Time to Start Your New Memory Journal

Today, I spent several hours putting away Christmas decorations which were taken down last night but waited to be boxed today. Don and I had a time getting the tree back into the attic without Mark's help but we made it! Now, all we need to do is vacuum and straighten up a bit more.

My friend, Elsie, and I drove 20 miles to the nearest Target to exchange some Christmas gifts; however, we found nothing similar to what we had, so we decided to buy "Jelly Belly" jelly beans instead! Actually, I did buy a Rubbermaid 3-drawer organizer to keep some of my scrapbooking things in, hopefully in a more organized fashion! All I have to do now is organize the organizer! I think one of my New Year's resolutions should be to become more organized, be neater, and work on my scrapbooks more routinely. I just have so much to do...well, so much fun to have is more like it!

Are you ready for the New Year? I am now almost there! I wish for you a fun-filled holiday, one that will fill a page or two in your memory for 2006!

What are you planning for New Year's Eve?

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. I wonder how many folks go to bed and pay no attention to the falling ball. What are your plans? As for Don and me, we have always made a point to bring in the new year. In fact, we "old folks" have been having a small get-together at our home since 1986. It started out as parents of our church's youth group members when we called ourselves the "sweet 16" (I think Kendra used to call us something like the "senior 16" or the "old 16"). We would meet at our house, play games, exchange gag gifts, and just laugh and have a grand time until the clock struck 12. After we joined in the countdown, we would all hug, drink about 10 swallows of champagne, then the men would begin cooking a fabulous breakfast consisting of bacon, eggs, toast, grits, biscuits, juice, coffee and cinnamon rolls. Each man would begin the same chore every year! About 1:00 AM, when breakfast was almost ready, all of our children and their friends would invade the house and join in the breakfast. Those were great times!

Some of our group stopped coming and began babysitting their grandchildren (or maybe they think they "aged out"). Our children got married, often going to their own parties but by 1994, they had stopped coming. At any rate, many of us have continued to get together each year, this year making the 20th, we think. We still enjoy laughing, playing games, watching the countdown, and taking just a little champagne. This year, since New Year's Eve is on Sunday and we want everyone to go to church, we have decided to have a dinner meal instead, then enjoy snacks the rest of the evening and early morning. (Our meal will consist of roast beef, beans, potato casserole, 7-layer salad, rolls, chocolate pie and pecan pie.) Don says we are all getting older and probably should go to bed earlier than 3:00 or 4:00 am as we have been doing in the past. I'll let you know how we like this way later. What would be your suggestion: breakfast or dinner?

I hope you have a wonderful New Year.

Our Christmas Past

My family and I had a great Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Everyone was well and happy. Even our granddaughter, Whitney, who had 4 wisdom teeth cut out had no problems eating all the turkey, ham and other fixings. Kendra and her family could not be here because they had to go to Mark's parents' home for their Christmas, so we had a smaller meal before hitting the game room. Tonight, we played Scene It until almost midnight. Finally, they disappeared into their respective sleeping quarters so that Santa could arrive without interference (there were several distractions though by some of the "goofies"; this family is full of "cut-ups"!)

We went to church on Christmas morning and sat as a family filling more than one pew (this was the best part of the day for me!). When we returned home, we finished making our our huge Christmas lunch. The grandbabies had to go home and take their naps as soon as we finished eating. Because my son-in-law had to leave early, he opened all his presents and we enjoyed watching him. After the naps, we began opening our gifts from each other, took a break for snacks (there are a lot of us, a lot of gifts to open, and a lot of nonsense going on during this time), then continued opening. By the time we finished, it was time for dinner which consisted of left-overs and "everyone on his or her own". Then, it was game time! This year, it was Scene It II. My team lost 2 and won 2 rounds. They had not had enough of games so we played 2 rounds of Scattergories, a game from a few years back. (I won one and lost one). About midnight, everyone decided they had had enough. So, now the fun has ended but are the memories shining brightly!! I cannot think of Christmas without thinking a of their many antics! I am so thankful for all of "Christmases Past!" I hope yours was as much fun as mine!!

Bum...Bum...Bum...Here it Comes! 2006!

Can you believe that Christmas has now come and gone! It seems that I just put gifts under the tree and now I must start taking it down tomorrow! Where does time go? I like the way our pastor put it Christmas morning. He said that it is like riding a train and going by the telephone poles along the way: zip...zip...zip. That is the truth of it. When I was young, I gave no thought to time other than its standing still between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Now, I know what my parents must have been feeling. We just cannot spend enough time with our loved ones; we can't give them enough of our love or even material gifts. If I could go back in years to when our 4 children were smaller, I would give them so much more of my time and less to my profession. I worked hard and spent many long hours away from them; I think I could have condensed some of that work and planned better use of my time so that I could have given them more. It's a known fact that I cannot turn back time, but I can encourage any younger readers to spend as much time with your family as possible, give them as many hugs as they will allow, and tell them how much you care for them. We did hug and tell one another that we loved them, and we did spend a lot of time together, and we had a lot of quality time at meals, traveling across country, etc., but we could have done much better. Now, when we talk on the phone, we end the conversations with those precious words, "I love you". As the new year quickly approaches, I pray that all of us can be more loving, more forgiving, and more open with our Christian faith. Along with my plan to try once again to lose weight, I add these things to my new year's resolution. What are you resolving for 2006?

Santa has been again!!

It's now 12:24 AM, December 25, 2005, and I wanted to be the first to wish you a very Merry Christmas from our house to yours! I wish for you a most blessed day, one filled with only happiness, enjoyment, good food, good company, and, most of all, God's presence.

Santa just left our house about 15 minutes ago but he didn't tell me where he was going next. All I know is that he has many stops to make before daylight comes. Since he kept me up so late and I can still hear a couple of "grown (?) young ladies laughing, I thought I may as well blog before turning in for a few hours. Our house has 6 additional people here tonight and 4 next door, so tomorrow holds many fun hours for us. We have spent the hours last night building new memories and we will continue into the next chapter after church today. I pray that you, too, will be building many wonderful memories this weekend, that Santa will be extra good to you this year, and that God will bless you real "good"!
Good night...don't forget to say your prayers.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, DEAR FOLKS!

Who says you can't go home again?

It's almost Christmas Eve and I am still working to get ready for the big day. I had to stop today when our youngest son came in for the weekend and then our youngest daughter and her family arrived shortly thereafter. Then it was "feed the hungry" time. Now the house is quiet again since they are at a friend's home for a few hours. In a few more hours, our oldest daughter and her family will be arriving for the rest of the weekend. And then the fun begins! The house will not be the same because of their excitement. We truly enjoy having them here and look forward to this time of year, but the older we get, the sooner we treasure a little serenity (at least for a few hours, then we are ready to go again). We really hate to see them all go. I have heard grandparents say that they love to see them come but they look forward to seeing the tail lights as they drive away. We don't feel that way. I begin to miss them before they leave the driveway. I am so glad that at least one child lives close by and we can see her and her family on a regular basis. Wouldn't it be nice if all one's children would never leave the roost? Maybe, if we had not made it so easy to move away with so many inventions, people would stay closer to home. The old saying is that you can't go home again. I say that you can and encourage everyone to make that trip home some time in 2006 to spend time with family. Perhaps Christmas is not the best time to do that, but any time of the year can be Christmas to a waiting parent or other loved ones.

Getting into the spirits!!

In case you are wondering about these "spirits" I'm getting into, it's the Christmas spirit, the friendly spirit, the singing spirit, and the "glad to be a Christian" spirit! No, I've not finished wrapping presents yet because I haven't gotten that one gift bought yet; also, because I haven't wrapped any of Clay's and Livvy's yet. I just love looking at new toys in the house again, not that I don't have plenty here for them to play with but I like looking at the new ones! Actually, it makes me happier to put on my Christmas CDs and act childish again. Why not! The old saying is that you are only young once...NOT! My mind and soul is young again at this season especially!

I am so happy when I stop to think of all the many blessings God has bestowed upon me and mine. Have you stopped and thanked Him for giving you your children, your grandchildren, your spouse, other family and friends? How can one be sad with blessing such as these? I'm thankful. I hope you are too. If you are and you are happy, tell God. Try it, "Mikey", you'll like it!!

Smile when you say that!

I went to town today to pick up those last few gifts I needed to buy and as I walked into one store, a lady was sitting inside the foyer area and she smiled and said, "Merry Christmas and God bless you." I was a little shocked but I responded likewise. We were in the store at least 45 minutes or an hour and when we exited, the lady had moved outside the door; yet, she looked at us again, smiled and said "Merry Christmas and God bless you." I wondered later if she had been asked to leave the store since she was standing outside in the cold. She didn't ask for money or anything. I think she was just sharing her faith with others. I respect her and wish that more of us would be brave enough and would take the time to demonstrate our faith. Wouldn't God smile on us if all Christians would try something like this just one day out of the year?

News Alert! I have only ONE more gift to buy, one! Thank goodness for that because I am almost broke now! Today was payday so that means I can buy that last gift. Hurray! Don said he was not buying any more even if he is not finished and I think I am beginning to get into that mindset, too. Now, as soon as I finish wrapping everything, I can relax and enjoy the season a bit more. Speaking of wrapping, I need to get started right now. So, I'm going to turn on my stereo and dance around the card table as I wrap the presents!

Color My World Red and Green!

I just moved over to my blog from Kendra's and I, too, am very excited about Christmas! I love the season. It is so wonderful to see so many smiling faces and to hear all the friendly hello's and Merry Christmases. But, alas, I am now sad because I just listened to a report coming from some of the schools in Plano, Texas, and I just want to cry for those children (and adults, too)! It seems that a parent group is in charge of the functions that occur in the some of the schools and their idea of Christmas is ridiculous! Actually, to them it is now Winter parties in the classroom and there can be no red or green displayed in any way! The parents can bring reindeer cookies but they are not allowed to put a red nose on Rudolph!! All plates must be white! There can be no gifts with a religious note given to other students or teachers. To top it all off, a music teacher argued with a first grader that there is no Santa Claus and definitely no elves! Well, fine, to each his own, but to deflate a little child whose parents wanted the child to enjoy Santa Claus another year or two, I cannot fathom! Oh, and teachers cannot say the word, God. What is happening to my rights, your rights, the rights of your friends and neighbors? I am a retired public school employee and this behavior makes me sick!! My grandchildren are looking forward to Santa, to having presents, and to singing Christmas carols and hearing the Christmas Story! That is the right of my family! Don't mess with it, I say. How about you? Will you pray that folks will open their eyes and understand the real meaning of Christmas? Let me see the red and green decorations in stores; let me shake the packages neatly wrapped under the tree in their bright colors; let me hum along to "O Little Town of Bethlehem"; and, let me pray that my little town will never leave its traditions, that the red and green will always be present at this joyous season! Most of all, let us all remember Jesus, His birth, His resurrection, and our assurance of a happy future with Him in His glorious Kingdom. Thank God that I live in America and am free to proclaim His birth!

Bring out the red and green!!

Playing Catch-Up

Today has been a "catch-up" day for us: unpacking, washing, wrapping gifts, buying gifts, talking to old friends who called to see if we were home yet, etc. The most fun today, though, was while we were eating dinner, Kendra brought the grandchildren over for awhile. Clay wanted to put more presents under the tree and Livvy wanted to eat the pickles off my dinner plate. (She loves pickles more than any child I have ever seen. Thanks for the jars, Frannie!) Both children wanted to draw. Livvy said she was going to draw the biggest smiley face in the whole world, and she used the entire legal sheet to draw. She said, "Here's an eye; another eye; oh, and a big smile!" Her speech never ceases to amaze me! Her vocabulary is awesome. She wanted Kendra to make her a paper airplane, but not just any plane; she insisted that it be a rocket that could blast off.
There are only 5 more shopping days until Christmas! My "Catch-up" is going to have to be changed to "Speed-up" day if I finish everything in time. I get a call almost every day from someone who has thought of something else they could use. As I have mentioned earlier, I do give freely because that is my gift to myself: I love to see others get excited about their gifts. I wish I could give to all my blogging audience but I will have to be content with writing you a big MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Home Again, Home Again...

Even though you probably thought I didn't return from Charleston, SC, yesterday as I said that I would, actually we did return mid-afternoon. However, I was so tired from the trip and frustrated by all the things I knew I had to complete in a week's time, I failed to even turn on the computer! When I did pull up my email today, I was surprised to have 308 messages waiting for my return! Needless to say, a large part of the day was used just to read and respond to so many.
Our daughter, Marty, and her 2 daughters, Jessica and Whitney, surprised us with a visit yesterday. It seems that Whitney, who is a Jr at a nearby university, needed to move her things from the dorm to a sorority house so they came and spent last night with us. Jessica wanted to stay up all night and talk. At 11:00 PM, she went upstairs and found a game she wanted us to play. When her mom asked why she thought we needed to play a game, she said, "this house is the game-playing house and it wouldn't be the same if we didn't play one. " So, of course, we played "Oodles". Each Christmas I buy a new game to keep here and each Christmas, they have to play to the wee hours of the morning!! I usually play with them or at least stay up with them. There would be no sleeping anyway since they are constantly laughing. Throughout the year, when they come, usually someone picks out a game for everyone to play. (That's a good tradition, don't you think?)
Today is Don and my wedding anniversary: 38 years! I am proud of every one of them and hope that we will have many, many more together! We were so happy that we celebrated by taking our trip last week because today, neither of us really wanted to do anything but relax. Our trip to Charleston was great! We stayed at the Lodge Alley Inn which is right downtown on East Bay Street. I highly recommend it. Even though the place is over 200 years old, it is a charming, clean and nice place place to stay. We were given 2 free tours and a free steak meal at "SNOB", or "Somewhere Near the Beach" Restaurant (Great Food and great atmosphere). We walked down to the Coffee House several nights for a nightcap of cocoa and to listen to the Celtic band. Of course, we walked one block to the old Market Place and shopped (several trips were taken here). Weather was very nice but we did have some showers on Thursday. I highly recommend Charleston as a vacation spot with much to do and see.
I must also tell you that today is not only a special day for Don and me but there are others in my family who are celebrating today. Our daughter, Kendra, and her hubby, Mark, are celebrating their 11th anniversary today. (We were pleased when they chose to marry on our anniversary). HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, KENDRA AND MARK!!
My nephew, Rodney, aka "Dude", celebrated his birthday today, his 31st! I cannot believe that he is even old enough to be a daddy to a new little boy, Austin! Happy Birthday, Dude!
My sister's niece-in-law also celebrated her 40th birthday today. She is a real inspiration to everyone! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAMIE!
I hope you are more ready for Christmas than I! Now that I'm home, I have to get serious!! Wow, there are only 6 more shopping days!!
Thanks for returning to my site!

On the Road Again!

I'm almost afraid to tell you that I will be away from my computer for a week for fear that you will not come back to my site later. Don and I are on our way to Charleston, SC, until next Friday so my blog will not be updated until then. After trying to get a condo there for 5 years, we were finally told there was one available now and, even though this is a terrible time to be away from home, we feel that we may not get another chance to spend a week there any time soon; so, off we go! We both love the history and southern flavor of Charleston and are looking forward to a week of excitement. I hope you will check my blog again in a week.
Only 15 more shopping day until Christmas!

A Child's Yesterday

Today has felt cold enough to snow and I was disappointed there were no snowflakes falling because I do love the snow. You may be surprised to read that about me since we spend 8 weeks in south Florida. That's one reason that I hate to be gone during Feb and the first of March. Usually, if there is any snow, it will appear during that time. One year, we did return in February for 2 weeks and we barely parked in our driveway when the snow started falling! We were tired and didn't unpack or put the motorcoach in the garage. The next morning, needless to say, we were unable to move it! That was a fun time, though. I remember when I was a child, my friend, Frannie, and my sister and brother would love to play in the snow, even when there was only a light cover. We would "try" to throw snowballs or make snowmen but we weren't very good at it.
At Christmas, we didn't get a lot of toys, only 2 each usually, but we could really be quite innovative. I remember making up plays and performing for each other. At that time, we had no furniture in an upstairs room so we would string a line across the room and hang quilts or blankets in it for our curtain. For hours, we could entertain ourselves. If the weather was not too cold, we would use our dad's lawn mower that was self-propelled, hook a wagon to it, and ride all over the place! Sometimes, we would make our wagons into covered wagons, pull them into a circle and pretend to sleep awhile before hitting the trail once again! We also had a playhouse that we loved to arrange and rearrange our "furniture". Then we would go to Frannie's and arrange hers the same way (until the next day). We rode stick horses, had our "playhouses" in trees, planned funerals for our pets, and our parents never had to worry about someone kidnapping us when we were constantly going from our house to the neighbors'! Even then, we were "doing our own thing". Perhaps I will recall other fun things that we used to do in a future blog. Hope you will come back and let me hear from you.

Lest We Forget

Do you know what today represents? December 7? It seems that our local newspaper does not recall. What a shame that so few people know that today is Pearl Harbor Day. I wonder if they even know what that means. If you ever visit the shrine in Honolulu, HI, you will never forget the awesome reverence that surrounds you. A solemn group of tourists quietly whisper to each other, tiptoe around to read the names of those who lost their lives, or to gaze down into the water at the remains of the USS Arizona. Over 2000 service people were lost that day and many of our battleships were destroyed. Not so many were lost that day in 1941 as in the Twin Towers; yet, one loss of life for our country is too many. Why can't we all live in harmony with one another? The Bible answers that for us and now is a good time to read the Word.
We have so much for which to be proud in America and I, for one, am grateful for all who have given their lives that we might have freedom today. I'm glad that I can celebrate the real meaning of Christmas with my family and friends, aren't you?

Memories Riding on Wheels

It is raining pretty hard here today and I really need to be out shopping but have procrastinated leaving the warm, dry home. The main thing I need to shop for is my grandson in California. I must get that package in the mail this week. After all, there are only 19 shopping days left until Christmas! We are also leaving on a trip to Charleston, SC, on Friday for a week, so I need to get those out of here, especially if they need them to help make a merrier Christmas.
This is a somewhat sad day for me because we sold our little red Miata which was bought for our daughter when she graduated from high school in 1990. It was the first year of the Miata and it has a neat hardtop with it, making it especially cute. Kendra drove it to college, went on her honeymoon in it, and to be honest, the car holds many happy memories. We have been towing it behind our motorcoach for the past 7 years and enjoyed cruising around town in it. When I emailed Kendra and told her that we had sold the car and I needed cheering, she wrote back and said it was only a car and I couldn't keep everything. She is right and that helped since most of the memories hover around her. I guess if she is okay with it I can be too. The money just didn't mean as much to me as the memories do. I did run out in the rain to take photos! My son wrote and said we didn't need it and it was not safe enough for us anyway. He wants us in something BIG - safer, he says. We bought a compact SUV to tow behind the coach. The problem with the Miata was we're getting older and having difficulty getting in and out easily. The lady who bought the car told me I could come and see it anytime since she lives nearby. No matter what, I will miss the little red Miata, and I won't forget the wonderful memories that have been spun while those little wheels turned round and round for 103,000 miles!

Am I Looking at Myself When I Look at You?

Today, my sister, Valinda, and I met at a shopping center and added some more purchases to our growing mound of gifts. Maybe 2 more trips and I will be finished. We stopped by McDonald's for a quick lunch break. While standing in line, 2 cashiers stopped what they were doing and began staring at us! We looked at each other as if we had done something wrong. Finally, one asked us if we were twins. Of course, my sister told them we were not, that I was much older (9 years, 6 months). They kept staring in unbelief, then asked if we looked like our dad or mom. Well, everyone who knows us would say our mom, I'm sure. The cashier waiting on us then got into the conversation and began marveling over the resemblances. The funny thing is, the place was full of people waiting to order, so everyone had to look the situation over!! (That made for a funny and a fun experience today!) I noticed later while we were eating that Valinda had a sweatshirt on just like one I have at home. Oh, how I wish I had worn mine today. That would have added more unbelief!!

6 Months Ago Yesterday: A Milestone in My Life

As you can see, I'm up early and blogging. Since I was unable to sleep due to another nasty cold (I actually saw the sun rise!), I decided to work on Christmas cards and blogging. There are now only 22 more shopping days until Christmas and I must mail cards and start wrapping so that I can determine what I still must buy.
Yesterday was another milestone for me in that I quit smoking exactly 6 months ago, on June 1. You may ask why I chose June 1 to quit. Well, I used to smoke as a college student and a young adult, until June 1, 1969, when I decided I had had enough after being at a party where we were smoking one cigarette after another (I have never smoked anything other than a regular cigarette). At that time, I had been married 2 years, had no plans to become a mother, but God did have plans for me. On October 2, 1970, I gave birth to a handsome little boy, and November 4, 1972, a beautiful little girl joined our family. I never smoked again until 1981, and I regret that I ever picked up the old habit again.
I am so thankful that I was able to just lay the habit aside without any aid other than my prayers and the prayers and well-wishes from friends. Why did I start smoking again? My excuse was this: while teaching in college, I would have to sit in small rooms filled with smoke from all the other professors. After months of this, I finally asked for a cigarette and had been enjoying them ever since. I use the word, enjoy, because that is exactly right! Although it is a nasty, smelly habit, it satisfies one's hunger, calms jittery nerves, and revives a tired brain and body (at least it did for me). Now, I stay hungry but I'm no longer nervous wanting a smoke even though I will probably always want one (I refuse). My late dad, who quit smoking in his 40's, told me when he was 90 years young, "I could still eat one!" Another friend in her 80's said that if she was ever told that she had a short while to live, she would ask for a carton of Winston's! I will try not to become as many reformed smokers and nag those who continue to smoke. I will say that if you are a smoker and you want to quit, it must be a strong internal desire: I believe this is the only way you can be successful.
Now, if I can just get past these repercussions of an old habit, I will be one happy lady!

Hidden Meanings

Kendra's dad and I just read her day's blog and were very touched by her thoughts. We strongly recommend that you read it if you haven't already. She has a wonderful way with words and she writes in such a way that she can touch the hearts of almost anyone. Kendra has experienced so much during the past several years, initially failing to become a mother prior to God blessing her and allowing her to become pregnant with handsome little Clay and then adopting sweet, lively Livvy. Now, one of her dear friends has lost a child and she expresses her thoughts in such an excellent way. I hope that you will appreciate it as much as we do. We love you very much, Kendra.
Just click on the link to the right, Kendra's Blog.

My Calendar says 23 Days Until Christmas

December 1 is almost over and now you and I have only 23 more shopping days until Christmas. Now, I must tell you, that I call this Christmas, Christmas tree, the birth of Jesus, and everything else of a religious nature. When exiting Wal-Mart today, a volunteer was ringing the bell for the Salvation Army, a charity I respect tremendously. I dropped some cash into the kettle and the man said, "thank you and happy holidays." I almost wanted to get my money out; instead, I said, "Merry Christmas to you". Thankfully, he returned with a response of "Merry Christmas". I was so happy about that. I hope that I will offend no one and that if you do not think of this as Christmas, I pray that you will at least consider the possibility.
Even so, I put too much emphasis on giving I'm sure, but I do love to give to others. I love to see such appreciation and excitement in little faces and big faces. The only problem with me is that Christmas comes and goes too quickly. People seem to be so much happier during the holidays, more polite, and more friendly; however, once the day is over, some folks tend to go back to their homes and forget why we celebrate Christmas and why we have the time off from work to spend with our loved ones. I am guilty of not holding on to the Christmas spirit as much as I should. Our pastor helped others and me this year when we celebrated the meaning of Christmas in July. We were reminded that love, kindness, patience, meekness, gentleness are all virtues we should demonstrate all year round. I'm trying.
Thank all of you, my readers, for enduring my blogging. May you have a blessed day today and everyday.