Christmas 1981

We've moved on to another year here, 1981 to be exact, and one thing's for sure when we lived at Billie June's house, we were gonna be swathed in color. Don't get me wrong, it was the 80's and it was lovely...at the time. But she was NEVER afraid to put some color on the walls and the floors and the chairs and the curtains. She did a great job making our house homey even in lean times. It was a great place to spend time and still is. Over the years, many young people took refuge at our house because of troubles at their own homes, and our Mom and Dad were like parents to lots of those kids. There was one particular boy who would show up at our home when his mother was on a drinking binge. On those times when he came, we could just tell his heart was aching for a wonderful family. I'm glad he was able to find what he was looking for at our house. I loved him like a brother, and he spent many a Christmas morning with us. He was so much fun.

When we got older, we still had lots of great Christmas mornings but when babies began being born, they took center stage and we were thrilled about it. Take a look at these pictures from 1981 and see the fun being had by children and adults alike. At this time in our history, Meredith and Brooke were the only children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and nieces, in the fam, and when they came to town they were the center of attention. We had lots of fun being entertained by them. But by Christmas 1981, the baby race was on because Melanie was pregnant with Lindsey, and Lydia was pregnant with Jared. They were born in 1982 and over the next 6 years, 8 more babies were born. Babies were popping up everywhere! I'm not kidding when I say before one Mom could birth a baby, another Mom was pregnant with another. THAT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!

Have a look. It's obvious we've ALWAYS played musical chairs at Dad and Mom's house.

That's blue haired Bessie off to the side. Meredith and Frank are chillin.


My dear aunt Mollie and Brooke sleeping peacefully in her lap. Love it.


That's Frank again and then Melanie, pregnant with Lindsey. Lydia sitting on the floor, Dale holding Meredith who seems to be telling Gran and I a tale.


Carrie's rocking the farm hand look with that shirt, cute though. I have no memory of this chair being at Mom and Dad's house ever, but remember what I said about color and then check out the "splash" on that couch in the background. I LOVED that couch. It was so cute.


I hope I'm holding someone's Big Bird and not mine. Gran smiling at me was always a good thing. Dale with the inside shaded glasses....never a good idea. As you can tell by the window adornments, these were the suncatcher years. Big Frank made these as a hobby and also because he was looking for something to interest his grandchildren. I still have some he made for me. Although that couch was super busy, it was super comfy.


I'm loving my plaid cowgirl shirt with a tie at the neck. It was quintessential female cowgirl attire for people that wanted the look of cowgirl but had no intention of doing anything that involved getting dirty. And I remember those jeans I was wearing quite well. The waist started just below my neck....but man I was looking good with my cowgirl outfit and my semi mullet haircut.


Gran holding his first 2 great grandchildren. The knickers? I'm just not gonna say anything except Viva La France!! (That's a reference to Louis XIV clothing...in case you didn't get that.)


Me and the girlies....I remember that stupid talking blue thing...it was SOOOO obnoxious. Why do we do stuff like this to our grown up selves?


See I told you I had a cowgirl thing going on. My boots completed my ensem. I have no remembrance of these boots though. Meredith's telling someone something important and I'm listening intently....possible hoping for a distraction so I can hide the obnoxious blue thing.


Daddy and daughters chillin


Getting to know each other.


Becky's rocking business casual with the AWESOME side pony while chatting to Mollie and Bessie.


Meredith making some finishing touches on the tree.


Brooke's praising the Lord for her yummy sucker.


Big Frank and Brooke snuggling by the tree.


I put this picture in here for several reasons. It's a wide shot of Billie's kitchen and the millions of baskets we had back in the day. And then there's Becky again working in the kitchen in her business casual and side pony. What's that on the wall over her head?


Ohhhhh it's a tacky red reindeer as decoration on a flat basket. Awesome. And I had to have a closeup of Becky in the business casual and side pony. In the 1980's side ponys ruled!! And OMG I loved that strawberry clock in the background against the wall! LOVED IT! What happened to that clock? And if I'm not mistaken, that looks like a single pumpkin on the counter. In my important opinion, pumpkins should never be invited to Christmas. No matter what color a pumpkin is at Christmas....orange or gold....they're still pumpkins and therefore should be asked to leave the premises and not come back until the following October. This is correct information.


Our Christmases were always the best. They only got better as our family grew. And at this time, we were on the edge of an exploding population.

Fun stuff ahead!