Life’s Little Moments

It was back to work this week for me, but what a weekend to look back on! I find myself full of gratitude with each day.

Turkey Day Miracle?

We stayed home on Thanksgiving. I put the turkey in the oven about noon, knowing it would be done around 4:00pm. I made a pot of coffee and sat down to watch the Lions game. They dominated the first half. The Bears sure showed up in the second half. It looked like we were heading for another Thanksgiving loss.

If you didn’t see the final two minutes of the game – you need to. I was floored. I truly do not know how we won that game!

When the clock wound down to :00, I couldn’t believe it. They cut to players on the field who were stumped as well. I was speechless. Honestly, though, that kind of loss was commonplace for the Lions a few years ago. It seemed like we always found a way to lose. It was almost odd to see it happen to someone else.

It was an ugly win, but it was a win. It makes this Lions fan proud to celebrate the many milestones this year!

Watching Jameson Williams hurdle the Bears players on the field was simply amazing!

Gingerbread

Nana invited the kids over on Friday to make Gingerbread houses. I’ve never done this in my life. It was fun to watch them decorate them. I think most of the candy went in their mouth instead of on the houses!

Works of art!!

Their cousins joined in when they got there. They all had so much fun.

Wild Lights!

We took the kids to the Detroit Zoo for the Wild Lights event later that night. I’m always impressed at the displays each year.

The kids loved every minute of it!

I won’t lie, it was cold! We try to do this early to miss the cold, but this year was probably the coldest year yet.

These animals are spectacular. I wish my camera took better pictures. Some of the shots I tried to take blurred. I can’t seem to figure out the “night vision” feature.

The kids were loving the “glow” stuff.

And they had this wall of lights with flowers on it. As the kids moved their hands across it, it played music, like bells.

We don’t have many traditions, but I truly love this one.

Catching Up … With Santa?

Saturday night, an old friend surprised his family by traveling to Michigan from Wyoming. It had been over 10 years since I have seen him. The last time he was in town, we were unable to hook up. This time, he reached out to me and asked to message some of our friends to arrange a visit.

We found a burger place and planned on being there around 5. Not every one was able to make it, which was sad. But we really had a great time catching up. Since I saw him last, he has grown out his beard and looks like Santa! I kidded him and told him I forgot my list.

The visit was a couple hours filled with laughter and stories. I had the kids at my mother in law’s and he had to head out to to his dad’s birthday party, so the party broke up all too quickly. Hopefully, it won’t be so long between visits and we can get the rest of the crew next time.

What a motley crew!

A great weekend to be sure!!

A Wild Night of Lights

The Family and I had the opportunity to go to the Detroit Zoo for their Wild Lights this weekend. Sam and I used to go every year. The last time we went she was VERY pregnant with Ella.

We figured this year they were both old enough to enjoy the lights. While the weather was wet and rainy, the temperature was perfect. It was about 45, so we weren’t too cold.

The temperature was a positive, but so was the rain in that it was not too busy. We could casually walk and not feel like we were being rushed. We also had great views of everything. Short lines were a plus for some things.

One negative the rain brought about was that not all of the lights were lit. I’m not really sure why. The rain wasn’t going to hurt any of it. If I had not been there before, I may not have even noticed. There were enough lights for us to enjoy and some new featured sections.

There was a section called something like “Underwater Enchanted Garden” that has lots of blue/green lights to represent water. There were areas with lotus flowers, light up fishes, huge whale lights, penguins and more. It was very cool. At the end of that section, you had to walk through a building where a guitar player and drummer were jamming some blues/jazz tunes. You could also get a coffee or snack there.

They had a cool area with these LED seesaws for the kids. Neither kid has ever been on a seesaw before, but it was obvious just how much they loved it!

That train behind the seesaw was something you could walk through. They also had like a plane you could go up in. There was no shortage of photo opportunities along the walk.

I am always amazed at some of the light displays they have. Some of the animals are spectacular. Look at this giant teddy bear!

My favorites had to be the foxes. These are so neat up close, but more amazing as you walk towards them.

I just love looking at Christmas lights. We all do. I am always so impressed with the displays. Kudos to those who spend the hours and days to make this happen

We usually don’t get the “staged” photos when we are there. They are usually expensive and there is always a wait to get them done. Due to the weather, however, we were able to walk right up and get a family photo in a sleigh that came out fairly nice.

What you may not be able to tell is that the cushion we were sitting in was wet. So we walked the zoo in wet underwear! Worth every second!

I hope now that the kids are older, we will do this every year!

Busy, But Thankful

I hope this blog finds you enjoying the remainder of the holiday weekend. My weekend, which was supposed to be very relaxing, wound up being full of the unexpected.

Wednesday afternoon, I got a call from my wife. Her dad had passed out at the doctor’s office. His blood pressure was up and down. They rushed him to the ER, and admitted him for a couple days. No heart attack, no stroke, and they didn’t find any blockages. There were a few things that neurology is going to look into in more detail. He is home now and relaxing.

My mother-in-law was at the ER for Thanksgiving and when she told us that she was going to drive through McDonald’s for dinner, we told her to go home and I’d bring her a plate. I packed up turkey, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, and rolls. Andrew and I drove over to bring her the food. At the end of their street is a guy who goes all out with holiday lights. Andrew loved looking at them.

That’s not even his whole set up!!

Ella and Andrew haven’t been feeling all that great and when we woke up Thanksgiving day, we all felt a bit under the weather. We spent most of the morning and early afternoon battling fevers with Motrin and Tylenol. We watched a disappointing Detroit Lions game and had dinner. After that is when everything got scary.

Ella did not look right. Her nose and eyes were watering all day and her fever spiked again. She was far from herself. There was enough going on that I packed her in the car and made the trip to the ER.

They checked her out and said it was viral, which we kind of knew. It “has to run its course.” So we weren’t there too long. I was just relieved it wasn’t pneumonia. Her cough was awful.

We were supposed to go to the Detroit Zoo for their Wild Lights, but we were all under the weather. Thankfully, they had my order and were able to switch days for us. I’m grateful, because I would have hated to have not been able to use them.

We got our Christmas photos back and there were more good ones than bad ones. We sat with them and picked the ones for our family Christmas card. This is one of my favorite family ones:

Being inside has been driving the kids crazy. Sam had bought a few games on Amazon for Ella’s birthday, but decided to bring them out to help keep them (and us) occupied. It’s been a while, but I can honestly say that I still can’t win playing Hi-Ho Chery-O!

Today, I had to take Daisy to Puppy Training. I swear, I gave her a bag of treats during this class. We worked on Sit, Watch Me, and Touch today. The trainer started off the class with what was going to happen over the next 6 weeks. All the pups were given a bone to chew while she went over this. Daisy, of course, broke off a tooth and probably swallowed it. She was bleeding on the bone.

As embarrassing as that was, at least she didn’t pee during the class. Another dog, however, peed like three times. As the class drew to a close, Daisy started to get antsy and began to bark at the other dogs. She was pulling and trying to get off the leash. She was happy to finally leave and get in the car.

I put it on after I took this picture, but I bought her a name tag at the store. They engrave them there for you. It hangs off that loop where the leash goes. It hangs down a bit and “clangs” when she walks. It is making her crazy. It is funny to watch her try to chew at it.

The kids are feeling a bit better today, and I hope that continues with more rest. I’m hoping for some rest too!

Hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving!

Short Week

I am so glad for the short work week. I’m looking forward to family time. Sam and I have Friday off and we are going to the Wild Lights at the Detroit Zoo. We did this almost every year we have been together, but haven’t ventured through it with the kids yet. This will be their first time and we’re excited!

Even through all the bad years, I have been a Lions fan. Yesterday’s game was an amazing comeback. If you haven’t seen it, all you need to watch are the highlights from the last 3 minutes of the game. Detroit was down 12 points and in those 3 minutes, they put up 17 points to win the game. What a game!

As a bonus, for the first time since the 1960’s they have an 8-2 record.

Had a virtual appointment with my ADHD doc today. I told her how I was feeling. I had told my therapist how I felt and she asked me to ask people close to me if they noticed a difference. When I asked my wife, she was honest, as always. “Since you started this medication, you have been a complete A-hole.” So there you have it, I wasn’t wrong. It isn’t working.

We discussed a lot and she knows what med she wants to try, but it might boost up the blood pressure. She wants a baseline EKG, which I think they will do at my physical this week, to check my heart. Then, if all looks ok, she’ll order up the medication. Fingers crossed that this new med works.

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For those of you who asked just how big the puppy is …

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I mentioned that I put that tree up on the side porch. Lit up it actually looks good.

The whole porch looks great…

I’m close to popping in Christmas music! LOL

Short blog today.

Where is My Christmas Spirit?

By the time this blog posts, it will be a mere 9 days till Christmas. Our tree has been up since Thanksgiving. I’ve been listening to Christmas music. I have read A Christmas Carol. I watched a few of the holiday specials. Christmas pictures are done. So where is my Christmas Spirit?

My wife, Sam, and I had this conversation earlier today. You would think that we’d be a little more “in the holiday spirit” with all that is going on, but something just doesn’t feel right. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I think Sam offered up some pretty plausible reasons.

No Snow

Sure, we had a good snow already, but it is long gone. When I was getting ready for work this afternoon, it was 55 degrees out! We’ve had plenty of rain, but we’re missing some snow. I know some will tell me to shut up, as they can’t stand snow. That’s ok, but for me, there has to be a little bit of snow for it to feel like Christmas.

Missed Traditions

Ok, I’m going to blame Covid. Sam and I are just not comfortable going anywhere. Because of that, we put some of our traditions on hold this year. One we could probably have done, was visiting Wild Lights at the Detroit Zoo.

We’ve been doing since we’ve been together. It’s always fun, but we want to make sure that the kids don’t get sick. It’s probably fine for Ella, but a bit too cold to have Andrew out there at night. Next year, we’ll be back there for sure!

Online Shopping

Outside of one or two things, all of our Christmas shopping was done online. I’m not one who loves shopping in crowds, but I do like to actually walk through the stores. Many times, I find the perfect gift by just walking and looking. To me, getting a gift that is unexpected is even more special than getting something you asked for. Thought actually went into it!

Shopping in General

I guess this is kind of a combination of “tradition” and “shopping.” There are quite a few places that Sam and I love to go to and just walk through.

The Christmas Tree Store is one of them. We found some really wonderful things for Ella’s room after she was born. We also love going there for holiday themed items.
Barnes and Nobel is another. We love walking through and checking out the new books. Now it’s even more fun because we can find the kids new books.
The Mall – ANY mall! Just going and walking the malls is always nice for us, even when we don’t have anything we HAVE to buy. (I guess we got to walk JC Penney while we waited for Christmas pictures recently, but it wasn’t like walking the whole mall.)

Again, Sam and I are just not comfortable yet being out among people. There are just too many people who don’t cover their mouth when they cough or sneeze. I was never a germaphobe, but recently, I feel like I’ve become one.

Maybe it isn’t too late….

I have a feeling that once I am sitting there watching my kids open gifts, their happiness will fill my heart and I will be overwhelmed with joy for them. I’m sure it will all work out … memories will be made. There will be many smiles. I just wish I felt it a bit more right now….

Reflecting on 2019 …

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As the year draws to a close, I have pondered about what I wanted to write about. Some of the blogs I follow have posted “Year End” Top Ten lists featuring their 10 most read blogs of the year. Others have written rants about the old year, and posted resolutions for the new year. Yet another blogger posted a 50 question “Year End Reflection” post, where he answered questions about the old year and the new year.

It is often very easy to diss on the year as it draws to a close. I do it often. In the last week or so I have heard so many people talk about how awful 2019 was and how they cannot wait for the new year, so they can start fresh. I used to do that, too. Granted, I know many people who truly have endured a very bad year. I know too many people whose parents have passed away, gone through a divorce, survived terrible accidents, lost their jobs, and many other things. I can totally understand how looking back can be difficult.

I think it is often easier to focus on the bad things, because those are the things that tend to stay with you. Personally, I made a list of some things that I recalled from the past year that could go onto the “bad things” list. I then decided to make a list of all the good things. Jotting down things from memory, it was no surprise that the good list outnumbered the bad. To further the point, I grabbed my phone and went back through a year’s worth of pictures and was reminded of many other things that happened, which all ended up on the “good things” list.

Quick Review of My Year

In January, Sam and I went to the Detroit Opera House with my dad, Rose, and my cousin Dianne to see The Phantom of the Opera. I had never seen it before and I loved it. Since Sam talked me into seeing Wicked last year, I have come to appreciate some of these wonderful productions.

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In March, Sam and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary with a trip to Cleveland. Many joked about the fact that we went to Ohio, and I can see how that might be funny. We really had a great time at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a visit to The Christmas Story House. As a bonus, we got to grab dinner with my brother while we were down there.

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April brought about a couple celebrations. My son, Dante’ turned 17 and we had a small get together with his friends at our house. It was quite a loud party with all of his friends there! Then we celebrated Sam’s graduation on the west side of the state. I still beam with pride at all she has accomplished!

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May was a busy month. My nieces and nephew ran us ragged at Peppa Pig World, Dimitri was in good voice at his choir concert, and the boys and I went with my father-in-law, and brothers-in-law to the Three Stooges Festival in Redford. I also celebrated another birthday, and Sam bought me the most amazing gift – a record player. I have since enjoyed looking at used record stores for more vinyl to play on it. That gift also led to Sam and I sharing our first dance together.

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Summer was very busy! I got the chance to golf with my friends Matt and Shawn, went to the zoo and the beach with the boys, went to carnivals, visited many ice cream places, played mini-golf, and had many bonfires! In June, I spoke at a Sleep Conference in Detroit, we celebrated Dimitri’s Birthday, Sam’s birthday, and she shared the news that we were expecting. This is one of many favorite memories of the year!

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In July, we went to our OB/GYN and got the first glimpse of our baby. At this point, we did not know the gender, and were calling her “Baby P”. On August 30, we decided to go to a place near us that would be able to tell us the gender a bit earlier than our OB/GYN. It was at this appointment that we found out we were having a girl. This would be another of my favorite memories of the year. In August, we also took Dante’ around town on the hottest day of the year to try to get some Senior pictures taken, and shared with my dad that he would soon be holding a granddaughter. It was also fun to have the boys go on a scavenger hunt to find out they were getting a sister!

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In September, I spent the day at a work conference called “The Power to Choose”, which was a truly wonderful experience. There were many great speakers and I was so glad to be able to attend. I walked away from this day with some great tools to use with patients and in life in general. On September 25, we got “official” confirmation from our OB/GYN, that Baby P was indeed a girl!

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My brother visited us in October, and Sam allowed me to take Baby Bump Picture #1. Baby Bump Picture #2 came in November in front of the Christmas tree – a picture that I will treasure forever! November was very busy as we were showered with love from family and friends at the baby shower. We took our annual trip to Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland and bought our yearly ornament for the Christmas tree. We enjoyed the Christmas light display at the Detroit Zoo, and construction began on the baby’s bedroom/nursery.

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December brought my staff Christmas party, which was full of hearty laughter! Sam and I attended our birthing classes, and I learned how to breathe (and hopefully not pass out). We celebrated Christmas with the boys on Christmas Eve, spent time with Sam’s family Christmas Day, and celebrated with my dad and Rose over the weekend. I have spent way too much time at work, due to where the holidays fell. I have also been working some extra shifts at one radio station, and doing my normal shift at the other radio station. In between all of that, we’ve been sanding and painting the new hallway and the baby’s room (only adding to the excitement of her arrival!).

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As I look back, I am inclined to quote Frank Sinatra and say “It was a VERY good year!” Have you taken the time to really look back at the things that happened over the last year? One thing that I noticed about the “bad things” on my list was that I was surrounded by good friends, and family who helped me through those “bad” times. That, in itself, takes a bad and makes it sort of good, right?

Frank Sinatra also sang, “Regrets? I’ve had a few…” One of the daily writing prompts for December asked “What is biggest regret of the past year?” I would say stopping Weight Watchers. I am in no way, shape, or form blaming Sam, but I gotta tell you…it’s hard to diet when you live with a pregnant person. Yeah, I know, I should be able to control myself, but all too often, when I went out to get her something she was craving…I got something, too! LOL. I have already resolved to get “back on the wagon” after the first of the year!

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In closing, I hope that each one of my readers can look back over 2019, and find some really good times! I hope you can recall happy memories. I hope you can find the good that accompanied the bad. I hope you can find the positives, and focus on those things. 2020 brings a new year, a new “book” if you will. That “book” contains 365 pages and YOU are the author of each page. I am looking forward to writing our books together. Feel free to reach out if you ever need a friend – I am here!

May 2020 be a happy and healthy year! May it be full of joy and happiness! May it be full of friends and family! May it be positively the best yet!

Thanks for reading! Cheers!

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A week of Showers and Lights

It has been very busy week for us! It has been so busy, this is the first chance I have had to sit and blog. I won’t bore you with some of the busy stuff (like work, work meetings, and such). I’ll hit the high lights and try to bring you up to date.

We have a weekend routine. That routine was all jumbled up this week. The things we would normally do at certain times had to be done between things that we normally don’t do. I was all messed up.

Most of the week, we were doing last minute preparations for the baby shower. We had things to do Thursday night (after a call in meeting for work), and then Friday we had tons of running around to do. We had to drive an hour to Sam’s work to pick up new scrubs. After that we had our monthly appointment with the OB/GYN (and got to hear baby Ella’s heartbeat, again!). Then we had to go to the hall to set up for the shower. We were gone literally all day. Saturday, we had early errands to run before heading to the hall for the baby shower.

Baby Shower

What an amazing day for us! We were surrounded by family and friends and they showered our baby with so much love! My mother-in-law and sister-in-law hosted the shower for us. The theme was a “shower”. We had clouds and raindrops. It was perfect.

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Not everyone we invited was able to come. Some live out of state or out of town. Some of our friends/family who RSVP’d weren’t able to make it either, but we understand that sometimes things happen.

Some of the high lights for me:

Seeing my beautiful wife. The future mommy of our baby looked simply amazing! Her sister put a little braid in her hair, and she wore a very cute outfit. There were times I’d be chatting with someone and I’d catch her out of the corner of my eye and just smile! I am one lucky man!
Seeing my Godmother. I can’t even begin to tell you how much it meant that she was there. I LOVE just sitting and talking with her and she means the world to me.
Seeing my cousins. I was so glad to see cousins from my dad’s side of the family and my mom’s side of the family. I don’t get to see them often enough! Every year, my cousins from my dad’s side have a big holiday party, and I cannot wait to go!
Watching my dad and Sam’s dad chit chatting away at the “guy” table.
Being able to wish Rose a happy birthday a day early.
Having my old morning show partner, Steph, and her daughter there. She told me her gifts were so we’d think of Aunt Steph all year round, and she was right! She have us a beautiful Christmas blanket and about 8 Halloween costumes! I expected nothing less from her. She is really one of my truest friends!
Meeting some of Sam’s family that I hadn’t met yet.
Having Sam’s Grandma there. She had been praying for us to have a baby since we got married! She is so excited for us.

One of my cousins mentioned how much she loves reading this blog. Again, I was told what a good writer I am, not by one, but by a few of my cousins. I am always embarrassed by this. I am also humbled by the fact that people actually read what I write. I’m not sure why.

The hardest part of an event like this, is getting the chance to talk to everyone. Once everyone is there, you are being pulled this way and that way. You try to mingle while people are eating, but you never seem to make it to everyone. Then you are obligated to be up front to open presents. People sometimes leave before you ever get the chance to say hello. It’s not intentional, it just happens.

I guess I acted as the emcee for the gift opening. I was the one reading the cards and announcing who the gift was from. Our nieces were there basically opening them for Sam. It was unorganized chaos – LOL! They were opening things so fast, that we actually went through the gifts at home afterward, so that we could actually see some of the stuff that we missed at the shower.

As someone who talked on the radio for a living, I was given the responsibility of thanking everyone after all the gifts were opened. I was having such a hard time. With all that has transpired over the past three years, and to be there in front of those who love us, to have to come up with words was very difficult. I am sure Steph probably shot video of it. I was certainly fighting back tears! I know I wanted to share a dream I had the night before, but the emotions of everything took over, and I never did – so here it is:

The morning of the baby shower, I shot up out of sleep. Sam was already awake and asked if I was ok. It took me a second to kind of figure out that I had just woke up from a dream. The dream was so real and so vivid. I was dreaming that we were at the baby shower and the baby was already here. I was holding her. She was beautiful (just like her mother). She had dark hair. I was feeding her at one point. There were many people there. At one point I looked up and my mother was smiling. I was in the process of handing the baby to my mom when I woke up. I wish I could remember more about the dream!

After the shower, I stared at the table of gifts. I thought about how much our baby is loved and she has yet to be born. The outpouring of love and well wishes was truly overwhelming. Sam asked if we’d need someone else to bring stuff home. Well, I naturally took this as a challenge and put all those hours of Tetris to the test. It wasn’t easy, but I fit every last gift into the back of the car!

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Thank you Tetris!!!

Speaking of “thank you”, my dad gave me a huge laugh at the end of the shower. One of the things you have the guests do at the shower is address an envelope. This is the envelope that we will send the thank you card in. So my dad comes up to me at the end of the shower says, “Here’s my envelope.”

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This cracked me up so bad!

Wild Lights at the Zoo

Sam and I knew that the baby shower was going to leave us pretty wiped out, so we both took Sunday night off. It was opening weekend of Wild Lights at the Detroit Zoo. We decided to get tickets and go. We’d done this once before and loved it! They decorate the zoo with Christmas lights, play Christmas music, and it is something that we have decided will be a tradition for us.

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Every year, they add more lights. There are some areas where the lights are all synchronized to music and there is a light “show”. It is very cool. There are also lights shaped like animals. So we saw elephants, penguins, giraffes, and new this year – foxes.

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As you walk through, they have bonfires where you can stop and warm up. There are also places to buy hot chocolate, coffee, or alcohol if you wish. Some of the houses are open as warming stations – the Otter House was open, but they were busy sleeping and we didn’t get to see them. I love the Otters!

Some of the photo ops are just amazing. They have this huge Christmas ornament that you can stand inside of. While we were there, there was a wedding proposal inside the ornament. I probably drove Sam nuts taking all kinds of selfies while we were there! I always feel weird asking someone to take our picture, but we had someone take one of us by this huge star – it was pretty cool!

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The last time we went, it was very cold! Last night, it was about 39 degrees. It was the perfect night. It took us about an hour to get through, which was perfect, especially since Sam had been on her feet almost the entire day before, and now here we are walking the zoo. As you walk out there is a very cool tunnel of lights –

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There was still snow on the ground yesterday, so it was the perfect event to get you into the holiday spirit.

Christmas is coming …

I woke up today to see that one of the radio stations I work at flipped to all Christmas music. I got text messages from some people asking why we did it, and some from others who were thrilled that we did it. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, this kind of thing is very polarizing – you either love it or you hate it.

Sam loves Christmas and loves to sit in our living room with all the Christmas lights on. The tree is up after the first snowfall. So, yes, ours is up already! There are those who will say we are rushing the season, and they may be right about that. To those people I say, “So what!?”

The holiday season (which includes Thanksgiving and Christmas) is a time for thankfulness and happiness. It is that time of year when we are all a bit kinder to each other. We give a little bit more, we smile a little more, and we love a little more. I have quoted this song before, and I will again. Elvis sings:

“Why can’t every day be like Christmas? Why can’t that feeling go on endlessly? For if every day could be just like Christmas, what a wonderful world this would be!”

Spread the joy! Share a smile! Be kind! Be thankful!

I’m totally ok getting into the holiday spirit a bit early –

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