Christmas at Our House ~ Episode 1 ~ HOLDING OUT FOR HOPE

 I said early on.  "I'm not decorating this year.  Not in the mood.  Too much negativity in the world.  There's no room for hope."  Gracie concurred.

"Decorate," said the little voice inside my head.  

"Whatever," I replied.

And so little by little I drug out the figurines, the lights, and the Christmas notables.  I reminded Gracie, "Don't get caught up in the glitz.  Jesus is the reason for the season."  

I thought I heard her say, "Oh no... here we go again."

One of my favorites is this beautiful crystal tree, a gift from one of my favorite clients in my once thriving and opened hearing aid business, All About Hearing.  It sits on a platform that changes colors and it is beautiful to behold!  

To Be Continued...

Happy Birthday Post

What does being 65 mean to you?

Being an official senior citizen gives life a whole new meaning.  I can now speak my mind, and defend my obnoxious behavior easily.  I'm old. 

*SOUND BUZZER*

Wrong answer!  

Okay then.  Let me try again.  Older means *hopefully* being wiser. Having learned from my mistakes I can share my *wisdom* with others that are younger who have not been there and done that as I have. 

*THAT'S IT*

But who listens these days.

Enough of deep thought.  Let's get sentimental now.  Many years ago my mom gave me this card and I was delighted to run into it the other day as I was sifting through old photos.  She sure did love giving those $2 bills out! 

Let's go way back now.  To where innocence lived and complaints were minimal.  Because we had little, we had much!  See the outhouse in the background standing between my 2 sisters Rita and Angie?  We were thankful for that outhouse, until the day Mom ran into a snake inside.  An indoor bathroom magically appeared off our kitchen months later.  Thanks Dad.

Me (age 5), Rita and Angie

Memories are great.  But so is present time, even if it is spent social distancing.  My birthday this year was filled with love -  -   from a distance.

Some of that love came through FaceTime.

Oh, and one more memory before we go.  This showed up on my facebook page:  Awe.  Love my grandkids so much.

Sixty-Five came in quietly, was covered in joy, and ended with Gone With The Wind on the big screen in our living room, just the hubby, the dog, and me.

Just an old lady and her dog

Wordless Wednesday

MOMENTS and MEMORIES

As a child, every other Sunday, I accompanied my mom and pappy to a place called Sylvan Retreat. First we would stop at The 7-Day Market picking up a hoagie and an ice cold bottle of Tab for Mom and a Pepsi and pint of Sealtest chocolate ice cream for my mom's mother. Mom called her Mother. I called her my mom's mom. I was always excited to see Pappy and Mom's mom on those bi-weekly visits. First Dad would go to Midlothian to pick up Pappy and bring him to our house. Mom dreaded those Sundays when she'd feel obligated to drive to Cumberland to visit with her Mom and I remember her complaining a lot on that day. But she was faithful in her visits and I'm sure that meant a lot to my grandma AKA Mom's mom, even tho 'Gram' didn't quite understand what was going on around her.
We would sit in the car and visit. Mom and Pappy in the front seat and Mom's mom and me in the back. Excited, I could not wait to open the special gift that Mom's mom had for me, a bobby-pin and a piece of gum or maybe a simple piece of colored paper, folded snuggly inside a thick beige stocking and tied tightly with a piece of string.

Feelings of sadness yet intrigue oozed from my every pore as I watched the delicate, frail, gray haired woman spooning the creamy melting chocolate from the cardboard container and rambling on about nothing. She was a simple soul, carrying a lifetime of sorrow within her wrinkled exterior.

I'm not sure if her belly would be full or if she just liked saving the last of the ice cream for me, but to my delight, I would always be given her leftovers. Then Mom, Pappy and her would chat about nothing for a while and I would ask Mom if I could go for a walk.

My walk took me just down over the hill from our parked car and to a field where beyond the fence lived a herd of cows I referred to then as my friends. My imagination allowed for deep conversation with these black and white cows and I could tell by those trusting eyes staring back at me that these cows got me! "I'll be back in 2 weeks," I would say upon my departure... and they understood.

Our drive home was one of relief for Mom I'm sure, for she had put in her time and had done what was right putting aside her weariness of working full time and taking care of 7 kids.
Sacrifice is a showing of true love. It's easy to do something when you want to do it. But it can seem an imposition when it is something that pierces your daily routine and takes you from your comfort zone of peace.

Mom's sacrifice on those visits to her mentally ill mother back then taught me a lot. There was so much giving! Pappy would come armed with little black licorice sugar coated babies to hand out to us kids. Mom would give her mom ice cream and pepsi and even more importantly - her time! Mom's mom would give me a gift and then she'd save the last of her ice cream for me. Those cows gave me a friend and a listening ear. And now that I am an adult, my hope is that those role models from yesterday have impacted me to where I too, can be a role model for those around me.

Never underestimate the power of a moment.

For in that moment, you just may see God working in a life, or two or three.

RESURRECTION SUNDAY

I cannot begin to imagine God's pain to watch His Son suffer on the cross and then die.  I understand that He knew He'd be in heaven with him once he had breathed his last earthly breath.  But still.  It hurts to watch those you love suffer.  

Yesterday we rejoiced in the fact that Jesus had risen and because of that (though we may see a lot of pain and suffering in our families today) we will share a perfect life with those we love and who share our love for God  - one day in Paradise.

I don't know about you, but after being beaten down by this fallen world of deception, and bad news, I am so looking forward to that day!!!!

Yesterday was filled with chaos, hope, fun, beauty, good food, surprises, and lots and lots of love.

These kids!!!  Be still my heart!!

I hope they always hold these special memories in their hearts....

Dear Diary,

I went on an Easter egg hunt and found an egg with beef jerky inside.  Dad had to help me open it.  I tried for the chocolate filled eggs but Mom the nag hollered GRACIE NO!  She is such a killjoy.  Gracie

I hope everyone had a fun filled, lovely, BLESSED Easter!

Checking In

Been busy with life with not much time for blogging.  But let's catch up a bit.

How was your Halloween?  Us old folk just kinda hung out at home and enjoyed the wee ones stopping by for some treats.  

The neighborhood was flooded with kids knocking on doors and begging candy.  So we thought we'd join in the fun.   What do you think?  Am I retirement-worthy yet?  LOL **See video below** 

                                          

Snow has come to our neck of the woods ...  early- much.  Not a fan.  But Gracie and I are here to report that we got 11 inches.  Boo!!

Dance rehearsal time ...  and Rissi was the star...

Gracie decided she wanted to be a rock star for Halloween.  She asked to sing her beloved Samson a song...

Where Are You, My Samson

Samson, I miss you.  Haven't seen your sweet face in so long,
That is why I made up this song.
California fires are raging and I think about you every day,
For you, your mom, and Faith - I continue to pray.

So Samson, be safe... I'll wait for your return,
You've been absent too long but patience I must learn.
I know you're alright...  you're my one and only
Come back to blogland soon - So I won't be so lonely..

Your Gracie

Next topic:  Our Karate kid.  She was happy to get her new belt...

And speaking of new...  the hubby got...  a new car.  Well, almost new.

Halloween lingered...  and a warewolf showed up at our house one night.

I smell Jake

My new neighbor gifted me a gift certificate to have my nails done.  We are so blessed to have such good neighbors.  So during Summer's sleepover with us, I took her along for her first manicure.  She was excited!

Sorry this was such a random post...  I wanted to get something on but didn't have much time to think about it so this is what you get!

I am very anxious to slow down after Thanksgiving and start visiting blogs again...    Missed you all.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Thanks to the colonel our labor day gathering was easy-peasy....

Chicken dinner thanks to he who cooked a fabulous meal for us...

The games..  oh those wonderful and fun games thanks to Marissa who has been planning for almost a year now.

First, a sundae challenge.

Create.  Observe. Judge.

And the winner is....  the team of Jake and Jack

Good job guys.  But Summer and I did win the toilet paper challenge.  Yes, I was able to mummify her in less time than the other teams (okay... so I had less to mummify... whatever. we still won fair and square)

Then.  The egg race.  Hurry hurry hurry... but don't drop the egg.

A lot of planning went into this day.  Thank you Marissa for the effort and all the fun!

Swimming happened too.  And baseball in the pool.  More fun.

Oops.  Well....  it happens...

And the trophy winner goes to JAKE GEARY!!  Yay JAKE!  

But we were all winners  and we all got medals.  Because we had fun.  We were awesome.  And we contributed money to St. Judes.

Yea.  Good day.  Good food.  Good belly rubs. *Yawn*  Good-night.