In the face of hardships, a Lake Mary mom and her two sons share their joyful experience being part of the Lake Mary Police Department's Shop With a Cop program for children in need this holiday season.

The holidays are here- and chances are you have family coming into town. Skip cooking and cleaning for a night and take them to Fred's Market Restaurant for a special taste of farm-to-plate freshness. Enjoy fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn bread, and all of your other southern comfort favorites.

Check out these three fantastic holiday specials from Matthew Michael’s Aveda Salon in Altamonte Springs exclusively for our readers!

Today on the Lifeline, our fit and fabulous art director Heather Loomis shares how fun it was to be her niece's running buddy with a great program called Girls on The Run!

Hundreds of Seminole County Public School students recently participated in a drug free contest featuring essays and art work. One of our favorite young people, Faith Hayden, was the winner of the the 7th grade essay contest. We loved her essay so much, we thought we would share it with you. Faith, who is a student at Millennium Middle School, was recognized at an awards ceremony, along with the other winners. She also received a $100 gift card to Target!

Looking for something to do with the kids during their school break? We've got one day covered!

Check out the holiday events this week happening across Seminole County!

Last issue, we helped you get in the giving spirit early by sharing what local nonprofits need in the months before holiday giving begins in earnest. Now, the green-and-red rubber is meeting the road, and it's time to help our local charities make the holidays merry for neighbors in need. From serving meals to sponsoring a wish list for a child in foster care, there are dozens of ways, both big and small, that you can make a difference.

I got married 14 years ago. At that time I was tiny. I was a size zero (I even had my wedding dress taken in!) and my ring size was small (5½) – so small that our jeweler didn’t make the wedding ring we wanted in my size. To get around this, we had to order my husband’s ring and have a jeweler make mine using his as a pattern. We thought that was symbolic, and pretty neat.

Today on the Lifeline, Michael Kramer writes about adventures he had with his family and two Presidents of the United States, and how a coincidence turned into a treasure hunt with an incredible reward.

Check out the holiday events this week happening across Seminole County!

Lake Mary Life Magazine is giving away 4 free tickets to Orlando Shakespeare's production of Every Christmas Story Ever Told. To win, just comment below with your favorite Christmas movie. We'll draw a winner on Wednesday. Good luck!

LML's art director Heather Loomis and associate editor Georgia Fojo share their experience of being teachers for a day at Wicklow Elementary School's Teach-In.

The holidays have arrived in Lake Mary and that means the city’s spectacular annual light display in Central Park is twinkling nightly! It also means that the calendar will be filling up quickly with school, work and family events. But before the holiday hysteria sets in, take a moment this weekend to celebrate the merry and bright as you kick off the season during these festive (and free) events taking place in Lake Mary and around Seminole County.