Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Christmas Hoopla


I can't believe I am doing this as my plate is so amazing full right now! More than it usually is this time of year. I am dead-smack in the middle of moving right now. This is my last week of work and its really busy too. Next week I will be off and trying to finish moving and unpacking and doing Christmas at the same time. A Christmas to remember. Anyhoo,,,my dear friend Janet tagged me and I thought "well what the heck" so I am taking a few minutes out of my busy day to do the Hoopla.
Here are the golden rules:1. List 12 random things about yourself that have to do with Christmas.2. Please refer to it as a ‘hoopla’ and not the dreaded ‘m’-word… 3. You have to tag specific people when you’re done. No “if you’re reading this, consider yourself tagged” stuff is allowed…then nobody ends up actually doing it. The number of people who you tag is really up to you — but the more, the merrier to get this ‘hoopla’ circulating through the blogosphere. 4. Please try and do it as quickly as possible. The Christmas season will be over before we know it! Let’s involve as many people as possible!5. Please give Andrea some link-love as the “Hoopla-Creator!
1. I HATE fruitcake!!! My Mom use to make enormous batches of fruitcake cookies for several people, I hated them, hated the smell, the look, the texture,,,I just hated them. I get the willies even thinking about them.
2. I always wish for snow on Christmas.
3. I usually make all my Christmas cards, but not a one this year thanks to the move.
4. Once when I was about 4 years old, my father and brother got on the roof of our house and rang some jingle bells. My other brother was laying down with me trying to get me to go to sleep and he said "OH NO, Santas here and you aren't even asleep yet, he won't leave you any presents." That was the fastest I ever went to sleep."
5. When my children were little I did the same thing to them. But I was even meaner. Every time they started fighting or acting up, I would slip out of sight and ring a jingle bell and tell them that the Elfs were watching them. They would straighten right up. I could only pull that during Christmas though,,darn it.
6. I figured out the Santa thing around 10. We lived in Alabama and the rest of our relatives lived in Tennessee. My parents wanted to go up to Tennessee on Christmas Eve so we had our Christmas early, the day before Christmas Eve. Well, when I was in my bedroom, the doorbell rang and my parents said "Beth! Santa just came by early to bring your presents because he knew you weren't going to be here on Christmas." Uh huh,,right!!! I played along but after that they knew I knew!
7. One Christmas my kids and I all had the flu.
8. I always decorate every room in the house.
9. I put up Christmas lights
10. I think Christmas is way to commercialized.
11. And I will always believe that Jesus is the real reason for the season!
12. I use to really enjoy Christmas so very much! Not just as a child but as an adult too. But unfortnately a few very tragic episodes in my life happenned during the Christmas season. First, I was blessed when my first darling little baby was born on Dec. 2, 1983. She was premature but what a sweetie. We named her Candace Elizabeth and called her our little "Christmas Candy". I think that was the very best Christmas of my life and will always be the best. She was a wonderful baby and she only weighed 4 1/2 lbs but quickly gained weight.
Now the tragic part was that we woke up one very cold January morning to find that she had passed away in the night from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. That will always be the most horrible and extremely terrifying time of my life. We were blessed with another child, my son Kyle a couple of years later and I started enjoying Christmas again, but still had a hole in my heart for my "Candy". While I was pregnant with my daughter Kalyn, I had to watch my father take his last breathe on Christmas day. He had Leukemia and it was a horrible death to watch.
So, Christmas was just really never the same after those 2 horrific events.

Sorry to end it on a sad note. I do try to always remember others during this time of year and try to enjoy it for the reason I state in Number 11.
I hope to be able to post again before Christmas Day. My cable will be hooked up at the new house by friday and hope to have my computer up and running by the week-end.
Now I get to tag some others. I am going to tag- Rosemary, Vicci, and Annie.
Everyone please know that I am thinking of you and hoping all is well.

5 comments:

Rosa said...

Bethy, that is so sad. But as I've said before, you have the best of angels looking over you and you have been blessed with two wonderful children. Now. I'm going to have to smack you. Eeeek. A meme. (Thanks for telling me it's a me-me and not a mem. LOL!) Ok, but I don't know if I can think of 12! I'll try. Gee, I've been a big help in your moving. I hope you're in by next week. Ho ho ho and lotsa hugs.

Janet said...

Beth, thanks for doing this. I'm sorry to pile on more at this busy time!! I loved reading about your past Christmas's but so very sad about your dad and your darling Candy. That means you have two very special angels looking down on you.

Mary Timme said...

This was so fun until I read about the SIDS. Yikes, that had to hurt something awful. I can't even imagine, but what a blessing to have another. My Grandfather died of lung cancer and it was back in the 50 when such things were not common place nor did we know as much as we did today. My mother helped ease him out the world as his one wish was to die at home. The last week of his life, she only came home about once a day and was really worn out, but my grandpa was such a terrific man and so kind she wanted to do anything she could for him. Oh, and she was an RN. There were over 500 people at his funneral in nasty weather of rain and sleet and most of them also came to the cemetary and couldn't even fit into there were so many. They just stood on the road and outside of the fence. There were less than an 100 people in the town he lived in.

Mary Bee said...

Hoopla is fun and now I know still more about you and yours. I am commenting here but my real comment is that I think your shadow box below that you made for Jane is one of the greatest shadow boxes I've ever seen. And no I'm not just saying that, I truly mean it Beth. It is great. Nice work.

Naturegirl said...

Wishing many blessings during this Christmas celebration and in the New Year as you complete your move!
I wish for a White Christmas too and I did get one..you must come by and see ...past posts though! hugs NG