The Holiday Season

This holiday season has brought with it many memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life. The first time I actually had a christmas tree and gone about decorating it. The first Christmas as a married person (that itself I got to tell you is beyond measure). Listening to christmas carols had a new meaning for me. I know that for those of you that have read this until this point are thinking ah, that is so cute. For me, the holiday season is still a very new thing for me to experience. I come from a checkered past and a broken home. The holiday did not have meaning for me until the last 10 years or so.

There is an art of finding a gift that has meaning for someone. It really does not have to be something that breaks your budget or bowls you over with its new shine. There are the gifts that truly have a deeper then casual meaning to the one receiving as well as to the one giving. It is trying to capture the essence of the season in something so small.

I will use an example of one such gift that my wife and I were truly lucky to receive. My apologies if this embrasses anyone, Becky Castleton and Liz Thackeray (I truly hope I spelt that right!), you know who I am referring to. Over the years I have blessed with having such a wonderful array of friends that have shared my moments of good and bad. They have been steadfast and understanding. For this I am truly grateful to have. There is a saying that you can not choose the family you are born into but you can choose to surround yourself with the family that means the most to you. We, Kristy and I received a gift of not only a wonderfully decorated (done by the hand of the mentioned two friends before) christmas plate but we also received this little balls ornaments that were quite tasteful in their selection. Our christmas tree decorations were more then ample to suit our purposes but these few ornaments made the tree look absolutely wonderful. The perfect amount of color and decor. I have never had the chance to decorate a tree before this holiday season. This is an art form that I will have to learn over the years. There is such a delicate balance between tastefully done to over bearing.

Thank you, each of you that have given us gifts over this holiday season. We truly have been blessed to receive them and appericate the time and effort that was taken from each of them. To our family and friends, we love you very much. Happy Holidays to each of you.