Traditions...

are such memory-keepers aren't they?

Our daughters told us their memories of Christmas: putting the manager scene together one piece per night, then finding Baby Jesus somewhere in the living room on Christmas morning & putting Him in His proper place...reading the Christmas story from Luke on Christmas Eve...buying a small family present for each other and opening them on Christmas Eve....knowing that daddy alway enjoyed buying the stocking stuffers...Christmas stocks....Happy Birthday Jesus cake for b'fast BEFORE opening presents.....watching all of the old Christmas movies starting 2 wks prior to Christmas.

Tonight Stve n I watched a memorable movie "The Charlie Brown Christmas". How much better does it get when (My fav character) Linus takes his thumb out of his mouth, hangs onto his blankee and says "Lights Please" then he starts to recite the real Christmas story. I love his lyspe!

Our first Christmas tree as a married couple was a "fuller brush" artifical tree from a grocery store(Piggley Wiggley) in southern Texas. BECAUSE to get real trees to southern Texas, they were shipped in refrigerated train cars and they cost A MINT~! The only one we could afford (real that is) really did look like the Charlie Brown tree, really! So we purchased our artifical tree for a whopping $10. (and kept it for at least 5 yrs) So $2 per/yr was a great deal!

While stationed in Va.Bch, Va....I was taking this tree down and one of the "fuller brush" branches was stuck, so I sat my sweet toddler on the couch and proceeded to pull, I got it unstuck but it went into my left eye!OUCH~!

But really, I would never take any of that back for a bigger, better tree or gifts or home. The laughter Steve n I went thru trying to pick out the perfect tree on an E2 paycheck, we were so proud of our little 5' tree.

Now we have a 10 footer but while living in an apt, can not put it up. And w/my vertigo, not much is going up anyway! The neat thing is: CHRISTMAS WILL STILL COME, we will celebrate w/family memories of yrs past, gifts that didn't work,Operation Christmas Child, batteries that were forgotten, knowing we helped needy families in our town, blessed w/lots of food to eat, and most importantly: the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus!

PS...I may not get all the decorations up that I want this yr, but I promise I will take down the harvest wreath and take "the sure to be ripe" pumpkins off of the patio table!