Luminaries for 2011 Relay for Life

This year I did something new---hand-decorated the luminaries I ordered. (Not all of them are pictured, but here are most of them!) I found it incredibly emotional and therapeutic to make these. As I stamped the handprints of my boys' onto the luminary, I became sad that my sweet mother has never held the hands of these sweet boys. It's easy to think of the loss and what we DON'T have with her being gone. But she gave us so much. She taught me how to love. She taught me about giving and the importance of traditions. I'm going to keep up this tradition, and will start being able to use this tradition as a way to remember these precious family members and friends...and all that they have given us. I hope that in this process, I will teach my boys, too, as my mother taught me.