Christmas and Family

Do you ever come up with a last minute gift idea? Well this picture of my two sisters, my brother and my Mother has been sitting on my desk. This is the last picture that we were all together in July, 1997. In the back is me, the youngest, the middle is my sister Dotty, then my sister Martha. In the front is our Mother and next to her her is the eldest, my brother Eddie. I took the picture and scanned it, ironed it to 10 1/2 inch piece of fabric and made these little pillows to give them as an additional present. Our Mother passed away on December 15, 1998. My brother lives in the house that was Mother's home and we still have Thanksgiving and Christmas there.

What is funny about then and now. When Mother was alive everyone of my siblings would bring a dish or a dessert for Thanksgiving and Christmas. All they would EVER let me bring was cokes and the stuff to make cheese dip. During the 54 days that Mother was in the hospital before she passed away she told Martha and Eddie not to worry about the food at holidays - Brenda will take care of making the food!!! Now I was floored when they told me this, but just as Mother said, I have been very involved with the preparation of the holiday food. I go to Eddies at 7in the morning and prepare most of the dishes we eat - using Mother's recipes that she gave me before she passed away. Now that is a Christmas miracle!!

The greatest miracle of all is the greatest gift of all - the Baby Jesus - that God gave us - God's only son. But then Jesus gave us the greater gift by dieing for our sins - not His sins- but ours. He took our place so that we would not have to die in our sins. May you all have a blessed Christmas and remember "The Reason for the Season".