CHRISTMAS WITH THE FAMILY . . .

Christmas is a special time when families gather around the Christmas tree and our family is no exception. Christmas Day found us all at my mother's house anxiously waiting for everyone to arrive so that we could open presents and then sit down to a wonderful meal. Somehow Christmas is always better when there are little ones to watch tear into the gifts that Santa brings. While everyone loves the gifts they get I think my children enjoy their Christmas stockings the best. 

We have a small family compared to some of my friends - there is my sister, her children and grandchildren, my mother, my brother and my family. Fortunately, we all live within an hour or so of mother's house so it doesn't take long for everyone to arrive.

My sister and her son, Devon.

Her daughter-in-law and little baby Casey.

Her son, Ryan.

Ryan's fiancee, Grace. They have set a date for November.

Lynley and her boy friend, Blake (with baby Casey).

Her grandson, Austin.

Kathy with baby Casey.

My mother (wouldn't you know it she turned her head to look at one of the great grandchildren just as I snapped her picture).

The older cousins having a private talk.

Miss Casey and Miss Wesley (the youngest cousins) are only a few weeks apart in age and seem to be happy to spend time together. 

Tomorrow I will share some pictures of my family. 

'TIS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS . . .

It is a cold, gloomy, rainy day in Texas but that has given me time to get things done instead of waiting until the last minute.

• Cornbread dressing - done
• Gifts wrapped - done
• Stockings filled - done
• Gifts for neighbors - done
• Tamales for Combs family Christmas Eve party - done

Guess I am ready for Christmas. Now on to other things.

The saying in Texas is that if you don't like the weather wait a day and they are right. Monday and Tuesday we saw temperatures in the high 70s and low 80s and then on Wednesday the weather started cooling off. Anyway, while the weather was nice my daughter and I decided to take the children to see Santa on Tuesday. Notice the big girlie - she thinks she is smiling. She always seems to do this and it makes for some interesting faces.

After a couple of dead end errands it was back to our house for lunch and naps (not only for the children but for their mom). I had a few minutes to run a couple of errands close to the house and when I returned I decided I needed to water the flower beds since we haven't had rain in months. By this time the children were up from their naps and wanting to go outside. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Both children were soaking wet and couldn't wait to get undressed. Just glad it was the day the weather was so warm or they would have been frozen.













Did you get up to see the eclipse of the moon the other morning? I didn't (way too lazy) but some of my friends did and shared their photos with me. It must have been a spectacular sight.

What a blessing God provided for us. A beautiful display in the sky, family and friends and, best of all, Jesus. Give thanks for all we have as we celebrate the birth of His son this Christmas season. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! 

THE DIGITAL STORY OF THE NATIVITY . . .

I got an email from one of the ladies who works in the Music Ministry at my church - it was this video. It depicts what it would be like if Jesus was born in this electronic age.  Unfortunately it is the way we live in today's world and I can't help but wonder what it would be like to be living in a more simpler time.

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS . . .

Late Monday I received a call from one of our long-time friends with a "deal" that I just couldn't refuse. I was invited to view the Christmas lights in our town along with 13 other people. The catch was . . . it would be from the air and in a vintage plane. (My daughter had a fit - she wanted to know who would be flying the plane, how long had they been a pilot, where we would be going and to make sure I called her the minute we landed. That tickled me since it sounded like something my mother would do). I think they said the plane was a C-47 but I couldn't really hear for all the noise.

The take-off was delayed for about 25 minutes because one of the seats had broken during the last flight. They finally decided it couldn't be fixed but since we only had 14 people in our group we were able to take-off on our adventure.

The inside of the plane was decked out in Christmas lights. Notice the wonderful, attractive gear we had to wear over our ears on the take-off and landing due to all the noise the old plane made.

We were in the air for about one hour and let me tell you it was well worth every minute. Downtown Fort Worth dressed in holiday lights was absolutely beautiful and so were some of the residential areas in FW and Arlington (I didn't get any pictures of those).

What a wonderful way to spend an evening with friends.

YOU HAVE GOT TO SEE THIS . . .

I was at a Bible Study last Tuesday evening and heard some of the group talking about this video and how great it was so I thought I would share it with you. Sometimes I think we forget what Christmas is truly about.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

CHRISTMAS LADIES BRUNCH . . .

Last weekend was our Ladies Christmas Brunch for Oakhurst. Every year the brunch is held at a different home in our neighborhood. This year the brunch was held in one of the most gorgeous older homes. The two story home was built in the 1920's by a very weathly family and it is located on a huge lot surrounded by old, old trees, flowers, vines, gardens, etc. 

Our hostess, Frieda, (she is the one of the left) had every corner of her lovely home decorated so beautifully.

The dining room table was loaded with good food that had been provided by each lady attending. I really wish everyone had brought along  their recipes to share because everything was delicious.

Frieda and her husband had just had their kitchen remodeled and she was thrilled to be able to show it off. It was a great place for everyone to hang out and visit.

I adored the Christmas decoration, especially her collection of Santas. They were everywhere. She told me that she had been collecting them for years and that many of her friends and family would give them to her as gifts. Lucky woman.

Love these knitted ones. Aren't they precious!!

The staircase had the most beautitful garland wrapped around it and it sparkled with tiny white lights.



The ladies in my neighborhood are so nice and everyone looks forward to this brunch.

It is wonderful to live in an area where our ONA is active and has wonderful activities planned, not only for the ladies, but the whole family.

Don't you just love getting together with friends, family and neighbors to celebrate Christmas and the birth of Jesus.

CHRISTMAS PROGRAMS . . .

I love this time of the year - the lights, trees, good food and all the wonderful music. The only thing that could make it better would be a little snow. I love the fact that so many of the churches in our area put on Christmas programs or Cantatas. Our Cantata is always held on the first Sunday of December and all three services are filled to capacity. I usually sing with the choir but this year was different. With Norman so sick I was not able to go to any of the practices so I invited a friend to join me in the congregation to enjoy all the music - the choir was at its best and so was the orchestra. And the music . . . so uplifting.

One of the things I love is when the little children come in to sing with the choir. They are so adorable and sing with their hearts.

Then this last Sunday my sister invited me to go with her and a mutual friend of ours to see a Christmas program put on by another church in our area. What a production. It was almost like a Broadway play. The pictures didn't turn out great but maybe you can get the idea of how grand this program was and how many people it took to put it on.

They even had live animals - notice the camels in this picture.

It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon - lunch with my sister and a friend then off to enjoy a wonderful program celebrating the birth of Jesus and the Christmas season. An afternoon filled with dancing and great music. What could be better!!