Christmas All Around

One month from today I will be on a red-eye flight headed home for Christmas! I don't think I am more excited about anything else but going home for Christmas. Of course, as soon as the month of October rolls around everyone starts talking about Christmas, stores begin getting their Christmas things out, Christmas songs are playing everywhere, and half the commercials on TV have a Christmas theme of some sort (like the Hershey's commercial that's been playing for years and years now where the little kisses play "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"). Even though all these things are happening here in Maui just as much as anywhere else (well, maybe not quite as much) it still feels nothing like Christmas around here. And I don't think many people here disagree with that statement...

Some of the things that make it feel like Christmas to me are cold weather, scarfs, mittens, pea coats, snow flurries, breathing in crisp air, eating warm things like oatmeal and chili and drinking warm things like cider and hot chocolate, lots and lots of Christmas lights, evergreen trees and their smell, the smell of cinnamon or cranberry, many more things, but mostly being with your family and the people you most enjoy spending your time with. 

So things are a little different here. For instance, yesterday I walked into the children's ministry building to switch out my laundry, because that is where the washer and dryer are where we do our laundry, and I immediately heard some people playing and singing in a room down the hall. The best part was not only that they were singing "Santa's Coming to Town" followed by "Silent Night" but that these songs were accompanied by the ukelele. Only in Hawaii will you hear Christmas songs being played on the ukelele. It was great and definitely made me laugh a little to myself only because I had never heard it before. So that's Christmas Maui-style for ya. :)

Counting down the days till I'm home! 

(that would be 31 in case you were wondering)

Pics from a couple years ago when we went looking at Christmas lights:

Me and Christian

Erin and Christian