On the SECOND Day of Christmas...Friday, December 12, 2014

Peppermint!  NOTHING says Christmas to me like Peppermint…as a matter of fact, ALL 12 posts could possibly be about Peppermint…so drag up a chair, kick your feet up and breath in that COOL fresh MINTY air!

My most favorite part of Christmas morning was looking in our stockings!  I LOVE buying gifts for the stocking and I was so excited when I was old enough to take over that part of our tradition.  Mother was more than happy to give up something to ease her often TOO LONG TO DO LIST.  

Mother was born in 1932 to a family that already had 6 children and when she and her twin were born, that made 8!  She was the baby.  Times were tough and she was born into a family that had a Father who was MISERABLE with life.  He was BRILLIANT and graduated from the University of Tennessee in only 3 years and dreamed, I imagine, of getting to use his brain to work for the rest of his life.  It was not meant to be because he was summoned to come back home to work on the farm and he was not happy and from all I have heard, he made life unhappy for those around him.

Dip the marshmallow into melted Chocolate, roll in crushed peppermint.  When dry, add the candy cane

Mother shared that often she remembered that all they got for Christmas was a shoebox that was filled with an orange, nuts, hard candy and a candy cane.  I think this was the basis of Mother teaching us that THINGS were not important and her life reflected this.  Mother said that in her whole life, she could HONESTLY say that she had EVERYTHING that she ever wanted…she just KNEW WHAT to want!  I think that is pretty profound!

Daddy was raised by his Aunt and Uncle because his Mother died when he was 22 months old, so in reality, he was raised as an only child, BUT he was ALWAYS around his father, sister and two brothers.  While Daddy was spoiled rotten and went on to raise 3 spoiled rotten children (WELL, at least my BROTHERS were rotten…says the BABY of the family as she clears her throat), he was taught to work hard, honestly and faithfully.  He didn’t experience the hardships like Mother did, but boy, did that man LOVE Peppermint!!  There were few days that he didn’t eat a piece of peppermint candy and my oldest brother would bring him 5 pound bags from Sams VERY often!  My sister-in-law gave Daddy a BIG Goose that became the Peppermint Candy Goose.  You know, I really should paint a red and white ribbon on that old goose! 

It became a TRADITION for our stockings to have an orange in the toe and a peppermint candy Cane added last to hang out of the top!  We have all heard the story of the Candy Cane, but I would like to remind us of that story.

I was raised and live in the South, and we really DO have a church on every corner.  My family was raised to attend church EVERY Sunday and each Sunday morning we HAD a choice~~either get up and get ready for Sunday School and Church OR be TOLD to get up and get ready for Sunday School and Church.  God WAS the head of our household and my parents taught us, by example, to live by the words of the Bible.  No, we weren’t STRANGE (well….no more than MOST people) who sat around and spoke of THEE and THOU, we were normal people with normal problems, BUT we were so BLESSED to be able to have our FAITH to lead us through the rough patches.  I BELIEVE with my whole heart that MUCH of the good that happens to me today is BECAUSE of the GOOD my parents did and somehow it has been stored up in Heaven and is being showered on me, EVEN when I think that God is picking on ME!...BUT he doesn’t DO THAT.  ;)

For a quick gift idea, go to PINTEREST to find printable copies of the candy cane story and attach it to a candy cane…it never hurts to be reminded that we have a LOVING SHEPHERD guiding us each day…I HOPE you feel HIS presence in YOUR life…Blessings to YOU…~charlotte♥