I love Christmas. I love it because people act differently. They act differently for many reasons but for the most part they try harder to smile and try to love more deeply.

This Christmas feels a little different. Actually, it feels a lot different. This may be my last Christmas or at least the last Christmas that I am able to fully participate, so it is up to me to help set the atmosphere in our home. Today I feel emotionally strong and ready to face my last Christmas with as much happiness and appreciation as I can. Thanks to all of you, my family and I are on an unbelievable journey of love.

These past 11 months have challenged me and my family more than I thought possible. But oddly, I’ve been able to find meaning through my suffering just like my friend Nancy Nolan Moody did after losing her husband Kevin in July of 2009 to pancreatic cancer. After my diagnosis, Nancy, my very wise and beautiful friend, wrote me a letter.

“I feel you and your family are on a journey of love that will have previously been unknown to all of you. There is magic and mystery and joy in nearly everything we experience. Just as you have already begun to feel it, this journey will have that positive side too.”

Today I hope we can all face our Christmas journey with love, magic, mystery and joy.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Live simple, love like crazy.

The Lambert Family