Love.

WARNING: Much sappiness here.
I've spent much of the last few days ruminating over the violence we can do with our words, and the violence people actually carry out against one another, and that's been kind of depressing. However, I can't look around my apartment/office without seeing signs of all the love in my life, and that's awesome!  There are even more signs of this because it's Christmas time.  Every morning I turn on my computer and Christmas lights at the same time, and I think that has been the key to my productivity lately.  Just look at the happy stuff I can find on my tree:

This is probably my favorite ornament ever.  Every year my parents give me a bear-themed ornament.  I've got lots of polar bear ornaments, as well as some black bears, stuffed bears, wooden bears and crystal bears.  But this painted ceramic bear has long been my favorite.  It's difficult to pin down why, I think it might go back to fond memories of decorating my parents house during the holidays and getting so excited to pull out the ceramics my mom had painted.  I love the way they look and sound and feel.  Especially the nativity set, I sure hope that's still around somewhere.  This ornament seems to represent all my happy Christmas memories.

I love this ornament, too.  It's something my grandparents got from Israel, that's really the only detail I know about it.  More importantly, it reminds me of my grandparents and how they loved me.  In fact, whenever someone calls me Rebekah, rather than Becka, I think of my Grandma Fisher.  Usually about how she would prefer me to have bangs and go by my full given name, but I can see that those desires come from a place of love.  As time passes, my dad's parents died when I was 8 and my mom's mom died when I was 15, it seems easier and more important to look back on all the time they shared with us and see how much they shared their love for me and my family.

I know, picture of a picture in a frame.  But, this particular picture, especially in its place on my wall, brings me exceptional joy.  I just love these kids, they're so funny and affectionate (when they want to be).  And this might have been the last time the three of them cooperated in a picture, but that makes me happy too.

Turn out, Brent is an excellent present-wrapper.  In particular, he is gifted at incorporating electrical tape not only as an adhesive, but as gift-decoration.  I usually don't save wrapping paper, but I had to pull this off a present he gave me because it just makes me so happy every time I look at it.  So happy, in fact, that I've taped it to my living room wall so I can be happy all the time.

No picture here, because it's really hard to take pictures of birds through windows....

I really am psyched that it snowed.  I've spent the last few weeks wondering if my decision to buy a ski pass this season would prove a bad idea.  But the local resort will actually be opening this week and snow makes everything better (except driving, which Phyllis the Forester can handle just fine).  Also, whenever there is a storm, black-capped chickadees and dark-eyed juncos visit my bird feeders, and I dare anyone to watch a chickadee feed in their front yard and not smile.

So that's it, I live a happy, sappy life.  Complete with camera and blog.