Merry Christmas, Tom!

In The Pursuit of Happiness

I have had the best Christmas....I spent it with my son, Tom.  Now....crazy as this sounds....my son wasn't home for the first time in 23 years to celebrate Christmas.  But being focused on creating this little art piece...he and I were together and he'll be home soon.

I have a few more little "touches" I need to do and I also haven't figured out yet how I'm going to close the flap on the right....it says" Thank you for your service..."  but it will come to me, just as the theme for this piece of art came to me....

 When I sat down yesterday to do some art....this wasn't at all the direction I was going, but as often happens when you sit and start playing with things...ideas start to form....

And the next thing you know...you can hardly stand to stop working on it because the ideas are coming so fast and you're waiting for things to dry.

"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom,

must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it."

---Thomas Paine

Inside the red envelope it says, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

 

 The Christmas stamp represents freedom of religion.

BECAUSE WE BELIEVE

Look outside:  it's morning

This is a day you'll remember

Hurry, get up and go

There are those who believe in you

Don't give up

 

Once in every life

There comes a time

We walk out all alone

And into the light

The moment won't last but then,

We remember it again

When we close our eyes.

Like stars across the sky

And in order to shine

You will have to win

We were born to shine

All of us here because we believe

 

Look ahead and never turn your back

On the caress of your dreams,

Your hopes and then,

Turn towards the day that will be

There is a finish line there.

Like stars across the sky

And in order to shine

You will have to win

Like stars across the sky

Don't give up

Someone is with you

Like stars across the sky

We were born to shine

And in order to shine

You will have to win

And then, you will win.

----Andrea Bocelli

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MERRY CHRISTMAS!

NAKED TREES

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NAKED TREES IN WINTER

 

Trees in winter are really more beautiful than they are when they are clothed with leaves....in winter you can really see their shapes...they aren't camouflaged.  It's not that their seasonal colors aren't beautiful....but somehow in winter...their soul is revealed.   Haven't painted in weeks...felt good to sit down with the paint brush today...and because this is in my Red,White & Blue journal...I added the flag....I could have put a cardinal in a tree, but I didn't want to take away from the starkness of the trees...

What is Christmas?

I've been away from blogging....just couldn't seem to get here.  I haven't created anything either....after the nor'easter on Halloween weekend....I just had other things on my mind.  How do we roll so fast from Halloween to Christmas week?  Retailers kind of push the plate on that...I wish we could restore Christmas to what it truly is....and it's not finding the "big deal"  at 4:00am on Black Friday....that I am sure of.

I fee like I've already celebrated Christmas...my sister and husband were here to celebrate her birthday and we exchanged gifts;  and I and many others helped  to spread the word about an injured Marine in my son's unit that resulted in many generous people giving their time and making a donation to help get his life back on track.  God bless him!  So....I don't really need anything else except to go to church and give thanks and pray for those who aren't as blessed as I am this Christmas.
Here are some photos from around the house....

There's something special in each of these photos for me....