...a walk in the crisp winter air.

I got to spend yesterday, all day with hubby, grocery shopping, running errands, and then strolling though the outer grounds of a Museum so that I could fill up the card with pictures that I might be able to use for my project 365... (I have truly exhausted my indoor opportunities at home for a while... LOL) and out of dozens of pictures I found only 5 that made the grade...


It was such a lovely day and my camera just HAD to take some pictures of "us"...


These don't fit my plans for my project, and I post them here for friend and family that don't "facebook".

...here it is, the last month of another year... again...

When last year we were dealing with the aftermath of hubby's accident the days ahead seemed a bit bleak and I kept thinking, "THIS is going to be a long year..." But reality has a way of surprising me just about every day.

I love Thanksgiving, because it reminds me to stop and remember how blessed I am... and while I am trying to do that more in my life as a rule... like most people I seem to need a reason to focus on my blessings... and then, there is Christmas... the holiday that I associate with good memories, days spent with family and friends... Often those memories kinda' blur together, but they are a great thing to stir to life in my heart...

When I was a kid most years at least some of my siblings would bring their families home for Christmas... we were a big group, and now we all have our own families and traditions... My parents are gone and so we don't need to plan trips to see them around holidays... now we plan ways to get our own children together... but mostly we are learning to let go of our holiday traditions and step back a bit to watch our adult children as they build their own... That in itself is a rewarding thing...

I am pleased and amazed at the traditions our kids choose to keep from their childhoods and sometimes have a big grin on my face over what new traditions they create for their own families... In my mind a family is created the day a couple marries, so after that the most important traditions they have are together... in their homes, families, lives...

This is not a lonely endeavor... they do not forget us... but it is a time when we all have a chance to expand our traditions and make a few new ones... Gone are the days for us of driving around with little ones in car seats to look at lights, but my kids still do that in their own ways... and sometimes they ask us to go along... Gone are the days of excited whispers at our bedroom at first light, as small voices ask if it's time to see what Santa brought... These days we get to sleep in and this year I think we will start a new tradition, for just the two of us on Christmas morning... I am not quite sure yet what that will be, but I know that it will be great, because WE (hubby and I) are great together...

We always have a family gift exchange, but this year we even changed how we do that, because the kids wanted to draw names and put the individual names in a hat (except we used a bowl,) and that was fun... They drew the names on Thanksgiving day... Maybe they will do it a little earlier next year... but it feels right to me to adjust our traditions to fit the way the family has changed...

We have no grandchildren yet, at least not "official ones" and our adopted grands live far away now... so there are few little toys to buy... We've enjoyed giving to a local angel tree the last few years... that is a nice tradition... and gives us a chance to keep buying toys for a couple little hearts...

For me, Christmas is about acts of love and service... it's not about what to buy, or how much to spend... we do buy gifts, and now we try to give our married children things they need... sometimes we make gifts... but in the realm of receiving we love the ones that our kids give us that reflect giving of themselves... in fact this year that is what we have asked for, from them...

I love this time of year... I love the music and the crisp days... I love the feelings of gratitude in my own heart... I don't like the crowds, so I tend to avoid places were those are bad... But I love to see the cheerful lights that illuminate the square in town, and I like having the smells I associate with the holidays filling our home...

This year, Christmas day will probably be the quietest we have ever known... but I am warmed by the happy thought of knowing that my children are building their own traditions, and enjoying their own family's "Christmas mornings"... That is a good thing... I remember my own mom telling me that the only parents that truly hated empty nests were the ones with lots of regrets...

I guess I have a lot fewer regrets than most, because I am kinda' liking my empty nest... even during the holidays...

On our 26th anniversary...

26 reasons I am so glad I married my fabulous hubby:

1) his kids are the other important people in his life...
2) he has taken care of me when I am sick, too many times to count... (as a nurse it must really be lousy to have to do so much caring for someone else, off shift...)
3) he's emotionally and physically faithful, and trusts me implicitly to be the same.
4) he does not make me listen to "his" music in "his" car...
5) he thinks the BEST of everyone he knows... no I mean really... this is not an act.
6) he will eat anything I put in front of him, and like it...
7) he works hard, not just for us, but he works so hard in his employer's behalf...
8) his foot massage technique is to die for...
9) he tells me all the time... "love you bunches"...
10) he brings me flowers just because he loves me, and for no other reason at all...
11) he doesn't buy me gifts I will never use...
12) he remembers important days... better than I do sometimes...
13) he knows how to, and will ~ without being asked... do laundry, dishes AND bathrooms...
14) he sometimes takes "short-cuts" (sorry if you don't understand that one... family joke...)
15) he was/is my handsome prince...
16) he cooks! (well)
17) he knows bizarre facts...
18) he shares with me...
19) he plays cute with the dog... actually, it would be truer to say he plays LIKE the dog...
20) he likes the same restaurants I do...
21) he gave me: Son1,
22) Princess Bride,
23) & Son2...
24) he likes to hold hands... a lot...
25) he is really smart... and not just book smart...
26) he happily married me twice--once for life, and once for always...

...happy love month, everyone...

It's November... which means it's "our month" again... I am hoping that this year we won't have any accidents as part of our life together... ;-)

For anyone that doesn't have anything to celebrate in November celebrate our love month with us... Here are some suggestions of things we do as a couple that we highly recommend...

canasta (or other card games)
puzzles (and other board games)
lunches (or dinners) out OR in
work on the house
hold hands
cuddle like newlyweds
study the scriptures
talk about everything
pray together for blessings, in life, marriage and for loved ones

All of these activities can and will help with your relationship too... I promise... They are just a few of our "secrets"...