Yes, Virginia, It Is a Wonderful Life!

Well, I might as well tell you, I am a "closet, wimpy, sappy, sucker-for-a-happy-ending, hopeful romantic"...there, now you know.  I say hopeful, because, I really believe, to my core, that good will always conquer evil; that love will always find a way; and that if the sensationalists media were to somehow disappear, we'd all find ourselves much more tolerant and much less judgmental. But, again, I've gotten a bit ahead of myself...

This past week, one of the television networks, broadcast a version of the story, "Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Clause." So, being the "closet, wimpy, sappy, sucker-for-a-happy-ending, hopeful romantic", I watched it.... At the conclusion, I thought WOW, wouldn't it be miraculously fabulous if news outlets could not print, say, broadcast, etc. anything that wasn't true? I mean, where would we be without the half-truths, suppositions, innuendos, and mis-direction that are too commonly found today? Of course, any self-respecting, "closet, wimpy, sappy, sucker-for-a-happy-ending, hopeful romantic" would not have missed the bigger story of hope and faith and, I confess, I might have had to wipe a joy-filled tear, but the idea of an "only report the truth" quickly made it to the top of my Christmas Wish List!

 

Then, speaking of stories of hope and faith and joy, Mom, one of her girlfriends; Mallory and her mom and grandmother; and I all went to see a musical version of the Christmas Classic, "It's a Wonderful Life" which was performed at our local theater by local actors. It was beautifully done. Maybe its the season, (we are actually celebrating the first day of Advent today), but the voices in my head are telling me to slow down. They are saying that we should pay more attention to finding the good, to giving what we can--maybe especially more of ourselves and our time and our talents to those friends and family and neighbors who need it. Near the end of the musical, when George learns how his life had had such a profound impact on others, the "closet, wimpy, sappy, sucker-for-a-happy-ending, hopeful romantic", once again thought of what a wonderful gift we could give to those we love if we gave more of ourselves...

 

I know, I'm being a bit of a "Polly Anna" here but you must admit...it would indeed be a "Wonderful World" if we were all just a little nicer, and a little more understanding, and a little more tolerant...

 

As the busyness of the year begins, please accept our heartfelt wishes, from our family to yours, for a most Blessed and Merry Christmas.

 

 

 

TTFN,

 

Lois



Time Keeps On Slipping, Slipping, Slipping Into the Future...

WOW, did I do a fine job dating myself with that title/song lyric reference! (OK, be honest, how many of you actually had to Google the lyric? Never mind, I really don't want to know). At any rate my life, the past couple of months has been a bit crazier than normal and it just "BLOWS MY MIND" that November is this weekend.

The early fall is generally busy for us, we are season ticket holders for Texas Aggie football so most of our Saturdays between late August through Mid-November are spent at Kyle Field Cathedral. In addition, this year we traveled to two "away games." Sadly, my Aggies were outscored too many times this year but, they are still MY AGGIES and my maroon blood just warms every time I get near the hallowed ground where four generations of my family have walked.

It's ironic for me when I think about the fall. It is easily one of my favorite times of the year. Cooler weather,  (though this year, cooler slipped quickly to FREAKISHLY COLD!), Texas A&M football, Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas all coming together. Seriously, I love fall. Unfortunately, it seems to get cluttered with errands, "to-do" lists, shopping, cleaning, and just old fashioned busyness. Of course all of these things must be done but they are time-suckers! This morning, as I finished updating the checkbook and checked and responded to emails and brought order back to a couple of rooms, I found that I have nothing penciled into my calendar for this entire week! WHAT?! I was nearly giddy with excitement! For me, that means that I get to do some things that bring me joy!

So this week will be spent in the shop, working on a piece of furniture that I've been thinking about for Carter to store his toys and "treasures" at our house. Right now, they are mostly kept in a large "toy sack" that my niece, Sarah, made a few years ago for our gift exchange at my mom's. It's a great size and it has worked well. Unfortunately, as my time slips away, (at an exponentially accelerated rate, I might add), I have become more comfortable with order in my life. I've found that I like things put away and categorized so that places in our home appear more tailored and organized. (Now, if you visit our home, and you are always welcome here, you may look around and find that I have not accomplished that goal. You'd be correct, but I' working on it and that's what counts, right?)

I'll also start checking out recipes and suggestions for side dishes for Thanksgiving. I'm hosting it this year. I'm both excited and a little saddened by this. You see, my mother has hosted our family Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember. Her dressing is legendary, (and she'll be making it again this year). As we've all grown, we've all pitched in more and more but it has always been done at mom's house and under her close scrutiny. This year, she decided that she is just not up to the fuss and informed us all that dinner, lunch really, will be at my house. I love to entertain so I'm happy to host but as the torch passes, I can't help but feel like another important part of my youth has slipped away.

Speaking of passing torches...Chip shot a HUMONGOUS buck this year. I mean GINORMOUSLY HUMONGOUS! The torch here refers to hunting. I think I've written before how I have no brothers. Instead, I have four sisters, yes, my dad loved his girls. My father, as I know I've mentioned previously, was an outdoorsman. As a result, I, possibly because I was the "first born," (I really like that term over "oldest"), learned to hunt with and from my dad. I'll never forget shooting my first buck and all the emotions that went along with that. I'll also never forget shooting my last buck, I was about 5 months pregnant with Chip.

Anyway, time slips away for us all. So as we get ever closer to our national holiday that is meant to remind us to stop and take stock of all the blessings in our lives and to remember to offer thanks for all we have been given, we want to wish all of you a very Happy and Safe and Blessed Thanksgiving.

TTFN.

Lois