Sunday, December 23, 2012
Tonight's picture was taken on December 5, 2002. This was third in a series of photos I have been showing the past couple of nights on the blog! One of the things Mattie loved to do in his saucer was dance. So I entitled this photo, The Dancing Santa Mattie. Needless to say this photo wasn't featured on the front of our Christmas card in 2002. However, as I look at this photo, I would like you to notice Mattie's nose. I always loved the part of his nose by his nostrils, because looking at his nose at this angle, it always looked like an upside down heart to me!
Quote of the day: Hope in the beginning feels like such a violation of the loss, and yet without it we couldn't survive. ~ Gail Caldwell
Last night, a close friend of ours sent Peter and I the email below. It is funny how such a message from someone who has walked the Mattie battle with us can make such a difference in our lives. What is the best way to wish Peter and me a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year? I don't know, since I have NO personal experience helping a friend through the loss of a child. I am learning how to manage the experience for myself and therefore it is sometimes hard to let others in who want to help us. But what I do know is that receiving this message somehow made me feel as if a friend got it, understood what life looks like for us now especially during the holidays, and wasn't afraid to write it. She also knows how I am moved by music and sent me the song below to let us know we are not alone. Four VERY powerful words. The message we received said............................
"Have you heard the song, “Christmas Card,” by Steven Curtis Chapman? Maybe I’m the 1000th person to tell you this, but I heard this beautiful song and wanted to send it to you. The song is about seeing someone at Christmastime, who is clearly suffering. It says, “I’m sending you this Christmas Card to tell you somebody loves you.” It was so beautiful, it made me cry and made me think of you guys immediately. What surprised me more, was when I just went online to research the artist. Turns out, he lost his five year-old daughter almost five years ago — tragic car accident where his older son accidentally ran her over. I guess that’s why he was able to capture your feelings so well. Long way of saying, I am thinking about you during these incredibly difficult holiday times. And, wanted you to know that you’re not alone!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JlViVua1bM
Today was a busy day of trying to begin preparations for Christmas dinner. My parents are having several friends over to their home on Tuesday and such a dinner requires thought and staging. Before I had Mattie and even when I was raising Mattie I did a lot of cooking. Cooking for lots of people. If you know me well, then you know that I LOVE food and LOVE eating! To me it is an art form and as such I also love to cook. Yet while Mattie was battling cancer and after he died, my cooking has been curtailed. I no longer have people over to our home and I no longer cook dinners for people. I am not sure why, but I suppose Peter and I don't feel like we are in the entertaining mood. So what I am saying is cooking on this magnitude is not something I have done for years.
 |
This evening we got out of the house for a while for a change of scenery. On our drive back to my parent's house, I started snapping a few pictures of holiday lights. What is fascinating about this house is the mailbox. It is automated. It opens and closes on its own and it reminded me of the North Pole based on how it is decorated with red and white stripes.
This house was literally ALL aglow. You can see it from down the block!
Santa is taller than the house and practically begs you to stop the car and check him out. 
Because my parent's neighborhood is in the hills, it was nicknamed years ago... Starlight. Mainly because you can see the stars so clearly from up here. At Christmas time many of the houses display HUGE stars on their front lawn. I tried to capture three houses in a row with such stars! 
No comments:
Post a Comment