Home sweet home is just down the road
Just a skip and a hop
Or a stones throw away
Where the chickadees sing
And the roadrunners run free
And the children shout gleefully at play
This road that I'm on can often feel long
And it's spaces feel cold and gray
But honestly
There's no place for me
No neighborhood I'd rather stay
Because for better or worse this house I'll not curse
And this family I'll claim with pride
As I walk down this road so long with stride bold
And thank God for this place I call home

Excitement fills
Each heart until
The day of Christmas arrives.
The hope of seeing
Family
This thought our hearts now drives:
Prepare for that day
Be merry and gay
Despite the grey outside.
Cook and bake
And frost the cake
Each present make with pride.
But always remember
This month of December
Is not about family members
It’s not about gifts
Or buying from thrifts
With money saved up since November.
We often forget
And have this mindset,

It was finally out! I sped through the 'Heroes and Myths' bookstore. The seventh book in the Caldwian series, 'Gregor Mendenwall: Hero of Caldwian'. The series was the greatest thing since Lord of the Rings came out a century ago! And it had finally reached the end.
I turned the corner, ready to grab the book off the shelf the moment I saw it. That’s when I saw him.

By the end of my first day of teaching the following week, the ball seemed years ago, a distant memory buried under an avalanche of paperwork, schedules, lesson plans, grading, and assignments. Had it not been for Devorah Erren’s insufferable boasting to the other girls about the ball (she being the only one of the class whose parents had allowed her to attend) I might not have thought of it at all.
By the middle of the week, however, my thoughts had turned to the upcoming festival that I was to attend with Mira and her family.

The days were growing painfully cold, but Chiara could not bring herself to spend her free period inside. Winter looked good on the Globe.

Brody slowly ran his fingertips over the glass image. Four toddlers dressed impeccably in suits, hair combed to perfection, stood with their arms draped over their shoulders in a line. They were laughing uncontrollably at something or other and it was the most beautiful thing. These little boys were yet unaware of the intense future that awaited each and every one of them. They were content with each other. Brody smirked.

Really, not much had changed. They had simply grown up.

“Doesn’t seem like that long ago, huh?”

King of my heart, and sweet Savior of my soul
This time of year to me will never grow old
From birth, to death, to resurrection in glory
Our Lord gave to us the most beautiful story
In death brought us life and healing from above
The thorns in His crown were a testament of love
My sins sat upon His shoulders; such heavy load
While in my heart His perfect righteousness abode
Though my telling of salvation is weak at its best
I'm thankful for a King who in love gives us rest
Because of His gift in taking from us our fear

Dear son,

You are only a year old, but I know who you are. You are kind, brave, sweet, caring, strong, and fun. Throughout your life, you may grow tired and unsure of what to do. In those times,believe in who you are.

You may say something mean to someone. You may break a heart, or a promise. You might abuse a person. In those moments, you are not being yourself. Remember that you are kind. Go to that person, apologize for forgetting yourself, and do what you can to make it right.

As Raya walked along the beach she looked out to the sea; breathing in the salty air and watching the waves kiss the sand.  She stopped to watch the dolphins swimming in the cove then turned to walk up the path to her house, she did not notice the ship on the horizon.  Finn, Raya’s older brother was playing volleyball with Jay their cousin, the twins Triton and Tyde, and Adrian, Finn's best friend, as she walked up the path Raya looked up when her brother called her.
“Raya, come play with us, we need one more player!” yelled Finn.

They saw a lost dog. We turned around to find it. We went back, and it was gone.

On our way home from the Christmas party, we were all feeling pretty good. There was a nice, warm contentedness about us. I was even singing in my Christmas carols in my head when we drove up the hill. Suddenly and unexpectedly, sighs of,

“Aww!”

and

“Poor dog!” reached my ears.

I looked up.

“Where?” I asked; but we had already passed him. I was told that he was black and white, like an Australian Shepherd.