LOST: One serving of Christmas Spirit

I am usually the biggest Christmas person in the world! I have a really easy time picking up the Christmas spirit & just love everything about this time of year. But this year has been really hard for me, for various reasons. I had a hard time getting motivated to decorate the house, make my Christmas goodies, do Christmas cards, even shop for my family & friends. I usually am the biggest gift giver! I love to plan and get the perfect gift for people & am usually so excited to see them open it & know how much they're going to love it. This year, I could really care less. I think that part of why I'm having a hard time is because we are having a very low key Christmas around here. I feel like I'm not able to give my family and the people in my life what they deserve and because of that, I'm having a hard time finding my joy of the season. A very good friend reminded me the other day that presents and material things aren't the reason for Christmas. So I've been doing some thinking since then & trying to remember the real reason for the season and my Christmas spirit. I don't know that I've really found my spirit, but I do know that I'm so grateful that we have this holiday to celebrate the birth of our Older Brother and Savior. I'm so thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who loves me unconditionally, even when I probably don't deserve it. I am thankful for the wonderful family He gave me and the wonderful friends that He has brought into my life to teach me and help me on my personal journey. I have so much to be thankful for and have been given so many blessings in my life. My goal for the rest of the holiday season is to remember those blessings and remember to show gratitude daily for all the wonderful things in my life. To all of my wonderful, wonderful friends who will read this, thank you so very much for your friendship and love and everything that you have brought into my life.

Memorial Day

A friend of mine posted this on a chat blog we are both on & I stole it from him, because I really liked it. Today is Memorial Day. I think that alot of the time, we don't really think about what that means. Memorial Day weekend is a time for a family trip, BBQ's, big sales at all the stores, etc. I hope that somewhere in the midst of all the excitement & fun of Memorial Day, we're able to stop & think for a few minutes as to what the true meaning of the day is.

My dad chose to make his career in the US Navy & served 25 honerable years, retiring as a Commander. He & my mom instilled in all of us a deep pride & love of our country. I am so thankful for the men & women who make the decision to dedicate their lives to preserving the freedom of our country & have so much respect for the bravery of them & their families.

Today on this Memorial Day, my prayers of gratitude are turned to those brave me & women who have willingly given their lives in service to our country & who continue to serve, regardless of the danger.


Our little local cemetary always has a beautiful Memorial Day ceremony. We went to it this morning, as we do every year. We always have a speaker & the local VFW is always there to do a gun salute. It was very cool as always. The photo of the flag above is the flag flying in our cemetary that Josh took a photo of. We also took some photos of the group at the cemetary & of my dad's headstone, decorated with his American flag for being retired military & the lilacs from our beautiful bush in our yard.