Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Well, 2009 has come and gone. Cody and I ended this year with a trip home to Taylorsville for our many Christmas traditions (you may remember our post from last year). I love having special traditions for holidays, especially Christmas! It just wouldn't be the same without them. There is something comforting about knowing that every year for Christmas, my mom will make her special Korean Sweet Bread, that Cody will hoist me on his shoulders to add the star to the top of the tree after we've decorated it together, and that we will have a huge breakfast with Cody's family on Christmas morning, among so many other little traditions. I can't wait until Cody and I have kids and we can start some new traditions of our own. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday (and still is), and there are so many things I remember about Christmas-time from when I was little--certain decorations, my mom always baking, the excitement of knowing Santa was coming, and knowing that Christmas wasn't my dad's favorite holiday, but also knowing that he enjoyed seeing my sister and I happy on Christmas morning when we opened our presents. I hope that I can make Christmas as special for our kids as my parents made it for me each and every year (and still do).

Cody and I have also started our own tradition for New Years; it's actually one we stole from my family. Each year, we celebrate the new year by having a glass (or two, or three) of sparkling grape juice and eating port wine cheeseball and crackers. Cody and I really don't have any New Years resolutions--we're never really good at keeping them anyway--but I do hope this year brings us and all of you even more blessings than last year did. Happy 2010!