CHRISTMAS is coming...I am soooo HAPPY!!

Hi All,
For those that know me. Christmas is my MOST favorite time of the year! It seems to bring out the best in me! The music. The laughter. The time spent with family. The shopping. The food. The snow. And of course, the reason for the Season...Jesus Christ birth.
Here is something funny. Back in 1977, I was 5 years old, and had never celebrated Christmas before. So I learned that Mary had a baby named Jesus. So in 1978, after being adopted into my new adopted home, and we were beginning the celebration of Christmas, I asked my new Mom..."Is Mary going to have a girl this year?" I had thought that Jesus had been just born the year before. Everyone thought that kind of funny.
I love Christmas music. Some of my favorite memories include listening to BONEY M Christmas album...with such songs like Feliz Navidad, and When A Child is Born. I remember watching the Anne Murray Christmas Special. My favorite Christmas special was the Julie Andrews THE SOUND OF CHRISMTAS in 1985, with her guest John Denver and Placido Domingo, which was filmed in Austria. Later on, in 1988, as a Christmas gift from Mom, I recieved the CHRISTMAS PORTRAIT and AN OLDFASHIONED CHRISTMAS albums of the CARPENTERS. I was ecstatic. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. THAT voice singing Christmas songs is so wonderful! Words cannot express what I feel, when I hear Karen Carpenter singing HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS, MERRY CHRISTMAS DARLING or AVE MARIA. She HAD the voice of an angel. Another artist I adore is Sandi Patty, who has recorded several Holiday albums. I love her songs BETHLEHEM MORNING, O HOLY NIGHT and STAR OF BETHLEHEM(which her son Jon sings on...very beautiful!). I also love Mariah Carey, Amy Grant, Jewel and their Christmas albums.
Also in my family, December holds several birthdays. My sister Debbie was born on December 6th, followed by sister Jeanne on December 16th, with Mom's on the 31st. Jeanne's oldest son Joey, is also born on the 31st. So all these birthdays are kinda special too. Which add to the Holiday spirit.
Now onto food. My Mom makes the best sweet potatoes in the whole world. They are the best! Her stuffing is great too!! And her gravy is perfection personified. If I can be half the cook she is, than I will be happy. Mom always recieved rave reviews on her cooking, not just from her family, but from the many people that have come thru the city for a night or two and stayed at Mom's and recieved warm and geniune hospitality. I always remember fondly, we would come home from school on a Friday, and Mom would say, company is coming, so we would put on our play clothes and get to work, cleaning and preparing the upstairs bedroom for the
guest(s). It was always exciting to have company over, and also to have all our weekend cleaning done on Friday night, so we wouldn't have to do it on Saturday. I always wanted to be like Mom, hospitable and gracious. One of my favorite sayings from the LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE books is when Ma Ingalls says, in response to someone complimenting her on her dinner preparations, "Modesty is the best sauce!" (I am not too sure why I mentionned that...I guess, I just like to say it, and see it written...anyhow!)
I love going to Church, and singing the carols. Which reminds me of my youth, when I was in the RIVER EAST TROUVERZ for 2 years in 1985 and 1986. We filmed Christmas commercials and recorded a ton of Christmas songs. Like, a lot! Mom and me were watching these commercials I have on VHS, a few weekends ago, and it was neat to see a younger, naive me, preserved on video. I really love singing!
I will add more of my Christmas thoughts at a later date...