My Grown-up Christmas List (from 2007)

I ran across this the other day and even though I wrote it in December 2007, I thought I would share it. I wrote it during a somewhat turbulent time in my life when dealing with alcoholism in my family and other issues. Thankfully, I can say as 2010 nears its end, that alcoholism is no longer an issue and I know that only by Grace.



"This Christmas, I'm finding myself strangely less enthused about opening presents and thinking, "What did I get?" Instead, what seems foremost on my mind is this thought: I wonder how many children out there don't have a warm, safe house to come home to? How many are homeless? How many this Christmas will go to sleep and not wake up Christmas morning to the lighted tree with all the brightly wrapped presents underneath? How many will go hungry? How many have never even had the Christmas dinner with all the trimmings? How many will stand in line somewhere on this planet to wait their turn to get food at Salvation Army or many of the homeless shelters?



From those thoughts, my mind turns to the ongoing war. How many families will be having Christmas without their parent, child, sibling or spouse due to that courageous person fighting for our freedom? Worse, how many will visit the grave of their loved one who died for the cause?



I find myself thinking of all those who will visit those numerous Christmas parties and drink one too many and then get in the car and perhaps in their drunken state drive into a car filled with a family. How many times have we all heard the stories of families driving to see their loved ones only to meet a drunk driver and not survive?



My husband asked me the other night what he could get me for Christmas and all I could say was, "my grown-up Christmas list." Poor guy, not knowing what is on my mind, he was completely confused and so I had to tell him, "No more lives torn apart, that wars would never start, and time would heal all hearts; everyone would have a friend, and right would always win, and love would never end..." Since I recently shared with him the direction I plan to take next year and the new calling that has been placed on my heart, all he could do was watch as my eyes filled with tears and nod his head in understanding.



So, this year, my Christmas wish is more of a prayer that God would watch over those we love, protect them as they drive to work or to see family, that He would soften the hearts of those that are cold towards Him and the "Reason for the Season," and most importantly, that God would give those Christmas miracles to some of the children out there and God bless us everyone, the good and the bad, the happy, the sad...God Bless Us Everyone!"



It's December 1, 2010!!! I hope everyone has a great Wednesday!

Thankful Thoughts

Thanksgiving this year passed in a blur. I had spent the week before cleaning my house and decorating it for winter festivities. My hubby's family drove from their home out of state this year to spend Thanksgiving week with us and other family. Seeing as this was the first holiday in six years Justin was going to spend with his family, I told him I would decorate the house early to celebrate the special occasion. I had forgotten just how exhausting it is to decorate a house, but the end result is always worth the effort.
His sister and family had been out to visit several times this year, but each time, we never had any time to go anywhere special or do anything fun. I decided it would be fun to go away on the Saturday before Thanksgiving to SF and have some fun time with his sister and kids while my BIL went fishing. We had a great time despite the freezing cold and then the rain at the end of the day. First stop was Pier 39 where I took this amazing photo!

(Copyright, 2010, MsPeez)

It had been several years since we had been to the Pier and we had a great time visiting the shops. The only money I ended up spending there was at the candy shop - go figure!

My SIL, niece, and nephew had never been to Bubba Gumps so we decided to eat there for lunch. BG's is a special restaurant for my hubby and I. I met my hubby on a Friday night and the next day, we ended up going to SF with two friends for lunch and then after we were engaged, he took me back there and we ended up being seated at the same table as that very first weekend. Whenever we are in SF, we try to go there as we love eating their shrimp!

Us girls :)

I have many more photos from our little day in SF, but this is a favorite of just my hubby and I from the day.

My hubby's mom ended up getting in town sometime around 1:00 a.m. Wednesday. We were so glad to see her and for this Thanksgiving, we did something a little different. Because my SIL and family were spending the day with my BIL's family, it was just my hubby, my MIL, and me. It has always been a tradition to help cook with my beloved Mamo for Thanksgiving and not knowing how many more Thanksgivings I have with her, I wasn't willing to miss out on that. Thankfully, my hubby and his mother are so understanding of that and so for Thanksgiving, we just ended bringing my MIL with us to my family. She was a little unsure, but my family is always welcoming and so, it ended up being a great day. She enjoyed herself and loved my mom's mashed potatoes. :) I didn't get to cook with Mamo due to unforeseen circumstances, but it was still great to be with her and family and there is always Christmas cooking.

The day after Thanksgiving, we met my hubby's sis and family for family photos as a surprise for their mom! The location was beautiful and the photo shoot went up wonderfully and I absolutely cannot wait to see the end results. I wish we could see my hubby's mom as she sees the photos as we managed to keep it a secret. Since I knew we were going to be in a pretty location, I cajoled my mother to loan me her awesome Canal Rebel camera to take some candid photos with. How lucky am I to have a mother who trusts me with her prized possessions! Let me just say, I am in love with the Canon Rebel!!! It is the camera for me.

My handsome hubby

This year, I am thankful for my hubby first of all; he is my dream come true, my rock on earth, and my forever friend...family, of course, my mom and dad are always there when I need them, and so thankful to have Mamo with us another year...my mother-in-law who shared my early Thanksgiving tears over an unanswered prayer...my girl cousin who has become a confidante and friend...good friends who I can run to with the big conundrums that puzzle my brain and for laughs when I need them the most...great neighbors who share homemade funnel cakes and even walk over just so I can cuddle my Mr. Adorable and get my baby fix (there is no way I can be feeling down looking into his sweet baby face)...a job in this shaky economy and one I can do at home...waking up every morning free of pain from fibromyalgia...I will be thankful until the end of my life for my miraculous healing of fibromyalgia and relatively good health...great pastors who are always there to pray over our struggles or just to talk...I truly appreciate my pastor's wife and thankful to count her as a friend...our church family especially the special lady who made us a delicious pumpkin roll just because I was craving it...our lil' house that isn't a mansion, but just right for us...the people I have in my life who challenge me and make me determined to be the best I can be...smaller sizes in my closet (haha)...cute shoes (of course had to sneak that one in somewhere)...red hair and blue eyes...the unanswered prayers...hot coffee on cold winter mornings...my 2010 year of restoration...Ladies Retreat in Carmel...and last but not least and the greatest of all, I'm thankful for the One who waits for me beyond the gates of Pearl in a place that my craziest dreams can't fathom, for salvation, for freedom, and for renewed Hope...