Happy Christmas to all....

Ahh Christmas day. Filled with so many glorious memories. This Christmas is odd for me in that I'm not with my parents. We choose to not fly down to Tucson because we'll be seeing each other in January for our cruise. Not to mention the finance of flying during Christmas. If I could have found a cheap ticket, I may have surprised them.

Still, I find myself thinking of Christmas' past. And trying to recall fond memories. I have a few, quite a few actually. Even when the $ was tight, us kids always had a Christmas to remember. We may not have received the gift of the year, but we always got gifts filled with love.

One memory that leaped out to me this year was that of my Grandma Miller. She had a unique gift wrapping skill. She used foil papers and decorated our gifts with what we loved. The photo below is of Gma Miller and some of her gifts. The frog gift was for my Aunt Toad (no that wasn't her real name, but she collected Frogs).

This photo below is one of my favorites. We're in Trenton, NJ - I must be about 3 or 4. Like my hair doo...? I know, right? Hot. I don't remember what I got that Christmas. I'm sure it was great and I'm sure I played with it, and/or the box it came in, for hours.

Then there are the Santa photos. I only have 2 that I'm aware of. The first is in New Jersey in 1071 and the second in Albuquerque in 1972.

Last, the sister's photo in front of the tree. I never realized how 70's our trees were in the 70's. The first in Minot, ND (BRRRR) and the second in Great Falls, MT in 1977. Just look how stylin' my sister and I are...

Still, I find myself thankful for each and every Christmas. The one's filled with family and the one's spent without. Its hard to remember, with all the hustle and bustle around this time of year, that it is a time of year for love.