Thanksgiving

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Christmas Tradition

Merry Christmas!!

I hope you have a blessed time with your family and friends.  It has been a busy week in my house.  All my children were home for Christmas and we had a very nice time as family. Christmas is one of my favorite holidays.  I think it’s the most beautiful season of all. I love the lights, Christmas songs, baking cookies, Apple Cider, Egg Nog, not to mention the shopping.  It’s the season of love and giving.  Ahh.. one more thing.. I love White Christmas.. I think Christmas without the snow is like hot chocolate without marshmallows 😊

In my house, the Christmas tradition starts on Thanksgiving.  It’s always a buffet style as we always have big company.  We invite friends who don’t have relatives close by to share the turkey and trimmings.  Then in the weekend, we put up the Christmas tree and decorate it together.    

On Christmas eve, we have a family dinner, then we open one present.  On Christmas morning, we open all presents and eat the leftovers from Christmas Eve dinner.  I hang Christmas stockings on the fireplace and we have a small tree with ornaments that we can open and stuff things like chocolate, money, notes, etc.  When my kids were little, each one of them gets one bulb a day and on Christmas day, whoever wakes up the earliest can take the last bulb on the tree. Now, they are grown up and don’t live at home anymore.  So, on Christmas day, they pick up 4-5 bulbs and open them at the same time.  Still it’s fun for them to see what they get inside the bulb. 

It still amazes me that after all the presents, slowly but surely they make their way to Christmas stockings hung on the fireplace and start reaching into it.  I realize it doesn’t matter what the age is, the traditions we created stay with them and they always look forward to the Christmas stockings 😊

When I created the tradition, I want my children to remember what we do as a family during the holidays to make memories and hopefully they can pass it to their children.  Now, they are grown up and they make it a priority to come home for the holidays even for a few hours and they have to drive a few hours to go home because they have to work the next day.  It blessed me more than anything, seeing my children sitting on dining table and having a great time with their siblings and enjoying the food and company.   

What is your tradition??  If you don’t have one yet, you can start now 🙂

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

It has been a while since I write for the blog.  Life has been busy.  I thought when the chidren are grown up, life will slow down… I guess not.  Time also has flown faster than I thought. Before we know it, we will welcome 2017 in 6 weeks.

On this day as we celebrate Thanksgiving, while waiting for the turkey to cook to perfection in the oven 🙂   I have time to think about what I am thankful for this year.  Life has its ups and downs, twist and turn, and all the struggles.  But, when I look back to the beginning of the year,  I cannot help but smile and thank God for all His blessings, His presence in our lives, and not to forget the miracles He has given our family.

One of the miracles is my son coming home and living with us for a while. He graduated from college and got a good job.  He asked if he could live in our home for a while.  He said he is homesick as he has been away for college and not eating good.  In other words, he misses home and mama’s cooking 🙂

I remember talking to one of my best friends, about my children wanting to be with their friends more than families.  She said to me not to worry as they will come back.  Well… I guess she is right! One of my son is moving back home.  And the other ones will come home anytime they can.  It makes me happy that my kids want to come home 🙂  I have made a home for them 🙂

As I get older, my priorities change and look at life differently 🙂 I always believe children are blessings from God and they are our inheritance as the Bible says.  We don’t bring our material things that we accumulate to heaven but we will bring our children to heaven with us and yes they will multiply and we are rich 🙂

Not only that my son is home, he also adopted a cat.  Yes, a black cat with yellow eyes 🙂  As a parent, I told him that pet is a commitment and he can’t just dish her out later when he changes his mind.  He said he is aware of the commitment.  He wanted to adopt a black cat because they are the first to be put down as not many people want to adopt black cats.

Well…. Bellatrix (formerly Samara), a domestic short haired cat came to our home last night 🙂 Bella was a pregnant stray cat when she came to the shelter.  She had five kittens and all were adopted except for her.  My son had a choice either Bella or a 4 month old black kitten that five people wanted to adopt.  He chose Bella and I think he made a good choice.  Bella is sweet,  affectionate, and likes to cuddle.  She is not shy and her presence will be known 🙂 She has “I am nice and sweet but don’t mess with me” kinda attitude 🙂  And guess what? I will babysit her until my son comes home from other state.  He basically adopted the cat before moving back home 🙂

As I watch my children interact with Bella.  I can’t stop smiling 🙂 I guess I have done a good job as a mother teaching my children to love and have compassion.  Most of all, we learn that love doesn’t care about being rich or poor.  Look at Bella, she doesn’t care if we are rich or poor.  The most important thing for her is that she finally has a place called home and a family who will love her.  In return, she will pour her love unconditionally to us.  That’s exactly what God does with us.  He pours His unconditional love to us so we can have a place called home with him in heaven and experience His love while we are on earth.  And all He wants from us is a relationship and love like Bella does to our family 🙂

I pray as you read the story, you also will look back to the beginning of the year and feel the same way I feel about Thanksgiving.  We have plenty to be thankful whether it’s big or small, happy or sad, joy or tears.. the most important thing is that… we made it through and for that alone, we should be thankful 🙂  HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

 

 

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Happy Thanksgiving :)

Today we celebrate Thanksgiving Day in America – a day of remembrance of how thankful we are that the Native Americans shared their land and everything they had with the pilgrims.  May we never forget their kindness and I pray God will bless Native Americans with His goodness.  May they come to know God.  Holy Spirit, I pray that you will touch them and draw them close to you in Jesus name.

We are blessed to live in America – the land of free and the home of the braves.  I pray that each of us today will take a moment and be thankful of what we have and most of all, we are here to celebrate Thanksgiving with our loved ones.  I pray God will bless each one of us with His goodness.  I pray God will draw us closer to Him and most of all, may we experience His everlasting love that He sent His son to die for us on the cross  and paid for our sins in full once for all.

As you sit down and be with your family and loved ones , count your blessings.  I bet you will have a huge smile on your face 🙂 as  you realize how blessed you are.  No matter what we have gone through in the past few months, we are blessed because we are still here… celebrating a gift of life with our loved ones 🙂

Have a safe blessed Thanksgiving 🙂

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Good Morning America!

Good Morning America!

We will be celebrating “Thanksgiving Day” in America in a couple days.  I pray that all of us will have a thankful heart and count our blessings.  Thank you, God for all you have done and about to do in America.  I thank you that the harvest is bountiful and we are blessed because you bless America.  I pray for safe travel for families and God, I plead the blood of Jesus over America from the East to West, South to North and no weapon against us shall prosper in the mighty name of Jesus, amen.

As The Lord  commanded, I bless Israel and pray for peace in Jerusalem and Middle East.

Have a blessed day 🙂

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Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Hanukkah

No matter what our circumstances are, we are blessed beyond imaginations, knowing this morning we are awake and alive and able to do things by ourselves without any help and any machine are already a huge blessing from God.  Many times we take things for granted and we do not stop to even think of the little things or big things we do until that privilege is taken away from us then we wish we could have it back.

I just found out that we are very blessed to celebrate Thanksgiving and Hanukkah at the same day this year which according to research won’t happen again for another 77,000 years.  In a way, we are a chosen generation, as there are a few events this year that will not repeat for another 100 or 200 years.  Just know, that God plans where you supposed to be, what you supposed to do, who you supposed to be with.  Nothing is a mistake and you are here at the right time and things will start to fall into its place.  Believe and you will see it happen 🙂

As 2014 approaching, I would like to challenge you from today until the end of the year, that you will write a note each day for what you are thankful for the day and put it in the box.  Come, January 1st, you take out the notes and read each one of them.  You will be surprised to see how blessed you are 🙂

As we celebrate Thanksgiving today, I pray you can count all your blessings and be thankful and don’t forget to tell the people you love “I love you” 🙂