Another Goodbye......

It is here. 

The end of 2013.  

I looked back over the previous end of the year posts I have written and it seems we have always ended on a pretty good note.... grateful for many blessings.

It is no different this year.  I just finished delivering my final Meals on Wheels of the year and if nothing jolts you into the gifts you have in your life, I promise dropping off dinners on the route I have will bring you back to the reality of all that is good in a hurry.

It was a good year, blessed with having family close, a wedding, and good health for all.

As I do a little "soul searching" I know that I am grateful for some lessons learned. 

 I am painfully aware that I don't always make the best decisions or respond to situations in the most appropriate manner....well, surprise on that one!  It might be my type A, impulsive, need a filter on my mouth personality that causes me to want to go back and redo so many situations.  It is my hope to be a little more compassionate, more reflective, and a whole lot more patient this next year.   There will forever be room for improvement in so many areas,  but recognizing weaknesses is not something I always do too well.  I move through things like the energizer bunny and only look back after the fact. 

We are only about eleven hours away from putting this year into park (as noted by a good friend).

Seems so strange that we never seem to re-evaluate in June or August, but only on December 31st. I am all too aware of so many lessons that painfully hit me right in the face this past year,  and hopeful that what I learned from a laundry list of mistakes will stick with me in 2014.  For me some lessons learned are much to quickly forgotten.

The Other Things.....

It seems I have posted a barrage (another word for bunch) of Christmas pics lately.  My mind lacks the clarity to develop anything noteworthy at this point in time...so it is another BUNCH of pictures that bring back memories of a Christmas season already over.

Disney on Ice!!!  The minute I saw it in the paper I knew we had to go.  So I corralled all the females in the family to join me.  What could bring more excitement than Mickey and Minnie skating around the ice in red and gold sequins singing 

M I C K E Y!!!! 

 I was transported to the days of Annette, Darlene, and Cubby in mouse ears!

It was 50's TV at it's finest!

Stringing candy canes. 

 Just the beginning of another generation of homemade ornaments!

 I thought I was growing into the adult tree I always wanted...and then came grandkids...and I realized the homemade mismatched kind are really much better.

Making time to get to Mr. Joel's backyard train.  Wow, this man set up this enormous display in his back yard 13 years ago to entertain the neighborhood kids.  This is the year he calls it a day.  At 81 it is becoming too expensive and time consuming to operate, but the joy on this gentleman's face as he drives you around the tracks is better than any Santa Claus.  He truly is the face of Christmas.

Tradition....the gingerbread house.  Someday it will be a masterpiece!!!!

Pins and needles...and so much fun!!!  Brooklynn is going to be a seamstress...HAPPY Gramma!

She pinned and sewed her daddy-o pajama pants for his trip to Africa because we all know that the military personnel overseas want to see some lieutenant commander make his way to the shower in Scooby Doo wear!

An after the holidays trip to run through the amazing Christmas village hosted  by the city of Richardson.  We had to send scouts ahead of us to make sure all of the characters were out of sight before Brooklynn would enter the space (refer back to the fact that she will not go near anything that is dressed up in a costume).  After sufficient proof that the coast was clear, we ran and explored and took way to many pics...

And SNAP it is over....but the craziness of it all was perfect, because it was Christmas and that is how it should be.

Christmas Part II

I would love to report on the joy and merriment of watching children open Christmas presents and sit in wonder of the gifts that were placed under the tree, but guess what, it was Christmas!!

If you are a child at Christmas then it is the same all over the world.

Get that paper off one and move on to the next!!

I have been there.  Thirty eight holidays with my own children and it does not change...and I do not suspect it will any time soon!!!

I am not sure it would be fun any other way!

So...my pictures were not great this year.  I was too busy watching activity all over the room.  I can however, remember the kids at this age when I look back and be ever so thankful that they were here to share the day with us.  Some families are separated by distance that does not allow them to be together.  We were together and that is the best gift anyway!

I am not really sad that this Christmas is over.  Some years I am.  I am already looking forward to next year when Tim will be back and things will be as they should be.  I know it was much harder for him than us.  Harder for his wife and girls than it was for us.  That is the price that our military pays and I am forever thankful that there are families who accept the assignment courageously and protect us from places much too far away.

Christmas Part I.....

 Love my family...

Love Christmas with them...

 Love sharing smiles and meals.....

 And getting to know cousins....

 And enjoying the wonder of the season....

 And emptying HUGE stockings!!!!!

And thinking Finley is liking little Eli!!!!

And I love my brother in law......

Because he loves these babies!!!!

And he and Pam are great hosts!!!!
Did I say I love my family????

Merry Christmas.....

From the girls!

Hope your day is filled with love, laughter, and family!

Tomorrow....

It is ten o'clock in the morning and I am sitting in bed, computer on my lap making last minute lists and trying to clear my head because tomorrow IT IS HERE!  All that planning, shopping, cooking, ect. and done or not, it happens.

Am I ready?  HA HA HA!

Are any of us really?  But does it matter?  

Every year I join the whole nation in trying to create perfect, and when it is all over I know it does not really matter.  With Tim on the other side of the planet this year, I am reminded that the only perfect is having your family together...PERIOD.

So, this morning before I leave for last minute errands I am going to sit down and enjoy what is one of my very favorite parts of the season.....

 MAIL!!!!!

 I love the UPS man!! 

 Online shopping is my best friend!  I do not like to fight crowds in the mall so when I see that brown truck pull up I "throw open the shutters and pull up the sash"!  Wrong story, but same thought.  It is like Santa arriving.  

 Inside these boxes are those presents carefully chosen on the screen of the computer.

Here they are!!!  As much of a surprise to me when I open them as they are to the one who is going to receive them.

And finally, the delivery of those cherished Christmas cards!!!

Toss the bills and credit card applications and delight in the pictures and letters from friends you have not heard from for a year.  Do I love to hear about your son who scored three touchdowns and got MVP twice this year?  I do!!!  It is the one time a year you get to sit down and brag because what gives us more pleasure than the accomplishments of our family?  

 I love looking at my cards and remembering why we have stayed in touch all of these years...because you are special to me!  Even if our contact is only at Christmas, you hold a place in my life that matters.

So...enjoy this last day before we rejoice with our families, not only in the arrival of Santa, but in the arrival of our Savior Jesus Christ who truly is the reason for the season.