Peace on Earth; Good Will toward Men

It feels so close, I can almost touch it.











By dinner time on Christmas Eve, my two sons will be home, and with the rest of the family we'll gather round the table and eat dinner as a family. I'll try to make a toast--to us, to life, to happiness--but I'm sure my voice will catch in my throat, my eyes will fill, my younger son will laugh, my older son will smile, and my husband will finish the toast for me.

We're incredibly lucky and I know it.

Not that it's been an easy year, but it's been another year in our lives and that counts the most.

I spent Monday baking cookies and chex mix, finalizing my grocery lists, wrapping the last few presents, and thinking back on Christmases past.











This afternoon, I'll bake several batches of Christmas cut-out cookies, wrap the stocking stuffers, and settle down by the fire and read for awhile. Tomorrow, I'll worry until one old jeep pulls into the driveway and one airplane arrives from Seattle.



Then, all I'll have to do is enjoy having all of us under the same roof for a few days.

And we'll make memories that will carry me through until the next time.

And that's what I wish for all of you--warmth, family, memories. Sweet times. Hold tight to all of them.

All the best for 2010.