Merry Christmas to All

For the first time in many years, our entire family was together on Christmas Day. When we gather together, there is certainly no food shortage. After opening gifts, we headed to the tables packed with food & piled up our plates & stuffed our bellies. There was so much to try, I never even made it to it all! For several years, we have made it a ritual to spend time in singing Christmas carols/songs. Everyone tells their favorite or names one they like & we sing song after song. Doing so, is by far, the highlight for me each year. I think it's interesting to see what songs people choose too. I discovered that my cousin, Micah, & I share a love for the same carol--O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Once the singing had come to an end & my cousin Josh & his family were headed out, my cousin Chanda & her family were coming in. Perfect timing for a group/family photo. Haley set up her tripod, got us all posed, set the timer & we grinned big. Only bad part was my cousin Darren & his family had not arrived yet. So, we lacked 3 in the picture. I laughed as my little cousins tried to pull me up off the floor. I don't think they realized how heavy I am! We then picked our seats for our annual BINGO session. Each family purchases 10 $1.00 items, wraps them up & the winner of each BINGO round gets to pick a prize. Amazing how we went from giving pens, paper, etc. to everyone pretty much purchasing food items for prizes! I had my 4 year old cousin Adri on my lap & helped her play her cards along with mine. We each finally won & got our prizes. The time had come for Chanda, Mike & the kids to head back to KY, everyone else was ready to go & all that was left was to clean. Everyone pitched in to wash dishes, dry them, move tables, put chairs back, etc. We gave our hugs, wished one another a Merry Christmas once more & that was the end of Christmas 2007.

T'was the Night Before Christmas

For as long as I can remember, our family has had a dinner together on Christmas Eve & then took time to drive around & look at Christmas lights. Several years ago, we were told about a house nearby with many lights set to music. We have went there for the past 3 years or so. Each year, the show improves more & more. After my grandpa joined us & we ate Johnbenghetti (an old family recipe...noodles, hamburger, cheese, peas & pimentos), we all packed in the van for the ride over to Avondale. There is a pic of that house on the slideshow. Don't think that my dad would go to such great lengths in decorating! Once finished riding around, we returned & grandpa went on his way. We sorted all the presents out & began to open them. My wish was to receive nothing for Christmas (I felt that people had spent more than enough on me thanks to my job loss & time in the hospital) & I said I wished I could just pay my bills off. You'll see the picture of me holding up a gift from my parents (a book) with a less than pleased look on my face--that's why. I was upset that anyone had bought me anything at all despite the fact I liked the gift. So, I received an MP3 player, a portable DVD player, a book, a sweatshirt, money, a bracelet & a check from my sister to pay off one of my medical bills. When I saw her check to me, I got choked up & began to cry. Her intent was not to upset me but to give me exactly what I wanted...money to pay off bills. One of the gifts that meant the most to me was not one I opened up on Christmas Eve but days earlier when the notice arrived via snail mail for my sister & I. Some time ago, I had received information on supplying gospel packages (clothes, hygiene materials, toys, the New Testament, etc.) to children in China through Voice of the Martyrs. Knowing full well that my parents were not going to not get me a gift for Christmas, my request was that they just supply those kits to the Chinese. I was delighted to see that they had fulfilled my request. Perhaps, because of their donation, many Chinese persons were able to hear about the gift of Christ for the very first time this Christmas. I believe everyone got what they wanted this year & then some...including my mema & her Moon Pie ice cream. She is the epitome of having a sweet tooth with a diet consisting of Diet Dr. Pepper, cookies, pies & cakes. She once ate 8 double-decker Moon Pies in 1 Day. When my Dad saw the ice cream in the store, he knew he had to get it for her. Goodness, what fun we can have!!

Silly Girls

I always enjoy spending time with family and even more so during Holidays. Weeks ago, my cousin called to say that she, her husband and their kids would not be able to come up for Christmas afterall. Her husband, Mike, is in the ARMY based at Ft. Campbell. After 3 suicides/deaths in his unit within days of one another, his unit was told that they would not be allowed outside of a 60 mile radius (60 or 70) from the base between that time period and their deployment time (more to come on that in a future blog). Days before Christmas, he and some of the other soldiers received a pass to leave the base. Thankfully, they were all able to come for Christmas. They arrived in St. Louis at around midnight on Friday evening. My Grandpa's birthday is December 23rd so we all went to lunch to celebrate with him. Afterwards, my 2 young cousins, Rose and Adrianna, decided they wanted to come home with Haley and me. On our way home, I had Haley stop at Dairy Queen to get them ice cream as a special treat. As we rode in Haley's car that is in desperate need of new shocks, the car bounced non-stop. I laughed till I almost peed in my pants when Adri (4) said, "This car is bumpy, you have bumpy wheels!" The fun continued as we sang "Rudolph" numerous times at Adri's request. We made it home and both girls were great helpers as Haley and I had some more cleaning to do before our mema and uncle from AL arrived. Once I cleaned, I began helping them make a reindeer ornament but we had to stop shortly after we started as we did not have the right kind of glue. Both girls accepted that news just fine and moved on to finding a game for us to play with one another-SORRY. Chanda (their mother, my cousin) hesitated on sending Adri with us, asking me repeatedly if I was sure it was OK for her to come along. I told her she wouldn't be any trouble and as expected, she was not. I had a blast with my little monkeys!!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

As many of you know, snow is not uncommon here in St. Louis. For years, I have been able to see snowflakes fall from the sky unto the ground. Then, in talking with people from different parts of the country or world, I find it so interesting to think they never see snow where they live. Many, still, may have never experienced the sight of a blanket of white fluffy snow. Though I see snow each year here, it never gets old to me. I love this time of year...colder weather, warm blankets, cozy sweaters. Several weeks ago, we knew that snow was on the way. As we (my parents, my sister and I) sat inside watching t.v., my cousin arrived to tell us that there were huge snowflakes coming down. Immediately, we rushed outside with a camera for a fun time of picture taking. Something about the snow that just brings out the kid in me I guess. That snowfall didn't amount to much in the end but it was still fun. Since then, we've had both a round of ice and more snow. More pictures on the way soon!

*Note: Those pink pants in the slideshow are not pants I wear out in public! They're pajama bottoms!!

Here We Come A Caroling

Several years ago, my family and I began to make it a tradition to ring bells for the Salvation Army at least once during every Christmas season. We did so right after Thanksgiving at a local Super Wal-Mart. Each year, we carry books of carols and Christmas songs with us and sing while we ring. In all the years of shopping during the Christmas season, I don't think I have ever seen anyone singing or doing anything else other than just ringing the bell. People seem to enjoy seeing us do so as we help to get them into the spirit. Though the temperature has been a bit on the chilly side many times, we still enjoy taking time out to go and ring for such a worthy cause. We will go to Dierbergs (a local grocery store) on December 18th to ring for our final time this year. In addition to this, we have went the past two years to my mom's place of employment (with HUD housing) to carol for the senior adults. Last year, I had a ball when we went there to sing. Afterwards, I spent time talking to a lady who was born and raised in London whose parents were from Ireland. She sang "Christmas in Killarney" for me from beginning to end. I was pleased to see her face there once again this time. Unfortunately, she exited out right after the songs and I was unable to speak with her. I did, however, enjoy conversing with a lady originally from Montana. We talked about the Rocky Mountains, the Tetons, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, etc. I agreed with her as she said, "there's a reason they call the west God's country." She told me tales of chasing buffalo's as a youngster. The two of us and a few others discussed the many ways the world has changed since they were kids. I so appreciate hearing the stories these older people eagerly await to tell. I look forward to returning next year to spread a little Christmas cheer. Whether I'm ringing bells or singing for the elderly, nothing do I love to sing any more than Christmas carols.