Keeping up with Us

Wow! I'm really glad that 2009 is finally coming to an end! It's been a very difficult year! The death of several family members and friends, as well as several illnesses will make 2009 a sad year to look back on. Life can change in the blink of an eye, and this past year was full of life changes.

Overall, we have so much to be thankful for as we say goodbye to 2009! AJ & I are in good health and despite Keith's health, he was able to keep his job for another year. We've been lucky to have the support of a wonderful group of doctors at the VA as well as our family and friends. We've made some wonderful new friendships this year and found a great Masonic family and we're looking forward to all that the new year has in store for us with the Lodge and Chapter.

After 14 years of selling Avon, I switched this summer to Arbonne...a pure, botanically based line of skin care, cosmetics, and health products. With all the research we did when we started making our soy candles, I found that a lot of the skin care products on the market contain petroleum and numerous other ingredients that are not only harmful to the environment, but also harmful to our bodies! The changes we've made have already made a big difference in our lives and we're looking forward to sharing these products with more people!

The response this year to our candles and ceramic products has been astounding. After having a retail location during the late summer and fall, we realized that we could offer our products at much better prices without the overhead of keeping a store-front open. Orders continue to roll in on our website and we're working on our show outline for next year. We'll be exhibiting in several local shows and markets, and with a little luck, we'll even be exhibiting in some shows in Wyoming, Texas, and maybe even North Carolina!

We begin a new year with lots of hopes and plans, but really have no idea what the next 12 months hold for us. 2009 was proof of that! But, the excitement and hopefulness that comes with turning the page on a brand new calendar is unmatched.

Happy New Year, everyone.

This was forwarded to me by a friend and I wanted to share it here with everyone! Cherish the holidays with your loved ones. There are thousands who can't spend the holidays with their families and friends.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts…

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said, "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night.
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.”
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
“I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

Author Unknown

The other evening, while pealing an orange, I thought to myself just how much I dislike pealing oranges! I was reminded of and evening some 20 years ago, when I sat in the living room anxiously awaiting a slice of a freshly pealed orange my Dad was pealing. There was a time when we always had oranges at our house and most evenings, while watching TV or playing cards, Dad would always peal one and share it with me. It was kinda our thing...Travis wouldn't eat them and every now and then, Mom would ask for a slice, but only one! I always laughed when Dad would squeeze the peal and make it spray a fine mist of 'orange' at Lacie (our dog). She'd walk off, half sneezing, half growling but would always return the next evening when Dad sat down and began pealing our next orange! I know it's silly, but I couldn't help from smiling as I enjoyed an orange with AJ and thought back on that childhood memory. I wondered if AJ would someday look back on that evening with a smile, too!