Tis the Season....

The holiday season is here! I love this time of the year. The lights, desserts, Christmas music, the holiday spirit, all of it. I think the 2010 holiday season will be as busy as usual. This week we are planning to attend the Christmas parade and tree lighting ceremony. It's usually really cold, but very festive.

We are planning to eat pizza, watch the classic holiday cartoon The Grinch, decorate a gingerbread house, and look at Christmas lights next week with our nieces. They are full of energy and definitely help keep us young. Since we don't have any kiddos yet, we love to be able to share this time of year with them. Kids are so innocent. They encourage you to enjoy the magic of the season even more.

Then the rest of the most we have various parties and family gatherings. Jeremy and my families are rather large, so sometimes it's difficult to squeeze in meetings with everyone in just one month. It's great to have the time to catch up and celebrate with our loved ones.

I think the thing I look forward to the most is spending some time during the season to reflect on our blessings. It's easy to get caught up in the busyness of the season. We like to share some of our blessings with others. I find giving is a selfless act, with unending benefits.

So Thankful.......

I hope the title captures how I feel. I feel so thankful and blessed this year. I can't count all the blessings in my life, but here's a few: my faith, my hubby, my family, our friends, my cats, living in a great community,etc....


We visited Jeremy's family for Thanksgiving lunch. It was wonderful. We love playing with our nieces and nephew. They are growing too fast. The meal was wonderful. I love my mother-in-law's dressing and my sister-in-law's apple pie. Jeremy added a wonderful dish this year. I think he may have to be our family chef.:)


We hosted Thanksgiving Dinner for my family at our house this year. We have hosted Christmas Dinner pot lucks before, but never Thanksgiving. We made the turkey. I need to add I was a little worried about having the turkey responsibility. I had thoughts of under cooked turkey, burning turkey, or the turkey falling to the floor. I think my family may have been holding their breath too. I assured everyone that we could go to Cracker Barrel, if it was a disaster. I was so excited when the oven timer sounded and the turkey survived. It was a success! We had a great dinner. It was so nice to spend time with family.


We spent Friday shopping. We weren't out as early as last year, 1:45am. We didn't even leave the house until 6:30 am, slackers. Yes, we were out with the masses. We found a lot of great deals. Truthfully, I like the hustle and bustle at times. I love looking at the decorations and lights.


We spent the rest of the weekend doing projects and decorating the house for the holidays. We bought a new tree this year. We had our other tree for 12 seasons and it was smaller. Since our ceilings are higher, we thought it might be a good time to upgrade. It is sad though, we've had the tree since we were newlyweds. Last year, we moved in Christmas week and then left for a long trip. So I didn't even get to decorate. So I loved every minute of "decking the halls" this year (so did our cats).


It was a busy weekend, but so much fun!!! I wouldn't kick off the holiday season any other way.

Life Lessons Learned From Hospice Volunteering

I have learned so much from volunteering with one of our local hospice organizations. I know some people feel uncomfortable talking about hospice and end of life care. I feel so fortunate to interact with patients during this phase of their lives.


I began volunteering with Arkansas Hospice this year. I have never worked with a hospice organization before, so I didn't know exactly what to expect. The organization provided a wonderful orientation and background about hospice care. I usually visit on Wednesday each week. I visit patients in the nursing home setting.


The patients I have met are such wonderful people. They have amazing stories and life experiences. They are facing this stage in life with dignity and sometimes even a little humor. I consider it a privilege interact with them each week. I guess as I am getting older, I am realizing the importance of seizing the day. I'm trying to enjoy every day. The hardest thing for me is learning not to sweat the small stuff. I know I'm the volunteer reaching out to them, but I feel they are also making a significant impact on my life.

Spooky

We hosted our first Costume Party in our new home this year. It was a blast! We spent several weeks planning for the event. My sister, Jeremy, and myself worked as a team. Jeremy carved 8 jack-o-lanterns. Our house smelled of pumpkins to say the least. Jessica and I created a murder mystery, made a mummy, and decorated the house. I was planning on making the food, but as the week got busier, we decided to cater. We all put in long hours the week of the party, but completed all of our tasks. The day of the party. We put the finishing touches on the house and yard. Jeremy picked up the food while I became the ghost maid. He returned and became the headless butler.

The night of the party went smoothly. Oak Tree Bistro catered the food, it was fantastic. We had wraps, sandwiches, potato salad, spinach dip, hummus dip, and cannolies. We also added carmel apples and cupcakes. We also served drinks. The costumes were incredible. I was surprised every time I opened the door. WOW!!!! The murder mystery, scavenger hunt was a success. Everyone seemed to have a nice time visiting and being in character.

We learned a lot from planning the party. We thought we would like to incorporate new elements each year. So hopefully next year, will run even better. We had such a great time with family and friends. We are looking forward to the annual event!!!!