Give and Take

The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away.

We celebrated a wonderful Christmas this year filled with joy and family. Christmas Eve was once again spent at Granny & Papa's house. They had a delicious supper for us, and then everyone opened their gifts. It is always such fun to see the expressions on my boys' faces when they open something they dreamed of. Back home, the boys and Barry took turns reading things. Aaron read "The Night Before Christmas." Barry read the Christmas story. Then Daniel read about the journey of the Wise Men. What a wonderful evening.

Christmas morning we awoke very early to see what Santa brought. We discussed it among our little family, and after opening 3 of their gifts, the boys agreed to get dressed and take the rest to Mama's house. We woke her up and surprised her by coming in to open the rest of our gifts with her. She was so happy! My "baby sister" Sabrina the cat enjoyed the wrapping paper tremendously! Shortly before 9 AM we went to Tutter & Uncle Bob's house for the big breakfast. The house was filled to capacity on that rainy morning. The food was great, and everyone had a wonderful time. The mountain of presents were handed out, the wrapping paper flew, and cameras snapped. After everything was cleaned up, we headed back to Mama's for lunch. Granny & Papa and Walt joined us there for food and fellowship. Later, after a stop off at our house, we headed to Bob & Reba's home to finish the evening.

Yesterday we drove to Chattanooga to meet Anita there. We spent a very beautiful day with her, and enjoyed the Tennessee Aquarium. How people can look at the magnificent life forms found in the watery reaches of our world and not believe God made them is just beyond me!

Today was where we felt our loss. Aunt Ruby, who blessed me with an unexpected phone call and a song, passed away in her sleep. She was 84 years old. Aunt Ruby lived a long, blessed life filled with children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, so I do find it hard to be sad. She served as a school crossing guard for 36 years. She referred to it as "working her corner!" Aunt Ruby was always a character! Whether running over black walnuts in a pillowcase with her station wagon, washing turnip greens in the washing machine, or playing phone tag with Baby Jim during Braves games, Aunt Ruby could always bring a smile. I remember taking her and Mawmaw to the movies to see "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom." OH MY GOODNESS!!! Mawmaw sat with her eyes covered, and Aunt Ruby kept yelling, "Oh J.J., what are they gonna do next? Oh J.J., they're eating snakes!!!!" We had a blast, but I don't think I ever got to pick the movie again!

Aunt Ruby will certainly be missed, but what a legacy she left behind in memories alone.

Why We Live Where We Do

We are in our 12th year on Bear Mountain. We've seen the area change and develop, and seen the county grow. We still live here, however, because of the people who are our neighbors.

Just about 45 minutes ago we were startled by our doorbell ringing and someone banging on our door. Barry and Daniel were already asleep, Aaron was already in his PJ's, and I was just about to change into mine as well. I ran to the door to peer out the peephole, and heard the young lady who lives across the street yelling that our yard was on fire! I woke Barry and ran outside. She said she and her friends heard a car zip up the street and the sound of possibly fireworks. When they looked out they saw our yard blazing. I opened the garage and grabbed the water hose. One guy was stomping on the fire, which had begun to die down, while the other grabbed the hose cart from me and hooked it up. Barry called 911, but by the time the fire truck arrived, my Good Samaritans had put the fire out. The firemen made sure it was completely out and looked around for any evidence of fireworks, etc. They found nothing, but said if I did in the morning to call them back. To make myself feel better, I hosed the charred ground and the rest of the front yard on over into my neighbors' yard to the right.

We have a most unusual decoration this Christmas - a 12 foot wide black swath of ground from the driveway all the way across and into the corner of our neighbors' yard. This, however, has just served to give me something else to be thankful for: good neighbors. You see, my babies sleep in the front bedrooms which face the yard. Daniel was sleeping soundly while that fire crept across the dry grass. I can't even think of what could have happened if we'd all been asleep and our neighbors had not looked out and discovered the fire! In July of 1997 I stood in the street and watched my home going up in flames when lightning had blasted a chunk out of the roof. I saw the firemen shoveling smoking debris out of our bonus room window onto the driveway - debris that had once been our Christmas ornaments among other things. One ornament survived. It is a little snowy window scene with our engagement photo inside commemorating our first Christmas in 1992. The snow is brownish, and the back of the ornament is warped by the heat, but we give it a special place near the top of our tree every year to remind us of how much we've grown.

I think the adrenaline has dropped to a more normal level that will allow my eyes to close now, so I'm off to bed. My prayers tonight will include neighbors who cared enough to help on a chilly December night.

OH WOW!!!

Talk about early Christmas presents! Yesterday I entered a contest on one our local AM radio stations that does news, traffic, and weather. The contest was called "Heat for Heroes" and was sponsored by Georgia Natural Gas. You had to write a short paragraph about a Georgia military service member and why they are your hero. I wrote about Barry. This morning I was surprised by a call from the business office at the station, telling me that we'd won $1000!!!!! If I had been standing next to the guy who called I believe I would have hugged him until his eyes popped out! Daniel had a fit and started jumping up and down. He ran downstairs and jumped on Aaron, who was still sleeping, and told him the news! I called Barry, who didn't even know I'd entered the contest. Then I called Mama at work. She started yelling, "My kid won $1000! My kid won $1000!"

I pray this winning streak will continue for a while. Aaron still has a poem being judged at the state level of the PTA "Reflections" contest. We also just found out that Barry has been nominated for the William Few Award, which chooses one warrant officer and one officer from the state. That award would be presented by the governor. Those winners go to the national competition, and the national winners get their award straight from the president! Everybody keep praying!!!

Early Christmas Gifts

It's only the first week of December and Christmas gifts are already coming my way! The first little package arrived on December 5th. My "little brother" Chris and his wife Britt are the proud parents of a beautiful baby boy, and mama and baby are both doing well. Chris' mom says Baby Liam looks just like Chris did when he was a baby - and he was pretty cute! I can't wait to see him! I'm finally an aunt!!!

Another special gift came via a phone call on Thursday. My cousin and I have hosted the annual Christmas dinner for our family for the past three years, taking the reins from our aunt who took the reins from our grandmother. We have averaged between 80-100 people each year. We have great food, take family pictures, and enjoy catching up with our herd of cousins and other relatives. Yesterday's phone call was from my Great-Aunt Ruby. I can't recall Aunt Ruby ever calling me on the phone, but there she was, telling me she planned to be there on the 17th. Then she told me she wanted to sing me a song. I heard her lay her phone down, start her music, and sing me a beautiful hymn. I haven't heard Aunt Ruby sing since I was a kid when she and my grandmother would sing together! I told her to call me and sing to me any time! It was a great gift just to hear from her. Aunt Ruby was a school crossing guard until just a couple of years ago when she was hit by a car. While in the hospital she suffered a stroke and neither walked nor talked for a while. She sounded like her old self on the phone, and I was sure thankful for the memories she brought back to me.

Today I got to give and receive at the same time. The GaSDF participated in Shop With A Hero in Acworth today. This is hosted by the Joy Foundation in a partnership with Kohl's department store. Underpriviledged children are give $100 gift cards for the store and go shopping with a Hero - policemen, firemen, EMT's, soldiers, sailors, airmen, or Marines. The front parking lot of the store looked like a carnival! There was entertainment, moonwalks, displays, and all kinds of things for kids to do. Santa arrived atop a fire truck with a screaming police escort. The early part of my day was spent being a medic and checking on our troops as they were posted around the area doing traffic details. Around lunch time the sergeant major told me to "go be a hero". I signed in at the volunteer tent and waited with other servicemembers and police. Finally I got my assignment and met my shopping family - a nice couple with three little boys. The twins were 9 and the brother was 10. With $300 worth of shopping cards safely in my pocket and my notepad in my hand, we started off through the store. A Shop With A Hero volunteer went with us too, a teen who's father was one of the founders of the program. The little guys were very sweet and well-behaved. They all wanted to start with a gift for their mom, who was a very sweet lady. Two of them bought her sweaters, and the other wanted to get her a warm, fuzzy blanket for her bed. Next came gifts for dad, shoes for the boys, gifts for grandma and grandpa and little cousin, and an outfit for each boy. The remaining money was spent in the toy department, where each little guy picked out something for himself. The cart was full, we spent $300.10, and I gladly kicked in the dime. They all thanked me for shopping with them, and it just made my day! I will gladly volunteer for this duty again next year!