Let there be peace on earth….

So, here we are! It’s Christmas Eve! With all the hustle and bustle we all need to take a few moments and be still. Time for reflection. Time for connecting. Time for prayers. The meaning of Christmas churns up much emotion and devotion and gratitude for me. I believe in all that Christmas means, its light resonates and feeling his spirit and grace throughout these festivities, I am humbled for so many reasons this year. First and foremost, I pray to our Savior to bring warmth and peace and healing to this nation. I could go on & on about the events last week at SandyHook Elementary School. I could post pics of the devastation to my neighbors and cities surrounding New York from the biggest baddest storm “Sandy”. I would rather tell you what a heart feels to mourn and weep for “strangers”, or for mankind.  I’ve read more about gun laws and security and homeless and devastation & loss for 1,000’s of people in the last months. I chose to not watch funerals of children. I chose to not spend countless hours journaling and blogging about the pain. I prayed and reflected and I meditated about a better world. I had moments of (OMG) and how “COULD” someone…and then I prayed again. We don’t believe it, but then again, we have witnessed and watched over 5 massacres in the last decade. We all get a heavy dose of gratitude and we Thank God our children are safe. We scrutinize the President and privately hope that he has the power to stop the world and restart it again. We turn our heads when we see headlines of War in the middle east, fooling ourselves that it is in a far away land and it doesn’t “effect” us. Our troops are stationed everywhere. They are trying to protect “our” nation from another massacre, risking their lives for our Freedom and safety. My nephew is state side, A Soldier for the US Army, safe in Texas at the moment. I am so lucky he is not on the front lines today. He will be home in a week for his 22nd birthday. He did a tour in Kuwait, and returned safely. My mind is screaming, tell them lisa, “Blessed”. Today, I am blessed. I am safe and warm. I have all and more than I “need”. I know this, I pray this every single day, I praise God, these are his blessings to us.  The gift of Love. The gift of Life.  More precious than gold or any possession you can buy.  When you seek and dream of finding the secret to life, it is no secret, its right here, right now. Christmas reminds me of what matters most.  I adore the twinkle of the lights and the Mass, and the birth of Jesus Christ. The gift of being surrounded by family and friends, laughter and such Joy. It renews me and inspires me to be a loving and kind person. Restoring hope and traditions and making new memories that fill your heart. I have my moments during the holidays, flashbacks of my parents and grandparents  and the tears come easily still and I believe I will always grieve on this earth till we meet again.  I was smothered with love & given unconditional love my whole life, again Blessed <3. So my wish for all this year is Peace on earth. I believe we all wish this in our hearts. Merry Christmas & Happy New year to you!  Love, leelee

This is what I feel when I write….

To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it’s about, but the inner music the words make. TRUMAN CAPOTEImage

Mr & Mrs Clause….smoochin’

Mr & Mrs Clause....smoochin'

I just love this cut out my Dad and Mom made together. He carved it, she painted it. When my Dad retired, he made me a few of these and I so cherish them. It brings me such joy! and memories come flooding back to me of Christmas’s past, those filled with love and warmth and laughter and family…isn’t this what Christmas is all about…Peace*