A Meme - Random Questions

I had read on Annie's blog last week some random questions she had received from another blogger and decided I wanted to get in on the fun! Annie thought up the following questions for me to answer. Thanks, Annie! If you want to get in on the fun as well, leave me a comment and I will think of some questions for you to answer on your blog! Here we go!

1. What is a holiday tradition that you always did growing up that is maybe a little different than how others might celebrate, but means something really special to you?

I don’t really remember a “tradition” as much as I remember the holidays because they were always special. We grew up very poor and it was hard for my parents to be able to do much – even on the holidays. We always had a gift for Christmas – always something that we wanted and loved! For weeks, before Christmas, we would go through the Sears catalog circling everything we wanted for Christmas. My mom and dad would always explain that even though we circled everything we had to find “the” thing that we wanted most of all!

For Easter we always dyed eggs and then hunted them on Easter Sunday. That was fun! My mom sewed, so we usually had something new to wear that she made for us. I remember one Easter when my parents were really struggling and had explained that we wouldn’t be able to have anything special from the “Easter Bunny”. It was okay and we didn’t complain because we knew times were tough.

We went to church on Sunday evening and when we came home the “Easter Bunny had come and left a glass jar full of candy! We were so excited! We questioned my parents and believed they had put it there, but they always denied doing so – even after we had all grown up! My mom believed that some loving person knowing of our struggles had brought it in while we were at church. I will always remember that year – and that awesome person who made five children very happy!

2. In your home, where is your favorite place to be and why? My home is really my favorite place to be – all of it. My house is nothing special to anyone else but me, but that’s okay – it’s mine! The land our house is on was sold to us by my parents which makes it that much more special.

Jody and I have done a lot of work on the house (really, Jody’s done the most) and made it more our own and more comfortable because, most likely, this is where we will be for the rest of our lives. We’ve thought about building and we’ve thought about buying, but that’s really not a priority for us. There are still things we want to do to make the house better and we will get to them as we can afford to do them. We try not to get ourselves too deeply in debt!

Jody built a big deck on the front and put in my flowerbeds and I love working in them.

Probably if I had to pick one spot it would be the front deck. I like to sit out there in the summer, early in the morning and have my coffee. We are far enough from the road that we don’t hear the traffic; we only hear the sounds of nature! I’m thankful for the home that we share!

3. What was the best gift you ever received, who was it from, and what made it so special?

The best gift I ever received was the teaching and the love of our Lord and Savior. My parents taught us, from the beginning; of the promise of salvation and of the blessings we have in everything!

We grew up in church and our home life was one in which God was taught. My mother sang songs of praise and taught them to us from the time we were babies! My mother read to us from the Bible in a way that made us want more! I have received many other gifts in my life, but that to be the best!

4. If time and money were not a concern, how would you spend a free weekend?
This one’s easy!
My brothers and sisters and their families, as well as me and my family – all have grown children (except Jimmy and Sheila, who have a 3 year old and a new baby), so it makes it hard for all of us to be able to get together in one place very often. It’s hard to get all of our schedules to mesh at once to be able to be together.

For that reason, if time and money were of no concern I would love to spend a whole weekend on a “big” houseboat with room for everybody!

It would be a weekend free of TV, radio and telephones so that we would have time only for each other! It would be a weekend that temporary help could be hired for those who usually have to work on the weekends – we have an emergency room nurse, a ranch owner, a prison guard, an attorney in another state, as well as others that are not able to take off on the weekend, because their jobs don’t stop on Friday evening!

I love my family so much and miss spending time with them. We always spend Christmas together and Thanksgiving and try to see each other in between, but it does get more difficult as the children and grandchildren grow up! I would love for us to spend that weekend together, fishing, swimming and just being together!

5. Name someone who has inspired you in life and explain why.
My parents are probably the most inspirational people in my life! They faced many adversities and faced them all with a desire and the spirit of the Lord!

My parents were, above all else, Believers and lived their lives as examples to others they came into contact with – in their job, in church or anywhere else. Both my parents came from homes in which religion was a central part of their lives and brought that into our family as well.

They had so many struggles – and yet loved each other and worked together to make sense of everything. Some of the trials my parents suffered during their marriage would probably have caused many marriages to fall apart, but not theirs – nor was it ever a thought that they would not be together for life! They married when my mom was 17 and my dad was 21 and they were together for 47 years until my Dad’s death. I thank God that I was blessed with such a wonderful family.

If you want to get in on the fun, leave a comment and I'll think up some questions for you to answer!