Not the Merriest of Christmas', so far...

This Christmas has been plagued with troubles. I wonder if that is just the nature of aging and watching those we love age as time marches on for each of us or maybe, just the troubled times we find ourselves in this year.

Many of my people have experienced illness, loss, and suffering. In essence, Murphy's Law has been alive and well this Christmas.

I dreamed of a beautiful Christmas repleat with merry-making, joyful times, playing outside in our new yard in the sunshine, happy times making happy memories to be fondly remembered as our "first" Christmas in our beautiful home.

The weather is not cooperating. No snow, no sunshine, just cold rain is predicted. Not the scenario I have dreamed of since moving here. I planned to have family here, but the weather will probably keep our Christmas dinner to a bare minimum this year, possibly only my little family.

Our children have outgrown the "Santa" thing, so the magic seems to have diminished considerably.

Several of my family have been experiencing depression. Nothing I can do about that, but it is quite difficult to watch someone you love so much, be tortured from within, at such a beautiful time of year. Tends to be contagious and depression sets in around my heart, as well.

Many people are no longer with us this Christmas and grief at the holidays is so tough to deal with. No way to get around that one. Just gotta go through it.

Finacial worries plague nearly everyone I know. Times are tough right now for so many people.

Little things that go wrong seem to be magnified. Add to that the hormone factor and my life seems pretty troubled this season.

The beloved Christmas tunes that I cherish so much, that have played throughout my house for weeks now, will soon be coming to an end.

I am going to revisit How the Grinch Stole Christmas and learn how to be a Who in Whoville. Learn how to keep Christmas joy from being stolen from my heart. This is the first Christmas I can remember that I have had to fight so hard to stay merry.

But my resolve is solid. It is going to be a happy Christmas for me. I am determined to make it so. To appreciate the good that is my life. To recognize the blessings that have been showered on my family. To understand that even when life is tough, it is still worth the effort to enjoy. To be thankful for what is, for it could easily be so much worse.

Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus. It is a Wonderful Life and there is Joy to the World to be shared by all.

To quote from one of my favorite writings:
"With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy."

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas this year. May your days be merry and bright and may we all remember What a Wonderful World it is, in which we live.

May His love fill us in this sweet season and carry us through the coming year. May we all keep Christmas in our hearts everyday of the year and not only count our blessings, but share them, and in doing so, spread the love of our Saviour and God to those who need it, whenever they need most, every single day of our lives.

"God bless us, everyone!"

"Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!"

Our New Home

Here they are...finally! Photos of our new home. Please excuse the Rubbermaid containers that are still lying around with stuff in them to unpack. It is still a work in progress.

Let me state from the beginning that Callie's room is clean and has stayed that way since we moved in. Her room is decorated with her beloved horses as a theme. Western all the way for that girl.

Grace's room is for lack of a better term, eclectic and new age. It is a little messy, but she comes in second on the clean room competition.

Micah's room is easy to spot dispite the camoflauge literally EVERYWHERE he could find a place to place it. He got a really bad grade for neatness and his room has only been clean a couple of times since moving in.

Our master bedroom is clutter with the boxes of stuff aforementioned.

The kitchen is usually not buried under layers of clean, freshly washed dishes, but I took these photos after our dinner party and since our dishwasher is not here yet, I am washing by hand and letting them air dry.

A couple of other places you might see an ramdom box or two whose contents haven't found a home yet. However, if I waited until it was perfect the photos would never happen.

I love the tranquilty of the living room. I can feel my BP drop and my heart rate slow the longer I sit there by my tree. Another favorite place is the den with a roaring fire in the fire place. My overall favorite is the kitchen. Most of you who have been to our former home know that my kitchen there was smaller than most galleys on boats, so I am still trying to determine the best place for everything, since there are so many options for placement. Just so many places to love in this house!

Our home sits on a gererous 1.7 acres of land. How unheard of is that? We have so much space inside and out and we are loving every minute of it!

So if you are ever in Fort Deposit, Alabama drop by and pay us a visit at 210 Golson Road. We would love to have the company!

We have as our esteemed guest this night a stranger. We don't know him and there is a unique feeling that accompanies inviting a total stranger into your home to spend the night with your family. I am glad I experienced it.

His name is Garth Poorman and he hails from Hebron, New York. He began walking from New York on August 29 and over 1300 miles later, he arrived on my doorstep.

I read his story in the Greenville Advocate and asked my family what they thought of inviting him in. They all agreed it would be fun so I emailed Garth. He phoned me and it was all set.

He arrived at 2pm today, showered and settled into his room to document and blog his trip. Callie graciously gave up her room for him while she bunks with pesky, little sister tonight. I invited another family to join us for dinner, so at 6:30 Stan, Tina, William, and Anna Foster arrived for Jewell Conway's Camp Stew. I added biscuits, crackers, and wheat rolls and Tina brought some delicious Chocolate Chess Pie.

We had a delightful meal with much interesting conversation. We are Garth's 83rd host family and since leaving NY he has only had to stay in a hotel 3 times. How's that for a great record. He has three more weeks on the road, even missing Christmas with his family all to prove that human kindness abounds and that compassionate people are everywhere. He is walking for kindness and walking half way across America to prove it exists. I think it quite admirable.

After dinner, dessert, and coffee I received a phone call from a friend of mine who is editor of the Lowndes Signal. He wanted to interview Garth and me for an article in the paper. Garth will also publish an online book of essays that tell about his travels and hopefully, we will be worthy of a mention.

We didn't know him when he walked up to our door, but we feel now that we have a lifelong friend that lives in Hebron, NY.

Mama always said it pays to be kind.

December 7th-Pearl Harbor Day

Most Americans remember this day as a day of horror, shock, and tragedy because of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Our family remembers this day for something more in addition to Pearl Harbor. Ed Biagi left us on this day many years ago and we still remember like it was yesterday.