1. Your favorite holiday tradition.
Hmmm... this is a tough one. Cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning, our annual Christmas picture (I think the "outtakes" are sometimes than the "keeper"!), Grandma's house, Mom's cookies (and the dough!!), waiting for Santa..... There are so many!

2. Your favorite cookie recipe.
Ahh, I do not reveal my recipes. I add a sprinkle of Amanda special-ness and that's why mine are the BEST. Sorry. ;-)

3. Share a story behind a special ornament on your tree.
Nikki and I have tons of ornaments because every year of our lives, we'd choose a new ornament. An "A" or "N" would go on the bottom along with the year. Mom and Dad's plan was to make sure we'd have lots of special ornaments to take with us when we grew up and had families of our own. Of course, we also have the ornaments we'd make at school or church and those are so special to me, too. A few favorites are my Disney Princess ornaments, my handmade Haylie pawprint ornament, and the one I made at church when I was 2 - it has a picture of me in the middle back when I had little blonde curls and had yet to experience life at its hardest

4. All you want from Santa is….?
Nothing Santa could bring makes much difference. Christmas is not about gifts, and everything I want the most cannot come from Santa or money anyways. I did get lots of fun stuff this year though... Just not my heart's deepest wishes. But I think that's how it always goes, right?

5. Your favorite Christmas movie and why?
Hmm..... I like the Family Stone because it's more serious. Christmas movies are usually so superficial and cheesy. I do like the Muppets Christmas Carol though! But the little Tiny Tim family makes me sad. :( Absolutely no Christmas Story!!!!! (Okay, okay, it was fun while it lasted but it's really overrated!)  I'm not a huge holiday-movie person.... I'd rather just put my iPod on the Christmas playlist or something.

6. Are you dong anything special for the holidays this year?
Same as always. But that's a good thing. :)

7. What’s the best toy you ever got when you were a kid.
Toy? I'm going to go with the Barbie house. Santa brought a handmade wood Barbie house that my crafty mom wallpapered and carpeted. (I am not even kidding!!!) It had a porch and a swimming pool too. Annnd of course it's in the basement safe and sound because deep inside I still want to play with it and maybe one day I'll have a little girl who will love it as much as I did (do)!!
But there was also Scooter and Kimmy and the Bitty Baby and Baby Alive and my Dreamland babies, and well, you get the idea.  ;-)

8. Why is Christmas special to you?
Because it's a time to remember when the Savior of the world chose to come to this earth and live a life full of hardships out of nothing more than love. It's pretty heavy if you think about it. And on the other hand, I love Christmas because it's a time for most people to remember how much they love the family and friends they always seem to be too busy for during the year. It's a time of remembering relationships, blessings, and love. It's a time to ponder change and how fragile our days really are. It's a time to create memories that will last forever as we try to accept the fact that we have no idea what this coming year may bring. Christmas gently reminds us that life is short and we must enjoy its sweet moments.