Thursday, December 21, 2006

Thursday Thirteen

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Thirteen Christmas Traditions My Family Has (or Had in the Past!)
1. Our whole family loves to sing, so we always go Christmas caroling with the church. Love it, love it. It's so nice to spread Christmas cheer to those who aren't able to get out and enjoy the season.
2. For as long as I can remember I've been a part of the Christmas play or cantata at my church. I even wrote a few of the plays. This is something most of my family takes part in as well. It's fun to see it all come together after all the practice.
3. On Christmas Eve we all go to my Grandma and Grandpa Cockman's house. These are my mom's parents. The family on that side is huge (Mom has 2 brothers and 4 sisters. Plus all of their kids which comes to 16 grandkids in all, plus the grandkids children which stands at 3 right now, plus all the spouses/boyfriends/girlfriends. Just put it this way, there are a LOT of people there. But we always have a fun time catching up with each other.)
4. Sometime on Christmas Eve my brother and I get together with our cousins Scott, Tracy, Will and Chris to do our gift exchange and to watch, "One More Sleep" better known to the rest of the world as "The Muppet's Christmas Carol."
5. When we were younger and still lived at home, my sister and I shared a room. My brother had his own room because he was a boy (bum!) But on Christmas Eve mom always made him sleep in our room because he was sneaky, and he would try to get a peek at the presents.
6. When we'd wake up on Christmas morning we'd all sit there and talk about what we thought we'd gotten. The rule was we had to wait until at least 5 to wake our parents. As soon as the clock struck five we would all yell together, "Mama, Daddy, wake up. IT'S CHRISTMAS!!!"
7. Mom always passed out the gifts. Basically because she was the only one who knew who was supposed to get what. See she'd write names on the packages in tiny print where no one could see it. We spent the weeks before Christmas trying to find our names written on the packages. Sometimes even she couldn't find where she'd put the name on Christmas morning, and she'd give the gift to the wrong one of us. But it just made for more Christmas laughs.
8. After we had opened all of our gifts, mom and dad would open their gifts to each other. Of course they always said, "I told you not to get me anything." But they always appreciated the gifts.
9. After all the gift giving hullabaloo was over, mom would cook breakfast while we cleaned up all the wrapping paper and put our new stuff in some semblance of order. She usually made fried tenderloin and eggs and biscuits. YUMMY!
10. Dinner has always been at my Grandma and Grandpa Smith's on Christmas day. Between 12 and 1. A huge group of us gather there as well. And lots of laughs are had as we retell stories on one of my aunts and uncles, like the time my uncle went hunting in WHITE jeans, or the time my aunt sat on the porch swing and it just collapsed. Then we all get calm, and my grandpa (who is also my pastor) reads the Christmas story.
11. Christmas afternoon my dad and my brother always go hunting together, usually with my Uncle Joel, my dad's brother.
12. Mom and I usually watch Christmas movies and just veg out watching the Christmas tree.
13. Then we have Christmas at mom and dad's house when my sister Crystal and her husband RJ join us with their two little ones Raegan and Trace. It's so fun to watch little ones open up their gifts. Mom has passed the gift handing out onto me, and she has started using gift labels, but I miss the days of searching for my name hiddens somewhere in the Christmas writing on the paper!

What are some of your family traditions on Christmas? Whatever they are, I hope you enjoy the Christmas season, and take the time to think about the true reason for the season, Christ!

Merry Christmas everybody!!

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Thursday Thirteen

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Thirteen Reasons Santa Might Have Picked Elves to Help Him Instead of Humans
1. He was obviously on a power trip. He wanted to stand head and shoulders above his entire work force.
2. He felt sorry for the elves who made the shoes and wanted to offer them something more fun and less stinky to do.
3. He figured elves wouldn't eat as much so there would be more food for him to eat. After all, you can't stay the big, jolly guy if you are hungry all the time.
4. He knew that the elves wouldn't expect health insurance or a retirement plan.
5. He figured no human would want the thankless job of cleaning up after the reindeer.
6. He knew that if he hired humans they'd be playing with the toys instead of building them (especially if he hired men!)
7. He figured he'd have a lifetime supply of cookies since the Keebler elves were the experts in cookie making.
8. He didn't want anybody the same size as him in the North Pole because they might try to overthrow him.
9. He figured it would add more mystery to his existence and make more people question, "Does he exist or not?"
10. He decided he'd never get in trouble over affirmative action because he had hired a complete minority.
11. He had tons of extra doll clothes and needed to hire someone who could wear them.
12. He wanted to feel important since he was the only one tall enough to reach the top of the Christmas tree.
13. Too many of the humans he had tried to hire were hunters in disguise trying to kill the reindeer.


Merry Christmas everybody!!

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Thursday Thirteen

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Thirteen Things Tracy and I Did to Decorate Our House for Christmas
1. Do you remember a few weeks back where I told you about the giant Buddy the Elf cutout that was standing in my bay window? Well, he is now taped to my front door trimmed in pretty green garland. (This was Tracy's work)
2. One of my dad's deer heads that was left hanging above the mantle now has a green garland and red Christmas bow, bow-tie thing going on. (Also Tracy's work)
3. There are candy dishes full of candy (Tracy again)
4. There is a Christmas tree in front of the bay window with about 2500 white lights on it (This one was me)
5. There are Christmas knick-knacks on the mantle below the deer. (This was half me/half Tracy) One of these knick knacks is a picture of our cousin Scott last year at Christmas time wearing my nephew Trace's "My First Christmas" Santa Clause hat. It's a really funny picture in a Christmas frame.
6. There is also garland hung from the mantle with lights strung through it. (My doing)
7. There are lots of Snowman and Santa candles placed around the house. (1/2 Tracy, 1/2 Me)
8. A glass nativity scene is setup on the bar with garland and lights surrounding it.
9. A Christmas village is on our entertainment center on the shelf above our TV. (Thanks to Tracy's mom for the loan of the village!)
10. There are wreaths hung on several walls, making the place look festive.
11. There is another nativity scene on my dresser, and another one on a bookshelf. After all Jesus is the reason for the season, so you can never have too many nativity scenes.
12. There are lights strung from the canopy on my bed. This is one of my favorite things.
13. And last of all there is a Christmas wall hanging that spells out JOY, a bit of what I hope to spread this Christmas season to all that I see!

Merry Christmas everybody!!