Sparkly Shoes and Jammie Bottoms On This Eve of Christmas . . .

Today is going to be a marathon of wrapping, baking and preparing.  The combination of working during our busiest time of the year (I work for the card company, American Greetings) and running back and forth between the hospital and nursing home and just plain old everyday life (not that there's been anything "plain" about it!!) has left me with no time for wrapping gifts.  My husband worked his last night shift last night and as soon as he wakes up this afternoon I'm locking myself in my bedroom and getting the job done!!  I guess I have no choice at this point, do I???  LOL!!! 

These last two days have been unseasonably warm here in New York.   We actually had our heat turned off and the windows wide open even at night.  I don't remember ever being able to do that in December!!

Megan put on her sparkly shoes and celebrated the warm weather by dancing around the back patio and playing in puddles left behind by the melting snow.  Gotta love bed head, sparkly shoes and jammie bottoms!!  : )

A warm breeze!!

Ohhhh, how I love that face!!!  : )

Speaking of faces, these are the photos I used for our Christmas card this year . . .

Connor, age 21.

Trevor, age 17.

Brendan, age 12.

Megan, age 3 1/2.

Tomorrow we celebrate Christmas with my family.  I'll be cooking a roast pork dinner with all the trimmings.  We'll be visiting my brother in law at the nursing home at lunch time so we can bring him his lasagna that he always has on special holidays.  We're also going to bring him his gifts and try to make things as special as we can.  Unfortunately, the physical therapist strongly recommended that we don't take Thomas out of the nursing home for Christmas so we're going to bring Christmas to the nursing home for him.  Christmas night, we'll visit my father in law in the hospital after our company has left.  It's going to be a busy day but we have so very much to be grateful and thankful for!!  : )

 Many blessings for a beautiful and peaceful Christmas from our family to yours ~ Wendy

An Update and a Sunday Saying . . .

I can't thank you all enough for the outpouring of love and prayers for my father in law and brother in law.  Thankfully, they are both doing well.  My father in law made it thru his surgery and is now at the beginning of his long road to recovery.  The doctors already have him up and walking with much assistance, of course.  He's in pain but is determined to do whatever it takes to get his life back and better than ever.  : )  He is nothing short of one of the most amazing people I've ever known.  I truly mean that from the bottom of my heart.  My brother in law is now in a nursing home for rehabilitation about a mile from our home which makes it much easier for us to visit him every day.  I am not a fan of nursing homes and pray for the day he can leave there but, for now, he seems happy and I have lots of people checking in on him all of the time.  My first husband was a paramedic and still has friends that can stop in and check on him while working any time of the day or night.  I also, believe it or not, have a friend whose husband works at the nursing home 5 to 6 days a week who is keeping a close eye on things as well.  Again, Amazing Grace at work!!!  : )  Continued prayers are welcomed because they are certainly working their magic so far!!!  xoxo


With all of the chaos going on my life right now, I thought that today was winter solstice.  I was all set to light lots of candles around the house and on the porch to celebrate this time of coming out of the dark.  I believe that everything is all about "intention" so I'm still going to celebrate tonight.  Coming out of the dark and into the light is so appropriate for my family right now.  : )

Many blessings for a day filled with love and light ~ Wendy

Some {Almost} Winter Moments . . .

 We've been busy with all the stuff that comes with this time of the year.  This includes picking out our Christmas tree.  We went to a different place for our tree this year and are so happy we did.  There were several different types to choose from.  We wanted to cut our own but schedules didn't allow for that.  I'm still looking for the kind my Grandmother had when I was a kid that looked like this . . .

Compliments of Google Images.

  . . . but I'm starting to give up on that idea.  I guess I'll always have my memories. It's funny but the woman in the photo kind of looks like my Grandmother when she was young.  : )

My son actually let me take a photo of him while tree hunting!!  YAY!!!

This one, on the other hand, has absolutely NO problem letting me take her photo!!!  LOL!!!

Meggie and Daddy making sure the man cuts the tree to the perfect length.

 We also attended Brendan's first middle school holiday concert.  They did a phenomenal job!!  What a difference between elementary school band and middle school band!!!  : )

Not a great photo but we didn't have great seats.  The poor kid on the right probably thought I was stalking him!!  : )

I'm so proud of Brendan for sticking with band.  I love that happy face!!!  : )

On my way back to the car after the concert, I saw this in a tree and thought it was someone's lost parrot.  I was all ready to try to catch him because I knew he'd freeze to death and then I realized it was something that someone must've put there as a joke.  It looked so real until you got up close!!!  Creepy!!!!!  LOL!!!!!

 We have so much going on around here and a lot of it is not so great.  My father in law has to have emergency open heart surgery on Friday and my brother in law had surgery to repair a broken tibia yesterday.  They are my family from my first husband.  If you don't know already, my first husband passed away nine years ago very suddenly at the age of 40 from a heart condition that we didn't know about.  Most of my father in law's family is in Ireland and we are pretty much all that he has left here.  My mother in law passed away almost four years ago.  My brother in law is mentally retarded and lives in a group home.  He fell a couple of weeks ago on a wet floor and shattered his knee cap.  I sat with him before and after surgery yesterday for a few hours.  He's in very good spirits but was asking me a lot of questions as to why his dad wasn't at the hospital..We can't tell him that his dad is in the hospital because he would get too upset.  Those are my father in law's wishes.  We have no idea how we're going to get thru Christmas with all of this because he still believes in Santa Claus and my in laws have always made a big deal out of Santa coming.  This year, he won't even be coming home from the group home for Christmas because my father in law will be in the hospital for a week to ten days following the surgery and then to a rehabilitation facility for up to a month after that.  We're going to see if his leg is okay enough for us to bring him to our house on Christmas even if it's just for an hour.

My father in law and brother in law.  : )

 I can't begin to tell you how much this breaks my heart.  This family has endured so much and it always seems to be during the holiday season.  I adore the both of them with all of my heart and so does my husband.  To see my husband with my father in law is something that I can't put into words.  They are truly like father and son.  I know that my first husband sent Jim to me and I have no problem saying this.  It is nothing less than Amazing Grace.  I know we will get thru this.  One day at a time. 

 Many blessings for a beautiful Wednesday ~ Wendy

"this moment" . . .

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

. . . . . . . . . .

Many blessings for a beautiful weekend.  We're expecting a snow storm here in New York tomorrow.  Now that we finally have our tree, I'm looking forward to decorating it while there's snow falling outside!!  : )


~ Wendy

Resolutions . . .

 
My husband tells me I'm anti-social.  Anybody who knows me and is drinking coffee while reading this more than likely just spit it out.  All of my report cards read "Wendy is a good student but she socializes too much."  My mother would attest to that one.
 

 
My husband and my kids also say that I'm a homebody.  I will agree to this one.  I've always loved being at home.  I spent a lot of time in my room growing up playing the guitar, writing songs, listening to music and reading.  When I moved out and had my own apartment in my early 20's, I had a few years of going out almost every night with my friends and staying out until all hours and cursing the birds while I tried to fall asleep as they were beginning their day in the tree outside my window.

Our friends' dogs, Georgia . . .

and Penny.

When I met my first husband and got married and had a baby right away I loved being at home, playing house (for real this time!!) and doing the wife and mother things.  We did spend a lot of time with friends as we were all raising our kids at the same time and all needed some adult conversation.  I've been a stay-at-home mom for more than twenty years and God knows adult conversation is a very important thing!!  After my first husband passed away, I was very content being home and being with  my sons.  My incredibly wonderful friends and family kept us busy with dinner invitations and play dates and I had the occasional night out to myself but I would always feel like I needed to be with my boys.

A fire in the back yard.

Our friends put their Christmas tree in the back yard after they take the ornaments off of it.  It lights up the whole yard and looks so beautiful for another month or so.  I thought this was such a great idea!!

 Then I met Jim who is the epitome of a social butterfly.  I swear he would strike up a conversation with a tree if he was alone in a forest.  His personality is what first made me fall in love with him.  Well that and his blue eyes and dimples!!  : )  We've been together for six years now and I truly am perfectly content just being with him and our children, in our little cottage, on a Friday night.  However, I've decided I'm going to make an effort to be more sociable this year.
  

 So the other day when I went to pick up my middle son from our/his friend's house, I actually got out of the car and knocked on the door instead of texting him to tell him I was there (apparently, beeping your horn to let them know isn't "cool" anymore!!).   I was welcomed with open arms and stayed for a couple of minutes and ooooed and aaaaahed over their electric fireplace which I would've sworn was the real deal and then made definite plans for a family get together that actually included a day and a time.  I called my husband at work when I got home to make sure he was off the day we agreed upon and everything was a go!!
 

I thought this was such a great family Christmas present!!  It's a wooden "Connect Four" game that my friend, Suzanne, found in Toys R Us.  She leaves it right out on the coffee table for impromptu games anytime. 

This past weekend we did it!!  Dinner with an absolutely wonderful family that we've known for years.  One of the nicest families you'll ever meet!!  We ate and drank and laughed and played music and talked about our childhoods and getting older and our children and our hopes and dreams for the future.  My social cup was completely filled when we left and I can't wait to do it all again!!

Megan having her first guitar lesson!!

This has inspired me to take my childhood guitar out of the garage to be re-strung.  I forgot how much fun it is to sit around and make music and, when Megan is old enough, Suzanne (who teaches piano and guitar) is going to teach her how to play it. 

We've also decided, since we're going to be staying in our house now (more than likely) and have always wanted a fireplace, we're going to go the electric fireplace route.  They can heat your whole downstairs with the touch of a button, turn off at the touch of a button and are direct vent now right out the side of your house so you don't even need a chimney.  We're adding it to our "To Do" list.  Or should I say our "Honey Do" list?!!?  : )


Many blessings for a happy Tuesday ~ Wendy

A Gift on New Year's Day . . .

New Year's Eve was quiet around these parts.  My husband had to work his last night shift before he starts his new job next week.  My two oldest sons were out celebrating with friends.  My youngest son and our "adopted" Fresh Air Fund son, Jakhai, Megan and I ordered Chinese food and hunkered down for the night.  "Amateur Night" as my Dad used to call it.  : )  While the three young ones played upstairs, I perused Pinterest and found some wonderful images to share on my New Year's Day post.  The post never quite made it to the blog and neither did the Pinterest images but for such a WONDERFUL reason.

I had a visitor in my backyard . . .

"Amazing and majestic bird of prey, the eagle is often desired as a totem. It holds strong medicine. The eagle soars high in the sky, yet will swoop down to the ground in a swift motion to capture a mouse from the forest or fish from the water. Because of this the eagle is considered a strong connection between earth and sky energies. The eagle has keen sight to be able to see his prey on the ground. As a totem the eagle also represents keen insight. As a messenger the eagle offers visionary talents. If the eagle visits you likely have clairvoyant abilities that could be tapped. The eagle also represents spiritual growth. When you see an eagle soaring overhead it is likely that you are ready to progress to the next level spiritually. "

I think 2013 is going to be a good year. : )

Many blessings for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year that is filled to the brim with unexpected gifts from the Universe ~ Wendy