Happy 34th Birthday, Aaron!

Happy Birthday to our handsome son-in-law, Aaron.  Hayley made a wonderful choice in husbands.  He's a great guy, even though he is a brat!  (Fits right in our family. Dennis and Nicholas are brats, too!)

Actually, he is a fine young man, great husband, and loving father.  It is obvious just by watching him with Molly how much he loves her and vice versa!  Molly is a fortunate little girl.

We  see so many great qualities in Aaron.  He is a hard worker, a good provider, and a tender-hearted man.  I always notice his good manners, too.  We are so glad that he has a heart for God.  That is very important to us.  We have no doubt that he and Hayley will raise Molly in a Christian home.

So sorry that Aaron had to work on his birthday.  There ought to be a law about that!  :D  Dennis and I hope he has a good day and a fun evening with his precious family.  It sounds like they're going to  the Thunder game.  That should be fun.

Happy Birthday, Cameron!

Happy 11th Birthday to our charming great-nephew, Cameron.  Just look at that face! You can plainly see what a delightful young man he is.  Dennis and I wish him a wonderful day filled with birthday fun!

Happy Birthday, Olivia!

Happy 11th Birthday to our sweet Olivia!  She is growing up to be a lovely young lady.  Dennis & I love her very much and wish her a fabulous day.

Christmas '10~After thoughts

Christmas is officially over, but somehow it is lingering in my heart.  I have never spent a Christmas like this before.  I have had some especially wonderful ones that I will never forget, but this one was like no other.

My mortality has weighed heavily on my mind for some reason, not in a morbid way thankfully, but in a savor everything in your heart way.  I praise God every day for my good health.  I feel well, and even though I had three tiring days, I wouldn't have changed a thing.  I went to bed tired but happy every one of those nights!  :D

Our families mean so much to us, and we wish we could have spent time with all of them.  This year we couldn't work it out with Linda and her kids.  That made me sad because I absolutely love Linda's kids and grandkids!  They are all a delight!

Christmas night we had such a good time with our kids.  God has blessed us so much.  Our kids, their spouses, and of course, Molly, bring us so much joy.  We laughed a lot and enjoyed "harmonica" music.  Santa gave all 3 guys harmonicas, and it amazed us how quickly they picked it up.  The learning part wasn't too great, but the final performances were.

On the 26th we had a great time in El Reno, my home town.  I am so blessed to have both of my parents still with me and in such good health.  They have their struggles, but they are still "Mom & Dad".  This year we had everyone there at their house.  We are a loud bunch, but its a joyful noise.  As Dad said, "as long as there aren't any fights going on he doesn't care about noise."  He's right about that.  We just had a good old Christmas and enjoyed the great-grandchildren.  They were our entertainment! :D  By the way, great-grandchild #6 is on her way.  She is slated to arrive at the end of April.  We all can't wait!!  She will be entering the Kincer family.  That is Emberly and Chad, in case you didn't know.

Merry Christmas!

Joy to the world!  The Lord is come!

Christmas 5! Miscellaneous Thoughts

These days Christmas has taken on a different meaning to me.  I still love the anticipation of it all, but I guess as I get older I reflect more on the giving aspect.

I pretty much don't even care if I get any gifts or not.  I love getting them and my family does an amazing job of surprising me with things that I love.  However, the fun of giving is my biggest delight.  I even like to try to surprise Dennis with his gifts.  If I just pay attention, he drops great hints all the time.  My problem is remembering them!  I need to keep a list in my purse.

Last night was the Children's Christmas Program at our church.  I admit to getting a little jaded about them in the past.  When I have helped with them, I have been disappointed in the behavior and attitude of some of the kids and I guess that rubbed off on me.  I was always pretty certain that their parents would be disappointed in them too if they knew.  Doing a program at school was a better situation.  They knew I gave them grades and could send them to the principal.

Last night I was delighted by the singing of the children.  They sang with heart and you could hear them loud and strong.  The play was sweet and they did a great job.  Congratulations to their directors on a job well done.  I actually felt that the children cared about the story they were telling.  It filled me with even more Christmas spirit.

The Christmas story never gets old.  We need to focus on it instead of all the retail aspects of Christmas.  Rhonda Regier sang a song in Church yesterday morning that I keep singing in my mind.  It  is so true.  The baby changed everything.  

Christmas 4: Caroling

I love to sing!  I always have and always will.  One of the sweetest memories I have of my Granny Smudrick actually occurred the last time I saw her.  We went to visit and she could no longer make sounds loud enough to hear.  I was sitting by her and noticed her mouth was moving.  My aunt told me "she's singing!"  I couldn't hear it, but my Granny could.  It is amazing to me how much joy can be received by singing, even singing in your mind.

As an elementary school music teacher, I loved teaching Christmas music to the students.  My principal told me that he wanted the children to sing 2 songs every morning at opening during December.  He wanted one secular song and one traditional carol.  I was thrilled to have his support in that.  Every one needs to know at least two verses of "Joy To The World", "Away In A Manger", "O Come All Ye Faithful", and of course, "Silent Night"!  I always told the children that if they ever went caroling they would need to know them.

After the Vienna Choir Boys came to Fairview, we learned "Silent Night" in German.  I love it when my former students come up and tell me they still remember the German words.  Every time I hear "Silent Night" I sing the first verse in German.  After all, it was first written in German.  It seems fitting!

Tomorrow, the caroling time is at 1:30.  I can't wait to go enjoy!  It is a little slice of Heaven!  :D

Christmas 3

The cold weather has set in.  It isn't unbearable, but I don't care for it.  Where did my beautiful hot summer days go?  People think I'm weird because I wear a flannel shawl most of the year.  That is because my liver condition makes me feel cold a lot.  I keep a shawl at church to wear during the services.  I just need a little more warmth than most folks.

I wouldn't want the weather not to change, though.  I love the ebb and flow of the seasons.  I can put up with the shorter days and cooler temps.  It makes Spring so wonderful when it comes!  That said, I am really jealous that Hayley, Aaron, & Molly have a trip to Phoenix planned in January.  I could go for a dose of the warmer temps.  I totally understand the lure of being a "snowbird".

Some of my favorite Christmas memories involve being "cold".  I remember going to the feed store with dad to get our Christmas tree.  We always went up in the attic to choose it and it was "cold" up there.  Dad used to MAKE us go caroling (which I am ashamed to admit!)  It is a sweet memory now and involved being "cold".  We used to take our kids Christmas shopping in Enid on the square.  I don't think we had Nicholas yet, when this memory occurred.  Hayley and I ran down to Simpsons to shop for Dennis.  It was a really "cold" night, but a great memory that we both love.

The best thing about the cold weather is being inside watching Christmas movies and drinking hot tea or chocolate.  Sounds like a plan for tonight after we brave the "cold" to go the Christmas Band Concert.  :)

Christmas 2

I love the music of Christmas!  Last night we attended the Living Christmas Tree concert at 1st Baptist Church in Weatherford, OK.  Our friends, John & Midge Gerber, are the director and accompanist.  What a lovely evening it was.  All music was performed by memory by an 80 voice choir.  It was glorious.

Recently a performance of "The Messiah" has been going around.  It was a "Random Act of Culture" and happened at the Macy's store in Philadelphia.  Every time I see it, it makes me have tears.  Not only is the music grand (accompanied by a fabulous in-store pipe organ), the message gets to me at the core of my heart.  I know that sounds dramatic, but its the truth.  Music speaks to my inner soul.

I've heard Bing Crosby sing "White Christmas" several times on the radio and wonder if he got totally sick of that song.  :D  I hope not because it always makes me smile.

The last day of school before Christmas break we always had a caroling time at the elementary school.  I was always nervous, but loved it, too.  Since I have retired I can go and just enjoy.  It was great last year, and I can't wait to go this year.  There is nothing in this world like children singing!