A month without posts and a quick catch up

I realized today that it has been about a month since my last blog post.  I guess we've been a bit busy.  

 

We've made a quick trip to Indiana for John's Granny's funeral.  We made stops along the way at the Tennessee Aquarium, Rock City, and Tellus Museum.  We ate at a German Restaurant and Cheeseburger in Paradise.  We came home tired and decorated for Christmas.  We picked out a 12 foot Christmas tree this year.  Then, last week John woke one morning and had no recollection of our trip and even called his mom to see how his Granny was!  

We bought a bug...a Beetle, so we could get better gas mileage.  Since it takes us over 3 hours to get to the VA that John goes to, this will help out a lot. We got tickets via Vettix to the Georgia game on New Years.  

Boys posed for Christmas Pictures and we hurried to send out a few cards to close family.

John ordered me an anniversary present and it is now on the wall.  He picked out a "silly face" picture from October's trip to Disney.  It is amazing to me that he has went to great lengths this year to try to remember holidays and events and strives to get presents.  We did have a few years when he forgot to get anything or forgot that there was an occasion to remember.  So, I'm grateful that he's remembered this year.  Sometimes he is early and sometimes the present comes late, but the effort has been there and he's taken the time to cherish taking pictures this past year.  For that, I am also grateful.  For the first 6 years of our marriage, John refused to take a picture at Christmas and we had very minimal pictures, especially of all four of us.  Now, he is often the one that asks to take a picture so he can hopefully remember that he tried to have good times or that the boys will remember that he tried to do fun stuff and spend time with them.

We've got presents for the holiday but we've also been able to give a lot and to teach our children to give, especially to those that are less fortunate.  We've donated to individuals we know, we've donated to individuals and families that we don't know, we've picked out toys for Toys for Tots, we've gave things to people that might not otherwise get anything for Christmas.  We've watched people with tears in their eyes be thankful for the gifts received, and I got a phone call from someone close to tears who was grateful for the gift that they received. 

Life has its ups and downs but it is best when shared with those you love and when you are able to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

Remember the Reason for the season.