Christmas 2011, Past

This Christmas was wonderful.  I decided to have a BIG "Griswald" family Christmas.  My brother, his wife, (Rhianna) and daughter (Lela Lynn) came on Christmas Eve and then my father and step-mother came on Christmas Day to have a big dinner.  My brother, Rhianna, and I cooked all night and most of the day on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  It was surreal to be cooking with my brother.  We got to talk and laugh about old memories and made some new ones.  He devained, washed, and cut collards for two hours!  It was hilarious!  The food turned out to be outstanding, I was pleasantly surprised!  It actually turned out really nice...it's just passed by me so fast, much like my life has seemed to.  I have purposely taken time lately to breath in the air slower and look at my life longer, taking in more "mental photos" of all the wonderful blessings in my life.  I know we're probably not supposed to talk about bad things that could happen, but they could and do.  I just want to face Christ knowing I loved as much as I could every day and that I appreciate all the really good and beautiful things he made on this earth.  There is so much bad that it's really hard to see those things sometimes but I have found the closer I get to God, the clearer His glory becomes.  It starts in my children's eyes and the unconditional love I have in my heart.  What a gift God gave me!  Twice!  How much He loves me....really awesome because if life were fair I would be burning in eternal fire, along with every other human.  His mercy does set us free!