About Me

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I LOVE to design and to paint whimsical items that will put a smile on your face. Each day I share my simple life with you as I try to encourage, to inspire and sometimes JUST to make you smile as I recount my life growing up on a dairy farm! I've never had many material items in my life, BUT I have been blessed beyond words with love and encouragement from WONDERFUL Parents who instilled in me WHAT was important. I have had EVERYTHING that I needed and WAY too much of what I wanted. I am slowly learning to be a better person each day through my interactions with my friends on Facebook. Some day I hope to be as good as people seem to THINK I am! I am BLESSED! Welcome to my little corner of the world...Please stop by and visit often!

Sunday, December 14, 2014

On the FOURTH DAY of Christmas, Sunday, December 14, 2014



Our tradition was to have Christmas Breakfast with Daddy’s Family.  His Sister and her husband and his brother would come to our house most every year, but a few times, we did go to Aunt Lattie’s house.  We would have a potluck meal with Mother’s family, often on Christmas Eve.





Our Breakfast was HUGE and it would remain on the table all day for us to snack on.  Some of the items were:  Country Ham and red-eye gravy, Fried Chicken and gravy, Sausage and/or Sausage Balls, homemade Rolls or Biscuits, Homemade Jelly, scrambled eggs, Cheesy Garlic Grits, Fruit Salad, Frozen Cranberry Salad, hash browns or hashbrown casserole, the LAST tomato that was saved from the garden, Coffee, Hot Chocolate (Uncle Edger LOVED Hot Chocolate), Hot Spiced Tea and whatever was the NEW recipe of the moment!





We had a round oak table and we would all sit together as we fellowshipped after saying the blessing for another year of being together.  I don’t EVER remember there being a moment of silence, although it was a BIT quieter when we would start eating.





After Breakfast, Daddy, who was ALWAYS the last one to finish eating, normally, would be the FIRST one finished and READY to open presents…it was so much fun to see the twinkle in his eyes!!  He really DID become as a child at Christmas…I MISS that so MUCH!!





One of my favorite memories was the year that Aunt Lattie and Uncle Otto spent the night with us on Christmas Eve.  At that time, we had the Christmas Tree in the Den, so it had to be BEFORE 1970 because I think that was the year that Mother bought our FIRST Artificial Tree from Tractor Supply…LOL!!





We turned out the lights and had only the lights on our LIVE Christmas tree.  My brother, Brian, read The Christmas Story for us from the Bible.  I remember having such a WARM feeling as we sat in the den that was beautifully lit by the lights of the tree.





I LOVED our Family Christmases but I remember how each year as we lost another family member, there was always a void that just couldn’t be filled.  I was so blessed to have such great memories of times together with my family and I don’t understand why others didn’t get that chance, but I do NOT take them for granted.  I hope that as you look around your table this year, you will remember the GOOD times you have shared and the LOVE you have for each other, because THIS could be the last with some of your family and friends…do NOT take it for granted…TELL them and SHOW THEM what they mean to YOU!





I want to offer this line drawing BELOW to YOU in HONOR of the meaning of Christmas.  I sketched this out 3 years ago and had every plan to get it cut out and painted THIS YEAR, but so far, that hasn’t happened.  While you are free to do with it as you please, I planned to cut it from wood, with the star cut out, and a 2x2 placed behind it with a tea light to shine through the star.  The Baby Jesus can be cut separately, or just painted onto the front.  This pattern can be stitched or used in mixed media~~use the IMAGINATION that you have been gifted with!  





To copy the pattern, simply right-click your mouse and a bunch of options should appear…Choose Save Image to…and name the file…I will leave this up until sometime in January, so Save it NOW!!



I hope that you will enjoy THIS DAY OF REST to refresh your SOUL as you continue to prepare YOUR HEART for the CELEBRATION of the Birth of Christ…Blessings to YOU…~charlotte♥

4 comments:

  1. Growing up, we always had a big Christmas morning breakfast. And since i was the only grandchild on my dad's side, that side of the family would be there to see what Santa had brought me. Then as i grew up & my younger cousins were born, we would go to my Aunt & Uncles to see what Santa had brought my cousins. At our house, dad would make bacon, eggs, etc. - they were SO good! My aunt, however, always had a breakfast casserole. It was good, but i missed dad's bacon & eggs. =) Thanks for the pattern, my friend & for sharing more memories.

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  2. Thank you Ms Charlotte for continuing to share your Christmas MAGIC. I like you remember what Christmas's were like until family members have been lost with a VOID that can't be filled. Holidays are never the same without them, but the memories will remain in our hearts forever. HUGS!

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  3. Lovely Charlotte... I remember big christmas's like that too when our family was so much larger.. so miss them all too.. alot of memories happening around here at the moment... thank you for the cute pattern too.. and for sharing lovely memories.. xx

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  4. What a lovely story. Growing up we had a huge group that would gather at my grandparents on Christmas eve. I miss those day. Your work is beautiful and thank you for the pattern.

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Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the world. In case you haven't been told, you are loved!~~charlotte♡