O Christmas Tree

What kind of Christmas tree do you get? Growing up we always had a real tree. I love the smell, the feel, and the look of a real tree. I have fond memories of going to the Christmas tree farm and cutting our own tree. The joy of decorating the tree was glorious.

Thankfully, we have had several opportunities in Little Bear's lifetime to go cut down our own tree. When we lived farther north it was wonderful at Christmas time. The tree farms were like magic. Living here the soil is sandy and the very few tree farms are different. The type of trees is just not the same. They consider juniper's to be Christmas trees and some other strange varieties as Christmas trees.

I had my first fake tree as an adult. I was newly married to my first husband and he wanted a fake tree. Not gonna lie having a fake tree broke my heart a little.

Now, with Popeye, we have decorated fake trees more often than I would like, but sometimes it has been out of necessity. We have celebrated Christmas with extended family at Thanksgiving several times and put up the fake tree before tree farms were even opened. Then, there have been a couple of times that we have had an extremely early Christmas before deployments. A fake tree works for that and I still find joy in decorating it. Honestly, some of my most memorable Christmas decorating memories have been with fake trees.

First, there were several years my grandparents had a small fiber optic Christmas tree. This little tree was in style when they bought it. My grandparents thought it was so neat. The rest of us liked it the first couple of years and then the tree started making a high pitched noise. The noise was terrible. We mentioned it to my grandparents for a couple of years and they could never hear it. They finally agreed that it must be true since we all complained about it two Christmas seasons in a row. That was the last of the fiber optic tree.

This year and last year we had a small fake tree. We decorated well before Thanksgiving last year. Decorating that small fake tree as a family knowing we would not actually be celebrating gathered around it together on Christmas morning was a mix of sadness and joy on my part. The best part was in the several months we left the Christmas tree up Little Bear and I laughed about decorating with Popeye. We wore our Santa hats and decorated. We laughed and made memories.

This year we decorated that same little fake tree before Thanksgiving. We celebrated Christmas at Thanksgiving with Popeye's parents. I won't let the fake tree stop me from joy at Christmas, but I won't lie and say I don't miss a real tree.

My Top 10 Favorite Places to Visit

I have been blessed in my life to travel across much of the United States. I have been to 36 of 50 states, not including the states I have only been to airports in. Many of the states I have been to were in my childhood, but they were still amazing and memorable. In my adult life, I have also been to some glorious places.

Out of all these great states, I have ten places I have most enjoyed visiting and have some of my fondest memories at.

1) The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, NM & CO

The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is by far my favorite place. First, the historic steam train is super cool. Second, the landscape and scenery are gorgeous. The first time I was there I was in kindergarten and we saw the Indiana Jones train cars on the tracks. We visited the railroad almost every year after that until I graduated high school. I have been blessed to go back several times as an adult and love it just as much if not more now.

2) The Alamo & Missions, San Antonio, TX

The Alamo and the missions in San Antonio will always have a special place in my heart. First, they are an amazing part of Texas history. They have a sad story that is also filled with hope and joy. They are also a place of beauty and peace. I can wander these missions for hours or sit and enjoy the peace that I feel in these places.

3) Shenandoah National Park, VA

Shenandoah National Park has a special place in my heart. It is one of the first places we took Little Bear hiking. We also went camping there once and saw more bears than I had ever seen. We saw 11 bears on our trip including three bear cubs. It was amazing. Skyline Drive is an amazing drive through the mountains, whether it is spring, summer, winter, or fall.  

4) Echo Amphitheater, NM 

Echo Amphitheater is an interesting and beautiful rock formation found in New Mexico. It is a lovely spot stuck between the mountains and the High Desert. The landscape is stunning. So stunning in fact that many famous artists such as Georgia O'Keefe have used the scenery for inspiration for their work.

5) Cass Scenic Railroad, WV

The Cass Scenic Railroad is a really neat place in West Virginia. When Popeye came home from his first deployment. While the Cass will never take the place of the Cumbres and Toltec it is a truly beautiful railroad. It is in the middle of nowhere, which gives it a really nice relaxing atmosphere. The Cass Scenic Railroad and the wonderful bed and breakfast we stayed at made a perfect getaway after months apart.

6) Top of the Rock, NYC, NY 

When we visited New York City it was a really neat trip. We did a lot of cool stuff including seeing the Statue of Liberty, but I felt overwhelmed by the crowds everywhere. I was thrilled with the views from The Top of the Rock. Top of the Rock was amazing. We could see all of New York City from up there. It was a special moment in time that I will never forget. 

7) Yellowstone National Park 

Yellowstone National Park is a really stunning place. We went when I was in middle school. I don't think my family planned to go there on vacation, but we ended up there. It was one of the coolest vacations we ever went on. We saw wildlife galore, but even cooler than the wildlife are the geysers, springs, and mud pots. The bubbling ground is so interesting. The science and nature combined to make bubbling mud pots, water that has so much acid it can dissolve almost anything, and water that shoots through the crust of the earth rising high into the sky at regular intervals is a feat that only God could perfect. 

8) Colonial Williamsburg Williamsburg, VA 

Colonial Williamsburg is a beautiful historic area. It has more history than almost anywhere I have ever been. The Revolutionary War and Colonial history here give you opportunities to learn so many stories. Besides learning about all the history you can enjoy the stunning gardens. During Christmastime, the Colonial style decorations are interesting and have inspired lots of craft projects for me. 

9) Fort Washington National Park, Fort Washington, MD 

Fort Washington National Park can be found tucked away along the Potomac River just outside of Washington D.C. It is a quiet park with an amazing historic fort that served our country from 1809 until 1939. The historic fort has a beautiful view across the river. It is filled with historic batteries, cannons, and more history than most of us can imagine. When you walk down from the fort to the shores of the Potomac you can fish and find sea glass or river glass as the case may be.  

10) The Blue Ridge Parkway, NC and VA

The Blue Ridge Parkway is the first place Popeye and I went camping. It is also where we rode the first train together of our married life. We made several trips up and down parts of The Blue Ridge Parkway in the early years of our marriage. It will always be one of my favorite places. The Scenery is lovely.

A Boatload of Memories, More Laundry, and a House to Clean

Getting ready for company is always fun. You anticipate your guest's arrival for a while. In most cases, you try your absolute best to make everything look perfect. You look forward to friends or family coming to visit, but you dread the thought of extra scrubbing and dusting. It's the nature of the beast, I suppose.

I know I am not the only one that dreads the cleaning. I'm not going to lie, I am not the best housekeeper. I keep things sort of clean, but we have our own system for organization and sometimes it consists of a pile of papers here and a pile of books there. Other times
our system gets knocked over by Little Bear as he runs past. Then, we just have a mess.

When people come to visit our piles get picked up and put away. When Popeye is in charge of cleaning the piles just get moved and hidden. We move the furniture and vacuum underneath it. We scrub everything an extra time or two. I actually get out the duster and dust all the knick-knacks and picture frames.

When people arrive then the real fun begins. We hang out, we enjoy each others company. We eat good food. Life is good.

Then, our company leaves and we are left with a boatload of memories, more laundry, and a house to clean. Thank goodness the memories make it worth the cleaning and then some.

Real Pants or Not?

I never wore leggings until after I was diagnosed with gastroparesis. Now I love leggings and yoga pants. They are my favorite pants. When eating makes me bloated, not your normal bloated but a painful balloon in my belly kind of bloated, you do what you have to do. Jeans are not an option on those days.


Not wearing jeans every day has been a huge sacrifice for me. I always wear jeans, always have. They are my favorite pants, but when I am bloated they really hurt. I had no choice, but to give in to my bloated belly and find alternatives.

I started with dresses. I love a good dress. However, dresses are not good for working in the yard and garden. They are not good for laying in the hammock. A dress is not always an option. So, you guessed it... I turned to yoga pants and leggings.

If you would have asked my grandma she would say that leggings are not real pants and no one needs to be wearing them out in public. My dad would agree with her. Talking on the phone with my grandma she was always complaining about the old ladies with too much fat wearing leggings. She said no one ever needed to wear pants that tight, old or young, but especially old.

I have learned something. I don't really care that my grandma would cringe if she were here and knew how many times I have walked out my front door and enjoyed the day wearing leggings and a tunic top. Little Bear told me the other day that he was sure my grandma could see me from heaven. This thought made me laugh and laugh. I am sure that as she looks down on me wearing leggings she is ranting about how she cannot believe I would do such a thing and Jesus is telling her it's okay. Pretty sure she would argue with even God about whether or not leggings are acceptable pants. I love my leggings. I love my grandma, but from her seat up in heaven. she will just have to understand that sometimes, leggings is just the best option I have.

I honestly have learned to like leggings. They are extremely comfortable. They are made from a soft and cozy fabric. They fit me well without feeling like a saw blade trying to cut through my abdomen as I swell up after eating. They look really cute with a long shirt and boots. Even if they looked awful, I would probably keep wearing them.

So, it's up to you to decide for yourself, are leggings real pants or not? In my book, leggings are real pants.

Some Simple Ways to Help Our Veterans

As a military wife, veterans have a special place in my heart. We all know military life is hard on its members and their families. Veterans have been through things most of us could never imagine. I am grateful for all the work they do. I am grateful for their sacrifices, even when those sacrifices make life hard.

Many of our countries veterans need help, Often they try to hide that they need help. Even if you do not know anyone who has served in our countries armed forces there are a few things you can do to show your support.

 1) Pray for them. 

A friend of the family always says "Praying is the most and the least you can do for someone." You don't have to know a person to pray for them and prayer can always help. 

2) Write a letter or send a package. 

There are several organizations that can connect you with veterans. Operation Gratitude has several ways to connect with veterans as well as active-duty service members. They have a lot of other volunteer opportunities you can check out.

You can also share letters with veterans through A Million Thanks. They have some sample letters available on their websites. 

3) Share their lives. 

If you know a veteran with a wonderful story you can share that story as part of the Veterans History Project. The Veterans History Project is a really great project that helps people to preserve and collect stories and record them. There are lots of forms to fill out and information to help you prepare for interviewing the veterans. The project will help to tell the stories of veterans who served in many of the wars the US has been involved with. When the stories are completed they can be turned in to the Library of Congress to be archived for generations to come. 

4) Spend time with some veterans. 

Often times you can visit veterans at your local VA hospitals. You can also sit and talk with veterans through many local organizations in your area. A great organization to volunteer with is DAV. They have many opportunities to volunteer such as hospital visits and driving disabled veterans to appointments.  

5) Help build homes for troops. 

Homes for Troops is an awesome organization that provides help building or renovating homes for wounded veterans and service members. If you cannot physically help with their projects you can make donations through their website. 

Take this Veteran's Day and thank a veteran. Show them you care!