So sorry about that mgran! That's awful, we have one on our front door. The one on our sliding door is actually right inside, (our door is inside out there's no room) I know its supposed to be on the outside but maybe you could cheat a little for vandals sake?

SunAngel, I'll echo what mgran said. When we lose people on/around holidays it makes the holidays so difficult. For me, I started to replace the sad feelings with good memories. I lost someone very dear to me on Thanksgiving 2002. Its taken a while, but the pain has eased off since I have started new traditions, and allowing myself to enjoy the family and friends still with me. I set aside a "mourning time" only about 30 minutes, where I take my time to be in silence, honor him, and respect his absence. Having that time has made it easy to be happy for the rest of the holiday.