How did you celebrate New Year’s Eve when you were a kid? Fireworks and kisses? Or, did you fall asleep at 9pm and wake up fresh on New Year’s Day? Did your parents have friends over? Did you go to a prayer vigil at church? Maybe you enjoyed pizza and watching the ball drop? New Year’s Eve, like other holidays, is celebrated in a number of different ways. Heather’s New Year’s Eve When I was old enough, I did start staying up to see the clock strike twelve, but I was not interested in watching the ball drop (and especially not interested in all the entertainment leading up to it). If I … [Read more...]

Do you get the after-Christmas blues? I surely do! As much as I love the bright Christmas colors, seeing ornaments everywhere I go, shopping for family and friends, enjoying gift exchanges, and spending quality time with those I love most, getting back to normal life can leave me feeling completely down in the dumps. There is such a buildup and then suddenly... it’s over. January is such a long month! There are ways to make the end of the Christmas season feel a little less sad. Consider the ideas below… Save Some Gifts One year, my mom forgot about some gifts she had hidden in the … [Read more...]

Christmas! It is almost here! It is mine and Eric’s favorite holiday of the year! If you are like most people, you are almost done shopping; however, you have a couple more items to pick up and wrap before Christmas morning! Do you love the hustle and bustle of last minute shopping or do you prefer to have everything purchased and wrapped by the end of October? To each his own, but if you do still have a few items to pick up, have you considered a special Christmas tree ornament? Christmas Traditions What are some of your Christmas traditions? Are there certain foods you only have during the … [Read more...]

As we close out this Thanksgiving season, let’s consider how we can live a life of consistent gratitude. It is great that we Americans (and our Canadian neighbors to the north!) are given a national holiday that reminds us to count our blessings, but how much happier would we be if we were thankful all year instead of just in November (or, October ~smile~)?   Forming the Habit If you want to become a more grateful person, you are in luck! You can make a habit out of gratitude! Below are a few traits of grateful people and I think we would all do well to adopt these traits in our … [Read more...]