It was starting to bother me that I hadn't set up any traditions as a family ... during any holiday... including birthdays... and even on vacations. I see the families who do the fun lil shelf dude, go to the same beach every summer, or have a special cake from the same baker each celebration. Thoughts of ... will my kids remember anything we've done over the years? will their wives ask them about their family traditions? will they have any core memories from the holidays? That anxiousness faded after one simple conversation with a gentlemen who we had a brief discussion with at a conference. He said, "Your tradition is that each year you do something different. How cool is that!" For whatever reason, I really took that to heart and it brought me a peace that I honestly really didn't know I needed. So for any other "tradition-less" families out there... it's ok! We've had real trees. fake trees. presents under the tree. we've had no presents. we've taken trips for celebrations. we've stayed home to celebrate. The tradition for us is the "we". Whatever you do this holiday season - my encouragement is to make it about family time and shining the light of Jesus. That's a worthy tradition right there! (Sawyer and I made homemade sugar cookies for the first time this year! It was messy, fun, and delicious! Who knows if we will do it again next year or not...but it brought us joy this year!)