It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful." ~ Norman Vincent Peale

We have had a great kick off to the Christmas season! This morning we woke up and took Brooke to see her very 1st movie ever in a theater (A Christmas Carol in 3D). She absolutely loved it! She was very good and thought she was a big shot because she got to sit in the theater seat all by herself and had her very own bag of M & M's. Afterwards we headed out to Sandy Creek Christmas Tree Farm and looked at all the trees that they had, picked out our special one, rode around the farm and looked at the decorations. We went home and JR put the tree up inside while I went grocery shopping for our pre-holiday dinner. It's sort of our tradition to make a 'mock' Thanksgiving meal before decorating the tree. I made potato salad, deviled eggs, honey ham (spiral), greenbean casserole, butter beans, cranberry sauce, rolls and finished with a banana chocolate cream cake. Very good. We turned on the Christmas music and we all decorated the tree. Jr bought a video camera a few days ago as an early Christmas present for himself so we were able to record the experience. We then headed outside and built a fire in the firepit, and hung out outside and looked at the stars.
I have a feeling that this is going to be one of the best Christmas' yet.

Here are a few pics from our adventure today. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving - An Attitude of Gratitude

"To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven." Johannes A. Gaetaer

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and not only because of the great food that we enjoy each year :) I truly yearn for everything yielding towards being grateful for what we all are blessed with; and to dedicate one day of the year to such a wonderful phenomenon, is amazing to me. Not to mention it is the kick off for the Christmas season.

For the last month, I have been going out of my way to grasp completely what I like to call an attitude of gratitude. Normally when I find that I am complaining more often than usual or in a slump of depression for whatever reason - I think about all the many blessings that I have and then think about what I can do in my enriched life that could contribute to people who would probably die to have the things that I have and live the life that I live. This year I decided to have our company's 2nd annual food drive for the less fortunate - we are doing pretty good so far - watching the boxes fill up, basically fills up my own heart. I also called Macon's March of Dimes representive and I am meeting with her this upcoming Tuesday to see how I can help volunteer within their organization. Doing acts of service ALWAYS is my remedy to getting out of my own little funk. It keeps me grounded and reminds me of the treasures God has bestowed in my life that I normally take for granted.

This Thanksgiving, we went to my grandparents house. I can truly say it was one of my favorites. To see my precious grandparents and the genuine love on their faces, my mother (she is looking GREAT), and my siblings, their families and my cousins. I sat back and just relished in the memories being made before my eyes - the kids playing soccer in the backyard and swinging on Papa's tire swing, listening to the radio play while staring at the colored leaves falling from the trees, a good conversation with my mother, bellies full from Patti's yummy dressing, my Aunt Kaye's laughter filling the room, the guys watching their football in the living room, the desserts spread across my Patti's kitchen making the best decor ever, and the chill in the air.

I am truly a very fortunate girl - I have an amazing family - a husband who loves me despite my flaws, a daughter who I never thought would possibly be in my life, supportive friends who have been there for me through my most recent trial (ttc journey), a warm home, clothes, loving pets - you name it.

Here are some pictures from our day - Enjoy :)

Infertility

Infertility


The unspoken beast
Lingers in every thought
Every speechless conversation.

A personal defeat
A constant battle being fought
Begging against pity donations.

Head held high
Heart, however, on the floor.
Sincerity a lost companion.

A part of me dies
It strikes my soul to the core
Searching for some kind of understanding.

Resentment, my new friend
Resides by my side at every hour
Destroys what little hope I possess

This pain I must mend
Before my spirit withers like a flower
Bruised petals gathered to be pressed.

~Christen Chérie Coleman 2009