Page 22 - Kingdom News Today Edition 6

When I was a little girl, we had When I lived in Little Rock over
some fantastic Christmases. My
dad liked to pick out the Christ-
mas tree and he would take my
sister and I with him. My sister
and I would walk around the tree
lot while my dad looked for the
perfect tree for the family. I re-
member one year we picked out
a tree that stood at least 8 feet
tall, but it had a gaping hole in
the middle about 3 feet high.
We liked it so much despite the
hole. We couldn’t wait to get
home and decorate it. With a
little, well a lot of help, this tree
was beautiful and so pretty with
extra lights and garland to cover
that hole. My mom loved to buy
candy canes and hang them from
the tree.
Santa Clause was good to us.
We would use a pair of socks as
our stockings that we hung by
the fireplace. Santa would fill
them with apples, oranges, nuts,
and old fashion candy.
22 ~ Kingdom
News Magazine
cause I love my brothers so
40 years ago, my first born, Erica,
was born on three days after
Christmas. My next-door neigh-
bor bought Erica her first Christ-
mas tree, it was so cute, it was
only 4 feet high. This was the
tree we used for the next 20
years.
When my daughter was 18
months old, I moved from Little
Rock to Colorado to be by my
mother because there were
some circumstances that were
not good for me in Little Rock
anymore. My daughter was and
still is very special to me, but
some of the family members did
not approve of me having her, so
I returned to Colorado to be with
my mother.
Not long after arriving back in
Colorado, I assumed the respon-
sibility of my two teen age broth-
ers. My mother had left town
and we didn’t know where she
went; it wasn’t until 22 years lat-
er that we saw her again, but
that’s another story. My broth-
ers didn’t want to leave Colora- but sharing love with one anoth-
do, so I told them I would take
care of them. I was 24-years old,
my daughter 2-years old and I
had a 13 and 15-year-old to also
care for. Life was a little difficult
at times, but I would never
change that time of my life be-
much.
I remember one year when
times were tough. It was Christ-
mas Eve and I only had two dol-
lars left to my name. I had to
get my brothers something, so I
chose to buy them a stocking
cap for a dollar each. I knew
Erica was too young to remem-
ber, so I focused on the boys.
Even though times were tough,
my family was blessed. Both of
my brothers worked for Mr. To-
ny Martinez at his body shop.
Mike and Pepper (my brothers)
were good friends with his son,
so Tony often did great things
for the boys. That year, Tony
has brought gifts over for the
family, including Erica.
From that Christmas until this
day, my heart embraces the
kindness the Martinez family
showed to my family. I believe
that is why I have such a giving
heart during the Christmas sea-
son. I learned that Christmas
wasn’t always about the gifts,
er. It still took me longer to re-
alize that Christ is the reason for
the season, and now I keep that
in mind as I set out to either
purchase or make a gift for a
loved one.