Sing Praises!!

Christmas Friends

 We enjoyed our time with the Bakers. It's always easy to find something for them. They love board and card games of all kinds. This one is called "Make n' Break". They seem to like it!! We're very glad. We chose to play the new Trivial Pursuit 25 Anniversary Edition. One game to the guys and one to the girls!!!!! Even though the girls won the second game the guys made a great comeback!!!! Lots of fun!!!

 

A Wooten Family Christmas

 

Mollie, Marvin and Lindsay.

Sometimes negative events in life cause good things to happen. My parents divorced when I was six going on seven. So there's the negative event. My Mama Wooten had a Christmas dinner every year. This I remember going to every year of my life. Even though many years my Dad was not around we still had the Christmas dinner at Mama Wooten's. This gave me a connection with  this side of my family. So every year my brother and I would have Christmas day with my Mom. Then a few days later, usually the Saturday after Christmas, we would go to Mama Wooten's house for another Christmas dinner. She would always have each grandchild a small gift. The ones I remember most were these book like containers that opened up and were loaded with Life Savers!!! There were other gifts but for some reason it's those Life Saver books that stand out in my memory. Later in life my Aunt Hazel and Aunt Barbara began taking turns having the Christmas dinner each year. The last one we had with Mama Wooten was in December 1985. But the dinners continue, at least they do now. I wonder if my cousins and I will keep it going after my aunts can no longer have the meals?  

Here are a few pictures from this year's dinner.

 

Left to right: Aunt Barbara, Eddie, Aunt Hazel and me. Eddie had just told some story that cracked us up as well as himself.

 

 

L-R: Uncle Thurman, Uncle Wallace and cousin Ricky. Watching a game. Only they know who it is!!!

 

 

Ahhhhhhh peace and quiet!!!

 

First Cousins Sandie and Penny

 

First Cousin Eddie, Aunt Hazel and Little Ed.

Penny and her daughter, Lindsay.

 

First Cousin Ricky, Lindsay again, and a front view of Uncle Wallace.

 

Uncle Thurman trying to get that TV to work.

 

 

 

Michelle and Penny

 

 

 

 

 

Aunt Barbara and David

 

 

 

So who are these people and how are they connected?

Aunt Hazel is Married to Uncle Walllce.

Eddie is their son and Ed is his.

Aunt Hazel and Uncle Wallace also have

two other sons David and Marshall Clay.

Uncle Thurman is Married to  Aunt Barbara and

Penny and Ricky are their children.

Penny is married to David and Lindsay is their daughter,

they also have a son Brent.

Ricky is Married to Michelle. 

Then there's Sandie and she is

Married to Marvin and they have Mollie.

Sandie's dad Herbert is a brother to Aunt Hazel and Uncle Thurman.

_______________________________________________

When I was little,  a bunch of us lived with my grandparents.

Aunt Hazel of course lived there she was still in high school. But my Mom and I also was living there. My Dad was away in the Army. Mom was pregnant with my little brother Marty. Uncle Thurman and Aunt Barbara lived there too. I loved it of course. The only baby with all those adults!!! Wow!!! I was the star and my cousins say I never have gotten over that and that's why I'm so bossy!!!

I must say, there's probably some truth to that. But I've always loved my cousins, they were more like sisters and brothers than cousins.

At dinner last night we got to telling stories.

Aunt Barbara was telling about Aunt Hazel and Uncle Wallace getting married. It seems they didn't want to wait the 3 days after the blood tests to get married so they went to  Lafayette, TN where there was no such rule. Uncle Thurman and Aunt Barbara were the witnesses for their wedding. There was to be no honeymoon, so on the way back their big wedding dinner was purchased at a little out of the way, country store. The dinnner? Bologna sandwiches and an RC!!! Doesn't get any better than that.

That was Dec 17, 1958 and they were driving a 1955 Ford!!

______________________________

 

Then there's the story of Aunt Hazel and Aunt Barbara gathering walnuts. Aunt Barbara was up in the tree shaking the limbs and Aunt Hazel was gathering the ones that fell. All of a sudden Aunt Barbara yells and Aunt Hazel looks up. Barbara has gotten herself stuck in the tree. Hazel begins to crack up laughing. You can understand that Barbara did not see the humor. Barbara said when Hazel finally stopped laughing she went and got help to get her down.

They later took the walnuts to sell and was able to buy each of them a brown skirt with beige trim. They bought the skirts at Newberrys a local five and dime on the town square.

________________________________

While we were talking I received an unwanted call from a salesman. Which brought up a couple of tales of avoiding the precusor to telphone selling, the door to door salesman.

Penny gave one story, she told us that Aunt Barbar told all of them to get under the table and be quiet. She pulled the shades and closed all the doors. All this to avoid the door to door salesman.

The Marvin told us of a similar time that his grandmother told all the cousins to hid in the kitchen. She to closes all the doors and shade. Then she added one final threat of bodily harm should any of them make a sound. They believed her and was very very quiet.

_______________________________

We did make plans to get together for at least a middle of the year get together. Even if it's just lunch together. So, hopefully it won't be a year between visits next year!!!!

:)

 

 

So Did I Ever Tell You I Really Like Christmas Lights?

Well I have certainly met my match!! Check out this house and yard!! It's located off HWY 90 near Eighty Eight, Kentucky.

It belongs to Leslie and Prytha Wilson.

Enjoy!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Playing Games at Christmas!!!

Aunt Brenda seems to be having a big time playing with Drew's new dump truck!!!

 

While Gramdma Brenda  was playing with his truck, Drew enjoyed playing with the old organ at Aunt Shirley's house.

 There was a little bit of Rook at Grandma Shirley's. One game to each team!!! I still think Mom and Aunt Brenda gave the game to us!!

 

 

In the afternoon we met the Belchers and the Cashes for a movie. Then we were off to the Belchers for, yes, more food, and more games.

 

 

The Gardners met us there and we played Taboo!!! Can't seem to remember who won!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Maria and Mollie always exchange gifts!!! It seems they were on the same wave length this year!!!

 

 

Yes, she slept with the pillow

last night!!!

 

Ann and Cassie found other means of entertainment!!

 

 

 

 

 

So ends Christmas

Celebration 2008!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope yours was a great as ours!

Meet Some of My Family

 

 

My daughter, Mollie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  My husband, Marvin

brother,

 

 

My brother, Marty

   

My sister, JoAnn

 

 

 

My Mom, Shirley

My cousin, Charlotte Anne

  

My cousin, Drew, son of Charlotte Anne

 

My Aunt, Brenda

somehow Uncle Fitz snuck out of the pictures for the day!!

Look down though, he's in the Thanksgiving pictures.

 

My Aunt, Toostie

Our Family is Smaller This Year!! But, What About Those Who Are Still Here?

Every year it seems as if our family grows smaller and smaller. While I do certainly miss those who have gone on home, I find myself thinking, do I truly cherish the ones who are still with me? My Aunt Barbara called the other day to invite our family to her house for Christmas dinner. We do this every year. We used to go to my Mama Wooten's house, but since she passed in the summer of 1986 my Aunt's have alternated each year having the Wooten Christmas dinner at their houses. This year it's at Aunt Barbara's. While we chatted about what's been happening in our lives, we realized that we had not talked to nor seen one another since last Christmas. Now that wouldn't be horrible if we lived across the country or even the state. But we live in the same county. They live, oh let's see, probably no more than 15 miles away. Yet neither of us have seen each other nor pick up the phone one single time in a whole year! Now it has nothing to do with caring. We both care deeply for one another, we love one another. Either of us would do anything in the world for one another, yet in 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days we have not communicated with one another at all. I wonder if it's that way with any of you? I love my family yet spend very little time with any of them. I'm the one who keeps up with the family tree for heaven's sake. I know what my great, great, great grandfather did in his life, but I have no idea what my cousins, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, or my Mom is doing from one week to the next. I want this to change. I want to take the time to get to know my family once again. We used to go to each other's birthdays, weddings, and to the hospital when they had a baby, now we seldom see each other unless there's a funeral. So, I am making a promise to myself, not a New Year's resolution, no one ever keeps those, but a promise to give my family higher priority in my day to day life. Hope you will too.

Christmas Dinner at Grandma's House!!!

Christmas Dinner at Grandma's

with all the fixin's!

 

Grandma is checking it once!!!

 

 

And Aunt Brenda is checking it

twice!!!!

 

And Christmas Dinner is Oh So Very Nice!!

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Eve at Granny's and Pa's

 

New Bible for Pa!! New digital frame for Granny, full of pictures of Mollie!!! Ha!!

Of course Connor had to help open them?

 

Mollie's Aunt Connie and Granny Claywell and of course, Connor!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Mollie's Uncle Shawn and of course there's Connor helping him open his gift!!!! What a great helper he is!!!

 

 

The cousins!!! Left to Right!

Mollie, McKenzie, Cory and by now you know Connor!!!!

 

Finally, Mollie gets the spot between Granny and Pa!!!

Our Santa Likes Sparkling Grape Juice, Cheese & Crackers!!

 Whose that nibbling at that cheese!!! Cheese you say, isn't Santa supposed to have millk and cookies??? Nooooo, not at this house! Some how he got word to us that he prefers sparkling grape juice, cheese and crackers!!!! Marvin and Mollie have been leavin Santa this little snack ever since!!!  

Curling Ribbon and Precious Gifts!

     Still wrapping, I like to wrap each   gift and put curling ribbon on each one. It's the kind of ribbon my Mama Wooten (my grandma on my Dad's side) used on her gifts. I suppose it's the only kind they had back then. But I still have some of the ribbon she had saved. She had put it in her oil lamb, in the section where the oil should go. It was her way of decorating I suppose. Anyways, I have always used this kind of ribbons on the Christmas gifts I wrap. I usually take a little knife on Christmas morning so we don't spend all day trying to get into the gifts, since the ribbon in on there pretty tight. I also use a lot of tape!!!

 Ok, it has come to my attention that some people do not know what curling ribbon is!!!! Oh my goodness!!! I can hardly believe it's true, but it seems to be so. Sooooooooooooo, I thought I'd just show you instead explaining. Ribbon is straight before curling and well afterward its, Curly!! So now you know!

TaDa!!!!!

All the gifts

and the

pretty

curling

ribbon!!!!

 

 

 

 

16 Christmases with our precious little girl!! The Lord certainly blessed us abundantly when He brought her into our lives. We thank God for her each day. I pray that the Lord that gave us Mollie and gave up His son that we might have everlasting life will bless you greatly at this time of the year and throughout the whole year too!!! You too may have this abundant life, but you must ask Jesus into your heart and ask Him to be the Lord of your life. What better time to start a new life with Jesus than when we celebrate His coming to earth for us!!!!

He loves us that much!!