Monday, December 26, 2011
Paradise found on a Mountain Top...
The weather was just right - not too warm not too cold the sky was overcasted as we prepare for a snow system to make its way to hopefully fingers cross dump heaps of the fuffy white stuff. With family in town we got the gear on to hit the slopes for a fun day of skiing. I was pretty exciting to wear my new thermal under armor gear from my very kind parents and I am still breaking in a new ski jacket - i feel kind of like a rockstar I am not gonna lie and a tad bit spoiled. There's just something about this place - WHITEFISH it just seems a bit magical here. Life just seems so simple here so at ease. Things just come together and you seem to always see the big picture. I have come to realize that my soul can just breath here I can just be. The smiles seem to be bigger the laughs seem to be louder. For its in the stillness of the view around you and having crisp pure air fill your lungs that reminds you - you are truly in PARADISE. I knew from the moment I arrived here that I was home....And it brings me much joy knowing that my friends and family find this place just as magical and they see it as a winter paradise in much of the same way that I do. It is just a joy to share this place this place that my soul calls home with the people I love the mose in this world. Its the best gift I can think of to have people come here and recharge their souls to have time to see life thru simple eyes. Because life is truly just different here. Whitefish...my winter paradise that I have fallen madly and utterly in love with... its good to be home - who would have thought I would have found paradise on a mountain top.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Merry Christmas from the mountains of Whitefish Montana. I hope this holiday season brings you much love joy and happiness.May you find the blessings in the simple things in life and be grateful for those everyday things and people in your life. I know that my family will all be gathering today eating too much drinking too much and laughing well never too much...To me the true meaning of Christmas is just being with those you love and care about... Its about family love and giving - whether its giving of a gift or just of your time and love...over my 30 years I have been blessed to live a life that is surrounded by family and what a joy it is to have so much fun with the crazy people I call my family. They are loud - its mostly chaos but man am I grateful. Knowing that somewhere more than one or two I know are having their first christmas of the passing of someone they love and many are having their 5th 10th 25th christmas without their dad their wife their child...we sometimes get caught up with the excitement of the season that we often forget about the true meaning on christmas. Not that we take for granted that these people will always be in our life because well we can't walk around thinking in that matter but life can change in a heartbeat in the blink of an eye...So I am utterly grateful and beyond blessed to have had some many christmases so many everyday life moments with family and friends. My life has been filled with smiles laughter joy and love- those I love have colored my world and have impacted my life in ways that I will never be able to explain or describe. I have been changed all for the better I am simply more because of these people....how did I get lucky enough to be able to live such a life - to have such a life - to have such people that I will never know. And I am glad I will never have to live such a life without.... So this holiday season I hope you take time to stop and see such blessings in your life... MERRY CHRISTMAS
Life is Good
I have never been one who has be ungrateful for the things she has the place I live or the people that are in my life. So when I moved to Whitefish some 5 going on 6 years ago I knew that I would likely be giving up spending and celebrating the holidays with my family. For those of you who don't know me I come for a huge extended family on my Mom's side and a family that is growing and growing on my Dad's side and the holidays are a time we all get together and have family time - a time that I truly cherish and is best part of Christmas if you ask me. Over the years of missing out on these family gatherings I always found comfort knowing that somewhere they were all gathering somewhere the traditions that I know that make a Koch or Goldmann Christmas-Holiday gathering were taking place. Even as I was hundreds of miles away I found happiness because they were together. But this Christmas I got a piece of that family christmas again. My cousins Travis Jill Sabrina Sadey Sharlotte and Luke came to Whitefish... and I have realized something major last night that I have been focusing so much on the glass half full when it came to missing out on the holidays that I truly forgot how great it was to spend the holidays with family....just how much I have missed it. My christmas gift this year came in the form of my family(part of it any ways) being with me to share in everything that is Christmas.
Too add to that joy it was a christmas with kids - which always makes the holidays more magical. Sharlotte who is 2 the day was spent learning on to ski with her Moo How (her godmother who happens to be me)...after we went down the bunny hill a couple of times she had a enough on Moo How's Mountain and wanted a chip break...so chips it was just her and me...While eating chips I asked Shar what did you ask from Santa? She replied... a piece of gum....later that night we attended the mountain's santa parade that ended in Santa handing out gifts to the kids by calling out their name...you can imagine how exciting it is to get a gift from Santa on Christmas Eve....well the Koch's were called and Shar and her siblings got their gifts...we left Shar open the gift right there and man oh man her facial expression was something when she oped up that gift and found gum...."OH MY GOSH GUM!!" Santa brought her just what she wanted. Later that night a gift bigger then her was given from her Moo How - she opened it up and that was it....her attention was focused only on playing with her zoo refusing to open up the mound of gift that awaited for her and even missing out on eating christmas dinner because she just was having so much fun. Lots of laughs and smiles were had while we took in christmas eve together. Luke the almost one year old was so thrilled to have boy toys no more playing with girlie toys that were once his sisters...oh course Shar had to play with and when I say play with I mean steal his dump truck but we fixed that issue by giving her my gift to open. We topped the night off by watching Its a Wonderful Life. Oh and it snowed on the mountain so it truly was a white and merry christmas.
As the night ended with everyone gathered at my place tucked up in the mountains I couldn't help but smile part of my family gave up the traditiona family christmas we are so use to having to spend it in whitefish with me...I realize the gift that just is and was to them to give to me. And how grateful I am to have them here.I am not sure what I ever did to be blessed to have such people in my life and to call those people family. So my place is an utter mess stuff everwhere its loud its noise clothes tossed everywhere a kid crying someone yelling something getting spilled one too many on the couch food on all the countertops toilet paper constantly having to be put on the roll a line for the bathroom and yet its the happiest I have ever been to have FAMILY with me for the Holidays....I am so grateful for the mess it means they are here. I know the blessing it is to have such family and I know what its like to spend years without family on Christmas...so I can only hope the mess gets bigger and bigger and more fun is had more laughs are shared more memories are created....LIFE is GOOD.
Too add to that joy it was a christmas with kids - which always makes the holidays more magical. Sharlotte who is 2 the day was spent learning on to ski with her Moo How (her godmother who happens to be me)...after we went down the bunny hill a couple of times she had a enough on Moo How's Mountain and wanted a chip break...so chips it was just her and me...While eating chips I asked Shar what did you ask from Santa? She replied... a piece of gum....later that night we attended the mountain's santa parade that ended in Santa handing out gifts to the kids by calling out their name...you can imagine how exciting it is to get a gift from Santa on Christmas Eve....well the Koch's were called and Shar and her siblings got their gifts...we left Shar open the gift right there and man oh man her facial expression was something when she oped up that gift and found gum...."OH MY GOSH GUM!!" Santa brought her just what she wanted. Later that night a gift bigger then her was given from her Moo How - she opened it up and that was it....her attention was focused only on playing with her zoo refusing to open up the mound of gift that awaited for her and even missing out on eating christmas dinner because she just was having so much fun. Lots of laughs and smiles were had while we took in christmas eve together. Luke the almost one year old was so thrilled to have boy toys no more playing with girlie toys that were once his sisters...oh course Shar had to play with and when I say play with I mean steal his dump truck but we fixed that issue by giving her my gift to open. We topped the night off by watching Its a Wonderful Life. Oh and it snowed on the mountain so it truly was a white and merry christmas.
As the night ended with everyone gathered at my place tucked up in the mountains I couldn't help but smile part of my family gave up the traditiona family christmas we are so use to having to spend it in whitefish with me...I realize the gift that just is and was to them to give to me. And how grateful I am to have them here.I am not sure what I ever did to be blessed to have such people in my life and to call those people family. So my place is an utter mess stuff everwhere its loud its noise clothes tossed everywhere a kid crying someone yelling something getting spilled one too many on the couch food on all the countertops toilet paper constantly having to be put on the roll a line for the bathroom and yet its the happiest I have ever been to have FAMILY with me for the Holidays....I am so grateful for the mess it means they are here. I know the blessing it is to have such family and I know what its like to spend years without family on Christmas...so I can only hope the mess gets bigger and bigger and more fun is had more laughs are shared more memories are created....LIFE is GOOD.
Monday, December 12, 2011
PRAY FOR SNOW
The stockings are hung CHECK the garland up CHECK the ornements on the tree CHECK christmas tunes playing softly in the back ground CHECK home smelling of pine and spice CHECK watching tv be with only christmas lights on CHECK...walking in a winter wonderland with snow all around....um.... uncheck....OK whats up Santa... did you give Jack Frost the winter off?? Because up here on the mountains we barely have the white stuff... and well I am not liking it.....so if you could please full fill this wish by this week so i can CHECK this off the list and be ready for Christmas that would be great. .... DeAr sANta pleez mAke it nsow....Love little shelley... ps...if you dont NO COOKIes for you!! pps i even wrote it like i was five in hopes it comes true
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Thankful in November
23rd - for my mom's fighting spirit and to simply have her here Stage 4 cancer is quite a scary thing to hear and know your mom has but she's a fight and her will to live is quite the life lesson. Thank you Mom for never giving up the fight.
24th - for a family to be a part of and being able to gather with that family for Thanksgiving. To have people to share this holiday with as well as for the family that isn't here in person today.
25th - I am thankful for employment that allows and supports my photography business so I can actually make money and not go into extreme debt doing the thing I love most.
26th - for my life's journey to lead me to Whitefish Mt, what an amazing place that little skiing town is. To have paradise right out my door to be living breathing and having fun in God's country is quite the blessing. People all over the world come to Whitefish and fall in love with the Last Great Place and I am one of the lucky to call this HOME.
27th - for the life that I have I know so many go without so many not having enough its a life that I have never known but I know is out there. People who are jobless homeless foodless. I have never known what it takes to live such a life and the things you have to do to simply live and stay alive during such trying times.
28th - during this uncertain time I am thankful for employment to have a paycheck.
29th - to simply love to recieve love and to give of that love...loving someone truly loving them is quite the thing to be thankful for. it truly is!
30th - to have such a life that I do. To have it filled with people that bring laughter smiles memories faith hope strength support joy and love into my life whether these people are always by my side hardly by my side or its been years since they have been by my side. Thankful in November has come to an end but I have come to realize its an eye opener if you find reasons everyday 365 days out of the years to be thankful....because I believe its a thankful life that leads to be a happy life.
24th - for a family to be a part of and being able to gather with that family for Thanksgiving. To have people to share this holiday with as well as for the family that isn't here in person today.
25th - I am thankful for employment that allows and supports my photography business so I can actually make money and not go into extreme debt doing the thing I love most.
26th - for my life's journey to lead me to Whitefish Mt, what an amazing place that little skiing town is. To have paradise right out my door to be living breathing and having fun in God's country is quite the blessing. People all over the world come to Whitefish and fall in love with the Last Great Place and I am one of the lucky to call this HOME.
27th - for the life that I have I know so many go without so many not having enough its a life that I have never known but I know is out there. People who are jobless homeless foodless. I have never known what it takes to live such a life and the things you have to do to simply live and stay alive during such trying times.
28th - during this uncertain time I am thankful for employment to have a paycheck.
29th - to simply love to recieve love and to give of that love...loving someone truly loving them is quite the thing to be thankful for. it truly is!
30th - to have such a life that I do. To have it filled with people that bring laughter smiles memories faith hope strength support joy and love into my life whether these people are always by my side hardly by my side or its been years since they have been by my side. Thankful in November has come to an end but I have come to realize its an eye opener if you find reasons everyday 365 days out of the years to be thankful....because I believe its a thankful life that leads to be a happy life.
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