Anticipating 2010

As I write this we are about 10 hours away from a brand new year and new decade. I always enjoy the anticipation and excitement of a new year. I try to use this time to reflect on accomplishments and growth of the present year and see where I can make improvements in the coming year.

We have been blessed with good health this year and trusting God for more of the same. Charlie and I have had opportunities for bible study ministries at our local church and are open to what God has in store for us in that area. New friendships have been made. We have traveled and look for more of that in the new year.

I am learning that at this stage of life each and every moment is important. I do not need to miss a single day of living life to the fullest. I tend to assume that tomorrow is mine and I am not promised that. The dishes can wait and so can the house cleaning! I am reminded of how precious family is and that I don't spend near as much time as I would like with them. I have realized how important it is to nurture friendships and that you have to be a friend to have a friend.

So as the New Year steadily approaches, I pray that in 2010 I will not miss an opportunity to live, laugh and love! Blessings to you and yours!

Christmas Geocaching

We spent Sunday afternoon with Dana and Matt geocaching. For those of you who do not know what that is let me give you a brief definition. "Geocaching is a worldwide game of hiding and seeking treasure. A geocacher can place a geocache in the world, pinpoint its location using GPS technology and then share the geocache’s existence and location online. Anyone with a GPS unit can then try to locate the geocache."

It is like a treasure hunt. Using a GPS unit, you find the item based on GPS coordinates that are online on their website.  When you find the treasure, you leave your name or team name and date on a "log" that is usually in a container and place the container back where you found it. Yes, there are some rules and if you go to http://www.geocaching.com you can read all about it.

It is a wonderful opportunity to get out and enjoy the outdoors and fellowship with a group of friends or family. We did this with them in Los Angeles. There are treasures scattered all over Georgia for you to find,  We found 4 out of 5 caches that we went to. You gotta try it.

Here are some photos we took.

 

Christmas Blessings

As I write this there are 6 days until Christmas. Most everything has been bought and checked off the list. The house is decorated and ready for family to arrive. I look forward to spending time with Charlie's family and mine. There will be a lot of scurrying around as we make time for each of them. Our girls will come in and leave at different times but we will a couple of days to share as "family".  It is so precious. Our little Anna is so enjoying the "Santa" side of Christmas this year. She is still not so sure about getting all cuddly with him. She has enjoyed decorating the tree this year and somewhat undecorating it as she takes ornaments off to show you how pretty they are. Oh my, Christmas through the eyes of a child! Do you remember it?

I don't know that I had one Christmas being any more special than another or one gift that was the "most" special ever. What I do remember about Christmas as a child was the the excitement of all the things we did. We always went together as a family to pick out the "perfect" tree. Then, we decorated it and always put tinsel on it. We liked doing all of that except putting the tinsel on the tree. My mother wanted you to put on one piece at at time because she said it would look so much prettier. We would get tired and just get a handful of it and kinda throw it up on the tree. Needless to say my mother didn't like that. I remember helping her scrunch up all those fruits and nuts to make several fruit cakes. They were good and I didn't learn to appreciate all the work that goes into one until much later. We were allowed to open one gift on Christmas eve and it was always a new pair of pajamas. I miss my mother this time of year. She always made Christmas very, very special. She taught me lots of things that I brought into mine and Charlie's Christmas traditions. I still have my daddy and I am so very thankful for him holding us all together.

As you read this, maybe you will reflect on those things that were special to you as you grew up. And if you don't have special memories from your childhood, I pray that this Christmas you might start making memories and let them begin first with the reason that we celebrate this time of year. It is all about love - the love God has for us and the most precious gift that He has ever given us.

Blessings to you and yours this Christmas. Sharing some photos of Christmas decorations.

Our tree with the lights on.

Special Ornaments

 

Our Mantel

 

Making a List, Checking it Twice

We officially started our Christmas shopping yesterday. The weather was just the right touch for putting us in the mood - a real chill in the air and a little misty rain. We just pretended like it was "clear" snow.

The crowds were not bad while we were out. We took our time and didn't get stressed out. That was my promise to myself this year - to enjoy Christmas. We got more than our 30 minutes of "allotted" weight bearing exercise. We didn't finish our shopping but we checked several things off our "list". It was just a really fun day - walking hand in hand through the mall, lunch in a corner of Chik-Fil-A and talking with friends as we shopped. 

So, if you are on "our list" - You better watch out. You better not cry. Better not pout. I'm telling you why, Pam and Charlie are out shopping!