Tradition

Many families, our included, have some special Christmas traditions. A few of ours have been chopping down our Christmas tree and decorating it together, attending the candlelight service at church, getting new pj's on Christmas Eve, the infamous Christmas 'game', and of course, the family Christmas photo. Some of us have changed in appearance since this picture was taken, but we keep it around, because like most traditions, it makes us smile, remember fun times, and remember not to take ourselves too seriously (we made the Sears photo studio display with this one!).

Traditions solidify our sense of belonging, and of stability in a changing world. That's not to say that traditions can't change a bit or be replaced with newer ones, however. For example, this year, we look forward to incorporating Nate into some of our standing traditions, as well as making some new ones! As always, we'll look for ways to laugh at ourselves and to build memories I can blog about next year!