I just don't know.

It's January 6th.  We are six days in to the new year and I have to be honest...  I can't believe that Christmas is over.  I'm not alone in this feeling that Christmas just wasn't Christmas.  Several people have commented to me about this lack of Christmas-ness and now that Christmas (which never really felt like Christmas) is over...it's just weird.

For me - it was a positive thing.  You see, I typically am the girl who is rushing around from Thanksgiving until Christmas.  Rushing to finish my Christmas cards.  Rushing to finish my Christmas shopping.  Rushing to finish knitting and sewing projects.  Rushing - rushing - RUSHING!!!! 

Now, before I go on, I want you to know that I have not mastered the art of enjoying Christmas.  Infact, the moment I go and boast as to having mastered a stress-free Christmas, well, next year I could slip back in to my "old" ways...

My first step in this over-loaded Christmas feeling was the detox from the rushing.

1. I said, "No" to think that weren't my best yes.  {Thank you, Lysa TerKeurst, for your lovely book:  The Best Yes!  It really did help me analyze and pray over each decision.}

2. I spent each day reading Ann VosKamp's Advent read:  The Greatest Gift, which kept me mindful of Christ.  I loved this book because it wasn't Christmas wrapped up in Luke 2.  She had me studying and considering Abraham sacrificing Isaac and other Old Testament stories that ultimately point to the Messiah...which we (I - I - I!) tend to forget the pointing to Jesus.

3. We had a weird / random coldsnap in November and then it "warmed-up" -- I'm totally using that term loosely as it wasn't warm-up as in call-the-girls-for-pedicures warm-up.  It was just more mild.  Yes, more mild is applicable and more appropriate than a warm-up.

4. I set a knitting goal.  All orders had to be completed by December 18th.  This deadline removed all pressure a week before Christmas.  What a beautiful gift.

Bryan was able to have 12 days off from his job so he headed out here on December 23rd and stayed through January 4th.  Twelve whole days with my delightfully, charming brother.  We did several things and then some days we did very little.  We played Boggle until we ran out of paper.  We rode the train in to Chicago and went up in the John Hancock building where we viewed the Windy City from the 94th floor.  It was - by far - one of the coolest things we've ever done in the City.  We watched several Christmas movies and some not-so-Christmas movies...such as the new Ninja Turtles movie and the first Transformers movie.  We spent Christmas day with Pastor and Roxanne and Nathan and his family.  Bryan had coffee with Trudy's Bryan while I was at work.  We gallivanted about the city and drank a ridiculous amount of coffee.

I love that we could spend the holiday together.

We managed to enjoy a quiet New Year's Eve and dozed off at 10:30 and slept through the New York City ball drop.  We woke-up 6 minutes after the fact and then called it a night.  What party animals we are so not.  :)

And now, here it is January 6th.

It's blinding cold.  We are going to get done to minus-something-degrees tonight with a windchill that will make it feel like minus 35-ish.  Brrrrr...just typing it is making me cold.  Thankfully I have snuggly warm flannel sheets, flannel jammies, and coffee-set-to-brew at 5:30 tomorrow morning.

Stay warm, friends!!!