Well it's beginning to look alot like Christmas. The presents are bought, almost. The menu is planned, the food is bought and for a little more than 24 hours there will be no more shopping, no more wrapping presents and lots of eating, laughing and football. The people in the picture above is really what Christmas is to me. Spending time with the ones you love. I am so thankful for each one of them. My mom, has had 85 Christmas day's. I have had 58. How lucky am I that I have spent over 50 of them with my mom and sister, and more than 30 with the rest of the family. How lucky am I that I can spend yet another Christmas with my husband and son, my extended family and friends to numerous to name.

I will not take for granted, this gift that can't be wrapped up with pretty paper and fancy bows. I will not take for granted the fact that many years ago, more Christmas days than I can count, a baby was born in a manger, and grew to live a perfect life, then he willingly gave up that life so that I might have one. I will not forget that it is he that gives peace in the midst of turmoil. I will remember what he has given me. What a present..... I need not ask for more.

Merry Christmas from Earl, Betty and Cooper

Merry Christmas from Earl, Betty and Cooper. What a year this has been. We are still trying to figure out what God wants us to learn, Earl is smiling in this picture but he has been suffering with back pain for months. Cooper is getting more spoiled every day. JiYeon is helping with that. I have been cooking, decorating, and making gifts for days. This is my favorite time of the year. I love the hustle and bustle, the crowds and the planning. I don't want to think about the recession, or the bailouts. I just want to think about the reason I love this time of year. Christmas is about the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives. It is the celebration of His birth — the gift that God gives to all people if they will accept it. It is a time when we give because we have been given.

I love the gift giving, the thought and work put into each gift. I love the time spent with family and friends, the lights and the trees that light up the homes we pass each night. Our prayer this year is that you will find the presence of Jesus Christ in your life, and that you will Celebrate JOY however it comes your way!

The good old days!

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I was looking up quotes about the "Good old days" and to my amazement, most of the quotes painted a picture of a distant memory that really wasn't so good after all.

When I think of the Good old days, I always think of a time when I was thirty something, raising a toddler, playing cards with my friends and going to softball games. Church potlucks, Christmas Musicals, sharing my life with friends that I knew would always be there. Only not, today we lost a friend, the memories are as clear as ever. His laugh still rings in my ears. We have been separated by miles, but we have never forgotten the days we shared. Friends like this are rare, they stand tall in the memories of our life. If I close my eyes I can see you there, where I saw you stand for years, listening, singing and worshiping the God we serve. I can still see you,ready to slam that ball into oblivion, ready to run those bases, ready to slide into home base. You are there RL, you are there in our memories and our hearts.