Winded.

I had a lot of good intentions of making lots of cute Christmas crafts and writing a lovely blog series.

And then reality sets in.

You know the one.

Deck the halls with...balls of cheese for all the parties
Have yourself a merry...maid (in my dreams!) for all the cleaning that needs to be done
Oh, Christmas Tree...why do I have to keep watering you?
All I want for Christmas is...an extra two weeks before Christmas
Silent Night, Holy Night...all is not calm
It's the most wonderful time of the year...with 100 presents to buy and too many things to do!

I did manage to dig out a few Christmas decorations and wrap a strand or two of sparkling lights around our tree (even if half of them are currently not working!).

We have some jingle bells hanging out too.

The most crafty thing I've done was made little reindeer mugs with a stencil and a ceramic pen. I do love them.

Although I have had moments of "frustration" over my lack of zealous Christmas decorating or making cute gifts for the neighbors, I've also realized that it's okay to slow down. It. is. okay.

I don't have to feel guilty that I'm not producing handmade ornaments at Santa elf speed. It's okay to instead spend that time with my husband and relax with a cup of tea and a movie.

Of course, there are things that I need to do. Like clean my house and wrap gifts before we make the trek from Texas to Minnesota in a few days.

Like I said, I need to clean. This is actually what my house looks like right now. Uffda. I'm blogging as a form of procrastination.

I also need to stop eating the cookies I made the other day. They are good. For the taste buds. Not the belly!

Do any of you ever feel overwhelmed by all the stuff that starts to snowball around Christmas-time? There is a certain excitement that comes with buying gifts, decorating, enjoying all the parties, and partaking in all the traditions. Yet, I want to take a deep breath and simply reflect on why we even celebrate Christmas in the first place.

Jesus. Babe in the manger. Greatest gift of all.

What a beautiful story that is.

I may have had a lot of intentions about blog series and cute crafts. But, one intention that I plan on keeping is taking in moments of reflection and praising God for His gift to me--salvation wrapped in swaddling clothes.

When I'm making cookies for the neighbors, pray for them. When I'm wrapping gifts, be thankful for what each recipient means to my life. When I'm putting out my measly decor, be thankful for the warm place that I have to decorate. When I run into crazed people at the mall, be gracious and kind to them. When I'm packing up another sale from Home for Hire {the shop}, be thankful that another item has sold. When I'm making another cheese ball, be thankful for the warm friendship I have with many people.

I want this Christmas season of 2011 to be memorable. Not because I made something fancy or wrote fifty blog posts, but because I took time to breath it in. Enjoy it. Weave reflection and praise into my daily holiday bustle.

What do you do to stay intentional and actually enjoy Christmas-time? How do you avoid being "sucked in?" Am I the only one?