Christmas 2014

PLEASE SCROLL ALL THE WAY TO THE BOTTOM FOR THE BLOG. :)

John, Robert, Mandy, Lindsay, and Josh

Merry Christmas from Santa.

Lindsay and Josh snuggling by the tree

Ron and his loyal best friend, Alex

Yes, I was there, too!

The tradition where John puts the star on the tree.  We used to have to lift him up to reach it!

John checking out his trombone ornament from his sister, Cindy.

It's always fun to watch Josh open presents.

Lindsay loving her gift card.

Just had to snap this picture!  Robert is behind there somewhere.

Mandy loving her gift from Lindsay and Josh

This is my favorite first born son!

John taking a break after opening gifts.

Robert and Mandy checking it out.

This picture taken by accident but was very appropriate when it was said and done.

Lindsay loved her gifts for her dogs.

Mandy holding her new stocking. It was my mother's last Christmas stocking.

John and Ron doing a little jamming.

Alex loved his chew toy he received for Christmas

There are no words to describe how much I love these two guys.

Last minute picture before they left to go home.

This one is going to stay till January 9th!  

Since I have experienced many Christmas seasons, most of which I remember, it would be hard to select the best one.  There have been many throughout my own childhood, and then, of course the childhood of my own sons up to now.  However, I have to say that this one would be right up there at the top.  In my previous blog, I showed how I got the house prepared for Christmas, inside and out, and that was a lot of fun.  Ron and I have enjoyed the warmth that the beautiful lights, candles, and decorations have brought to our home.  It has been great for me to see some very special people through the holidays who I don't get to see as often as I wish.
One of my special treats was to get to play Santa for a family who needed a little help.  I had not been to a Toys R Us in many, many years.  I had a blast picking out dolls, stuffed animals, race tracks and a basketball.  Oh, the joy one gets from giving.

With all of that being said, the real magic began when my kids started coming home.  Robert and Mandy were the first to arrive on the 23rd!  We did a lot of running around together plus spent some great chill time here at home.  There are no words to describe the joy of having Mandy in our family now.
On Christmas Day John arrived.  Robert and I went out to meet his plane and it was thrilling for me to stand there with my two sons once again.  Yes, they were here at Thanksgiving, I know.  But, you have to realize that the only time that I have them here together at the same time are Thanksgiving and Christmas.  When we got back to the house, Lindsay and Josh, our other two, were waiting there with Ron and Alex.  Now the family was complete and Santa could come!  And come he did!  As I posted on FB, grown "kids" are still as much fun now at Christmas as they were when they were little.  We had a fabulous time as we shared gifts with each other.
We spent the rest of the holiday eating, going to movies, playing cards, and laughing a lot.  We watched lots of Christmas movies and did I mention eating?
The Friday night after Christmas, we had a gathering of family over for a little Christmas closure! ha  It was not an official party if you are a family member and were not here.  It was rather last minute and I promise I will get us all together again.  The highlight of the night was playing music.  Sometimes it was Mal playing keyboard, then sometimes Mal and me.  Later Ron joined us on his clarinet and John with his trombone.  Robert, (Cindy's husband), added a great beat with his drum pad/sticks.  It was fun, especially playing When The Saints Go Marching In!  Not a Christmas song, you say?  Well, to all of us it is now.
It is now Saturday after Christmas and Robert and Mandy just left for Oklahoma!  I am so happy for them in that they are so blessed with each other, their cat children, and their new home.  The good news for me is that John will stay here until January 9th, when we will both be flying out.  He will be meeting Salome in New Orleans (she was in Zurich for Christmas and truly missed!) and I will be going to Orlando to watch Brenda run a half marathon. This is my 5 year celebration of being cancer free.  So, it seems only fitting that I go down there to celebrate as she runs with my name on her back.
So, there is a brief description.  They say you are supposed to keep blogs short, but sometimes that is simply impossible.  There are dear friends yet to see during the holidays and those who I won't see but will be thinking about!  Thanks be to God for all of his continual blessings.

We always wait for John to put the star on the tree.  Same plastic star since he was little.

This bell ornament was from my mother's Christmas tree

Not a fancy picture, but representative of really great food we had to eat.

This "puppy chow" was addictive! (This dessert has many different names)

Mandy baked these fabulous cookies!

She also baked banana bread and made a fabulous trail mix.

Christmas: Thinking Back...

When I think back to my childhood and asked who my favorite  teacher was, I would answer without hesitation that her name was Wilma Sappington. Mrs. Sappington was the type of teacher that you would dream to have. She made learning fun and very meaningful.  There are several things that I remember about her. I can still visualize her sitting beside me, helping me to learn to make a Cursive “W”.  My last name was Warren.  Now being left handed, making that slant was not easy.  Perhaps since her first name was Wilma, she had that same experience when she was a child, I am not sure.  Another thing I remember about her was that she had a contest every month where whoever drank the most cartons of milk would be the Milk Queen or Milk King for the next month! Well, I got to be Milk Queen one month and I still remember how that made me feel.  I was obsessed with crowns anyway, always making them out of aluminum foil and wearing them around the house.  The third thing I will mention (and believe me, there are more) was that in Mrs. Sappington’s class we had a Christmas play….yes, Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, the real thing.  Well, of course you know that I wanted to play Mary in the worst way but that role went to Barbara Hill, one of my best friends.  No, I got the part of one of the speakers!  So, when it came to the part of the shepherds, I stood up on a stool and recited the part of the story from Luke…”And in the same country, there were shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night....”  You know that one.  I memorized all of these verses to the “shepherd part” and still remember them to this day.  I also remember what I was wearing along with the giant bow that was always prominently on the top of my head, thanks to my mother.  Isn’t it funny the things that you can remember from so long ago?  Yet, I would have to think awhile as to what I did each day last week.

            I am one of the lucky ones who can say that I can only think of one or two times in my life that Christmas was not a special time of the year.  As a child the anticipation of Santa was more than I could stand!  I would never be able to sleep the night before.  I was a true believer that Santa was real and remain a believer still today.  We always opened presents on Christmas morning and I can remember the wonderful sounds of rustling of paper late the night before as my parents were doing last minute wrapping and getting ready the next day.  I bet this was always a special time for them, now that I think about it.

            I know that it certainly was a good time for me when I had sons of my own.  I spent many a Christmas Eve staying up late getting things ready for them so that it would be magical when they woke up and came down the stairs. How I treasure those memories!

            Even though my parents made Christmas consistently wonderful for my brother and me as far as Santa was concerned, there was no doubt in our minds as to what we were really celebrating.  Much emphasis was put on the birth of Jesus and what that meant to the world.  It was a tradition at our house on Christmas Eve to have a “program” of sorts and everyone was expected to be there.  It usually consisted of my daddy reading the story from the Bible, and then my brother and I would take part somehow.  Mother played the piano and we sang carols.  This tradition continued until my father’s death in 1990.  Only, in addition to his reading the story, we had performances from John and from Robert.  I was even known to sing!  But, the important thing is that we all had a part to play in this important service.  I remember the first Christmas Eve after daddy died.  My mother came to Texas.  We still had our “program” and I have a picture of Robert reading the Christmas story in daddy’s place.  Unfortunately over the past years, we have discontinued having our special time.  Part of this was due to the fact that I was always at the church on Christmas Eve playing the piano for sometimes 4 or 5 services that day.  Anyway, I dropped the ball with keeping that tradition alive and it makes me rather sad when I think about it.

Christmas has changed over the years since the kids are grown, but it is still a wonderful time to be together.  I love getting the house decorated and anticipating their arrival.  The best Christmas for me is when all of us are under the same roof!  I know that there will be new traditions and new memories to be made and for this I am very grateful.

Thanksgiving 2014 in words and pictures!

Thanksgiving has always been a special family time for me.  As a child, most of my memories include going to Judsonia, Arkansas, where my Aunt Rosie, Uncle Hassell, and their daughter lived.  My grandmother Lucille, and my other Uncle Ralph, Aunt Jane, and cousin, Phyllis, would also come.  We would all gather at Aunt Rosie's one year and our house the next.  The big hits would always be my mother's yeast rolls and Aunt Rosie's fluffy pumpkin chiffon pie.
Years later after my brother and I had families of our own, we would gather at my parents' house.  Daddy died in 1990 but we continued to go there until the tornado destroyed our family home in 2001.  Sometimes Mother would come to Texas.  All I can say is that Thanksgiving has always been a special family time.

Now Thanksgiving is special to me because that is the holiday that both of my sons are here at the same time.  Along with them now come Mandy, who is Robert's wife, and Salome, who is John's girlfriend. It is also great when Josh and Lindsay are here with us, too.  Great family.

This year Ron, the boys, girls and I shared our Thanksgiving over at the lovingly named Eiland Paradise!  This is the home of David, Deana, and Chase.  I will always claim Deana and her sister, Cindy, as my own.  Their sweet mom, Dorothy, is so great to let me love them like that!  David, Deana's husband, smoked prime rib and turkey that melted in your mouth.  Zach, Deana's son, and DJ, David's son, and Tony, Deana, Cindy, Robert and Johns's dad were also there. We really missed Josh and Lindsay who went to East Texas to be with Josh's family. A fabulous meal was put together with many cooks in the kitchen. One of the highlights for me was hearing almost six year old Chase pray one of the sweetest prayers I have ever heard.  That little boy is pure joy to be around.

We shared fabulous food, great conversation, and love of family.  We made  wonderful memories and that is what really counted.  I am including several pictures to help tell the story.

Salome baked this pumpkin pie and designed the topping with a crusted pumpkin and leaves.

Salome also prepared this beautiful apple pie.

I made my traditional pecan pie.

Sweetest potatoes ever!

Chase and Uncle Rob!

The beautiful back yard on a gorgeous fall day.

Ron making friends with one of the three schnauzers!

Our Swiss cook in the kitchen!

Mandy, Robert's beautiful wife, started our morning off with fabulous monkey bread.

These yeast rolls brought back memories of my mother's Thanksgiving baking.

David and Ron watch as DJ plays with Chase.

Robert and Mandy

Deana and Salome busy in the kitchen.

John, when he wasn't looking!

Yes, this dog actually watches tv!

Salome and John

One of my favorite places to be...right in the middle!

No words needed.

Again, no words needed.

I know, this is ridiculous!

Beautiful fresh flowers on the table.

Chase explaining his football pictures to Salome.

Some sat outside by this fire to watch the football game. Awesome.

Deana and Chase reading the Christmas book that I brought for Chase.

Zach, DJ, and John 

The day after Thanksgiving with my girlies.