Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories Christmas Plays

I hope you enjoy these it is my gift to my daughter's ward.

Earlier today, I posted about my experience in a Christmas play.  The preparations and practices were very extensive and required everything being JUST right.  I have to say it was nice, BUT I love the church manager scenes where you never know what your characters are going to do.  There are many stories around the loving acts of children who get caught up in the story, then you have the imaginative ones that are here today on my blog from my daughter's church party's manger scene.  There is one not on the scrapbook page that had to be shared alone. If you click again to enlarge the scrapbook page, after clicking on it, you can so see their expressions better.  Our shepherd was quite creative with the shepherd's hook and the others faces are priceless.  I was trying so hard to not giggle too loudly.

Now is he aiming for the star or basketball net?

You just have to love them!

Sentimental Sunday, The Hero was St Nicholas

The Hero loved Christmas, and he loved little children.  One of my favorite stories around the Hero is the fun he had as he grew older and his hair turned silvery white.  He always wanted to be Santa at a Christmas party, but they always chose an older man. 
He would laugh and say I was named after St Nicholas, so I should be able to play him at the party,alas, that was not to be his roll.  Instead, his role was much more fun and out in the community.
The Hero let his beard grow out and wore red clothes during the December months, especially after one encounter he had. 

  We were at Fazoli's restaurant having lunch. The Hero had on his red shirt and red parka (did I mention he was extremely cold natured...50 degrees and out came the parka...lol).  He had gone up to the salad condiment area and a little girl about 5 years old walked up to him and started to explain what the condiments were and how to use them.  He was amused and smiled while she talked, then she pointed at her family's table and explained to him, that was her little brother and he was 1.  She went on to tell him that she had been really good. The light went on.  He realized that she thought he was Santa from the North Pole.  He told her thank you for the information and explained she needed to go back to her mommy. 
He then came and sat down with a big smile telling me all about what had transpired.  He was delighted.  As the mother and children got up to leave, the little girl looked over at our table and waved.  He couldn't help himself.  He winked.  She smiled so big and skipped out the door.  She had a story to tell her mom.
To prove the theory that the Hero looked like Santa, I pulled the Hero's picture up to show our grandson who had spent 2 years with his grandpa and knew him well. The picture did throw him...after looking and considering, he stammered...is that Santa?  There you have it. What do you think?
The Hero was St Nicholas personified.  I won't tell you at this time all the wonderful acts of kindness he performed through the years suffice it to say, he loved others.

Blog Caroling: 'I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day'

I am joining FootnoteMaven's Blogging Carol. Click on the blog name to join.









Through my married life years, Christmas was many times filled with challenges.  I even lost the Hero on the 23 of December.  I identified with this carol even if it was written during the Civil War.  The dispair, the pain, then the uplifting close of the carol that leaves you with hope and joy from the words spoken at Christ's birth.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories Outdoor Decorations

The areas we went to in Houston

Oh my, at first I thought, what can I blog on this memory.  We rarely did more than Christmas Tree in the window and lights on the front eaves.  However, as I looked at the area we lived in and mulled it over in my mind the garden gate (red this time, seasonal you know) opened and the memories came flooding in.  The Hero loved to go to the subdivisions to see the Christmas lights.  When we lived in the Heights area area, Texasblu and Little Miss Sunshine were privileged to see the huge Victorian houses all decorated up and oh so pretty.  Mostly it was just oodles of  lights, nothing like the elaborate music and light entertainment of today.
We moved to the country and would drive back down to the "1960 Area of Prestonwood" and Sheppard/Ella area"  By that time there were elaborate lighting schemes and wooden figures, which made us go ooh, and ah.
A scary, funny event occurred on a Christmas Light Trek when Texasblu and Redbeard only had two children.  All ten of us piled into the blue and white van  and headed for Houston.  After viewing a couple of subdivisions, we stopped at a convenience store for a rest stop.  There was confusion with that many youngsters getting in and out.  Finally, we started up advanced the length of the parking lot with everyone giggling and chattering.  From the back of the van there was yelling and screaming. The Hero came to an abrupt stop.  Sarah and Sean were yelling that  Em had been left behind and had run grabbing on to the van ladder and was banging on the back window for us to stop.  We were all grateful it was found out sooner than later.  Has anyone else been left behind or been separated when out in a group?  One person told me they had 8 children and someone was always being left behind.  : O
Christmas is full of new and old memories. I love it.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories Christmas Cards

I loved Christmas Cards and sent large numbers out until the postage went out of sight. I still send a few to my close family members to keep in touch. Some of them send letters about the past year and some send a card with their name in it to say who they were.




 



I was lucky enough to have saved the Christmas Letter and Card from my dad's sisters the first Christmas that the Hero and I were married. Now that that all of my dad's sisters and brothers are now gone, it is nice to get out their letters occasionally to remember them.  Loved them greatly.

Dora Langley Grote

 

Lynn Langley Sneed

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories Christmas Tree

We always had a cut tree.  When I got married you can see here that we continued to go out and cut a live tree.  Will share a Hero story or two along the way about him and Christmas. ; )

Giving Thanks on Thanksgiving 2010

My Joys

I am thankful for my individual blessings of health and happiness.  I have been truly blessed!  Wonderful children, grandchildren, friends and ancestors.  My two years of loss after the Hero died have been filled with wonderful experiences with all those cited above that have filled my empty void. 
Joy is in my heart and the days shine brightly ahead.





My ancestors include John Howland and William Bradford on my mother and father's lineage.  I also have had the privilege of reading letters by many ancestors in between that professed their thankfulness surrounding their faith.  In this mix I must include my gratitude to a loving Savior Christ who is the source of all my blessings.

My wish to all who stop by, a blessed holiday. 

Pilgrims Painting Print 1800's

Sentimental Sunday, The Hero Was Missed.

I was going to make a post about the costumes I made for Halloween, but it will have to wait because I still don't have all the pictures.  This is a picture of the Hero with TexasBlu as Mrs Bianca of The Rescuers. The Hero helped design the costume.  You can tell she always looked for something different. ; ) My daughter Little Miss Sunshine and the First son, as well as my mother are also in the picture.
This year, the making of costumes for my 5 grandsons was actually hard for me to do. I made costumes for my children in the past, but the Hero was always there to help me develop the pattern.  He loved it when I would come up with something different to do, because he could configure what I wanted into the correct dimensions for my pattern.  That gave him a part in the activity. Of course, he was never enthusiastic about the late hours or the horrendous mess that seemed to collect with the endeavor.  I can remember many a time he would appear at the door and say "Aren't you coming to bed yet?"  I thought at the time. 'What does it matter?'  It did matter.  It was less time that was spent with him, but I didn't know that was the way it was to be.  He was tolerant and there are stories around the challenge he had with my over enthusiasm to create...well, not the creation, but the mess that went with it. 
Many thoughts were to go through my mind during the last three weeks as I made costumes for the 5 little boys.  The Hero would have loved it.

Sharing a Slice of Life 'Fireworks'

I posted my Slice of Life story on my personal blog because it was more my memory than a genealogical story.  If you would like to read Click  here.
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Hope you all had lots of fun over the weekend.