Favorite Christmas Tradition

I have decided to join the MckLinky Blog Hop and for those that do not know what that is, I will spare you the details and go on with my blog. ~smile~

In thinking about my Favorite Christmas Tradition the very first thing that came to my mind was our Birthday Party for Jesus each Christmas Eve. I suppose we started this tradition when our son turned 2 years old and continued it through their high school years. Sometimes I would bake the cake with their assistance and other times I would have a small one done at the bakery. We explained to the children how Christmas was Jesus' birthday and we celebrated His birth by giving gifts to each other. We always had one candle on the cake and told them that represented that Jesus was the "Light of the World."

Each year as the children grew older we explained more in depth about Jesus' birth and we always read, and still do, the Christmas Story from Luke. I believe that both our son and daughter would say that this is a very special memory for them, and we now look forward to beginning this same tradition with our Grandson and Granddaughter next year.

It seems that Christmas is sadly becoming more and more commercialized each year and it is traditions such as this that hopefully help to remind us of the real "reason for the season." I struggle each year with all the gifts that are given at our house and while I thoroughly enjoy seeing our children delight in their gifts, the greatest delight I could possibly ever have is knowing that they are grounded in their faith and love the Lord their God with all their heart and soul. Hopefully our Christmas Eve tradition of Jesus' Birthday party made a lasting impact on their lives.

Thanksgiving Thoughts

It is 5 days before Thanksgiving. I have a few Thanksgiving decorations out and the front door is adorned with a fall arrangement, a colorful flag flies from a tree in our front yard and there's a Thanksgiving welcome sign to greet our guests.


Bridget and her family will arrive tomorrow and Tommy's sister and her husband will arrive Monday evening. It will be a week full of activity and memory making. I have been to the grocery store multiple times this week trying to make sure I have everything I need for the meals I'll be preparing. But, no doubt, we'll be needing something else before the week is over.

Of course, my Mom will not be with us this year and she always loved our "family times." She could enjoy just sitting and watching everyone have fun and take it all in. I take comfort in the fact that she will be enjoying the greatest Thanksgiving feast of all, around the table with our Lord and Savior.


I am thankful for:
a God that loved me enough to send his ONLY son Jesus to die for my sins so that I might have life eternal

being raised in a christian home where my parents not only told me about Jesus but
lived a Godly example before me

a husband that loves me and our children and would do almost anything in the
world for us

a son, daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren that bring
so much delight to my life

christian friends that we have such good times with

My "thankful list" could go on forever, but the above list is at the very top.

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." Psalm 107:1

Wishing you and yours a most wonderful Thanksgiving!

Hair Styles

Okay, I know, you are probably wondering what this blog is all about and also probably wondering why I would choose such a topic. Well, women and their hair is so interesting to me. About a year ago I went with the straighter look and definitely think that was a good decision. When my favorite son-in-law (he's my only one) first became a part of our family, he called my hair "bounce back hair." Yes, he really did! He said that because if the wind blew it, it always went right back to where it was. ~chuckle~


I have very thick and course hair, so I can just pretty much bend it where I want it and it will stay there. As I look back at pictures I wonder how I could have walked out of the house with my hair looking as it did at times. But, I suppose that when I looked in the mirror, I must have thought it looked just fine. Surely I did!




And, believe it or not, my hair is not teased in any of the "puffy" hairdos. That's all my hair!



In some of these pictures it almost looks like I have a mushroom sitting on top of my head. Oh! me! Think it was definitely a wise choice when I decided to go "straighter and flatter." And, it's okay if you agree! ~laugh~


Now, you must know, going from "fluffy" to "flat" was a real challenge for me. It took me a while to figure out in the world to get all the "poof" out of my hair. It required me learning to use a flat iron. And, just let me tell you that Chi is the best one on the market!! Especially when you have as much hair as I have. I had used hot rollers and curling irons for so, so many years, that I had not a clue as to how to use a flatiron.

But, as with many things, the more you use it the better you get. My daughter and daughter in law are "masters" of a flat iron and I'm getting there.


Yes, women and their hair are so interesting. I loved the day when I realized that it didn't really matter what anyone else thought about my hair as long as I was happy. That was so "freeing" to me. And, I realized that while hair is important, it is just hair! ~smile~ The sun will come up or it will rain tomorrow regardless of my hair. And, most importantly, God is and always will be on His throne, regardless of my hair.



Now, I'm sure you are still scratching your head wondering why in the world I did a blog such as this. Well, I am having my blogs printed in book form at www.Blog2print.com so that when I am gone from this earth, my children can pull them out and "remember" their Mom. Guess I must have thought that they might find this one of my more entertaining blogs. I promise my next blog will have a deeper meaning. But, hopefully I did provide a smile or two for you today.

The Shack — SeriousFaith.com - Brent Riggs

Cover of The Shack

This morning I ran across the following article concerning the book, The Shack and felt led to post it to my blog. I've read The Shack and it left me with an uneasy feeling and I could never put into words why it did. As Christians we can be so easily influenced by something so "seemingly good" and we must be "on guard" at all times and be very careful what we endorse as good. May this article bless you as much as it did me. A wonderful week to all!

The Shack — SeriousFaith.com - Brent Riggs

The Knot has been Tied...............

At 1:00 o'clock this afternoon, my Dad took Sybil Stevenson to be his wife. I had really been "gearing up" for this occasion all week because I felt like it would be a very emotional time for me. But, I did so well and I know that it was only because I had some dear folks praying for me and the Lord granted me peace for the day.

It was such a sweet ceremony and and they are both such fine folks and I wish for them many years of happiness. The smiles on their faces told the whole story.

The Happy Couple

Tommy and me before the ceremony

Donya and Ross before the ceremony

The two daughters with their parents

Pronounced Husband and Wife

The "new" blended family minus the brothers

Now, to begin making their memories, may they have many to make. They are a special couple and I'm so glad that the Lord saw fit to bring their lives together.

Happy 80th Birthday to my Dad!!

My Dad

On this day, 80 years ago, my Dad was born in the little town of Mansfield, Arkansas. He was my Grandparents second child and first son. My Grandmother (bless her soul) was just certain that she was having a girl and had the name Alice Jean picked out for her. Well, what a surprise when she came out a he. Rather than try to come up with a name for him, she just took the initials from the girls name, A J, and that was what he was named. That served him fine until he joined the Navy and they informed him that he would have to have a name to go with those initials. So, he thought Alfred John fit nicely, and that has been his name ever since. I have always found that to be the most interesting story and I've always told him that I thought he did a great job naming himself. Alfred John has such a nice "ring" to it! For most of his life he's just been called "Bro. Al" and that fits him well too.


We celebrated Dad's 80th birthday this past Saturday evening with a family dinner. I have always enjoyed getting ready for a dinner such as this and I was right proud of myself and the way my tablescape came together. Certainly nothing difficult, but I thought it looked very festive and added a nice touch to our dinner table. I must admit that I got the idea out of Southern Living a couple of years ago and embellished it just a little with my own ideas.


Daddy has always enjoyed a good time and he got right into the "spirit" of celebrating Saturday evening. As you can see from the photo above that he is quite the sport and was enjoying every minute of his celebration.


My youngest brother flew in from Des Moines for the occasion and that made it all the more special. We had our son and his family, Dad's "soon to be wife" and her daughter and son in law present too. It was a fun night of celebrating a very special man. Dad has always taken the best of care of himself and wants to live a long life and wants to live it in the healthiest manner than he can. Thus he has tried to do the things that will hopefully not only allow him to live a long life , but to live a full life as long as the Lord gives him breath.

What a special man and I love him dearly!

A Little More About Me.......

I was tagged by a "blogging friend" to play along with "Tag Your It" and decided that it might be something fun for me and for my ever faithful readers. ~smile~ I really do enjoy learning new things about folks and this may definitely tell you things that you really do not care to know about me, but perhaps you will find this blog entry fun and entertaining. So here goes.....

A - Age: 57 and proud of every year. ~chuckle~

B - Bed size: KING - and we can hardly stand it if we have to stay somewhere that doesn't have one. It was the first thing we bought after we married. We began married life on a regular size feather bed and two months into marriage we knew that we had to make a change. So, to the furniture store we went and then to one of the corner finance companies to make payment arrangements for the bed. We paid $200 for the bed and in 1971 that was a pile of money and we paid $20 a month on that bed for a very long time. We probably paid for the bed twice with the "tagged on" finance charges. Guess that says how important a king size bed was to us then and continues to be to this day.

C - Chore you hate: Dusting and cleaning ceiling fans.

D - Dog's name: Rhett and Rosco

E - Essential start your day item: A fresh brewed cup of java and communion with my Lord.

F - Favorite color: Red. Royalty. Blood of Christ. Redemption.

G - Gold or Silver: Both, please!

H - Height: 5' 6"

I - I am: organized

J - Job: Domestic Engineer, have always loved being a homemaker and all that it entails, and before Domestic Diva became a "popular term" the term Domestic Engineer served us well.

K - Kids: a son and a daughter, exactly what I wanted and in the order I wanted them. ~smile~

L - Living arrangements: A red brick two story house that we have lived in for 28 years.

M - Mom's name: Geraldine, but always went by Jerry

N - Nicknames: None currently, but in elementary I was often called "Leta Bug." Don't even ask me why, cause I don't know. But, I thought it was sort of cute.

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Miscarriage in 1974, hysterectomy in 1986

P - Pet Peeve: folks not having deposit tickets made out before they get to the bank window, and folks not having money or check ready when they are in the check out line, that is unless they are disabled or elderly

Q - Quote from a movie: cannot think of one, guess that's pitiful isn't it?

R - Right or left handed: Right.

S - Siblings: Two younger brothers

T - Time you wake up: Mon - Fri at 5:40, Sat & Sun. around 6:30

U- Underwear: well, yes and I even wear slips occasionally and I think I may be the only woman left on planet earth that actually still wears a slip

V - Vegetable you dislike: I LOVE vegetables, but if a t0mato is considered a vegetable, then I dislike them very much.

W - Ways you run late: I hate to say that I don't, but???? If I'm with someone else and they are running late, then, of course, that makes me late too

X - X-rays you've had: Shoulder and back

Y - Yummy food you make: I make delicious fudge, it's creamy and I put lots of walnuts in it

Z - Zoo Animal: Monkeys they are so human it's scary