Flashback Friday (on Sunday)

I'm with Heather... it's too complicated to do my "Flashback Friday" on an actual Friday! Too worn out on Friday's. So I will try it out on a Sunday night while Josie is napping. These are memories of Christmas from my childhood.

1. Riding around to look at Christmas lights with my parents and Brad (I think Greg and Doug were over this phase by the time we got big enough to enjoy it).If it was Christmas Eve, I ALWAYS saw a flash of Santa in the sky, of course (and really thought I did). We always went in town to Hattiesburg where all the houses were big and close together. Oak Grove was not what it is these days!

2. Picking out a live Christmas tree.... my personal favorite. And Joey has now learned that this WILL be a part of our tradition every Christmas, even though it would easier to buy a pre-lit one! We drove to Oloh every year and searched long and hard for the perfect tree. The man who owned the farm had gotten pretty "seasoned" the last time we went. We asked him to tag us a good one, and when we got there it was the ugliest tree in the farm. Poor thing. We gave him our biggest smile, thanked him, and loaded it up.

3. The year we got Patches, our Australian Shepherd. That was kindergarten. We finally had to put him to sleep when I was about 20 or 21. He grew up with us and losing him was tough for the whole family. We have pics of Brad and I in our underwear and Patches looking over our shoulder as we opened all our presents. That was by the far the best gift we ever got!

4. The year I wanted the Little Miss Make Up doll. They were a hot item and my parents were worried they could not find one. I was so happy to unwrap her. My dad says he was very interested to see my expression since her skin was "brown" and mine was "pink." However, I did not seem to notice. She was beautiful.

5. My mom's Christmas tree. Since there were 4 children... you could imagine the homemade ornaments. Sand dollars spray painted green and red, ginger bread men made out of kidney beans, little circles with our kindergarten pictures. I always look forward to go seeing her tree every year, because she uses the same ones. She says she just cannot replace them and I don't blame her!

I have wonderful memories from my childhood... and I cannot wait to make Josie memories like my parents did for us. Merry Christmas!