I'm so thrilled to share with you my family's Christmas pictures that we just received today.  These holiday photos turned out much better than we had originally thought and will be used in our annual Christmas Card.  Since I don't have all of your addresses, consider these holiday images a virtual Christmas card from my family to yours!  Happy holidays!

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It's the question every couple asks themselves at some point and time:  "How and when do you decide your family is complete?"  It's a very personal question that couldn't be more important, for it defines absolutely every event that follows afterwards.

It's funny that I've been asked to write about this question, for Michael and I have just had "the talk" a few weeks prior.  Riley has just turned three years old and my husband has just turned thirty-six.  We realize that if we are wanting another baby, we will definitely need to start pointing our thoughts and energies in that direction very soon.  I'm thirty-five myself and as a Genetics major, I'm all too aware of the increased risks of having a baby in your later thirties to early forties.

Michael and I have been kicking this question around in the back of our thoughts and our conversations basically since Riley was born.  When we decided to begin trying for Riley, it was such a wonderful time!  We were so excited to become parents and actually create a life that would be an awesome little blend of the both of us.  After one whole month of trying, we were pregnant and everything was falling quickly into place.  Our finances worked themselves out perfectly and I was able to stay at home to raise Riley.  Since Michael and I had always planned on having at least one child, our home was plenty big and we lived in a terrific neighborhood for raising children.  I couldn't have been more thrilled to be a mom and Riley has been one of the absolute best things that has ever happened to me.

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In my opinion, there is no greater objective in life, if you want to truly be happy and find fulfillment, than to treat others with loving kindness.  There are a million ways to say it much more eloquently than I just have.  These are my three favorite quotes that I strive hard to remember each day:

• "Kindness can become its own motive.  We are made kind by being kind."        --Eric Hoffer
• "If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.  If you want to be happy, practice compassion."        --The Dalai Lama
• "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.  But I tell you, do not resist an evil person.  If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.  And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.  If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.  Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you."        --Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:38-42)

Now I'm sure we all realize that showing loving kindness to our fellow neighbor is sometimes easy, but at other times, can be a downright battle within ourselves.  When I was younger, I used to pop off at the mouth regularly to those that happened to offend, but I've since come to realize that for every verbal dagger I threw at someone else, my own peace-of-mind was upset even further.  Since personal peace is a goal I wish to attain each day, I've learned that it is always better to bite my own tongue and smile in the face of confrontation, instead of delving head-first into it.

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Now that October has come and gone, and the NFL football players have removed their choice articles of  pink clothing, a lot of people forget about the cause of breast cancer.  Instead, they will again acknowledge its presence when breast cancer awareness month rolls around again next year.  Meanwhile, wonderful men and women around the globe continue to succumb to this illness.  Here are some very real and alarming statistics regarding breast cancer:

Women in the United States get breast cancer more than any other type of cancer except for skin cancer.  It is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer death in women.

Each year it is estimated that nearly 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 40,000 will die.  Approximately 1,700 men will also be diagnosed with breast cancer and 450 will die each year.  The evaluation of men with breast masses is similar to that in women, including mammography.

Breast cancer has touched my family's life deeply, for my mother-in-law, Jannell Cleaver, died from this illness back in 2003.  Because cancer took away Michael's mother so soon, she never had the chance to see my husband and I get married, visit us in our first home we bought together or ever meet her wonderful granddaughter.  In order to do my part to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Passionately Pink for the Cure charity, I've joined forces with the Scholastic Parent & Child Passionately Pink for the Cure team.  Remember, you still have until December 31st, 2011 to WIN ONE OF TWO $100 AMEX GIFT CARDS!

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