Our Family - 2015

Just want to put this out there: I am so very proud of my family. That includes my husband, my kids, my children's spouses, and my grandchildren. Each one is special in their own way.

My husband has been a wonderful provider and protector through our almost 38 years of marriage. He will always be my Knight in Shining Armor. I am so proud to be his wife, and to have lived this life together. We have had a wonderful ride in this thing we call Life. It has not been easy all the time, but the good definitely has outweighed the bad.

Chrissy, has always worked to help provide for her family, proud at how she has never met a stranger, and keeps busy with Austin and Jordyn. When she was younger, I never had to fight her to get up in the mornings. She was always ready to face the new day. Josh is a great Dad, has a special relationship with his two kids. I have watched the interaction between him and the kids, esp Austin, and he is great with them.

Devin, who has become a great young man.  He held out for a special woman to become his wife after having heartbreak. And how he has taught himself to play the guitar and other instruments, and have become a very good at it (not with any help from me). He is also very good at writing songs. Erin, you are a very special daughter, can't say in law, because you are like a daughter to me. You have made my son very happy and you two make a great pair. Looking forward to seeing the newest grandchild in March of 2016.

Heather, I have watched her transform into a wonderful woman, great wife and mom to her boys. She has  made their little house a beautiful home. Her little boys are truly Mama's boys, and they know how much she loves them. Travis, you are very talented when it comes to music. And I am proud of how you have provided for your little family. I know its not always easy. God will always bless you for that.

And I am so proud of the little guys in our family, Austin, Jordyn, Porter, Jackson and new ones that will come along. Each one has special qualities and I have a fondness and love for each of them, a special place in my heart for each.

All three of our kids, have many qualities of their father. They each have a calmness and soft speech as their father. I hope that each of these individuals that make up our little family, know how proud I am of them all and that I love them all.

Each of these families within our family also have a heart for God. And have built their home on Jesus, and the little ones are being taught about Him. How that church is very important, and that the parents are being those Christian leaders of their homes. No, none of them are perfect but I believe that each set of parents are striving to be better parents through Him. Hopefully Ricky and I have set examples for them to follow on this family thing.

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

       Easter Sunday, April 11, 1971

         This song has been playing on a TV commercial lately. Every time I hear it, it takes me way back to another time. Another age. My son (in law), asked a question on Facebook if there was a song, that when you hear it now, takes it instantly take you make to another place. Well, here is my song:

"Here comes Peter Cottontail, Hoppin' down the bunny trail, Hippity hoppin', Easter's on its way, 

Bringin' every girl and boy, Baskets full of Easter joy, Things to make your Easter bright and gay

He's got jelly beans for Tommy, Colored eggs for sister Sue, 

There's an orchid for your mommy, And an Easter bonnet too

Oh! here comes Peter Cottontail, Hoppin' down the bunny trail
Hippity hoppity, happy Easter Day

Here comes Peter Cottontail, Hoppin' down the bunny trail, Hippity hoppin', Easter's on its way, 

Try to do the things you should, Maybe if you're extra good, He'll roll lots of Easter eggs your way

You'll wake up on Easter mornin', And you'll know that he was there
When you find those chocolate bunnies, That he's hiding everywhere

Oh! here comes Peter Cottontail, Hoppin' down the bunny trail
Hippity hoppity, happy Easter Day"

        Easter was quite the big deal when I was growing up. Even though, at the time, my family did not attend church very much, we still were dressed up. I remember we went shopping before Easter, and found the perfect dresses, suits, hats, and shoes. The song "Here Comes Peter Cottontail", was THE song we learned and sang for the holiday. And we knew the words too. Time has slowly taken away the memories of those lyrics, but not enough so, that I cannot remember them at all. 

       Thank God for those memories. In the above picture, that is my Mom in the yellow dress, and I am standing behind her, my cousin Denny is behind me. My cousin Denise is in the front of the donkey and the two boys in the back are my cousin Jimmy and my brother Keith. I wonder if they have the same memories of this song as I do? The song has not been lingering in my mind lately though. Is that because I am now of the "age"? And these songs have no place? Not at all. I taught this song to my kids when they were growing up and I guess I need to be teaching it to my grandkids now. I hope my kids all have those same fond memories of Easter as I have carried for these many years now. 

       The memories of looking for the right dress up clothes, the excitement of a waiting Easter basket, the Easter egg hunts (with real eggs that we colored ourselves), the coloring of many Easter eggs, (that were eaten for a week past Easter),  the big Easter dinner that my grandmother made for all of the family. Seems so long ago now. But what fun we had.

        Now I know that Easter is not the eggs, the baskets, the dress up clothes, but the day our Lord and Savior rose again from the tomb. That is another treasure full of memories. As I got older, that became very important to me. And we have taught our kids that this is the very heart of Easter, not the other stuff. But we also had fun with the kids doing the egg hunts, shopping for clothes the Easter baskets, and those things made for great memories as our kids were growing up. 

        And now that we have grandchildren, I want to make those fun memories with them too, along with teaching them that Jesus is the reason for Easter. i want them to grow up with the kinds of memories I had growing up. We will celebrate Easter as a family on Good Friday. We will talk about what Easter means, but we will also color Easter eggs, have an Easter egg hunt, and I will give them Easter baskets. We will be making those memories that will last a lifetime.

It's NOT Holiday Gifts

Just want to get this off my chest. Today, I heard someone say they were almost finished with their Christmas shopping, then said, oh I am sorry, I mean Holiday gifts. What? I am in no way calling my gifts Holiday gifts and not Christmas gifts. Christmas contains the word "Christ" and that is THE only reason why we have Christmas. Because God sent His only begotten son, to earth, as a baby, that would grow into a man who would tell others about salvation. That is why Christmas is so special. No, this Christ child was not born on the 25th of December, as far as we know, but that date still signifies a day, in history, that this child was born. So for me, I will always say Christmas, not holidays. It's not Holiday gifts, or Happy Holidays to me, but Christmas gifts and Merry Christmas is what you will hear from me.

The A - Z of Christmas - The Rest of the Alphabet

OK.....so time has definitely swept by and I am way behind on this.  And being that Christmas is just 3 days away, and with the hustle and bustle....I am going to finish my A - Z of Christmas.

P - Porter's First Christmas - altho he will prob not remember anything of it, and will probably not be that interested in Christmas gifts...it is still his First Christmas.

Q - If anyone can think of a Q for Christmas, would you please let me know.....

R - One of the highlights of the Christmas season, is Riding around looking at Christmas lights. Yes, I know that this is not what Christmas is about....or is it?....but I am so blessed to have eyes that can see, that I love seeing all the beautiful lights and decorations.

S - Star the Wise Men saw
      Stockings - just one of those traditions that we have had since being married
      Santa Claus - many memories associated with Santa Claus....the biggest one, was when my Grandfather dressed up as Santa for all of us grandchildren, and then he did it for his great granddaughter, Chrissy.

T - Tinsel    Toys      Tree

U - ??????

V - Much Visiting goes on during the Christmas and New Year's holidays.

W - Wisemen, and Writing letters to Santa Claus, I sure wish I would kept all those letters to Santa.

X - does X-changing gifts work for X?

Y - Yuletide - period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6  - Christmastide

Z - again I came up with nothing for Z.... did you?

Thanks for going along with me on this little ride of the A - Z of Christmas. Any thoughts or imput is very welcome.
MERRY  CHRISTMAS!!! and Happy New Year!

The A - Z of Christmas - L, M, N and O

L - Lights, of course. I love riding around and looking at lights. Especially the light display at The Herr's Potato Chip Factory in Nottingham, PA.

M - Magi - the three wise men that visited the Christ child.  Another M - Money....

N - Nativity - love plays centered around the Nativity. Also enjoy Live Nativities, which I have been involved in many.

O - Ornaments - I have accumulated many ornaments over the years, and have to use each one every year.

The A - Z of Christmas - J & K

J  -  Christmas would not be Christmas, if not for JESUS, of course. That little baby born one morning.....come to the earth for a purpose. This is the main letter, standing for Jesus, of the whole alphabet, regarding Christmas.

J  -  Jingle Bells....not just the song Jingle Bells, but jingle bells. I have bells hanging on several doors throughout the Christmas season. Jingle bells to me, is joy, but ringing.

K  -  (this comes from Travis).....Kissing under the mistletoe....I have mistletoe hanging up in the kitchen, not sure if he and Heather have kissed under it or not yet. As for me....I will never tell   ;).

What are your J's and K's of Christmas??

The A - Z of Christmas - I

I - Icicles  -   We used to use icicles all the time until we found out how dangerous it could be to animals. Now not so much. I think the reason was because of the dogs....that are no longer with us. Now it is probably because of Walter the cat. I do think that icicles really brighten a tree because it sparkles. Wow, the I's of Christmas are hard to come up with. Can you think of just one? I would love to know what you come up with.

The A - Z of Christmas - G and H

G - The precious Gift of God's Son, Jesus Christ.

G -  Glitter....how many times in my life has glitter been a apart of Christmas.... As a Sunday School teacher.....my class used glitter alot. Wanted to make any Christmas projects pop out. And oh the glitter that you can never get off your hands, your face, your clothes, etc. And we also used glitter when homeschooling. Always had the stuff on hand, ready to use.

G  -  Now that I am older, Christmas time is much grander...because of our 3 Grandchildren. Oh to see the sights and sounds of Christmas through a child's eyes.

G -  One of our biggest traditions, is Getting a live Christmas tree. The kids always loved to go and help out a tree. Some still do. Although that is getting increasingly harder to find a time when we can all get together to do this. Some years we have gotten a tree that would already be cut. The fun times, though , is when we go to a  tree farm, to find that perfect tree, and cut it down ourselves.

H - Herr's Potato Chip Factory drive through lights display......this is a highlight for me. We always have to drive through two or three times because you can't see it all the first time through. Then to park and have to get out and take pictures of us standing next to something.....most likely the caterpillar. When we are finished, then it is off to Wawa (right across the road), for hot chocolate or coffee.

H - Hot Chocolate

H - Ho Ho Ho ----Even though our emphasis is not on Santa Claus for Christmas.....(we do very much believe that Jesus is the reason for the Christmas Season, and the reason we give gifts, is because God gave the ultimate Gift...His Son)....it is still alot of fun to create memories in our family that deal with Santa and Ho Ho Ho.

What are your G's & H's?

The A - Z of Christmas - F

The F of Christmas
Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.....how many Christmas Plays have I been in throughout my years. You cannot have a Christmas play of the Nativity and not have props for the Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.  Another F...is a big one for me....FAMILY. Throughout the years we have tried to create some traditions that our kids, and now our grandchildren that would give them lasting memories. Christmas, for us, is a time when we gather as a family, and celebrate the birth of a King, and give gifts to each other as God gave the ultimate Gift, His Son, for us.

The A - Z of Christmas - E

The A - Z of Christmas  -  E
This was one of the harder letters.....I came up with Christmas Eve. It seems we have all the kids around on Christmas Eve as well as Christmas night. I have been doing our Christmas Dinner on Christmas Eve for the last couple of years.We have also went around riding to look at Christmas lights. Christmas Eve is when the last minute gifts get wrapped. After everyone (even now) goes to bed...I go and fill stockings. Also on Christmas Eve is when we would write our letter to Santa Claus. These are just little traditions we have started over the years. It's funny, I can still remember the first few Christmases of our married life, and Christmas Eve when Chrisy was little.

The a - Z of Christmas - D

What would our celebration of Christmas be without decorations. We have put up inside and outside decorations since we have been married. Sometimes we get the feeling why do we mess with all of this. But every year, we get the decorations out, and just can't seem to help ourselves. It brings back such fond memories of when I was little, and when our kids were little, how much they looked forward to seeing the lights at night. Now we have the grandkids, so it is hard to not use our decorations. One of the highlights for me, is all of us piling into the van to go to the Herr's Potato Chip Factory to see their huge Christmas light display....beautiful.
Another D - Christmas Dinner....either at my house with our family, or at church with our church family. Always a high point to the Christmas season. Do you have another D for Christmas???

The a - Z of Christmas - C

The C of Christmas

 Of course, the big C word would be Christmas, but that is obvious.
What would Christmas be without these things that begin with the letter C: Chocolate drops, Christmas cards, baking Christmas cookies, candy canes and caroling. These are a few words that come to my mind.
Chocolate drops again take me back to my younger years and our church Christmas programs. My grandfather would buy and bag all of the treat bags. And those treat bags ALWAYS contained Chocolate Drops. In those days, Kleins only had one store and that was on the the corner of Jarrettsville Pike and Route 24, right in the center of Forest Hill. And in that store, there were bins and bins of candy, especially at Christmas time. What a memory of going in there and scooping out candy from those bins.
I have been doing Christmas cards ever since we were married....34 years ago. With the price of postage, alot of card sending has stopped. There was a time when we would receive ten or more cards everyday for Christmas. But not the times are tough. And virtual cards have taken over. But it is not the same.
And it has become a tradition for us, that I bake Christmas cookies every year. These are given as gifts, and then we also have tins for us to eat whenever we feel like it. And even though my kids are all grown....they still have their favorite that Mon just has to make. So it will be again this year.
Candy canes....even though I do not like to eat them much....are one of my favorite things for the holidays. There was a time when the kids were smaller, that candy canes were our theme for decorating outside. I guess those decorations are just a memory now....who knows what happened to those decorations.
Christmas caroling has been a big part of my church life. Even now, we still (our church) will go caroling. It is a lot of fun, no matter, if we are outside going from house to house, or in a nursing home going from room to room. We always make a treat bag to give to each person. It brings such a joy to those who hear, and also those of us who sing....to see the big smiles of those who enjoy it.
Those are some of C's of Christmas? What are ours?

The A - Z of Christmas - A & B

So I wanted to do another Christmas blog, and came up with this idea......The A - Z of Christmas.
And seeing that I am 2 days late already....today's blog will be A  &  B. If you want to add comments about what comes to your mind with each letter, please do so. Would love to see what comes on everyone's mind.

A -  Apples and oranges......Growing up in church all of my life, has given me many special memories. And one of those memories is Christmas Programs. I have been involved in plays and programs for as long as I can remember. But as a young girl, still living at home with my grandfather and grandmother, there is  a special memory during Christmas that deal with apples and oranges. When our church would have our Annual Christmas Program....my grandfather would put treat bags together. These bags always included hard candy, chocolate candy and of course, apples and oranges. Today, at the church my husband pastors....we put treat bags together at Christmas time when we go caroling to those that are sick and shut in. And, of course, they always contain apples and oranges.

B - Beautiful Star of Bethlehem.....what else can I say about this beautiful Christmas hymn. It has been a a favorite of mine since I was a little girl.

So what is your A and B of Christmas?

To Decorate Alot or A Little

Another Christmas is just around the corner....and Hubby and I go through this decision every year....to decorate alot or a little? Every year we say we are only going to decorate a little...but when we get the boxes out, we always say...well we might as well put this out too. So, I looked at a picture from last year of the outside of our house decorated. And I look at it, and I say to myself...How can we not put out Joseph and Mary? Or how can I not put out that Momma Reindeer and her two babies? Then we do have the Grandchildren, and this will be Porter's first Christmas, how do we not put out all the things that we have for years, and this being his first Christmas? What about Austin and Jordyn? They will know that this or that is missing. But on the other hand, it is so much work....and it's cold.    I remember my Grandfather..he would always decorate for Christmas....ALOT. He was a painter by trade so the heights or ladders did not scare him. And he always did it. And usually On a Sunday, he would gather us all up, me, my brother and all my cousins, for the big initial turn on of the decorations. That began Christmas Season for us. Hubby and I went to Home Depot last night, and while we were there, I, of course, had to walk through the Christmas aisles. There was Santa in his sleigh and his reindeers (the hard plastic kind), that brought my mind back to Christmases Past. My grandfather had one of these (I wonder where it is now), that he would put up on the roof of our 2 story house every year. I will never forget that. So here we are trying decide if we decorate alot or a little. Not sure how this will play out in the next few weeks, but once those Christmas decoration boxes are out...who knows what will happen.....maybe we should ask Austin, Jordyn and Porter.

34 Years Ago

Wow! Thirty four years ago, today, I married my childhood sweetheart. I remember that day so well. We were both just 17. (No we did not have to get married). There was no high priced wedding, although we did marry in a church and had a reception. My wedding dress was a white prom gown that I bought in Modern's Formal Wear in the Harford Mall. I just added a nice veil and I had a wedding dress. We bought our own invitations and flowers. The only things that our families helped pay for, was our reception costs. They rented the hall, they decorated (after we had a rehearsel), and they furnished all the food. We had one attendant each, no flower girl or ring bearer. Just a very simple, but nice wedding.

 Now, after 34 years, would I have done things differently? Not a chance. Everything we did, is just what we wanted. Didn't need to spend a lot of money. It was our wedding, and we, and everybody who attended, had a great time (and we didn't even have a DJ....imagine that). We have not always had the best marriage, but we have always tried to work things out. I guess you could say, that we grew up being married.

I have been 34 years with my best friend, my lover, my confidant, my Shining Knight, (I think you get the picture), and I would never trade that for the biggest, most expensive wedding we could have had.

"We're Still Having Fun...And You're Still The One"

Vacation 2011 - part 6

Our last  and final day of vacation had high points and low points. One of the high points of course, is that we would be home before day's end. Not only did we get to eat at the Johnny Appleseed Restaurant in New Market Virginia (and their famous and very yummy apple fritters), we also passed by Dinosaur Land in Front Royal, and also stopped at a few flea markets and antique malls.
One low point, was that we went miles and miles out of the way, to go to the Walton's Mountain Museum in Schuyler Virginia. I have always wanted to go there, since I am a huge Waltons fan. But what a waste of time. We spent $7 a piece to get in (verses the $3 we paid to get into the Andy Griffith Museum) and it was quite a disappointment.  Definitely not what I expected.

  Another low point was the AC in the van. We noticed it was getting warmer and warmer. We almost made it home too. About 20 miles to go to Baltimore, on Route 70, and something blows under the hood. All we can see is this smoke and water coming out the back of the van. Luckily, we were close to a rest stop, and we find that a hose on the AC compressor busted, letting out all the freon and oil in the compressor. We were thankful that that was all it was, at least we could get home. But the closer we got to the beltway, the hotter it got. Too hot for no AC in a vehicle. This was during one of those very hot weeks.  But we made it home and were very glad and thankful to be there. Our trip was very nice, at least we got to get away for awhile.

Vacation 2011 - part 5

Now, on day Friday, we went to a little town in North Carolina, called Mt. Airy.

This is the town where Andy Griffith was born and raised. We are huge Andy Griffith fans. We went to the Andy Griffith Museum, that houses alot of his memorabilia of movies, TV shows, etc. It was an honor to be able to go here. The older part of town is the same as when Andy was a boy. The Main Street has stores that were used in the Andy Griffith Series. You could just imagine him going into these stores as a boy. One of the highlights, was the barber shop where they took the idea for Floyd's barber shop on the show. This man has been cutting hair for over 65 years. What a gentlemen. He has every wall of his shop filled with pictures of tourists that have come through. We are probably on that wall by now, as he also took our picture.  Also went into the soda shop where we found fried apples pies, just like Ricky's Mom used to make. What a treat. We made our way over to the newer part of town, to find a Wal Mart (of course) and to find something to eat. While I am waiting for Hubby in Wal Mart at the food court, in walk a few old friends that we had not seen in years. Had no idea that the lived in this part of North Carolina. That will remain one of my biggest memories of this trip.

Vacation 2011 - part 4

Thursday morning finds us on our way to NC and VA. We make our way through the state of Tennessee, driving another 6 hours. We make a pit spot in Marion Va, then hit route 16, headed to Troutdale, VA. I was able to see my cousins, Debbie and Rosie, and my Aunt Artie, whom I haven't seen in over ten years. What a host of memories that came flooding back. On our way to Troutdale, we passed the entrance to Mt Rogers Park. So many times, when I was younger, a bunch of us would go up on the top. The curves were outrageous.

My aunt Artie is my grandmother's youngest sister. My grandmother left us long ago, and seeing Aunt Artie was very emotional for me, since she looks so much like Granny. Again, many memories came flooding back from being in Aunt Artie's house. Being a kid, and laying in bed upstairs, listening to all the adults in the kitchen talking, or the outhouse that was in the backyard (that was actually the bathroom), the hand pump at the kitchen sink, listening to the ghost stories, and so many more. So glad that I got to see these ladies. Wish I could have had time to see more of my relatives, lots of catching up to do. After this short visit, we finally arrived at our destination in Fancy Gap, Va. Our next stop, has to do with Sheriff Andy. To be continued.....

Vacation 2011 - part 3

Continuing on......I have not mentioned that the portion of our trip that has us in Bowling green, was paid for by our son Devin, this was his Christmas present to us. So most everything has already been paid for, for three nights. So Wednesday found us at the Corvette Assembly Plant. This is the ONLY place that Corvettes are made. What a great tour. Saw the Corvette being made in all aspects. At this time, they are building 2012 Corvettes...new color schemes. I picked mine...yellow convertible with black top. After these last two days, we would really like to have another Corvette. We spent the rest of the day going to antique malls....one called the Vette Antique Mall....how appropriately named, since it is right next door to the assembly plant. Dinner found us at Ryan's Buffet...almost identical to Golden Corral.. Tomorrow (Thursday) we leave Bowling Green Kentucky, headed to North Carolina and Virginia. To be continued.......

Vacation 2011 - part 2

Front view of the honeymoon cottage

The back view of the honeymoon cottage

The rickety old roller coaster

After we arrived in Bowling Green, around 6 pm Monday evening, the first thing we did, was eat dinner at a White Castle Hamburger joint.....have always wanted to eat there.  The next morning (Tuesday) found us at the Bowling Green Visitor's Center, just to see what else was around besides the Corvette Assembly Plant and the Corvette Museum. There happened to be a place called Lost River Cave, where you went into the cave on a boat. Like a cavern, but missing the walking part. This was pretty cool, except for me, who does not swim nor likes tight places. The first thing we had to do while in this boat, was to bend down as far as we could until we got past a very low hanging portion of the cave. And...the main road went right over it. The neatest thing was that this used to be a great attraction in it's day...with a honeymoon cottage on the hill. The cottage is still there....not much to see now. And there is a ballroom at the entrance of this cave, that is still used. We also  found out that there is a race track there....drag racing that is, called Beech Bend Racetrack. (Forgot to mention this, but on Monday night, we found a car cruise....imagine that, of all things.) Also in this area, an amusement park called Beech Bend, with a very very old rickety roller coaster, that they still used. This day also found us at The National Corvette Museum. But on the way, we found Art's Auto Mart. Art has classic cars for sale, but has them showcased in a very large building, like a museum. Although these cars are for sale, he charges $5 a person to go in. And of course, we paid to get in, there were classic cars there, what else would I expect us to do. After Art's Auto Mart, we headed over to the Corvette Museum, which was right across the road. We really enjoyed the museum, only showcasing the Corvette through the years. By now, it was time for our third fill up....gas, that is. We also filled up too, at TGI Friday's on a BOGO offer. Too bad we didn't have a BOGO offer per gallon of gas.