Guest Blogger for Christmas!!

I have been asked by the beautiful and talented author of this blog to share 5 memories I experienced at Christmas growing up as a child. Keep in mind that I was raised in a very small town called Seminary, so there were no hometown Christmas parades, attractions to go view, city Christmas tree lightings etc. All we had were friends, family, and free-time. The following are some of my fondest memories, but don't be disappointed that there aren't any earth-shaking oohs and aahs.

1. A little recollection of Christmas eve.

The one thing I remember about Christmas eve was watching the news to see where Santa was at bedtime. We would also go outside and look to the sky and mom and dad would point to a set of stars and say "I bet that is Santa right there...you better get to bed." So off to bed we scampered and slept with one eye halfway open. However, the one thing I could never really understand was how our local news said Santa was in one location, but the news off the coast (WLOX) would say he was in another location.........just had to believe.

2. A little recollection of Christmas day.

My brother Matthew and I would go to bed early so we could get asleep and the morning would come a little sooner. And sooner it did......we would always wake up around 3:00am, 4:00am, or 5:00am at the latest to see what was under our tree. Then to mom and dad's room where we didn't always get a warm welcome at that time of morning. We would wake up so early that we would go back to bed after opening gifts, sleep a few hours, and then be back up around 8:00 or so to play.

3. After all the above had taken place, we would walk up to my grandparents (Pierce's) to exchange gifts with them. Then we would return to my house around lunch to see my other grandparents (Brocks's) and the rest of my mom's brothers and sisters and all my cousins. My Pierce grandparents would also come over to eat and rest of the day was entertained by playing with our Christmas gifts.

4. I remember real well one Christmas that Matthew swore he saw Santa outside his window. He was so excited and he got to see Santa and heard his reindeer on the roof.

5. Another memory had to do with our fireplace. We had a wood-burning stove (that would heat us out of the house sometimes..... ok, a lot of times. there were many nights I remember opening doors and windows to cool off the house because it was so hot)..............but back to my memory. The chimney on the fireplace was way too small for anybody to slide down, much less Santa's big rump. So what we did on Christmas night was leave the front door unlocked so Santa could come it and not have to come down the small chimney.

Like I said, not a lot of suspense or excitement, but those are my memories that I still remember vividly at 31 years of age. It was obviously special to me and I still recall it like it was last year. Friends, Family and Free-time.

To my boys,

I hope one day when you are looking back at all these entries and memoirs your mom documented for us, you will know how much you have impacted our lives for the better. Ya'll are my heartbeat, my purpose for living. I Love you. Merry Christmas Harrison and Hudson.

Love,

Dad

This is where Harrison prefers to watch Dora, hopefully his retinas will survive.

Mommy's Gingerbread House that they cannot resist!

This poor house has no yard due to the pressure to get finished by the onlookers!!