Here’s the sweet MawMaw with Leah’s middle child…
Reasons I love this final one: I love the fact that the grandmother’s handmade photo ornaments were more important to her than anything store-bought. (The store-bought ornaments were the discarded ones.) I love the fact that even the handmade ornaments did not have to be labor-intensive or expensive to make. Kids just need recognition, a sense of belonging in the group, and a place in the process. That’s really all that matters to them. And I love that Leah took the time to be a poet! Happy Holidays. It’s been a magical time so far at our house. Like Fred, in A Christmas Carol …”I say, ‘God bless it!'”
If you are missing someone dear this year, or struggling, like some for whom I am praying hard, with some huge challenge in life, I am praying that 2025 can be a year that holds a new peace and comfort for you. Thank you for praying for the Colleys. We continue to be so dependent on His mercies.
Like most of us, I have special memories of my grandmother, affectionately known as MawMaw to us five grands. And if you ask any of us what we remember most I feel pretty confident the tree would make the list. From the time of our birth, each year, she created a new ornament with our picture. Some years it was a clay creation with the picture glued to the front. Other years it might be a crocheted snowflake with our picture in the center, or even a foil cupcake liner with our picture nestled inside.
Every year in the weeks before Christmas we would all go over for a meal and each cousin would get to hang all their ornaments on the tree. When we were younger we would add other ornaments too, but with five cousins and five ornaments added every year, there came a time when her tree was only these picture ornaments.
I don’t remember exactly when she stopped doing this but I do know we were all grown. They had moved to a new home and we all had a present that looked the same. She gifted each of us a box containing all of our ornaments. There was so much love in those boxes.Leah’s family this year…
For MawMaw
Every year our picture was taken
We knew Mawmaw would be busy makin’
A homemade new ornament for the tree,
With our smiling face for all to see.
Paper, cardboard, maybe clay,
Foil and ceramic and even crochet.
She made Christmas special in her own crafty way.
Her love for us, on display.
I look back now, because she raised the bar.
And realize just how grand, grandmothers are.Leah Wright
And from A Muppet Christmas Carol, I would echo the lyrics from this song. I don’t want to trivialize prayer or the holiness of our God, but this is true: It is when we reach for Him, that we stand tallest. It is when we consider our smallness that we can approach His greatness.
Life is full of sweet surprises/Every day’s a gift/The sun comes up/And I can feel it lift my spirit/Fills me up with laughter/Fills me up with song/I look into the eyes of love/And know that I belong/Bless us all/Who gather here.The loving family I hold dear.
No place on Earth/Compares with home/And every path will bring me back from where I roam.
Bless us all/That as we live/We always comfort and forgive.
We have so much/That we can share.With those in need we see around us everywhere/Let us always…
Love each other.
Lead us to the light/Let us hear…
The voice of reason.
Singing in the night.
Let us run from anger.
And catch us when we fall.
Teach us in our dreams/And please, yes, please…
Bless us one and all.
Bless us all/With playful years/With noisy games and joyful tears.
We reach for you/And we stand tall.
And in our prayers and dreams, we ask you, Bless us all.
We reach for you/And we stand tall/And in our prayers and dreams, we ask you, Bless us all.
I love this submission for a few reasons. One is the memory of snuggling in a blanket and the tie of that memory to a new blanket this year that’s sure to be Gram’s favorite for all the rest of her years on earth. I love to think of the “snuggle” in which we rest, as His children (I Samuel 25: 29) and the way he slings from that bundle His enemies, as with a sling. He provides a bundle of security for us.
My favorite memories of Christmas with my Gr
This year we lost my Pop, my Grandma’s husband of 67 years. She lives an hour away from me and I am moving her up by me before Christmas so my family can take care of her. 
My Grandma is the reason I am who I am today. She made sure I was at church every time the doors were open. I owe her everything and I love her dearly. 
t’s time to get the stockings hung again. I hope you can make The Colley House a part of your gift giving this year.
The final winner of the TCH holiday contest this year is Carol Laney. She wants to give her Colley House gift certificate to the originator of this recipe for mac and cheese. Macaroni and cheese is a family-gathering-staple at our house. What better time for a southern girl to overdose on dairy and starches than just before her New Year’s resolutions are made? (Yes, there’s a sad, but usually true implication about resolutions there!) Just click on this worn copy and you’ll have one more kid-pleaser for your holiday dinner! Congrat’s Carol and Marva!
My sweet husband loves to cook and when he surprises us with his amazing homemade rolls, the whole room lights up. The warm, buttery rolls bring us comfort on these cold, dark nights. It’s a reminder to always be thankful for your blessings. God is so good to us!