Welcome to Stella Bagwell's guest post of her memories of Christmases past, some Merry and Bright and some challenging. She's also giving away (US ONLY) a copy of her Holiday Story, Christmas on the Silver Horn Ranch. Enjoy her heartfelt tale and enter to win her book!
Growing up in rural
Oklahoma, Christmases with my family were modest and simple, but always
special. The holiday began with a search
through the nearby woods for the perfect cedar to cut for trimming. Along with lights and ornaments saved from
one year to the next, Mother would make popcorn and let my big brother and I
string it, along with red cranberries for added decorations. The thought of Santa flying through the air
with a team of reindeer and a sleigh full of toys was magical and we counted
the days until his visit. It didn’t
matter that the gifts for my brothers and I were few, Christmas was the most exciting
time of the year.
During my childhood,
school was also a huge part of our holiday celebration. Each home room was decorated with a tree and
every class held a party. Sacks of
goodies, which usually consisted of fruit, candy, and popcorn balls were passed
out to all students and games were played to decide who would receive the
special gifts under the tree. For weeks
ahead of time, pupils from grade one to twelve would practice for hours singing
Christmas hymns and memorizing lines for a play depicting the birth of Christ.
Those Christmas memories
are etched into my heart and later, as an adult with a family of my own, I
wanted to make sure Christmas was just as special for my husband and our son. And down through the years, we’ve had some
memorable holidays, some of which were funny, like the year my Siamese cat jumped
in the middle of the tree and toppled it over, decorations and all. And a few were difficult, like the year after
we’d moved to South Texas, I spent Christmas going through chemotherapy for
breast cancer. In spite of being
terribly weak, I was determined to go shopping.
My husband helped me walk through the mall, where seeing the decorations
and shoppers, and hearing the music lifted my spirits and reminded me that
Christ’s birthday is a time for healing and rejoicing.
A few years later, with
that trying Christmas behind us, I was completely healthy again and back to doing
all the things I loved about Christmas.
Shopping, cooking, wrapping gifts and even standing in long check-out
lines put a smile on my face.
Living on the coastal
bend, the weather rarely reaches the freezing mark and on most Christmas Eves,
the sound of lawn mowers can be heard as folks do last minute spruce ups before
the big day. Such was December 24th
in 2004. The day had been mild and that
night we went to bed with thoughts of gifts and the turkey dinner I’d be
cooking for my husband and son. Little
did we know that we’d be waking up the next morning to the miracle of a white
Christmas!
We looked out the window
to see, not just a dusting of snow, but ten deep inches covering the ground! The palm trees were bent from the weight and
my cats were racing around the yard, rolling in the white stuff as though Santa
had given them a fluffy down comforter to lie on.
That afternoon, after
we’d stuffed on dinner, we jumped in the truck to drive around the area and
enjoy the sights of the winter wonder.
Everyone in town seemed to be outside, building snowmen, tossing
snowballs, and simply looking around in amazement. Given the fact that our area of Texas hadn’t
registered snowfall since 1895, many of the folks had never seen snow before,
much less on Christmas Day. It was truly
historic.
The weather experts
could probably give you a scientific reason why Seadrift, Texas got a ten inch
snow that year. But as far as I’m
concerned, I’m perfectly content to explain it as the wondrous magic of
Christmas.
Merry Christmas everyone
and may God bless you all!
Stella is giving away one copy of Christmas on the Silver Horn Ranch
US ONLY
Good Luck!
US ONLY
Good Luck!
Don't forget to head to Gonereading for those
hard to buy for readers on your shopping list
Ooo that is awesome I love this holiday memory! What fun!
ReplyDeleteThanks kindlemom for stopping by and commenting!
DeleteChristmas snow is magical, and your childhood memories sound wonderful
ReplyDeleteHow true Kim, do you remember when we were young how even more magical it seemed. :)
DeleteWe always do Christmas day at home with the exception if we travel out to the other side of the country to visit the other half of the family, but we might do the extended family Christmas with my husband's side on Christmas Eve or later on Christmas day after our own.
ReplyDeleteWhat a heartwarming set of circumstances for your Christmases.
Thanks for sharing Sophia Rose, we usually spend Christmas Eve with my nephew and Christmas day is usually at my sisters house but this year we're staying home.
DeleteI loved hearing about your miraculous white Christmas. Here in Michigan it's rare when it's not white. LOL
ReplyDeleteWe've always celebrated on Christmas day, never on Christmas Eve. :-)
Marcy Shuler
bmndshuler(at)hotmail(dot)com
Thanks for sharing Marcy. Do you think El Nino will keep your Christmas green this year?
DeleteReading about the author was inspiring and very special especially as I was diagnosed with breast cancer 3 years ago and hopefully so far so good. I enjoyed her wonderful post which was meaningful and heartwarming. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeletetraveler, prayers and thoughts with you!
Deletethanks for sharing
Merry Christmas
We celebrate on both. And usually the weekend after. My husband and I feel like we are a part of that movie 4 Christmases :)
ReplyDeleteKim sounds like fun at your house :)
DeleteHeck I'd like to hear what non believers of global warming or climate change has to say about this almost warm weather we have here in TN.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great story though, sounds very memorable indeed. 10in of snow in TX? Treat!
It was almost 70 here two days ago Braine unheard of in St Louis in December. I hate to see the size of the bugs this summer Yikes
DeleteI celebrate on both days straight to new years day
ReplyDeletewell why not! :)
Delete