Saturday, December 29, 2007

Santa made it...

...despite the Texas wind turbines. And Bethany made it, too!

Everyone's least-favorite tree topper.
(Karen & I LOVE it!!)
(BTW, the kids noted that the Santa voice that accompanied the sleigh bells outside their windows sounded remarkably like Aunt Kristy's! Hmm...)
Karen thought of a terrific gift...REAL New Hampshire maple syrup made by my childhood friend, Melanie (Cray) Blake. Her family makes it themselves!!

Can you tell how content I was to have that sweet Bessie Lou home again? It does NOT matter how old your child gets...she'll always be your BABY. (The blue jewelry belonged to my crazy red-headed grandmother, Lea Emma, Dad's mom. It felt so nice to wear it on Christmas Eve.)

Hope you all had a quiet, happy, blessed Christmas with the ones you love...

3 comments:

Kirsten said...

Dan looked over my shoulder and asked 'who is that?'. I don't know if he meant the Santa topper or your picture with the "bottle"...





...of Maple Syrup :-)

Ahhh, what memories we'll have when we are old and gray...oh, yeah, I know...I am already old and gray...sweet...I can milk that one for whatever it's worth!

No-one I know reads this, right?!

Bluebonnetgirl said...

Those pictures remind me of the lyrics of the hymn... "There's a sweet, sweet spirit in this place." Both you and Bethany look so tranquil. Was this before or after the Chinese food? :>)

I wish we could have joined you for the holidays. We need to "circle the wagons" and build a family fortress/compound somewhere near a lake in the Hill Country! Come to think of it, James & Sue did exactly that--land, lake, Hill Country, and all! If Bethany were to get into the real estate business as a realter/broker, she could help us find some land around Austin. It would be nice if we had the "deep pockets" to find something that we could all enjoy. (The retirement of a lowly preacher can't compare to the retirement of a telephone mogul.)

Have a happy 2008, and be sure to eat your black-eyed peas and turnip greens on New Year's Day for good luck!
Love,
Mom

Melanie said...

I'm soooo happy that you had a good Christmas and that Bethany was home! I am NOT looking forward to that first... :( I think the syrup secret was the BEST SECRET I've kept yet!! It was a blast working with your sister to make sure you all had a sweet NH breakfast! :) MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A BLESSED NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!
Love, Melanie