What's a Gramma Want for Christmas?

First I just love Christmas time,period.

Next, I love being with people I love or like and people who love us!

Blue lights in the windows. In Texas Ted constructed a very large star outline for me..wrapped it in blue lights and set it atop "the old barn"..doesn't that say Bethlehem?!!

Candles, Candles and more candlelight..all over the house,even on the deck and front porch. Santa can always give me more CANDLES!

Jingle Bells!!!!!!!! Yes, I love the jingle jangle sound of bells that sound like sleigh bells in the distance.

Hot Tea, Spiced Tea, Hot Chocolate and Wassail!

Christmas Music..O Holy Night, Silent Night,

Fruitcake..yes I do like fruit cake. to be specific I like Claxton fruit cake,made in Georgia.  It's heavy on fruit and nuts and not much cake.  A little goes a long way. Just pour a small cup of hot wassail or black coffee,that's all you need.

I DO NOT need big expensive gifts for Christmas, small, inexpensive, thoughtful things are my kind of gifts. One of my favorite gifts during the past 25 years was a package of a dozen yellow legal pads from a daughter in law.  That gift said; "I notice" and "I remember."  She noticed that I always used those for making study notes.

It's hard to think of grand, extravagant gifts..after all Christmas takes note of the greatest gift of all The Saviour, Christ our Lord.  Every thing else is small by comparison.

So, if a loved one wants to really "make my Christmas"..just come to see me, with bells on and spend time sharing all the homemade goodies , visiting with candle light and enjoying the Christmas trees and outdoor Christmas lights.

And let's share Christmas memories with Carols in the background  until it's time to go to church for a quiet sweet joyous candlelight service.

That's Christmastime! Time spent Together, Remembering important things, Sharing Small things that matter and being there for no other reason than that you want to be with each other..and no one is in a hurry to leave!

Then when everyone has left or gone to bed I so love to sit in the living room with my pretty warm socks on, a pretty tea cup in hand with warm wassail or a wonderful hand thrown pottery mug filled with hot chocolate or hot tea..just hugging the cup and soaking in the incredible beauty of the clear white lights on the Christmas tree, all decorated in white and gold/silver with clear glass ornaments that reflect the light. I never tire of this setting. It's better than unwrapping  Christmas gifts. The quiet and the beauty is pure..gifts are not always-they sometimes get complicated & mixed in with less than pure motives or intent. Just keep it simple.

Another  Christmastime [ or anytime] thing that gives me great pleasure is seeing families together at church.  On  days like these we see older couples with their grown up children and Grands who are visiting all fill a pew or two and everyone knows that's one happy Mom & Dad or Grandparents -such a simple thing~having your family sitting in worship service with you. ..Christmas Eve or Christmas Day service, a Big Anniversary or milestone Birthday.

post script:
What does a Gramma want for Christmas & every other day of the year?  - to be needed, valued, visible. remembered, noticed, considered.

Giving Thanks at Gramma's & Pop's-Brundidge,Alabama

Just hitting the high spots, the high lights of the day:
It's always a special moment when they start arriving-ah, the greetings, the hugs are so sweet.  Yes, I know we only saw them 3 months ago but it seems much longer.

Each gathering is priceless-a treasured time.

Then when the next arrivals are announced we do it all over again..the greetings, the hugs and the nine year old grandson plays "dodge the hugging  grown ups."

I had hoped to get a [half of us] family picture on the front steps before dark but we missed that-

Everyone has their specialties I guess.  One daughter in law couldn't show up without her sweet potato casserole and I had to call in the other daughter in law just before time to eat to make the gravy-oops who discarded the pan drippings from the ham and turkey??? Not to worry ~ an expert gravy maker and a spare can of chicken broth saved the day there-The sister Schubert Rolls went into the oven and several of us wondered aloud if our 11 yr. old Samantha in the far north-Iowa, had her favorite SS rolls for her ROLL DAY!

No picture, but in my mind's eye it's there-of the crowd circled, holding hands and Pop whom we all expected to do the honors asked: "Reagan, since you are the youngest, would you say 'grace' for us?"  With a nine year old surrounded by all big people you never know how he will react.
Reagan came through beautifully. As we bowed he began "Dear Jesus" and continued sincerely and w confidence to express thanks for and ask protection for his Special Forces cousin Don, the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I think he covered the food and all our families. 
It was a moment to remember! Thank You Jesus.

[to be continued..gotta go find my christmastime wreath for the front door]

This Gramma...Pondering

I do that often...pondering things that I cannot change, that I can do nothing about.
Today it's pondering the question: "What will our grand children remember about us?"
We have missed out on so much of their lives. Our first Ryan was born soon after we  moved to southeast Texas and the last, Reagan was born in September of 2000 six years before we moved from Texas back to Alabama closer to our family.  Six months later our daughter and her family relocated twice as far away as we had been..to the state of Iowa.  We last saw them in the spring of 2007.  Samantha was a little girl just turned  nine then.  In January she will be 12..on the verge of becoming a teenager any minute and soon a young lady. We have missed it all.  They have missed us..I suppose.  We will be impacted by how they have grown and changed and they are likely to be taken aback with the reality of the years added to Gramma and Pop.  It's gone. It won't come back.  There was nothing we could fill that space and time with ..no way to make up for it.  The time and the people we each knew are no more.

I am just wondering with all this time lost what our Grands will remember about us.  One cannot remember what was not.  How can they know how much we have missed and longed for time face to face with them? I just don't know if that's possible.

Yes, I know all we can do as we come to turns in the road is  make the best choices we can at the time..then we live with the consequences. What else can you do?  For our Children as they look forward all they see is a "lifetime" ahead of them.  For us now what we see is: "A lifetime past and not too many years left here with them."

It's real to us.  It's not real to them.

Just pondering..[to be continued another day]