I’ve been so lucky, all my life. I still remember how excited I was to find a green Schwinn bike under the Christmas tree one year. It helped me stay skinny, happy, and healthy as I rode all over Jackson for hours. I enjoyed the roller skates I found another Christmas morning and loved skating with my two brothers. Of course, Santa Claus brought me those neat gifts. I didn’t get too excited when I found a doll with my name on the little sticker. Not my cup of tea! I was able to trade it for a gun and holster set with a best friend who loved dolls. Years later, a kind lady knitted a beautiful bookmark for me, and I still keep it handy. The words she knitted make me smile, and they are – “She is too fond of books and it has addled her brain.” And that’s printed in blue on the white knitting. I’m impressed anyone could produce something so meaningful and useful with a knitting needle.

  Sam and her crew surprised me with another neat gift they had made while enjoying Gulf Shores, and it’s a postcard with a picture of them smiling in their swimsuits. I placed that in front of another amazing gift; a light-up box with the name of every one of my dears flashing in red. Another warm gift I’m enjoying is a cozy red blanket, again with all the family names, this time in big white letters. I love to cuddle up with that soft joy and admire each name as I warm myself. It reminds me of the neat kitchen mat with all my dears’ names printed in a big circle.

   I always thank Him each morning as I pray, for my wonderful children, and two wonderful churches.   I’m so blessed I grew up knowing the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus Loves Me, and lots more via Jackson First Methodist. I still gaze at that beautiful church when I make a rare Jackson trip. I got married the first time in the warm parsonage right next to my first church. 

  The next neat gift was a BIG King James Study Bible I received in 1993 at Christmas from my fellow co-workers at Trust Company Bank. It actually has my name on the front. I loved the King James my parents gave me back in the 1940’s, and while it’s a tad worn, it’s still a treasure. I gave myself another Bible, a New Living Translation I ordered from Guideposts. It’s big, has a beautiful red cover and the words are somewhat easier to understand than the King James version, but sometimes I HAVE to read the original words from Him. Yes, HE gave us those wonderful scriptures!

  Another gift I love is the internet!  It is so easy to look up information, play videos of favorite singers, check friends’ and family posts on Facebook, play solitaire without opening my cards, and lots more. I love getting my daily God’s Minute devotional, playing quizzes, learning the latest on our celebrities and what’s going on in the USA and Georgia.  

  I’m also very blessed to have the gift of Piedmont Henry and all the medical professionals that have come to Henry County via that gift from our commissioners. I still brag about what it has done for our economy too, and no telling how many lives have been saved thanks to that amazing bonus gift!

  I’m also thankful for all the great stores in Henry County, and they have also helped our economy, given us more jobs, and made it easy to find the food, appliances, clothes and the rest of what we need to survive day to day.  Hey, the gifts just keep coming, and we are truly blessed, ALL of us!