Christmas is finally over

Thank you for your wonderful comments!
 I debated leaving my Christmas tree up all year, seriously wanted to, but for some reason, my cat has decided he should climb it! My cat is three years old already, and I've never had a problem with him and the tree, don't know what his excitement was with it this year, but alas, it had to come down. I was so sad to see it go. I think the white lights, against my dark walls, add such a feeling of serenity to my living room. This year, maybe I will put it up earlier, and let it stay up longer. I guess it all depends on the travel schedule.
As I am writing this, my youngest son and I are beginning to settle in to our "home away from home." We drove for 13 hours today, from Indiana to South Carolina. It was a pretty drive, through mountains, snow still sitting on the trees. And I love traveling to new states with him, showing him things he's never seen before. Last year in our travels, he saw cotton growing in the fields of Alabama, tumbleweeds in Oklahoma and cactus taller than him in Arizona. Today we saw a flock of wild turkeys in the field. I'm hoping while we're in this area, we'll get out to Myrtle Beach. Even though we've been in Florida the past two Thanksgivings, we never got out to the beach, gotta make sure we do that with this trip. We have to find something to do on the weekends other than our schoolwork! He's 17, growing up, yet he's still like a little child, enjoying seeing things in real life, that other people only get to read about. I love having this opportunity with him!
I appreciate your kind works for my oldest son. I am so proud of his service, as well as my husband's many years as a soldier. Please keep all of our military in your prayers.
I'd like to finish this post with a picture that I don't see I have ever posted. I finished a cross stitch project while we were traveling over Thanksgiving, but I never showed it here. I have a stack of cross stitch magazines I have collected for many years, with patterns I really hope to work some day. This is the first of many I hope to get done:

This piece was designed by Diane Williams, before Little House Needleworks was created. I admire her work, and hope to complete many more. Hopefully, my project will be framed and hanging on my walls before fall!
I guess that is enough for today, thank you for visiting with me!