A journey from here to there ... and how I'm getting there

"Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought,  doesn't come from a store." ~Dr. Seuss Over the past 20 days, I have been on a quest to bring the magic of Christmas back to my heart and life.  I somehow lost the spirit of my favorite time of year sometime between 2006 and 2011 and I am very happy to say that I have re-ignited that flame and this has been a most wonderful Christmas for me.  This final edition is dedicated to family.  Not just any family, but my family. I honestly don't know where I'd be without my family.  My girls, husband, and parents, especially. My girls are my world. My everything.  Christmas probably wouldn't even be worth the craziness if I didn't have them.  My husband has been on a journey of his own to bring back the joy of Christmas in life and being on a journey with someone who you love and only want to see happy brings much joy!  And my parents have been two of the few people who have been by my side, supported m...

"To the American People: Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and good  will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. If we think on these things, there will be born  in us a Savior and over us will shine a star sending its  gleam of hope to the world." ~ Calvin Coolidge Parts 12 & 13 are dedicated to Giving and Receiving. They go hand in hand and when executed properly, they fill you with all the warm and fuzzy feelings of the holiday season!   It is my personal preference to be the one giving gifts, rather than receiving during the holidays.  If you are asking why the answer is simple, I enjoy seeing people smile and the anticipation of opening the gifts is wonderful as well.   The gift-giving part of Christmas, to me, is all about the kids though.  I don't buy many gifts for adults, I would much rather spend the money on the kids just to see their HUGE smiles...

"Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart.   To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect." ~Oren Arnold Part 11 is dedicated to best friends. I have a few besties, but one very best friend who I lost for a while but am lucky enough to have her back in my life.  Quite obvious, but best friends are those in your life who know EVERYTHING and are still there for you.  They are the ones we call first when we have exciting news, are sad, heartbroken, scared, happy, and when we just need someone to listen.  A true best friend will be the one to give it to you straight and won't sugar coat it.   My bestie, Lynn, has been in my life since we were kids, I want to say maybe 7 or 8, maybe younger, it's been soo long that I don't even remember.  She's literally 6 days older than me, and yes, I make sure I taunt her for that! LOL ...

"You see, Mrs. Walker, this is quite an opportunity  for me. For the past 50 years or so I've been getting  more and more worried about Christmas. Seems we're  all so busy trying to beat the other fellow in making things go faster and look shinier and cost less that Christmas  and I are sort of getting lost in the shuffle." ~Kris Kringle (Miracle on 34th Street) Part 9 is dedicated to making new traditions.  When I was a kid, I use to think Christmas would remain the same, see  Part 2  of this series to read about what Christmas was like when I was young.  Then, all of a sudden, it wasn't. Something changed.  I don't think I can really pinpoint the year it changed, but there came a point in time when Gram stopped making dinner, the family stopped coming over and spending the day and it was just ... different.  Everything changed ... but didn't.  Then we grew up, grew apart, and now, if we see each other on the holiday...

"That son of a bitch would freeze up in the middle  of summer on the equator!" ~Mr. Parker Part 6 is dedicated to the first snowfall of the season!!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE snow!!!!!! I can remember growing up waiting for the very first snowfall of the year!!! We use to pray for a White Christmas and I honestly cannot remember ever having a green Christmas when I was young!  I love going to bed at night and then waking up to freshly fallen snow covering the trees and houses.  It looks so beautiful!!!  New and glistening snow is my absolute favorite to photograph!!!!   Snow reminds me of when I was young.  I loved making snow angels and both of my girls enjoy it as well!  I think this year when it snows again, I will make snow angels with them!  When Laurana was 3, she decided she likes to eat the snow, and I have to constantly remind her to not eat the yellow snow!!! And the brown snow!!!  She also likes to make snowballs and thr...

"Aunt Clara had for years labored under the delusion that I was not only perpetually 4 years old, but also a girl." -~ Ralphie Yesterday, you may have read my first part of this 20-day journey of bringing the magic back into Christmas for me and it must have intrigued you enough that you have come back for more insight!  Well, for that, I thank you!!!   Today's edition goes out to my grandmother, Evelyn Wallace. The woman who made Christmas a family affair for many years!!!   My gram at my aunts wedding in 1995 My grandmother passed away in Jan of 2001, 3 months before I was to get married. My grandmother LOVED Christmas!!!  Every year, without fail, she would go all out with decorating, cooking, shopping, wrapping gifts all with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth!  I remember, as clear as day, my grandmother standing in the kitchen cooking, cigarette in her mouth, ash as long as the cigarette itself, still intact, it was almost an art....

"Oooh fuuudge!" "Only I didn't say "Fudge." I said THE word,  the big one, the queen-mother of dirty  words, the 'F-dash-dash-dash' word!"   ~ Ralphie My oldest making Christmas Cookies in 2003 It's no secret that I am a Christmas fanatic!!!  I love everything about the Christmas season, snow included.  Christmas in our house is so much more than just Santa Claus and gifts.  I encourage my children to believe in the spirit of a man who gave to those in need and instills what the real meaning of Christmas is.   A real tree fills our home with the scents of the season and since 2007 I have hosted Christmas dinner at my house, each year making a new traditional Scottish cuisine dish. We have ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberries, the whole kit, and caboodle.  It may seem like a lavish meal fit for a king, but it's just one meal shared at my table among family.  Since my divorce, my oldest daughter, Caitlin, and I have shared...