to have played hours every year with the train.
Funny story about this...for about a year or so Chris' mom, Elaine has talked about giving us the train.  Now, I didn't know that the train was a holiday train that goes around the tree.  In my mind I was thinking it was a set of train cars that are used for decoration year round.  Chris was so excited about getting the trains, which I never understood!!  I never said anything because I could see that Chris and his family was really into the trains so I just went with it and figured I could deal with train cars decorating my house if it made all of them happy.  Well, I can't explain my joy when Chris took the trains out and explained that it is a Christmas thing for around the tree.  Then it got even better when he set it up and I could see how awesome the train is!!  We had so much fun sitting on the floor like 12 year olds messing with the train! What I love most is the sentimental value of the train.  Pa was a really important person to Chris and as Chris set up the train he would recall things Pa would say and do.  He did a few impression of Pa and it was just so special!  Now that I am tuned into the trains I cannot wait to have kids someday who get to play with the great-grandfathers trains!

4. Listen to nothing but Christmas music!

5. Simmer cinnamon sticks, cloves, orange slice and all spice in a saucepan!  I do this all of December!!!  Smells like Christmas!