We Will Get Through It, Because Of HIM

He will hold our hand or carry us as we move through the next two weeks of this nightmare. Yes it is a nightmare, my husband stated this the other evening and I agree.

The Christmas Season is to be a season of celebration with family, of the Birth Of Christ. Our family is devastated this Christmas season with the loss of a Brother and Father all within two weeks. Both deaths unexpected and crushing our spirits. Yet I have a firm belief that these two fine men are with our Lord and will be helping him to get us through the holiday.

My Mother in law believes that Jim and John were meant to be together and I believe this was God's will. It is comforting to know that a son was awaiting his father as he passed into the next life. OR that this father went to be with his son who had passed into the next life. This next life is with our Lord.

We wondered about John's religious strength and when his apartment was cleaned out, my husband was comforted to find bibles and religious books that John had. Yes, he believed. When it comes to thoughts of religion and Jim my father in law, there is no doubt that he believed. Last spring when my husband had some meetings with the Bishop in Katy Texas my Father in law went with Mike. I believe he was very proud of my husbands journey with Christ. Jim wanted to be a part of it, even in this small way. And when he took Mike to the airport and embraced him, Jim told Mike he was proud of him. This was the final time Mike was with his Dad in person, how wonderful it is, that this memory will be with Mike forever, thanks to God.

We carry on a photography business that was started in 1921 by Mike's Grandfather and passed on to us by Mike's Dad in 1982, we have worked diligently to continue this tradition and it was a given that we just do it, no need to be proud of that. But to watch as your son became a Deacon and very involved in the church, yes that made Jim proud.

As Jim attempted to deal with his son John's death he turned to his minister Harold and more than likely turned within, to our Lord for comfort. Jim called me and told me he had talked with Harold because he wanted to help Nancy, even at this time he reached out to God through Harold to help his wife of 58 years, get through the funeral for John.

Alas it was not meant for Jim to be with Nancy at their sons funeral, but it was his desire to help her through it. I hope she knows that.

Jim and John will be present in our hearts at the funeral but I would rather think of it as a Celebration of their lives both separate and together. We will get through it, it will be tough, but how fitting that it will occur during the season of Christ's birth. Christ who was sent to us as our Savior. It gives me much comfort to know that John and Jim are with our Savior and as the Christmas season passes they will be with us in our hearts.

Yes, HE will hold our hand or carry us as we move through the next two weeks and I am glad HE is here for us. And I know PEACE will come.

If God Had A Wallet, Your Picture Would Be In It!

The room was dark except for a light over the table at the back. He welcomed me and asked me to have a seat, thus the interview that would change my life forever began.

It was 1978 and I was a recently divorced woman without any focus for my future. I was working at a hospital as a darkroom tech in the X Ray department, I had worked at a photography studio briefly before this job and for another photography company before that. I knew I wanted to be a photographer so when the Studio job was listed in the paper I applied.

Little did I know what was in store, but I believe God did.

I got the job and became an employee of Spieth Inc. Mr. Jim Spieth became my boss, now back to the interview, this man was a quiet, somber gentleman. He hardly spoke and asked me very few questions, gave me a test and told me I had a job.....possibly, he had one more interview and would call. Once again may I say this was a very different type of job interview. But I did like meeting this quiet gentleman.

I waited to hear if I got the job and on the day he called to tell me yes, I had also received a call from another photography company I had interviewed for offering me a position with them. I told Mr. Spieth this and we did a bit of negotiating about hours and pay and I told him that I would accept the position. And again as I remember this, I do believe God sent me on this road for a reason.

I enjoyed my job at the Studio Photique located in the mall in Mattoon. I rarely saw my new employer as he was in Olney some 80 miles south. As time passed and I got more photography skills under my belt and also moved up to managing the studio I felt content. Then one day I received a call from Mr. Spieth and he told me that since the Studio was not doing exactly what he wanted in addition to my job as manager, I would begin taking pictures in schools for Spieth Inc.

Wow, this became something I really enjoyed. Children are gifts from God and being able to capture their youth in my pictures as they grew, was wonderful. As in a previous blog I call this Memory Insurance.

As time passed and the business structure changed Mr. Spieth, now Jim became my dear friend and his son became my boss. We began a new venture called SPIETH PHOTOGRAPHY and I moved to Olney.

Eventually Jim became my father in law, when God blessed me once again with my marriage to his son Mike.

So boss, friend, father in law who would ever know this would happen, but I am sure God did.

Yesterday God brought Jim home to him, we are numb as we have not even had the funeral for John, his son. But I am sure God has a plan and it is a blessing that Jim is with him and not here in a permanent injured state from his tragic accident.

Perhaps God needed a new photographer to help him take the pictures that God Keeps In His Wallet.

I will miss you my dear father in law, friend and boss. I Love You, God's Peace Always and THANK YOU so very much for bringing me into your life. You were a gift in my life.

And one more favor, would you please make sure that God has my picture is in His Wallet?

Just From My Heart

God created man and woman, in addition, he created all of our pieces and parts. Thus this enables us to have a place in our hearts for memories! Every day we are able to tuck away memories and then we can go to this place and take out a memory to help us or cheer us or just because.

In our business we state we create "memory insurance" through our photography and yes I believe we do, however it is what is in our hearts that is the essence of our memories. Our senses enable these memories with seeing a photograph or video, smelling a fragrance or even hearing a song, a verse or scripture that trigger the memories we have.

Bob Hope was famous for his song "Thanks For The Memories" and if you really listen to this song it is what it is all about.

I also think that if you ever have to be with a person that has Alzheimer's it is amazing that they still have their memories that they do refer to daily.

Recently my dear brother in law passed away and to help us, my husband and I have been retrieving memories from our hearts, of John. We can enjoy these with laughter, with tears and with much love. The loss is impossible to measure but the memories we have retrieved, cushion this loss.

Yes, I believe we should thank God, that he has allowed us to have a place in our hearts for our memories. Think about it and take out a heartfelt memory today.

May GOD BLESS You John, You Will Be Missed, But ALWAYS REMEMBERED, We Love You Dearly.

God's Paintings

Each morning as the dawn breaks, I am able to sit on my couch and watch as the sun hits the trees. This is the time of year that enforces to me that GOD is here, all around. I love the fall and the colors of fall. Many years ago I was having lunch with a friend at a State park near Charleston Illinois. After my friend left I remained and drank in all the color that surrounded me and felt very blessed that God shares this beauty with us. It amazes me that as each day breaks during the dark of the night God is busy adding more color to the trees across the lake from me. I have even observed several days, a young doe getting a drink from the lake amongst the color of the trees. Last week there was a mist over the lake and the doe appeared from the trees, now as a photographer why did I not have my camera handy? I suppose God wanted me to keep this lovely picture in my heart and I have!

Daily I await the dawn to break to see the new colors that have been added in the night. Today I was up quite early and my little Rico needed to go out, so we headed out the front door and oh my the beauty of the night hit me, a brilliant dark sky with millions of stars all around, yet another painting from God. As in a previous post I want a "simple life" but with beautiful paintings from God, would it be a simple life? I think not, I believe it would be a simply beautiful life! Look all around you and enjoy God's gift of his paintings for us. We are blessed indeed!

Around & Around

Life for me lately (Last 3 Months) has been like a revolving door and I am staying in it and just going around and around! Have you ever had that happen? I am dizzy! And I want to get out of it now. My goal is to live the SIMPLE LIFE!

But not with all the hustle bustle of hurry up and get it done yesterday! We live in a "fast food" world, do people these days really know what it is to take time to "stop and smell the roses"? What a shame not to smell the beauty of a rose.

The fragrance is soft, gentle and pure. The rose itself is the same. My Father loved roses and had many over the years in his garden. I recall when Dad would bring in a freshly cut rose and share it with all of us. There were several special vases for the roses he brought in the house. After a hard rain Dad would venture out into the gardens and rescue the roses that were damaged and bring them in and let the blooms float in vases of water, and when they opened, they were beautiful. And oh, so simple. Alas, after he passed away, the roses disappeared from the gardens.

This makes me realize that my Dad lived a simple life. He had six children from a marriage of 50 plus years, he had a job working for the city and worked a variety of shifts. Many of the holidays we had growing up were spent without Dad as he worked at the water department and the department was open 24/7. We would get his dinner ready and take it to him and jest that he was having dinner at "The Pump Room". We lived in a suburb of Chicago and "The Pump Room" was a fancy downtown restaurant. Once again, I believe Dad preferred this simple "Pump Room" over the fancy downtown establishment. It was just how he wanted it.

While growing up we had one and I mean one Family vacation, we went to a good family friend's cabin in Wisconsin and had a blast, however it was a very simple laid back vacation, just what Dad wanted.

I want this way of life, I want roses in my garden, I want a simple vacation, I want out of the revolving door!

Yes, soon I hope to stop and smell the roses and realize that their simple beauty is a loving gift from God and I am thankful.

Memories

Well it has been awhile but I am back and ready to share some more.

I was walking through the house very early this morning about 3:45 AM, yes very early! And I was thinking about my life, remembering and recalling the good, the bad, and the ugly! It is mostly good and I think I was in this frame of mind because of several things that have happened recently.

A dear friend of mine and I are involved currently with an event that is going to take place next week and she asked me yesterday just how long I have been a part of it, I thought about it and realized it had been 24 years! Golly gee, it should make me feel old but honestly it seems like just yesterday that I got involved.

This triggered my thought process as to my family, my marriage and our business through the years. My how the years have flown by.

My husband is now a Grandpa and I get to enjoy his fantastic grandsons, two really neat sons and one super daughter in law with him. I am blessed to have my Mom and Mike's parents still a part of my life and I have many great nieces and nephews. My siblings (four sisters and one brother) continue to amaze me through their work ethic, great parenting skills and the ability to survive many challenges which have been related to health, business and even horrendous family issues. I think that is a hat's off to my Mom and Dad. And daily I continue to remember my wonderful Dad who is now in Heaven, he is missed greatly by all.

My marriage is now in its 23rd year, it seems like we just went to Gatlinburg to make our vows and yes as my Dad has said marriage is like driving through the mountains; many ups and downs, some straight and some curvy roads and eventually you come out on top to a road that leads you to the future with your spouse. I think about this and find it neat that we drove through the mountains to get married. And yes we have driven these marital roads and continue through the mountains, ours is a unique marriage because we are together almost 24/7 through our love, business and our most valued involvement with God. Mike is studying and is currently a Deacon in the REC Anglican Church, with the goal of becoming a Priest eventually and serve the children of God. I am blessed and proud to be a part of this (and don't think this portion of the road has not had its curves and ups and downs).

We continue on with our Photography studio and it too is full of memories and we continue to preserve memories by capturing images that will last a lifetime! It is an ever changing business with the introduction of digital imaging and the influx of many self made photographers, it is my hope that the art of photography will not be lost because of this.

We brought to life in the past year a new entity THE McCLURE GUESTHOUSE, and it is also full of memories and will continue to make memories for the guests that stay. In the past year there has been a couple that got engaged, numerous senior and wedding portraits photographed, wedding nights for newlyweds and family gatherings. There have also been dinners, bridal & baby showers some meetings and a wonderful grand opening event. The home was built in 1872 and we restored it to share a bit of history with the community. I loved the home the minute we viewed it back in the late 90's and purchased it within 30 minutes of viewing it. After moving out we determined it deserved to be renovated for the future. And for people to enjoy and make memories.

I guess you can see why I was up and had this going through my mind,and yes there are so many more thing I could write about but it would be a book. I am looking forward to a great 4th weekend coming up, our SPIETH daughters are coming home for the annual 4th gathering, we have been getting together for about 12 years and we love it and them and all of their families which includes spouses, children and main squeezes! Yes all around us through many challenges in the past, present and future ( I am sure) you can see there are memories and yes they most generally are blessings! I challenge you to think of your memories and relish them, and have a great day!

It Is Sad I Am Not A Mom But.........

Every year on Mother's day I get a lump in my throat and wish for what isn't. As a child it was my ultimate dream to be a Mommy. Alas that dream never became a reality for me. For some reason the Lord never blessed me with my own children but I often imagine what it would be like if there had been a Beth Lynn or an Amy or even a Johnny in my life and the kind of Mommy I would have been. There would have been lots of hugs, kisses, laughter and then of course I am sure there would have been sadness, disappointment and even anger however I am certain the positive would have dominated any negative.

I am lucky to be an aunt, godmother, surrogate mom, a step mom and step grand mom but still to have been able to hold and love oh so much my own flesh and blood would have been wonderful!

It would have been great to adopt but for very personal reasons that too was not in "the cards". A dear person in my life said we are all dealt certain cards and these were just the cards I was dealt in my life.

So that being said I have to remember I have many children in my life with my family and with Mike's family and I love them all very much! In addition I have had many girls in my life with my Girl Scout troops and I hold them all very dear to me.

This past week Mike and I have been working with portrait orders of some of the beautiful children of the girls that worked for us. It is a new generation of love evolving. Today one of our "surrogate daughters" had a Graduation party and her "BFF" (another of our surrogates) was there with her son and it melted my heart to watch him with Mike. Children love Mike and he is blessed to be a Dad to two wonderful boys and the best Grandpa to two little boys. All of my nieces and nephews really love Uncle Mike and I am so glad! He is the best and it is great that he was "dealt this set of cards" for being a great Dad.

Perhaps the love we both have for children is why for the past 30 (yes 30!) years we have enjoyed being photographers mainly of children and this may just be my way of leaving a part of myself when I am gone. The smiles of many (100's of thousands I am sure) children for their parents to treasure forever.

SO..... yes it is sad that I am not a Mom, but thankfully I have had many children in my life and I can be content. I called my sister today to wish her a Happy Mother's Day and she said "I am not your Mom" and I replied "but you are my sister who is a Mom". I want to tell all my friends and family who are Mom's I wish you all a Happy Mother's Day and yes, you are not my Mom, but you are so very blessed to be a Mom!

April Showers.......

Rain, rain go away, come again another day........ I have said that a few times this month but it is April and April showers do bring May flowers so.....

Earlier this month I was in Florida with my Mom and it did rain a few days, what a bummer when you go to Florida for the sunshine! When you stay at a resort where the focus is outdoor activities it is much more of a bummer. Of course there is TV and books and if you are like me I did take work. It is amazing just what you can do via the Internet in my line of work.

This past weekend we photographed our Little League 32 teams and the rain was once again very near. A few sprinkles in the AM and then around 2 the skies opened. We were under cover at the Fair Ground Hog Barns and we were able to photograph with the green outdoors, but rain did appear on some of the children's jerseys, thank goodness for Photoshop!

The area is so green and lush thanks to the great weather earlier this month, today it is once again cloudy and rain is in the air. My day off but I have to tend to The McClure Guesthouse after a week of guests and a dinner there tonight as well as a mini open house on Wednesday. I had hoped to plant some flowers, but in the past it has been advised to wait until Mother's Day so.......... I will!!

It is amazing how much the weather can control our life. We have to stay in when it rains, we can be stuck inside too with abundant snowfall, and have to dress for the cold or hot. Winds can be pushy and tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, and extreme heat and cold are all in charge when prevalent.

I often wonder how the birds, insects and other critters of nature can just go with the flow of weather. Where do they go when the winds are strong, the rain is falling in torrents, the snow is deep, the hail pounds all around, the heat is oppressive and the cold is sub zero. How do they do it? I guess it just goes to show that GOD is around and protects his creatures large and small in his own way.

And remember, a sunrise is His reminder and a sunset is His gift that the day is good and tomorrow will be even better! And yes a rainbow is His seal that all is well in our world!

Have a very blessed day be it sunny, rainy, cold, hot or just right for you!

Just Another Day?

Yesterday was my hubby's birthday. I won't tell his age but he is experienced with celebrating. His day began with a loud Happy Birthday greeting from me, followed by the suggestion that he get up since it was going on 8 and there were photography sessions beginning at 9:30. Yes, this year he did have to work

:(, but only till noon.

We then came home and got ready to head to Evansville for church at Trinity Anglican, our new church home. Before leaving he did watch a bit of the Big 10 Tournament Illinois/Ohio State game, he tore himself away from watching and tuned into the radio during the drive. Alas Illinois lost, but there is "always next year"!

We arrived at our new church Trinity Anglican and went in. Mike was greeted by numerous "Happy Birthdays". Mind you we have only been attending this church since February but this most certainly is now our church family and the wishes were genuine! And they even brought out a beautiful birthday cake made by one of the parishoners during fellowship, what a neat surprise!

Our Church life has been in a state of upheaval since the middle of November, when the Stringtown Rd. church took yet another path of alignment, this time to Greek Orthodoxy, and we did not opt for a new path this time. It has been a very sad three and a half months for us, with this turn of events, and no real warning from the clergy & vestry, they just did it. We felt abandoned and it has hurt deeply, especially since we supported the Priest down many paths, searching for his ideal religious preference. Don't get me wrong, he is a great and gifted human being, but he has not found just where he wants to be yet, I wish him and his wonderful family much happiness. And for all the others that either followed or set out on a different path, we will miss them and are so thankful they were a part of our life for a while.

Our new church family is made up of really nice, new friends and some friends from the Stringtown Rd. church who had left at another time. We are happy to be with them again. The Holy Spirit is with them all and they are a loving church family group, wanting to share the Love of Christ with everyone.

Church is on Saturday evenings at this time and we really feel at home here. Father David is a wonderful, caring, giving priest; this church is blessed. They have opened their arms and hearts to us.

Mike is going to meet with two Bishops in a couple of weeks and we hope he is received as a Deacon in the Reformed Episcopal Church. Mike then can serve as a Deacon, assist Father David and Bishop Wes, to help the church grow and a goal is to establish new churches in the area.

So as Mike begins another year in his life, he is on a new path that God has guided him to and it is good. What a wonderful way to start this next year! We are so excited and no, this birthday was not "just another day", I believe it was a great birthday.

Happy Birthday Mike! It is going to be a grand year filled with the love of God and our new church family!

They Call Them Grands, Because.....

......I have been thinking about this for awhile, there are many reasons they call them grands: silly, busy, true, happy, sad, curious, sassy, sneaky, pensive, rowdy, secretive, joyful but most of all loving.

Grands can be all of these and bring such joy to our lives. Our two grandsons Emery & Lynden are all of the above and so much more, we are blessed. A few weeks ago we were going to take them to Church with us and Emery was actually excited to go, however the weather in Evansville deemed a cancelled service Soooo we played hide and seek in the studio and of course took their pictures (a surprise for Mom and Dad, I thought till their "Grand"pa Mike posted them on Facebook),

Such fun we had, then a trek to get ice cream, alas our local DQ is closed due to a fire in January, so we headed to Lawrenceville to the Dairy Dee, when we got there it too was closed, so we headed to Vincennes to Lics. After a quick stop at the Christian book store it was on to get ice cream. Emery wanted a chocolate cone and a Chocolate chip shake and Lynden got a dish of vanilla and a gummy worm. He loved the gummy but did not want the ice cream, can you believe it? Too cold I guess.

Back at home they got out the few toys we keep and they always love, (as I recall my childhood, toys at my Nana's were few but oh so special! And we fought to open the small cupboard they were kept in and retrieve them for playtime at Nanny's.)

Then it was time for supper, I opted to fix ham and Belgian waffles and when served, I was told that you don't eat breakfast for supper...well excuse me! Needless to say they did eat it and then horror of all horrors we made them watch the Miss America Pageant (Mike wanted to watch, only because Rush was a judge.)

Then time for jam-mies and an attempt for them

to get to sleep. Emery crashed but Lyndy cuddled with Grandpa Mike and fell asleep. Grandpa Mike liked it so much that it was there Mommy & Daddy found Lyndy when they came to pick them up. The look on Grandpa Mike's face as he held his "grand"son was great.

I recall growing up and being a "grand" and loving all my grandparents so very much. They shared with me so many things....scrambled eggs with ketchup, how to iron, real egg shampoos, how to set a table for a formal dinner, candy corn, coconut cake, how to have a large family gathering in a small space filled with an enormous amount of love, snuff, smiles, hugs, teasing, games, walks, the love and true belief in God, yes I was a "grand" because of them.

And you know Grandparents are 'Grands" too and with our "Grand"children it really is GRAND!!!! I can't wait to share and learn and Love because of them!

Competition Can Be "Real Goods", Right?

It is that time again. Yes time to head to Springfield and watch the State Fair Queen Pageant. I have been attending since 2002. It has been an interesting and fun experience through the years.

Lots of pressure and not always a lot of fun for the contestants. But why can't it be just the opposite? Lots of fun and not much pressure. I would think seeing a young woman in a more natural state, competing this way, would be the right way to select the winner. Ah yes, the argument of how well could she handle herself in different situations, some with pressure and difficult people and others totally out of her control. Well I really believe if she is at this point of the competition her '"real goods" got her there.

There are some "real goods" that are important: great communication skills, good personal appearance, the ability to get along and be flexible. But generally speaking these things are important for everyone, everyday, everywhere.

Wow, we all could be and should be winners, right?

What a difference life would be with positive attitudes everywhere, smiles, hugs, happiness and peace. What a life, a very good, simple, natural, joyful life!

SO, not gonna happen right? Competition the "devil's advocate" the way the world REALLY is, what a shame!

Perhaps with God's help someday soon we will be able to see a change and competition would include fellowship and helping each other to strive to be their very best every day, simply, joyfully, naturally and thankfully. We would win the competition for ourselves, others and our Lord.

Oh yes GOOD LUCK Malory! You have already won by being all the above. Let's hope the judges are not blind and see it. I am privileged to have you in my life! This blog is for you! As was my first blog:)

In The Darkness Can You See?

As I was driving home this evening I found myself feeling sad. Since November many homes along the way shared the lights of Christmas cheer. They were welcoming lights for the season [that seems to get longer each year].

What strikes me though, that is in anticipation for Christmas we light up our homes inside and out, but once it is here within a matter of days the lights are "snuffed out". This makes me sad and it is really hard to see as it is dark and dreary.

Do you think this is what God wanted? Shouldn't we be turning the lights on everywhere because of God's gift of his son Jesus for us, he is the light, yet we turn out our lights once he is here.

Can you imagine if once Jesus was born that that was it, nothing more just his birth. We are so blessed that God did not let that happen and gave us the bright light of his son Jesus, to lead us and teach all about love, peace, hope and truth. These are the lights that should be leading us to make our lives alive and bright always, not for just a season.

Yet the lights are out, it is over, perhaps that is also why these days our life is dark and dreary, we have turned out the light. Maybe just maybe, if we were to turn the light back on we would see better and maybe we could begin to get back what is ours and not let others take over (as they seem to have) in the dark and change our lives. Yes, it is my hope we turn on the lights and return to living as God wanted us to, with Love, Peace, Truth and Hope.

May God Bless Us All.

And yes please turn your lights back on!

A Wonderful Ending and A Great Beginning!

Wow what a year 2009 was. CHANGE was the word our President used and CHANGE is what I have lived this past year!

We became a true "family" business with no external employees. A good thing I think considering all that we had been through in 2008.

We are now proprietors at last, of The McClure Guesthouse after 30 months of restoration and three months of shopping! That definitely has made it so I don't go out of my way to "shop till I drop" and my husband was a peach through all the shopping, God Bless him! He knows just about everything when it comes to purchases for a Victorian home. We also now get to be the "housekeepers" and it is fun. Mike has learned to even make square corners when making a bed. It has taken him a long time but he can do it! We are still revising and revamping to get things just right. We get to go and take down the Christmas decor and clean up after we had guests during the holidays. We look forward to sharing the house this year. It is a dream that has come true and I am glad we have preserved a bit of history for Olney.

We are looking to a new venture in our church life. For four years we went to church in Evansville, Mike was ordained there in 2006 as an Anglican Deacon and we made many wonderful friends. In late November this Anglican Church ceased to exist and now we are pondering just what to do. I am certain that God has a plan for us and it will come together as we start this new decade. We were fortunate last Sunday to be at my Mothers and we attended a lovely Anglican Church in Woodstock Illinois. It was a 90 minute drive, but then that is what it was to St. Andrew's in Evansville. However it was a lovely drive as the snow was everywhere and oh so beautiful, truly a Gift from God to us. It was great to commune with God in church and in nature!

Christmas this year was such fun!

Christmas Eve lunch with Brad, Jeff, Reagan, Emery and Lynden was great and we were Snuggified!

Then we did a bit of Christmas eve shopping here in Olney. Christmas Eve evening we watched the Mass from Rome with Pope Benedict and then headed to bed.

We set out Christmas morning for my sister Betsey's home in Naperville. Our "Garmen Lady" directed our travel on a new route which took us very close to the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery where my Dad is laid to rest. We visited his grave and then went on to Betsey's where we arrived an hour early, I hope they were not mad, but that allowed us some personal time with just their family before the other 15 arrived. All in all there were 24 of us together for a glorious family holiday. It was a new beautiful venue this year at Betsey's home but quite spacious and my Mother loved it! No stress for her this year. As we left that night to head to Mom's the snow was falling and made for a perfect ending to a great Christmas!

On Saturday afternoon we headed to Chicago with my sister Patti and her family up from Florida. We went to the Water Tower area and walked around enjoying the stores and it was snowing. We had hot chocolate from the Hershey store and then all 6 of us piled in a horse driven carriage for a ride around the city. Quite magical if you ask me, not only for the sights but also since the horse was able to take us all on. We laughed so much and as we always have, enjoyed each others company! Although many miles separate us the love we have binds us together.

When we got back from church on Sunday, Frank was helping determine that Mom's computer had a virus and needed the "Geek Squad". My sister Maureen was there the whole time we were and being with her is always a joy. She has some health issues but thanks to Kathy yet another sister of mine, Maureen will see the Dr. and Physical Therapist this new year to get her back on track!

Sunday evening found 16 of us at Hackney's a Wenger/Ward family favorite through the years. As always we had their great onion loaf and most of us had Hackney burgers. Again we laughed and had great family time and believe it or not I was the chauffeur for Mom, Mike and Maureen. They actually trusted me to drive in the city!

Monday was our annual family meeting for Mom and children only, so the spouses got to go shopping without us. After the meeting, I ended up going to our favorite shopping mall Old Orchard with Patti and family, we found Mike and had lunch at Noodles, so good! I went over to see my sister Kathy's beautifully redecorated house while the others went to see 2012, and then that evening we went out for yet another fine dining experience with 10 of us. It was great and a fitting end to our last night with the family.

We headed home Tuesday and arrived in time for Lynden's second birthday celebration. Yet another houseful with Scherer's, Spieth's and Wilson's.

Back to work Wednesday and Thursday morning and then our New Year's Eve festivities with our two wonderful Grandsons. What a great way to end the year and begin the New year with these sweeties.

Yesterday Mike and I did our annual after Christmas trek, this year we went to St. Louis and shopped. Not to the stores we always shop at but we went to The Bose Store, The Art of Shaving, Teavana, Trader Joe's and World Bazaar all unique shops that got a bit of our money. We start the New Year with some neat things. I am so lucky to sit hear as I write this and listen to our new Bose Wave Machine give us great music. {Thanks Mom!}

We are blessed in so many ways! Yes this year our Christmas/New Years Celebrations were what it is all about GOD, family and friends.

May yours be too!

Have a Happy Blessed New Year!