A lot of you have asked what we have been up to and have had a bunch of homeschooling questions.  I will have to get to answering them another day. 

Today, I wanted to keep it simple.  A friend of mine posted this on Facebook and I thought it was a perfect thing to share.

Here is my wish for all of you this year...
(And if any of you can find who originally wrote this, do let me know!)

"Surround yourself with people who make you happy.  People who make you laugh, who help you when you're in need.  People who would never take advantage of you.  People who genuinely care.  They are the ones worth keeping in your life.  Everyone else is just passing through."

If you can do what it says above then your contentment will radiate and make you one of those people described above. 
You in turn will make others happy. 
You will then never take advantage of others; even inadvertently. 
You will then be someone who genuinely cares.

.... And all of this will happen not because it was contrived but because that is who you are and how you live.

I know people love to say treat others as you want to be treated but sometimes that really doesn't work.  That has been a tough lesson for me to learn.  If you get stuck knowing you didn't deserve to be treated a certain way because you treated someone else better, then you are owning someone else's issue.  You make yourself a victim. 

What I have learned is that if you are truly happy then people who don't treat you well turn out to be nothing more than a blip on the radar.  Even if they upset you, it's momentary.  Your default will be to be happy :-)  It all starts with gratitude for the people that do make your life richer through their presence.  Being aware of them and thankful for them is where it all starts.

I wish you all a safe and Happy New Year!!

I have a very special offer that I want to share with all of my blog followers:  For the next twelve days, I am offering my book at a discount!  (If you aren't sure which book I am talking about, and the story behind it, you can visit my blog titled The Results of Our Herbal Learning from a year ago.)  You can get my book for only $9.95 which will be signed by me and shipped for free!!  I am also offering free gift wrap if you want to ship it directly to friends and family!  To order, please visit The Herbal Beverage Book site.  Happy Holidays!!