Off to a busy day today. Have the RCIA class that I'm a member of this morning. I'm sponsering one of the women in the class. Then cards to mail, groceries to get, cleaning to be done and the Rite of Welcome at church tonight. Hope you all have a wonderful saturday. Have fun! Hugs.

Hello My Friends.

I'm going to tell you about one of my favorite Christmas memories. I think I must have been six that Christmas.

I've said before that I come from a big family. There were 7 kids in my family. My Dad farmed for Mr. Kennedy. He owned the house and the ground around it. He and his wife were old and I don't remember much about them except that they were soft spoken people and I thought they were rich. They owned an insurance company too. My Aunt was married to their son. I had the feeling that they were uncomfortable around a house full of kids.

Mom didn't work outside the home. God knows she had her hands full with all of us. I don't think that Dad made much money farming for Mr. Kennedy but it was never anything he and Mom talked about in front of us kids. I have wondered since I've become and adult how they managed. Mom and Dad had five daughters before my two brothers were born. My Dad was proud of us all but his boys were special to him. They seemed to get away with a lot more than we girls ever could.

The Christmas that I was six my brothers would have been four and three. We had one of those silver aluminum trees that you set a color wheel in front of and the tree would change from blue to red to green to yellow. I thought it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Mom would put on the Eddie Arnold Christmas album and bake lots of candies and cookies. She always started weeks in advance and then would freeze them so we couldn't eat them all before Christmas.

That Christmas Mom and Dad must have been pretty strapped for cash. But once again Santa came through with the goods. I remember my one brother got a brand new bike. A stingray, bright red with shiny chrome it was really something to see. A beautiful red banana seat with ape hanger handle bars. It was the epitome of COOL. Dad had put training wheels on it and lowered the seat as far as it would go.But even so I don't think his feet reached the pedals.It didn't matter he was crazy about it. My other brother got a new tricycle also red and shiny. I can still picture him with his cowboy hat on his head, his six shooter strapped around his waist pedaling like mad around and around the big basement. And there standing by their brand new shiny bikes was mine and my sister Kathys bikes. A new coat of paint but the same bikes. Huh? I looked at Kathy and she at me. We both looked at the shiny red and chrome bikes sparkling by the silver tree. We knew. But we tried to act happy anyway. I don't know if we fooled anyone or not.

Then we turned and oh my God, the greatest gifts I'd ever seen were there for US! A table and chair set! On it was a set of dishes! Pink with little flowers on them. And on the chairs were two dolls waiting for us. What a wonderful beautiful sight. The dolls were recycled too but they had new clothes and Mom had tried to do something with their hair. Oh it was a special day. I cried at the sight of those beautiful gifts. I have an old black and white photo of Kathy and I sitting at our table that morning my head is bent looking down at the doll in my lap offering her a drink of tea and Kathy is smiling broadly at Mom taking the picture. I cherish that picture.

In later years Mom said that Dad had bought the boys bikes without her knowing. She did the best she could to make ours look new. And it was enough. It was more than enough.

Well kids I survived! No frost bite on my fingers or toes. My tush may be another story those plastic picnic benches get COLD. I wore 2 coats, 2 pairs of gloves and a scarf. By the time I got it all on break was almost over. I looked like the kid in 'A christmas Story' --I Can't Put My Arms Down!!
Just to let you know I may not get to post for a day or two. I have to try to get some sleep today and be back and work 7 to 3 tonight and then back there by 1:30 tomorrow afternoon for meetings. But I'll try to pop in . Thought I'd better let you know so D. didn't have to put another APB out! Stay warm. Hugs to all ( execpt Cake - I'll just shake your hand LOL). Pie

Well I'm ready to go to work and I just looked at the forecast. It's 1 degree out now. The low for the night is -7 with windchills to -19. So I'm thinking I'm gonna freeze my butt off out there on break at 3:00 in the Morning. We smokers will be froze solid and they'll have to send people out to drag our frozen bodies back into the building to thaw. My little nose hairs will freeze which in turn will cause my eyes to water which will then freeze in little rivers to my cheeks. My hands will feel like lead. My toes will go numb.

Then I had and idea. A really great idea. Food! I'm gonna start packing it in and packing on the pounds! I'll insulate myself from the inside out! Oh this is great. It's the perfect time of year to start working on it. All those Christmas goodies just waiting to be devoured! I'll drop by the neighbors for a few pieces of fudge, a cookie or two. My sisters bake they'll love to have me come and sample some of their treats! I have 4 sisters! This is going to work out so good! People at work always bring in trays and trays of candies and cookies. I'll help them get rid of it. They don't want to haul it all back home anyways. The grocery stores always have free samples. I will hit them all !! I'm gonna end up like that very overweight woman on top of her man in the picture Topaz posted!! I have a goal !! I'll be warm ! Oh this is gonna be so great. I wonder what my husband will think? Oh who cares?! I'm gonna stay warm. He loves me for who I am right? Not what I look like. Yeah, thats right!! God I'm a genius!! I've got that bag of Dove chocolates in the cupboard right now. I gotta go get this plan in motion! Wish me luck!!

Annie leaned over and kissed her daughter goodnight. She breathed in deeply the sweet smell of her hair as she did so, and love overwhelmed her again. " Sleep tight Baby" she told her. She walked to the door and flipped the light off. "How many more goodnight kisses Mommy?" Claire asked sitting up in bed. "Three Claire, Three more goodnight kisses and then Santa Claus will come" Annie answered. "Now snuggle back down and go to sleep" "O.k. Mom, I love you" " I love you too Claire Bear" Annie blew her a kiss and pulled the door half way closed. Annie walked down the hall and into their small living room. She turned the lamp on by the couch and sat down. She pulled her wallet it out of her purse and opened it.
Inside the wallet she had thirty four dollars, her checkbook which she had figured earlier in the evening as Claire ate her supper, held two hundred and ninety five dollars and eleven cents. She thought to herself "Well the rent is paid until January 15th and I'll have enough saved back by then to pay that when it comes around again. But I still have to pay the utilities and the phone bill yet". The utility bill was ninety five dollars and the phone bill was forty five. God she didn't even have long distance. That left her around one hundred and fifty five dollars. She had to pay something on the doctors bill since she'd already missed last month. Twenty dollars. They wouldn't like it but it was all she could pay right now. She owed Grammy Helen forty five dollars for watching Claire before and after her preschool class.That took her checking account down to ninety dollars.
"Oh shoot" Annie thought "I forgot to pay the water bill!" Thirty two dollars and ten more for garbage pick up. Forty eight dollars left. Dang it she hadn't bought anything for her and Claire to have for Christmas dinner yet either. She had wanted to have cornish hens.Annie would buy them on special occasions, like when Claire started preschool and didn't cry when Annie left her there the first day. Claire loved them, "A little chicken all for me!". She always said. I guess it will have to be hotdogs and maccaroni and cheese Annie thought. She knew Claire wouldn't mind. It was her favorite meal. She had baked a few dozen cookies last month and froze them so they could have those for desert. I can get a few groceries with the forty eight dollars.
Annie looked around her small apartment. She had tried to make it as cheerful as possible. Grammy Helen had given them an old artificial tree saying it was to much work for her to put up anymore. Claire loved it and together they had worked for hours cutting and pasting together ornaments for it. She had bought a cheap set of lights at the dollars store and it really did look pretty good.
Grammy Helen and Claire made strips of red and green construction paper and glued them together for garland which Annie had hung around the faded curtains over the window. They had cut pictures of Santa Claus and Christmas trees from old magazines she had retrieved from the trash cans at the offices she cleaned. She had taped them to the fridge and windows and the front of the oven. She had bought some votive candles from the dollar store too and they burned brightly in their holders. It really did look nice she thought.
Annie was glad she had already bought Claire's presents. she mentally went through the list again. A plastic tea set, a baby doll that wet when you gave it water in it's plastic bottle. Annie had sewn diapers and clothes for it nights after Claire had been tucked into bed. She'd found a wooden doll cradle at the Goodwill store a couple of weeks ago and once painted it looked new again. She'd bought a few chocolate treats for Claire's stocking and a small box of crayons and a new coloring book. It wasn't much but she knew Claire would be happy.
God how did she get so lucky to have such a great kid like Claire? She was happy and healthy and what more could she ask for? They had a home and food,Grammy Helen,heat in the winter and she'd had enough money left to pay the bills. She was truly blessed. She turned the lamp off and blew the candles out and headed down the hall to her own room. She put her nightgown on and knelt beside her bed. "God " she started "Thank you for all the blessing You've brought into my life.......................