2013 Holidays Continued

Christmas! I am very grateful for a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas!

We have a Christmas Eve tradition of going out to dinner, then returning home for our children to exchange gifts with one another. This year our daughters' boyfriends joined us. There were nine of us in all.  We had a cozy table by the fireplace. The food was magnificent, the service outstanding, and the mood festive. 

After dinner two of our daughters went with their boyfriends to visit their families. So, while we waited for their return, my other daughter and I prepared out traditional Christmas breakfast, Mainstay French Toast, that needed to sit in the fridge overnight. This dish is the recipe from a bed and breakfast in Cape May, NJ. I got it from my dear friend Denise. It is scrumptious!

About ten o'clock the girls returned and the kids opened their gifts. I love watching them open their gifts from one another. I love that they started this tradition completely on their own. 

Finally, it was time for our "long winter's nap." 

Christmas morning comes a bit later now that the house is filled with adults, but by nine o'clock we were all up opening the gifts that Santa brought. I am grateful that my husband and I were raised with wonderful Christmas traditions that we have passed to our children, and I am grateful for the new traditions that we have begun. 

Another of our Christmas traditions is that my mother-in-law and father-in-law come over for brunch. When our children were little they would come over to watch the children open their gifts and for brunch, but now they just come for brunch. After brunch there are more gifts to open.

Two years ago I began another tradition - our annual Christmas Day Open House. At four o'clock we have an open house for our family and friends. We serve appetizers and dessert. Everyone can come and go as is best for them. Some come for the whole evening, while others stop by for a drink. I love every minute of our open house. I am grateful for the Divine Guidance that led us to decide to begin this tradition. I look forward to many more Christmases as our family grows and changes. 

I lost both my mother and my father at Christmas-time. I was only eight years old when I realized, on Christmas Day, that my mother was dying. Christmas has not always been happy for me. I am abundantly grateful that my children have had wonderful Christmases all of their lives. My husband and I have worked hard to bless them with wonderful Christmas memories filled with family and friends and love and laughter. I thank God that my husband and I have always shared a vision of what we want for our family. My husband is a very good man. He has blessed me with wonderful Christmas memories.

Thank You, God.

2013 Holidays

I am grateful for the 2013 holidays from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day. 

Thanksgiving was at my in-laws, and it was a wonderful day. After a scrumptious meal we sat down to watch videos of my children. My father-in-law had taken all of the videos of my children to be put on CDs. There are 33 of them! We sat watching them until midnight. They brought me such joy! I thought that I would cry while watching them, but I laughed and smiled and loved every minute. 

We took them home with us, and the I spent all of the day after Thanksgiving watching them. I knitted as I watched so I didn't feel too guilty about getting absolutely nothing accomplished. The joy they brought me was abundant! 

I didn't finish watching them, but Grandma has them now, and I know they will bring her as much joy as they brought me. I will watch them again and again and again and again ... joy-filled memories.

Thank You, God, for technology that blesses all of us with joyful memories. Our memories are wonderful, and the technology that is available enhances those memories blessing us with more joy. Thank You, God, for all the people involved in bring those memories to my television and into my living room. It took many people, from the person who thought of the technology to the people who created the cameras to the man who created the CDs to my wonderful father-in-law who had the CDs made. There were many more people involved, in blessing me with such joy, and I am grateful for every single one of them.

 Thank you, God!

A Cat Cuddle

Today I am grateful for a Dory cuddle. A soft purring cat in my arms calms me and brings me joy. 

Thank You, God, for a cuddle with Dory this morning.

Undo Redo

I was upset. In the last upgrade Apple put an undo button on the keyboard of my iPad. I hit the undo button by mistake and all my writing disappeared. I didn't see the undo button so I had no idea how it all went away. I had actually done it, but I did not know it, and I was blaming Apple. The next day I discovered the undo button. Now I realized that I had done it myself. I was very upset that Apple had put an undo button on the keyboard without a way to undo the undo. This made me very nervous. Now I was very cautious when I used the keyboard, almost to the point that I did not want to use it. I was angry at Apple. I was frustrated. I was upset about the change. Today, I discovered the redo button. It was installed when the undo button was installed. Now, I am not so concerned about the undo button. Now the undo button is not threatening. Now, I might actually choose to use the undo button. I have yet to embrace it, but I may at some point. 

Changes. There are several changes in my life right now. I cannot see how I brought these changes about, but if I am to believe in the law of attraction, and I do, then I believe that I attracted these changes. Right now, I do not see how, perhaps at some point I will, perhaps I may never. But the key is that I attracted theses changes. I hit the undo button. I have big fears. My fears are tied to the thought that there is no redo button. That these changes are going to permanently take away what was. Poof. Gone. Yes, I have anger over that. Yes,I have frustration. Yes, I have fear. I want things to go back to what they were. I think if I complain loud enough that they will. (I thought of complaining about the undo button on Facebook or to Apple, but I didn't because somewhere inside of me I knew I was missing some information. Perhaps, if I had complained I would have been given the information, but then I would not have discovered the redo button myself and I would not be seeing this analogy.) So will there be a point that I will see that there is a redo button here among these changes in my life? That I might actually see the good in these changes? That I might choose to embrace these changes, and like the undo button? 

I don't see the redo button yet, but now I do believe that it is there. Now, I do believe that all is happening for my good and the good of all involved. Now, I do believe that a time will come when I will be grateful for these changes. So I choose to let go of my anger. I choose to let go of my frustration. I choose to let go of my fears. I choose to believe that I hit the undo button for a reason. I choose to believe that these changes are a blessing. I choose to be grateful for these changes now. I believe all is well.

Thank You, God.

Another Amazing Book

I love to read! I love books! 

I believe in The Law of Attraction.

The  Law of Attraction brought this fabulous book to me.

If you do not believe in The Law of Attraction you must read this book.

If you believe in The Law of Attraction you must read this book.

If you never heard of The Law of Attraction you must read this book.

In this book you will find simple experiments that will show you how The Law of Attraction works. 

I believe in The Law of Attraction, and this book helped me to understand more about it.

You really do have control over your life. This book will show you. 

Creativity

This morning I came downstairs, went to make a cup of coffee, and found this by the coffee pot.

A little morning gift from my daughter's boyfriend.

So creative.

It made me smile.

A beautiful morning blessing.

Thank You, God, for creativity.

Thank You, God, for those who use their creativity to bring a smile to others.

Lunch on the Lake

Saturday we had a wonderful lunch on Lake Hopatcong. The sun was shining, the breeze was blowing, the food was delicious and the wine and beer was icy cold. It was a great afternoon!

Thank You, God!