Coping With Grief During the Holidays

Photo by Jad Limcaco courtesy of Unsplash

Yesterday was the second annivesary of my father-in-law's passing. We knew he was going to leave since he was on hospice care. He suffered from dementia and COPD.
Our grief  started before Dad passed because when a loved one is on hospice there is that anticipating grief. The grief that comes knowing that Dad was dying but we just didn't know when he would pass. He passed away one week after he came home from the nursing home.

So Christmas that year (2015) was very hard for us.  We tried to make Christmas as normal but at the end of the day we were crying because we missed Dad(Papa to his granddaughters)

So how do you cope with loss and sadness during the holidays? I'll just share what helped and is still helping us.

First of all give yourself permission to grieve. Missing someone who has passed away is definitely normal.

Second. Pray. There is no greater Comforter than the Lord himself.
Third talk to a trusted friend who has gone through loss or maybe a friend who can offer a listening ear. Don't forget your pastor as another trusted person to talk to. I'm sure he will find time for you.

Fourth. Get out of the house. Don't isolate yourself from others. In my opinon that is the worst thing you can do because I think it could lead to severe depression. Again that's just my opinion. Volunteer at a soup kitchen or at church.

I'm sure there are other things but those are things that I remember from that year. If you are suffering from grief please follow the suggestions above and please don't be alone.

Our Christmas Tree

I apologize for the poor picture quality. Anyway, this is our homemade Christmas tree. Tim built with it and we got garland with the lights on it already. We usually have more ornaments but Kirstie is a very curious cat so we decided not to put as many as we usually do.

I tried taking a picture with the lights on but it was too much glare. As you can see.

California Wildfires

We have been monitoring the wildfire situation here from AZ in our old area of Santa Barbara County. All the schools in Goleta Union, Santa Barbara Unified School districts and more  districts are closed. I read this morning there is no Amtrak service in Ventura County.
The pictures  I've seen coming out of Santa Barbara have been incredible.

http://www.keyt.com/news/wildfire/thomas-fire-grows-to-115000-acres/667653802

It's definitely a scary situation over there. There are fires burning in other parts of California as well. Prayers would be appreciated.

Fun Questions and Answers

Hello ladies. I was tagged by TR at My Life 0utside the Box so here goes.


1.What is your middle name?   Sherimell

2. What was your favorite subject at school?  Home Ec-cooking

3. What is your favorite drink?  Hot tea in a pretty teacup

4. What is your favorite song at the moment?  O Come, O Come Emmanuel

5. What is your favorite food?  Chicken  and chocolate but not mixed together. lol

6. What is the last thing you bought?  Two books from Amazon by Dorcas Smucker

7. Favorite book of all time?  Vera's Journey by Judy Yoder

8. Favorite Color?  Blue

9. Do you have any pets?  Kirstie our adopted kitty

10. Favorite Perfume?  None but I love the smell of lavender or lemon essential oil

11. Favorite Holiday?  Easter

12. Are you married? Yes to Tim for 24 years

13. Have you ever been out of the country, if so how many times?  I believe twice. To Mexico and Baja California

 14. Do you speak any other language? No. I tried to learn Japanese in high school but couldn't get it

15. How many siblings do you have? four sisters and one brother

16. What is your favorite shop?  Etsy Shop- Rose Petal Blessings.  Offline I love Dollar Tree

17. Favorite restaurant? Cracker Barrel

18. When was the last time you cried?  On Thanksgiving

19. Favorite Blog?: Oh I don't have a fave

20. Favorite Movie? Harvey(the original with James Stewart)

21. Favorite TV shows?  We don't have cable  TV but I like to watch When Calls the Heart on Netflix

22. PC or Mac?    PC

23. What phone do you have? LG of some sort

24. How tall are you?  5 feet One inch(I'm glad they didn't ask how much I weigh!)

25. Can you cook?  Yes and I love it!

26. Do you have children? Yes three daughters

And the Winner Is....

Cheryl from Homespun Devotions! Congratulations! Cheryl I will be contacting you via email to get mailing information.
Thanks to everyone who entered. I'm thinking of doing another giveaway but we will see.
Have a wonderful day my friends!

Fun Christmas Present Shopping Idea and Giveaway Deadline

When my girls were little they got to go Christmas shopping from my friend's car. She had lots of items that she was going to take to the thrift store but she would stop by our house first. She would have the girls go to her car, supply them with gift bags and they got to "shop" for my husband and I and for each other. It was such a fun activity for them and they didn't care if they weren't brand new. I still have all the gifts the girls gave me such as aprons and a tea set.

Perhaps you know a family who could benefit from such a fun activity?  

I will be annoucing the winner of the bookmark  and coloring pencils tomorrow morning so if you want to enter the drawing please let me know. See my post from Monday for details about the bookmark.

Have a great day my friends!

Avoiding Being Ripped Off Part 2

Shopping online is convenient and and it definitely better than spending hours in a store but we need to be careful.
1. Always make make sure you sure you shop at familiar sites.
2. Always check for the padlock and make sure you see https in the I guess you call it an address window.
3. Use a strong password for setting up your account. I recommend using one that uses a combination of caps and lowerecase letters, numbers and symbols in ramdom order.

Shopping in stores
1. Never, ever leave your purse or handbag unattended while shopping. I can't tell you the number of women I've seen walking away from their carts to get something a few feet from their carts. Thieves are counting on us not paying attention to our carts. I usually snap my purse to the cart but its better to just keep your purse on your shoulder.

2. Most stores now have chip machines which I really don't like. They are supposed to be more secure.  The problem is when you insert your card part of your number is still showing. What I do is I hold my wallet over my card. Not to where it's touching just sort of hovering so you don't accidently cancel your transaction by bumping your card.
Immediately after the machine tells you to remove your card, put it away! Don't have a conversation with the checker while still holding your card. I'm actually guilty of this.

3. Don't leave your purchases in plain sight in your car. At my old church in CA a car was broken into and gifts were stolen.


 Again I know I'm forgetting something but I hope I my ideas will help us all not become  victims. Some of my ideas are probably no brainers but it's so easy to get distracted and forget.
Enjoy your shopping and stay safe!