Merry Christmas from our Santas to yours!!

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

For Carrie was bartending at a place we call DUBS,

Where one can get cold beer and some really great grub!

Jessie’s there, too, and much like Carrie you’ll find

She cooks, waits on tables, and makes all “tow the line”!

The two of them spend every spare moment there

Growing the business with responsibilities they share.

Now, Patty in her DUBS shirt stops by quite a lot

To work on the books and give hostessing a shot.

She also spends time, once a week, it is known

At the front desk of their church answering the phone.

While Lex in his golf cap looks forward to each day

That he can get out on the golf course to play!

He works hard at growing his own business also

A place that goes by a name he calls Latro.

The others aren’t nestled all snug in their beds.

Will lives in New York, works at Joe Allen’s instead.

He comes home to visit when time does allow

And sings Karaoke at DUBS for the crowd.

Little Cailyn has grown up and now goes to school

It’s first grade where she has a chance to be cool.

She loves taking dance class, jazz, tap and ballet.

She keeps us all on our toes every day!

Now Leigh, she has found her partner for life.

In September she became Nevin Brede’s wife.

So, the stockings that hang by our chimney here

Will just keep growing like our family, so dear.

While Santas may wear many hats

and spread the magic of Christmas,

may we never forget the true meaning of this holiday.

Wishing you God’s blessings in the New Year.

Love, The Wilkinsons

Our First Littlebird

Yesterday we watched with love-filled hearts as our oldest daughter, Leigh, married the man of her dreams. The wedding took place in Minnesota, where they live. She was the one littlebird that remained there when the rest of the family moved back to Pennsylvania.  Planning this wedding over the last 12+ months has been a challenge because of the distance between us. Thank goodness she inherited all of my organizational genes, because it could not have been a more perfect wedding. Both she and Nevin contributed some very different ideas about the attire, but in the end it was just a beautiful wedding - both sparkly and colorful, just like their personalities!!  I am so happy to welcome my new son-in-law to our family!

I wrote the poem below for our first littlebird and gave it to her the morning of her wedding.

My very first little bird, ‘twas love at first sight

So soft was your skin, your eyes were so bright.

I bundled you up, brought you home to the nest

And mothering you has been the very best!

Through scraped knees and bee stings, and big ugly splinters,

Through springs, summers, falls and bundled up winters,

Through grade school, middle school and then teenage years,

I loved being the one to wipe away your tears.

You’ve grown into a woman who’s remarkably strong

Who knows what she wants, and just where she belongs.

Your smile is like sunshine, your laughter outrageous

Your bubbling demeanor is just plain contagious.

And now, look at you…a beautiful bride!

My heart is just bursting with love and pride.

My very first little bird, ‘twas love at first sight,

and forever and ever, each day and each night

‘til my last breath I’ll love you.  Oh, yes it is true!

My very first little bird, how I love you.

Love, Mom  

Wax On...Wax Off

So, the other day I was cleaning up the house, you know, bouncing from room to room putting things away in their proper spots, folding blankets, fluffing pillows, etc.  We’ve all been there, especially if we have been away for a full day, and left the house unattended, or should I say attended only by a husband, a daughter and a granddaughter.  Things tend to get a bit “messy”.

 

As I was flitting to and fro I decided I was going to discard the candle that was in the warmer and replace it with a new one.  I turned it off…good thinking…but did not wait for it to cool so the wax could harden.  Instead, I reached in and lifted it out, and while trying to place it on the bar to cool it slipped from my fingers.  Uh-oh!!!  “Wax on!”

The candle jar flipped over and poured hot wax all over the bar, the bar stools, and the floor.  What a mess!!  Now, I had to stand there and watch it harden so that I could clean it up!  Plastic spatula in hand I began the very long and tedious process of scraping up the cooled wax.  This worked pretty well for the bar and floor, but not the upholstered seats of the stools.  That required an iron, an extension cord, an old towel and more patience than I had in the moment.  After about 2 hours of the “wax off” part, I just gave up.

Lesson learned…just get over the house being a little “messy”.  There are bigger worries than things out of place…or unfolded blankets…or candles that no longer make the house smell like flowers.

    

Worries like stiff and sore knees from scraping wax off a floor!

April Showers

This year two very special ladies are getting married.  First, my beautiful daughter, Leigh, will marry the man of her dreams in September.  She is the first of my children to get married, and it has been a great joy to help her with the planning…even if it’s been “long distance” as she lives in MN and I live in PA.  We are so excited to welcome Nevin into our family.  Another son for us!!!  The other special lady is my daughter, Carrie’s lifelong best friend, Jamie.  Jamie has been a part of our lives for a very long time, and is considered to be like “one of our kids”.  She is marrying her soulmate, Dave in June.  Blessings all around!

It was my great privilege to host both of their bridal showers in April at the BlessInn.  What fun!!!  I love having my home filled with people, and what better way to do it, then with such a happy occasion as a bridal shower!!

Although these April showers did not bring May flowers, they will bring wedding flowers, and celebrate the love of two couples who are beginning new lives together.   I pray their marriages will be filled with LOVE and HAPPINESS.

The Bridge

I have been very blessed in my life to have been given wonderful parents.  They have taught me many valuable lessons…lessons that have helped me to become the person I am today.  Lessons like working hard to accomplish a goal, unconditional love, forgiveness, the importance of family, respect, having strong morals, and how to work through hard times together.  These lessons were not always taught by words, but by their actions…actions of good and decent people…people that God entrusted to take care of me on this earth.

My sisters and I spent the last several weeks by my dad’s side as his health was declining. He had gone back and forth several times from the hospital to the nursing home.  He ended up in the hospital for the last time on Monday.  He kept telling us “I quit, I’m tired of this game”.  We knew his time here on earth was nearly complete.

My dad crossed “the bridge” yesterday and joined my mom in heaven. The day before he died he said many things as his life passed before him, some good and some painful.  He repeated over and over “I love all my girls”.  He sang to my mom…My Sweet Irish Rose and said quite clearly that the first and last time he walked side by side with Bea was down the aisle.  My sisters and I knew what this meant, as he often told us that during their life together she always walked 10 steps ahead of him.  He spoke of his mother, who passed when he was a young boy, and kept repeating “Red Rover, Red Rover come on over”. Could it be his mother wanted him to cross the bridge and he wasnt quite ready to say good-bye?  Just before he took his last breath, he said “bridge…bridge…bridge”. He finally took that step into heaven.

With heavy hearts we said good-bye, but we know that he is finally at peace and does not have to “play the game” any longer.  He leaves behind, not only me and my two sisters, but MANY people who loved him.  That became quite evident by the kind words people have said about him to me since his passing.

Thank you daddy…for loving me…caring for me…and teaching me.  I hope that I made you proud!

And as I told mommy when she crossed the bridge…it’s not good-bye…it’s “see you later!”

Pillow Talk

There are many things that married couples do to keep their marriages from becoming boring. Let's face it, you see each other every day at your worst, and we all know that sometimes we just become invisible to our partner. It helps if we can keep a little humor in the mix!

My honey and I find our humor with "pillow talk". Now before you get all "TMI" on me, let me explain.

  

We have an unspoken rule that the last one out of the bed makes it! I will interject here that I CAN NOT crawl into an unmade bed...ewwwwwww! I like the look and feel of a neatly made bed. I have several decorative pillows on my bed, and the fact that I am "slightly" OCD, I have a certain way that those pillows are presented when the bed is freshly made.

Given the fact that most mornings I am the FIRST one up, the task of bed making has become my honey's. At first I would "adjust" the pillows to my liking, but let's face it...that was just plain silly. Some things you have to let go!

Anyway, one day I walked into the bedroom, and just had to smile at my honey's creativity. Since then, he has tickled my funny bone every morning. Each day he stacks the pillows a different way, and I must say some are very clever!

Below are a few examples of his "pillow talk". When I walk in the room the bed is the first thing I see...and he always makes me giggle! I hope he doesn't run out of ideas! If so, we will find another source for the much needed humor in our marriage.

May your marriages be filled with your own style of "pillow talk" humor.

Nothing Stays the Same

I am one of those people that love the sound of the Salvation Army Bell and the sound that change makes as it is dropped into the red pail. It means Christmas is coming. It is proof that there are good and generous people in this world.

Today you can find these volunteers in generally the same places they have always been - street corners, malls and in front of stores like KMart and Walmart. Often times, they stand outside, shivering in the cold. Kudos to all those that have volunteered their time for this great organization that offers comforts to those in need.

So much has changed about this simple yearly tradition of bell ringers. When I was a child all the Salvation Army volunteers were dressed like Santa. When I was a child the red pails were made of metal, not plastic, and did not have locked lids. When I was a child the volunteers wished you a Merry Christmas, regardless if you gave a donation or not.

Yesterday I was doing a little Christmas shopping and noticed a young man standing post by his red plastic pail. I always make a donation, and do so when I am leaving the store. I smiled and walked by. As I was coming out of the store and digging out my wallet, I saw that there were now two young people manning this post, a young girl and the same young man. May I stop right here and say how wonderful it was to see young people carrying on this tradition.

I took out the bill from my wallet and started to put it in the plastic pail with the locked lid and the young man said "Oh, wait! They told me to hold on to the bills!" Hmmmmmmmm...... He continued, "They lost the key and can't open the bucket to get the money out." Hmmmmmmmm...... As I returned the bill to my wallet, my heart still tugged at me to give, so...as we continued to converse about the locked bucket dilemma I dug in my wallet for an appropriate amount of change. Me, "Well, how do they get the coins out?" The young man replied "Well, they turn it upside down and keep shaking it until all of it comes out!" Hmmmmmmmm...... I dropped my change into the plastic pail with the locked lid that cannot be unlocked, smiled and said "Merry Christmas!"

The bell did not ring, the coins did not "clank" in the metal pail, and "Santa" did not wish me a Merry Christmas. But, I know next year I'll stop by a Salvation Army post and donate again.

Hopefully all of their plastic pails will be in good working condition!