This Just In!!!!

Today I received a video Christmas card from a former student of mine Lucas and his brother Jordan... They keep in touch with me through their dad's email and they are in Wyoming for Christmas... Lucas is the one singing "Blue Christmas" Turn the volume up so you can hear them... Jordan is the one giving the message... Thanks boys for sending this, and thanks Steve for filming..You guys are great!!! It made my day!!!

After getting their permission, I thought I would share the video with you to help make them famous!!!

***** Readers, please post comments for these boys and tell them what a great job they did... THEY WILL LOVE IT!!!!

Christmas Day 2007

Well.... Another Christmas has come and gone and I must say this was one of the best ever... Not necessarily because of the gifts, but just because of how much I love all of the people I got to spend it with!!! Below are just a few pics from Christmas Day!!!

Taylor and I playing with Mr. Potato Head's new friends...Mr. Carrot Head and Mr. Corn Head.... (Not Pictured: Mr. Carrot Head)

Sophie enjoying her gifts.

Taylor learning to read with some books Nana gave her... Notice the Hannah Montanna Extensions she is wearing... I got her those and she LOVED them!!!

Matt opening an Abercrombie shirt from Lawrence.

Sophie excited about something...I am not sure what though!!

I got Johnnie-Lynn this Vera Bradley Hat and she LOVED it!!!

I got Mama a Digital Photo Frame

Lawrence got a Red Rider BB Gun.... He didn't even shoot his eye out!!

Mama gave me this Photo Album Scrapbook of my entire life... She has been working on it for a year... It starts with shots of her and my dad before I was born until the present.... There is even a picture of her from the day they found out she was pregnant... My dad looked hilarious... What was she thinking??? Daddy, I cannot wait for you to see it!!!

Johnnie-Lynn and I taking our annual photo from the middle of the Christmas trash!

Matt cooked lunch for his family. From the left is his grandma Dora...(yes like the Explorer), his mom Ruby, and his dad Alan.

After Matt's family came over Mandie came and we swapped our gifts... One of the things she got me was a photo collage of my niece Sophie... I love it!!!

Matt and I got Mandie stuff for her new house... Here she is showing off a pink food chopper, a monogrammed coffee mug, a monogrammed decal for her car, and a no slip-Oxo Good Grip mixing bowl.

Matt got some brown Converse All-Stars.

As always this morning...the day after Christmas, My friend Dennis, his mom Joyce, and his sister Michelle always go out shopping in early morning hours to hunt for those after Christmas deals... This year Matt decided to go with us... We had a ball... The car was PACKED out and we laughed the whole time... Dennis and I have went for the past 4 years and it has just been a ball each year... It has become a part of Christmas that I look forward to each year!!!

Christmas Eve

WOW!!!! Christmas Eve is here… what excitement is floating around every little kid today… If we could somehow harness that excitement and turn it into energy we would no longer need oil and gasoline… that would surely get us through the year…

One of my funniest Christmas memories as a child happened on Christmas eve… My dad was taking me back to my mom’s for the night so I could have Santa the next morning… We had just left my grandmama’s when I noticed a blinking red light in the sky… I didn’t say anything to anyone… I couldn’t believe my eyes… We rode some more and then it blinked again… I tried to keep quiet but my excitement overwhelmed me and I screamed…. “IT”S RUDOLPH!!! HURRY!!!” I couldn’t believe I actually saw him flying over my town… I was in such a hurry to get home, get to bed, and wait for all my toys…. My dad didn’t say anything, he just hurried to my mom’s, and away to bed I went…

The next morning, all my cookies and milk were gone and there were presents everywhere…

No one ever told me that it wasn’t Rudolph, but now every time I see a radio tower with red blinking lights, I am reminded of that magical night that I thought I saw Rudolph… Look for him tonight…He will be there.

Tonight also brings my favorite time ever throughout the year… It’s the Christmas Eve Candle light service at church… It is the best service of the whole year… For that brief moment it seems that the whole world has stopped and all is at peace… at the close of the service the Silent Night hymn rings us into the wonderful Christmas day… If you are available around 11 pm tonight come join us tonight at Anderson Mill Road Baptist Church…

Have a great night…and a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

P.S. For all of you who haven't heard it yet, below is a video of my favorite Christmas song... No, this is not me on the video...although, I wish I would have thought of it!!! Enjoy!!!

Christmas Eve Eve

This day used to be one of my favorite days of the whole Christmas season… All throughout my college years my friends and I always talked about how special and wonderful Christmas was but you never really got to enjoy the thrill of Christmas morning with your closest friends because you were with family… That though drove us to create our own “Christmas Eve Eve” gathering… For the first 5 years we did it… me, Matt, Jill, Christina, Curtis, Chaz, Carla, Malorie and whoever else was in the group would gather at Brenda Blackwell’s… If you know Brenda then you know we had a great time… Man I loved that day…

We would eat a HUGE dinner, then open presents and be silly just like it was Christmas morning… Then we would stay up late and fall asleep dreaming of sugar plums and all that jazz… Then, the next morning, Brenda would wake us with Kenny G on the CD player and the smell of bacon frying on a griddle and pancake syrup was almost more than you could stand without trying to take a bite out of the air… It was AWESOME… Somehow all the magic of Christmas seem to show up 2 days early for us…Then we would pack up all of our gifts and head on to our families to get more and relive that Christmas magic one more day…

Unfortunately, people grow up and move on…things change and traditions do too…Last year was the first time in many years that I didn’t have “Christmas Eve Eve”… I tried a few times after college, but it just wasn’t the same… Maybe one day it will be…

Neener, if you read this… Merry “Christmas Eve Eve” I miss you!!!

My Christmas Tree

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree…How lovely are thy branches…

As I looked back at my Christmas blogs, I realized I had not actually posted a pic of my main tree in my living room… I guess it is fitting though… It deserves its own post for several reasons…


One, it is the centerpiece of all my decorations… Without the main tree in the living room the rest of the house would look kind of dull.

Two, one of my most favorite and cherished Christmas decorations ever is hanging on this tree… If you will notice really closely, you will see the snowman garland at 3 different levels… The first year I had this tree (6 years ago)…my first real tree…my mom made my sister and I this garland… She bought the pattern and materials at Wal-mart and actually sewed it on her sewing machine. It is so creative and I have never seen anyone who has something like it…Plus, knowing that mama thought of us and hand made it makes it so special… I wouldn’t take anything for it.

Three, This year my mom decorated the tree for me… Let me explain… I worked all day the day before Thanksgiving… I put up all the lights on my bushes… all the Christmas knick knacks… I put up the tree in my bedroom… and when all was said and done I was tuckered out…

2 weeks later the tree in the living room still had not been decorated… Sooooo, the first Saturday in December, my mom sneaked into my house while I was at praise band practice and decorated the whole thing… I was so happy to see it when I got home… What a gift it was for her to do that… She knew I was busy and didn’t seem to have time to get caught up… What a Mama!!!

I hope you enjoy looking at the tree as much as I do!!!

Rudolph the Red Nosed Auto!!!

I know I have been kind of sentimental and serious the last few posts… Today I am gonna change all of that…

As you all know I LOVE Christmas… I love the gifts..both getting and giving… I love the music…. The church fun…. The candy…. The parties… and of course the decorations…

I have always decorated my apartment, house, where ever I have been my whole life… finally this year I have something new to decorate… MY CAR…. For some reason that is the one area of our lives we have not mastered how to decorate for the holidays…

I mean… we decorate our houses… inside our homes we decorate everything from the tissue box to the toilet paper holder… Outside we decorate bushes, and mailboxes… trees and driveways… but for some reason our cars get overlooked….

Well… I am ashamed no more… My car has officially been turned into decked for the Holidays as none other than Rudolph… Ho Ho Ho!!! and Merry Christmas!!! to all… Hopefully you'll get to see it in person… It’s quite lovely to see… Special thanks to my mom and Chuck for knowing the perfect gift for me!!!

My goal for next year… Add some lights… where could I put them… Let me think…

Lessons From the Manger

As I think about Christmas, I think about my little nativity scene at home… The centerpiece of the scene of course is the tiny baby Jesus… Surrounded by the all trusting Mary and Joseph… Can you just imagine what faith it took to be them… and we think we trust God…

Then there are the stately wise men… Adorned in their priestly robes, bearing gifts from afar… Have you ever thought about those gifts? What would a tiny baby need with gold, frankincense and myrrh??? How bout some diapers, baby wipes and a paci…but I digress….

Then in the back of my manger scene…there they stand… those nasty, stinking, needing a bath shepherds….. not to mention they brought their dirty sheep and mules… They are covered in dirt from their work, they have no ounce of royalty that the wise men brought…but there they stand….

Why, you ask??? Because God wanted them there… On that glorious, holy night, God sent them an Angel and announced to them the coming of the Lord… I love the Creator of the Universe would send these “nasty” people his message… Isn’t that just like Him??? To go to the dirty, the outcast, the poor, the unwanted, and reach out to them at a time when they need Him the most...

I thank God that He visited someone like the Shepherds that night… It means there is hope for a depraved mess like me… If He would have only showed the star to the wise men… I wouldn’t have a chance…Thank God for the Shepherds!!!

*

“Behold,

unto you,
is born this day,
in the City of David,
a Savior which is Christ
the
Lord.”

- The Angel of the Lord, to the Shepherds

P.S. Notice how I made the verse look like a tree… Ponder that verse as you look at your tree over the next 6 days!

Are You Ready For Christmas

Yesterday I went to a local meat and three veggie restaurant for lunch… While I was there I was listening to these 2 ladies talk across the tables… Sometimes when you are eating alone you just cannot help but listen to those around you and their conversations… For me these eaves dropping moments often lead me to a blog and this conversation was no different…

They were having the same conversation many of you are having everyday with your friends, families, coworkers, and maybe even the cashier at Wal-mart…

It started something like this…

You: “You ready for Christmas?”

The other person: “Lord No, I’ve got gifts to buy, gifts to wrap, lights to hang, and casseroles to make…

Etc…etc…etc…

After a while of chit chatting one of the ladies began talking about her decorations… She said that from the outside of the house she looked as ready as ever… The lights were all on the bushes… the icicles were hanging so neatly from the roof… the bows were hanging proudly in each window adorning their silky bows… She said once more… “from the outside, I look ready, but the inside of my house is a mess… “Nobody would ever know what a mess it was to ride by…They would think I was Queen Christmas if they just saw the outside.”

As she said that line again… “the outside is ready, but the inside is a mess” all I could think about is how that is so typical of us… We work so hard to make everyone on the outside think we are so “ready” and cleaned up…yet our insides are filthy rags… I believe Jesus himself said that to the Pharisees…

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.”
Matthew 23:25-26

This Christmas as you prepare and get ready… Take a moment to make sure your “inside” is ready… Like the song says… “Let every heart, prepare Him room.”
Get Ready… 1 week and counting!!!

Babysitting During Christmas

This weekend I had the privilege of baby sitting my 2 nieces while my sister and brother-in-law went to a Christmas party... While they were at my house I snapped some cute pics of them around my Christmas tree.......

I decided to film a video for the blog to debut my niece Sophie...She is the baby in the shots... Taylor has been on here once before...You may have remembered her from the Chick-fil-A blog a while back.... Sophie was cute... She even talked a bit for the video...right on cue!!

Anyway... As we were filming, my sister called...just ignore that part... The girls were so good Saturday...even when we had to venture out in the cold, windy, rain... It was a great Christmas time memory.
This one is what Sophie looked like without her cute bow.... the hair just stayed right in place..Cute huh???

Crazy Christmas Traditions

All families have their own Christmas traditions that make the holiday special… My dysfunctional family has a few of its own… After you read, be sure to share some of your own so I don’t feel so bad!! :0)

1. BINGO… That’s right, I said it… BINGO… For years and years, every time my mom’s side of the family gets together for Christmas, we don’t worry much about the gifts or the dinner… It’s a good gambling game of BINGO… All my church readers calm down… It’s all in good fun… BUT… we do play for money… It is a quarter a card and EVERYONE plays… from the babies to the grey heads… WE LOVE IT!!! One year my granny gave all the grand kids a roll of quarters with our gifts so we could play as much as we wanted… At the end of each game, the winner gets the money!!!

2. The Random Gift… Each year I buy all of my immediate family a totally random gift. They didn’t ask for it…the didn’t even hint that they wanted it… I give all of the family the same gift… So far the gifts I have given have been really useful. 2 years ago it was and ice scraper.. I use it ALL the time.. Any suggestions for this year?

3. Santa Comes… even to us grown ups… Every year that I have been alive Santa comes to see me… I have never seen my presents prior to Christmas morning… Santa always wraps and puts them out after I am asleep.

4. Sibling Sleepover… Every year until I was about 25, my sister and I slept in the same bed on Christmas Eve as we waited for Santa… The last year we did it, I slept in the same bed with her and her fiancee… It was kind weird so we cut it out…I miss it though.. We used to lay there and sing carols and laugh and solve all of our family problems as we dreamed of what Santa might bring… Now she has her hubby and kids, so I have been replaced… Its all good though.. I like sprawling out in m y own bed now!!!

5. Gag Gifts… On my dad’s side of the family my Aunt Peggy was the queen of gag gifts. I remember every year she would give some unsuspecting family member a gift that would just send our family in stitches… That side of the family was as open as some families about personal things… you know hygiene, bodily functions, etc… I remember one year she gave my granddad some French birth control from the medieval days… It was a miniature guillotine… You can figure that one out… I miss Peggy, and that gathering… Since my grandma Maudie died we don’t do it anymore… Maybe one day we will again.

Alright, now its your turn… Tell me about your crazy traditions!!!

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Since I have been writing about Christmas memories, I decided to go make some new ones last night... I went with my friend s Eddi and Pam to the Bi-Lo Center to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.... It was GREAT!!! If you LOVE Christmas music with a bit of hard rock twist, then you would LOVE this concert.... Even as fantastic as the music was the AMAZING light show that went with it.... I with never forget the lights changing in time with Carol of the Bells... I linked their website above... Check it out...

There were about 10,000 people there and it was literally all kinds of people... I saw little gray haired ladies head banging to Joy to the World right beside the long haired earring wearing guys... Older stately men....right beside country come to town....it was really amazing to see how this type of music brought all people together...

The only draw back of the evening was the Bi-Lo Center's ability to cool the place down in this December heat wave... Where we were sitting was VERY HOT... From the moment I sat down til we left I had sweat just running down my neck...it was worth it though... The concert really shared the TRUE meaning of Christmas and brought all kinds of people together to celebrate the Christmas season... If they are ever here again... GO SEE THEM!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Blog

I had to take a moment to pause from the Christmas Blogs to celebrate a milestone today… It is my official 1 year birthday as a blogger…. I encourage you today to reread some of my previous, most favorite blogs.

1. It's Why I'm Here
2. Run Away Hub Cap
3. Hub Cap Part 2
4. Cocoon of Grace
5. First Grade Funnies
6. Flat Top Sally
7. Sometimes I...

I cannot believe it has been one year since I started this… When I reread some of these posts it is amazing to me how faithful the Lord has been over the past year… I have been through a lot…and He has been good all the way!!!

Happy Birthday blog….here’s to the first great year and many more in the future…

The Christmas Dinner that Flopped

One Christmas I thought I was gonna be a big shot and make a casserole for the FATZ Christmas party… I planned on making 2 since there were gonna be about 30 people there… I was so proud of myself… I went to the store and bought all of the ingredients… I was making the casserole that I wrote about a few days ago… the one that my Grandma Maudie taught me how to make… I just knew the recipe by heart after that letter she sent me, so I thought I would give it a try…

After mixing and chopping and stirring and boiling… I put all the ingredients into the casserole dishes and prepared to wait an hour…

After the hour was up… I was ready to sample to make sure it was right… I got a big spoon full and YUCK!!! It was awful… the rice was not done and it tasted like like little peanuts in the casserole…

I thought that maybe it needed to cook longer…. I waited about 30 more minutes… Then still the same thing…. Little peanuts….

I cooked some more and this time added some water… 30 minutes later… still nothing…

By this time it was almost 11:30 pm… I had no idea what was wrong… Thankfully this was before Maudie passed away… I knew she would be awake because she always watched channel 7 news before she went to bed…. Sooo,,,

I called her… I told her exactly what I had done… when I told her how much rice I added, she said …. “Uh Oh”…. I had put a whole cup of rice… it was supposed to be a half a cup…. Thus.. little peanuts…

The casseroles were a loss and I had to go buy some pre-made something for our Christmas party… How Sad!!!

The Best Christmas Gift Ever!!!

This was probably the easiest question to answer the other day on the Christmas Questions Blog… I received the best gift ever just last year... from my friend Mandie… It was the most thoughtful, planned out present ever… Let me explain…

2 years ago I lost my favorite person in the world, Grandma Maudie… If you knew me, then you knew about Maudie… She was the greatest… To most people who know her, she was a grumpy old lady who gossiped about people in Cowpen's… but to me…she was my MAUDIE… I loved going to her house… She always cooked me good food, took me to the Bargain Host to buy a present, Hardee’s for ice cream… I still remember what she got at Hardee’s… A hamburger with mustard, chili and onions.. funny how you remember stuff…

Anyway… I mentioned that she cooked good food for me… One of my favorite dishes she fixed was called Alumnae Casserole ( pronounced A loom en niii) It is the best… If you just ask I would be happy to fix you one and invite you over…. I always told Maudie I wanted to learn how to make one before she passed away…

When I was in college at NGC one day I got a letter from her. Inside was a sweet note and the recipe handwritten from her…Needless to say I was a mess that day, because it made me think about her passing away… I put the letter in a box and honestly forgot about it…

When I moved into my new house in December of ’05 I stumbled about that letter and the recipe… I was so happy to have it… Maudie passed away in May of ’05 and I was missing her something awful that Christmas, especially since I had just moved in to my house… Man how I wanted her to see it!!!

The following Christmas, Mandie, along with Matt’s sneaky assistance, obtained that letter, the recipe, and a photo of me and Maudie from my fire safe box in my bedroom… She took all 3 items and had them matted and framed… See the pic below..
When opened the gift I honestly could not speak for about 30 minutes… The emotions that I had coming out of me, I really didn’t know were there… To this day I cannot look at it without tearing up… To see her face and her very memorable handwriting hanging there is sooooooo special to me… It really was the best present I have ever received.

Christmas Party

I am having a Christmas party tonight... I hope to post pics and videos before I go to bed... 

Tune in later!!!

Ok... Im back... Its late, and I cant sleep... Its 230 AM so I thought I would post some pics from tonight's party!!! Sorry Justin...For some reason it wouldn't let me upload your pic on here...It's on Facebook though!!!

My House all decorated for the evening!!!

One of my 3 trees.... This one is in my bedroom

Everyone begins to arrive and chow down on the GREAT food!!

After Dinner we played games... Apples to Apples....

Then we played one where each party"er" had to tear out a Christmas tree behind their backs... It was hilarious... Cindy, a first time guest to my house was the winner!!!

Sterling and Heather.. notice my pretty tree behind them!!!

Anita and Misty

Cayman and Isaac

Chris posing with one of my prizes.

At the end of the evening we figured out how to set the timer for a group pic... Too bad half of my guests had already left.... O well... I know for next time!!!

Jingle Bells...Jingle Bells... Jingle All the Way!!!

I love Christmas music… I am one of those people that pulls the Christmas CD out some time around August and starts to play it in secret so no one will make fun of me… I have many favorite songs, so it is so hard to make a list but I will attempt to try…

1. Silent Night… My number one all time favorite song has a specific time and place to sing it that makes it my favorite… At the stroke of midnight at Anderson Mill Road Baptist Church singing Silent Night… For that brief moment, it seems as if the whole world is standing still… that there is no trouble, no wars, no famine, no disease… just peace… Everyone standing there worshipping the Lord… You gotta think that is just a little piece of heaven.

2. O Holy Night… I love this song… I just looked at my iTunes and I have 3 different arrangements there… Mariah Cary, Josh Groban, and Celine Dione. They all sing this song the way it supposed to be sung…From your gut…. I love the line in there where it says “truly He taught us, to love one another, His lot is love and His gospel is peace….and in His name all oppression shall cease” I am listening to Celine sing it even as I type…. Fall on your knees, and hear the angel voices….. MAN ALIVE…what a night that must have been!!!!!!!!!! You gotta have a song that moves you like this on your favorites!!!

3. Silver Bells… I love this song because my mom used to sing it all the time when I was little…The other day Matt and I were riding somewhere and this song was on the radio, and sang every word… He laughed at me and said I was the only person to know the 2nd verse of any Christmas carol… What kind I say, my mama taught me well!!!

4. The First Noel… This is on my top 5 because I LOVE to play this one on my trumpet. It sounds so good on trumpet, especially if you are in a large open space where the sound can just echo.

5. It Must’ve Been ‘Ole Santa Claus… This is a fairly new song when compared to others on the list… It is by Harry Connick Jr. It has a great Jazz type feel too it with a nice little dancing beat… I can hardly drive when this one comes on because I bounce all over my seat… If you have never heard it, email me and I will send you the mp3. It is great!!!

What are some of your favorites… Share them with me… Save the complaints about playing music too early… I will pray for you to get in the Christmas Spirit!!!

Christmas Questions???

My friend Stephanie sent me one of those get to know me emails where you fill in the information and the forward it… I admit I almost always delete them… but since it was about Christmas, and I am a Christmas nut, I thought I would read it… I thought I would post the questions and answers here so you could all could get to know a little bit more about my Christmas celebrating habits…

1. Wrapping paper or bags?..... Wrapping paper because bags are no fun… I know they are easier, but that does not matter to me.

2. Real tree or Artificial?..... This is where easiness does matter… Prelit artificial all the way… There will be no more stringing the lights for me.

3. When do you put up your tree? Thanksgiving weekend… ALWAYS!

4. Do you like egg nog? NO!!!!!!!!!

5. Hardest Person to buy for?..... My granny and papa… they have everything!!!

6. Easiest person to buy for?..... My mom… she wants everything!!!

7. Worst Christmas gift you’ve ever received?..... Uh.. Read yesterday’s post

8. Best Gift?..... A framed picture of me and my Great grandma Maudie, who I loved dearly, and her world famous Aluminae Casserole recipe that she hand wrote and mailed to me when I was in college… Mandie had it framed for me last year… I still cannot look at it that I don’t tear up… I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!

9. Have you ever recycled a Christmas gift?..... Absolutely… if I can’t use it and know someone who can then why not share it… Oprah said it was okay!!!

10. Favorite Christmas Movie?..... Elf

11. Favorite Thing to Eat at Christmas?.... The White Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes

12. Clear lights or colored?..... Clear, til I have kids.

13. Favorite Christmas Song?..... I am saving this one for another blog… Come back!!!

14. Angel or Star on top of your tree?..... Neither… I put a Santa hat on top… It looks great!!!

15. Open presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?..... Both… Granny’s on Christmas Eve, Mama’s on Christmas Day

16. Most annoying thing about this time of year?..... All the people whining about Christmas coming to early…. It is the best time of the year… GET OVER IT AND ENJOY THE FESTIVENESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

17. When do you star shopping?..... Uh… August, or sooner if I see something :0)

18. Do you attend Christmas Parades?..... I used to attend them all the time…but not much anymore… I love the Greenville Parade, but I missed it this year

19. Do you send Christmas cards?..... Every year… usually a funny one.

20. What do you want for Christmas?..... I want my surround sound system to be mounted properly in my house… I am tired of the wires snaking every where.

I would love to hear your answers to some of these questions… Hit the leave a comment button and get to writing!!! Merry Christmas!!!

The Worst Christmas Gift Ever!!!

When you are 5 years old and it’s Christmas, there is only one thing on your mind… TOYS, TOYS, TOYS!!!! It doesn’t really matter what kind of toy to a 5 year old, just as long as it’s wrapped in a big box…. There is nothing better than going over to grandma’s and seeing the biggest gift under the tree with your name on it… The rush of excitement, wonder, and curiosity is almost overwhelming…

When I was 5, for one of our many Christmas gatherings, my mom, step-dad, and sister headed over to My Uncle Ben and Aunt Anne’s house… This was a regular Christmas gathering for my mom’s maternal grandmother’s side of the family… We ate like all good Southern people do with family and then the wonderful time arrived…Passing out the presents…

I remember getting my box…I could hardly wait to see what was inside... Was it He-Man?? Or G.I. Joe… I could hardly wait til all the gifts were passed out…That was our tradition… all the gifts had to be out before we opened the first one…For a 5 year that was definitely cruel and unusual punishment.

As I ripped all the paper off and tore into the box my sheer and utter joy turned to complete and utter devastation…There it was…. A baby doo doo green, hand knitted, toboggan…. It laid there, smirking at me, saying… “Ha Ha Ha… I’m not a toy!!!”

I was so upset… I didn’t know what to do… No He-Man…no G.I. Joe…. not even a color book and crayons…. The least I could have gotten was a brown bag full of pecans, fruit and candy canes…but NO…a baby doo doo green, hand knitted, toboggan.

My heart was broken into so many pieces that I did what any self-respecting 5 year old would do…. I pitched a big fit... I was so upset I threw the hat down and said I didn’t want it. You can only imagine where that got me….

My mom jerked me up and took me to the bathroom… A few whacks on the bottom we emerged back into a room full of glaring eyes…

My sweet Aunt Anne made her way over to me, and in her sweeeeeet counnnnnttry voice said… “Sugar, if you don’t want that hat you don’t have to have it…but I thought your purdy little head might get cold this winter, so I made you and all the little people in the family one…”

My mom made say thank you, and I kept the hat… I never have forgotten that hat… It stayed around for a long time… I think when I was about 12 we had a really big snowstorm… I didn’t have a face mask toboggan like I wanted, so I took that one and pulled down the folded up part and cut holes for the eyes and nose…. It turned out to be pretty useful after all.

As an adult I feel so badly about how I must have acted that day…. Thank God for grace!!!

Tell me about your worst gift…. Be careful…people are reading :0)

Christmas Movies

I LOVE Christmas movies.... I actually watch them in secret all year long.... I feel like I am committing a haneous crime when I am sneaking into my room to watch The Grinch during the middle of July...It startles me when my roommate comes in and sees me watching...like I am doing something I'm not supposed to be doing....but I ask myself why???? Who cares when I watch them.....I feel free just typing it.... The guilt and shame are over.... I am letting it all out... I LOVE CHRISTMAS MOVIES....There I feel all better now.... In honor of my new found freedom I thought I would share my favorite Christmas movies with you...

1. Elf.... LOVE this movie.... I cry at the end.... One of Will Ferrell's best movies!!!!
2. The Grinch with Jim Carey..... Its very similar to the exact Dr. Seuss tale and it has a great Christmas message....It comes without boxes, bags, packages, or tags!!!

3. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.... If you have never seen this movie you will have to go the Library to check it out because I don't think they sell it anywhere, if you know where tell me, because I would love to own.... Best movie I have ever seen that tells the true meaning of Christmas!!! It's about a group of motherless children who live on their own and terrorize this town with their bad behavior...They end up taking the leads in the church Christmas pageant and hear about Jesus for the first time... I might cry thinking about it!!!

4. Ernest Saves Christmas…. This is one of Ernest’s best movies…He and a teenage runaway help an older, retiring Santa find and convince the new Santa to take his place and save Christmas….You know what I mean Vern!!

5. It’s A Wonderful Life….. Do I really need to explain this one??? Go find and watch tonight and have a good cry!!!


6. The Christmas Story…. Don’t shoot your eye out kid….this is a great Christmas classic that has been around awhile…..Hopefully all of you have seen it… If you haven’t seriously let me know...because you may be in the 1% of Americans who haven’t…Tune in to TBS on Christmas day… It runs 24 hrs. Awwww Fudge!!!

7. Scrooged….. I am a big Bill Murray fan… Everything he does is funny and it is fitting he did a funny Christmas movie to add to his resume. Typical “Christmas Carol” type story with a Bill Murray twist.

8. Charlie Brown Christmas…. I love this one because it is nationally known and it really shares with viewers the true meaning of Christmas at the end as Charlie Brown reads the Christmas story from the Bible… I even have the theme song on my ring tones…”Christmas time is here…Happiness and cheer….”

9. Home Alone… I love these first one best… 2 is cool with him being in New York....but the first one was a classic…. I liked this one so much I bought the soundtrack.. I know, I know… I am a band nerd…SO WHAT!

10. The Santa Clause 1 & 2… These movies are so good… Rarely do I like sequels, but I really enjoyed the 2nd one as much as the first… I know there is a 3rd to this series but I haven’t seen it yea so I can’t put it on here… Has anyone bought the 3rd one yet that I could borrow.

I hope you guys liked my Christmas movies favorites…. Did I leave yours off??? Tell me what it is!!! Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Blogs Begin

To Celebrate the Christmas Season, I thought I would share some of my favorite Christmas memories with you throughout December... in turn I hope that you will share some of yours on my comment page.

One of the first memories that I want to share with you is a funny one..... On Christmas morning I am usually the first one up.... This started very early in my life.. In fact, I have no memories of me not being the first one awake until maybe a year ago....

As a result of me being the first one up, my mom and step dad often missed my first reaction to all of the gifts that "Santa" brought. I used to get up and be half way through the gifts before my parents rustled from their late night hangovers (just being sleepy, not an alcoholic one)

I would be up to my neck in wrapping paper and already over the excitement of the new stuff I had just opened before my sweet mama even got to see me open anything..... Don't cry though...She had a plan for me!!!!!

To break me of this unfortunate habit, one year my mom and Santa decided to play a trick on me.... When I woke up on Christmas morning the kitchen table had been turned over and was standing from end to end blocking the hallway from my room to the living room....

I ran with a hysterical disappointment to my parents room and began to yell and fuss about how Santa had been there and destroyed our kitchen.... My mom explained to me that she wanted to see me open the gifts so she asked Santa to keep me out until she woke up.....

I was so AMAZED at the power Santa had.... He is such a cool man.... I still haven't figured out when mama talked to Santa.... I never saw her sit on his lap at the mall.... I guess Santa just know everything after all huh???