Monday, December 27, 2010

Our Christmas Tree


I thought you might like to see how our tree looked this year. We used the same decorations back in 2008 and decided to do so again this year. The purple and green make such a pretty tree. I hope you like our angel on top in her green robe.
While going through my boxes of decorations in the garage earlier before we decorated the tree, I was pleasantly surprised to come across a carefully wrapped item that brought tears to my eyes. Inside the wrapping was the old, hand carved metal star that my dad had made years ago that we used as the topper for our tree. It's glitter had long ago diminished but still clung to the metal. The hand fashioned clip on the back was still strong and sure. Holding it in my hand I could feel the love we shared from the Christmases long ago when I was small as we stood looking at and praising the beauty of the tree. The star was always there reminding us what the holiday was really all about. Every now and then the light in the room would reach the glitter and it would sparkle holding us in awe at the beauty.
My parents eventually stopped using the star, but lucky for me, I was the one to choose it as a memento when they passed.
I'm thinking I'll do a second tree in 2011 and use that star making the tree with the multicolored lights so the star can sparkle anew and hold my family in it's spell. I may even use all the ornaments from my childhood and my childrens to make it a generational tree. One thing for sure is I have almost a year to work on it. Merry Christmas to all of you.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Our Parents!


The picture on the left is the closest one we can find of my parents shortly after they were married. My mom was 21 and my dad only 19 years old.
The picture on the right was taken in celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary. How different they look.
These are the parents that taught us how to be the people we are today. My dad was a painter all his life. My mom was a stay-at-home-mom until my twin and I were in our second year of high school when she went to work in one of the local factories.
They took us to church and instilled in us our faith, how to be parents, what a loving home was all about, being a family and respecting each other. Love was the most important element in our home. There were six children and we all knew we were loved by both of our parents. We had rules to obey, chores to do, bedtimes to be observed and homework done nightly. We always had the evening meal together and it made for a cohesive family unit.
You will find stories about our lives in our book, "Kaleidoscope Memories:Childhood Stories That Celebrate Family Life". I hope you'll read more posting in this blog and then pick up one of our books and share in our stories. It is our desire that by reading our stories you will remember some of your precious memories and want to share them with your family, friends, or the world.
I wanted you to see the beautiful people who were our parents and know a little more about them. I hope you've enjoyed this posting.