My Favorite Holiday: Christmas

I miss those Christmas' that we used to have with family up until 7 years ago when they all stopped.  I guess it was just too hard to continue on with Christmas with Jimmy gone.  Right after Jimmy died in Oct of 2014 only Brian & Reva came over on Christmas Day to cheer me up and to try and keep the tradition going.  One year later in 2015, Rick baked the Christmas turkey and we got together for the very last time. 

These two pictures of when Rick baked the Christmas turkey and helped out with the dinner.  I thought that he enjoyed himself, but I guess he didn't because he refused to have another Christmas after that year.

From years past here are the Christmas goodies that I would fix.  I would start baking Banana Nut Bread 2 weeks before, and Fudge making a week before.  I loved Christmas and getting together with family, and I always wanted to make everyone's favorite dishes.  Of course I had help too, Jimmy and also Rick jumped right in to help make everything just perfect.  Brian would always bring his cheeseball and Reva Mac n Cheese, and that Chicken dish I loved so well.  Sandie would bring her Banana Pudding and Peanut would bring a macaroni salad.  We had plenty of food, food was no problem, and we made so many happy memories.  I really miss those days.

These are not all the pictures, but just those that were handy.  Suzanne is in the background picture of Sandie & Peanut.  Suzanne is on the fireplace mantel.

I've inserted more of Brian & Reva because they are both no longer with us, which saddens me to no end.  I really miss those two.  And Christmas is especially sad because  Reva left us on Christmas Day 2021.  We lost Brian in Nov. 2020, Sandie, Dec. of 2020 and then Reva a year later.  No one should lose that many loved ones so fast, but it does happen.  And to beat it all, none of us were over Jimmy's death yet.  We were still coping with his death on Oct. 2014.

I have so many wonderful Christmas memories and pictures, way too many to post anywhere.  I even have a 1950 picture of me on Christmas Day at my grandparents house in Pasadena, California.  It's at the same house where I was "Abandoned in Pasadena" in 1945, but what better place for me to be abandoned at.....at my grandparents house.

I'm hoping with all my heart that Christmas day will be a much happier day for Brandon once his son is born, and that we can continue with some of the old Christmas traditions that we used to have.