Decking the Halls

I hate to admit it, but I'm a little behind with my Christmas decorating this year.
(I know, I know... the world just may come to an end)
I had good intentions... Ryan even got the decorations out of storage the Saturday after Thanksgiving. But with company in town, Parker's birthday party, and just being busy I just couldn't get to it all.
The Advent Calendar was the first decoration to go up on December 3rd, a bit late, but the kids didn't mind too much and quickly caught up. We did get the outdoor lights done early also (mostly because I knew a cold front was coming in and I didn't want to put them up in the cold). The kids even decorated their little "kids tree" with all their homemade ornaments and annual ornaments.
I managed to hang stair garland a couple days after that, And I hung the Stockings & set up the mantel decor, I've done a few table decorations and even part of the Nativity (I packed the barn somewhere good last year so I would remember where it was.. hummmm).

Finally I managed to put up the tree last Saturday and replaced a few burned out strands of lights on Sunday.
So now here it sits... undecorated
The funny thing is, it really hasn't stressed me much that everything isn't up and decorated right away. It's been quite nice waiting for just the right moment to put up each part of our decorations.

Today the kids and I had a few hours to kill before the ward party (more on that later) so we decided to put up the village. (I was kind of glad because the boxes were starting to bug me sitting in the living room)
I let the kids handle all of the set up this year ( I had to do the boring lighting part later)
They had lots of fun and I really enjoyed watching them work together to decide where everything would go. (I even found the Nativity Barn in with the village stuff yeah!)When they were all finished, they said to me...
"Now mom, you can't rearrange anything we have done... promise?"
I promised that I would leave it just as they left it...(really... I did)
Come to find out... this picture shows why they didn't want me to touch anythingApparently accidents happen in tiny perfect snow villages too.
They did such a wonderful job I just might hire them to put it up again next year!
With the next phase of decorating completed, there's just one final decorating task to tackle...
the Tree...
For any of you who have seen my trees before, you know how elaborate and decorated I like my tree. (that's why the kids get their own tree upstairs).

But as I look at my tree all lit up and glowing, with no fancy ornaments or bows... It's still beautiful and has a great presence in the room.
I'm not too worried about getting it decorated. It will happen eventually... or maybe not. I'm just enjoying the process this year. I'm busy, but in a good way. I've been able to spend time with my family and enjoy the Christmas season. I'm not overcome with commitments or "to do" lists. Which is how it should be. If we get it decorated, great, but if not, Christmas will still come and be just as wonderful (if not more so) than before.