You had me at Roll Tide!!!!

These two words mean so much to me... they stand for pride in a rich tradition, they stand for Saturdays with family watching football, they stand for precious memories of timewith my daddy. If you don't know this already "Roll Tide" is the battle cry for Alabama Crimson Tide fans. You had to know that there would be a football post ( and probably more) in here . I am from Alabama after all . And in the state of Alabama, college football is a religion. I mean we really didn't have much else ( there's no pro teams), except maybe Nascar. But I never did catch the Nascar bug..

But I did catch the football bug. Some of my first words spoken were Roll Tide. Some of my earliest memories were sitting on my daddy's lap watching the BIG game.. And any game with Bama playing was BIG. But the biggest of all was the Iron Bowl. Alabama vs. Auburn. What a tradition. In Alabama you were brought up having to pick one of the two and My dad taught me early on to loath the colors orange and blue. And to this day I still can't combine those two colors. My daddy taught me all about the " Bear", Bama's and one of college football's greatest coaches. My daddy taught me several of Bear's famous quotes. My daddy also taught me that his lap wasn't the best place to be when Bama scored a touchdown. ( Let's just say I didn't stay on his lap) My daddy taught me the joy of watching your team win the game of the year. My daddy taught me how to overcome the feeling of defeat when you lose the BIG game as the last seconds ticked away. My daddy taught me alot about himself on those Saturday afternoons. He always jokes that you have to " start em young... and raise em right" So some may call it brain washing. I call in good parenting. It created a bond with my daddy like no other. We still watch as many games as we can together. And when we can;t get together we still talk on the phone before kickoff and everytime Bama scores. It wouldn't be the same if I couldn't here him shout " ROLL TIDE"

All of the things that my daddy taught me growing up, I( or I should say we) have handed down to my boys. And they are experiencing some of the same joys with their PawPaw. They love going to his house on game day and cheering on the Crimson Tide. He taught each of my boys to say Roll Tide before they turned one. They love watching all the movies about "The Bear". They love hearing stories about Bama's greatest games. They love learning about their PawPaw too.

Some tease me about the passion that I have for the game, but it is who I am because it is who my daddy is. Once you get it... you got it... There's no turning back.. And who would want to. Roll Tide!!!

" Show class, have pride, and display character. If you do, winning takes care of itself" ( Paul "Bear" Bryant)

And if this is true.... my daddy is a winner!!

Random Quote

Watch your thoughts............... for they become words.
Choose you words....................for the become actions.
Understand your actions.......for they become habits
Study your habits....................for they will become your character.
Develop your character..........for it becomes your destiny.

The Jenkins Five

I thought I would give some background on my family that I grew up with... My parents met fell in love and started a family... Family being the key word here..... Family has and is important to my parents and I knew early on just how important it was. I have two sisters, one older and one younger, so yes that makes me the " middle" child. I grew up with a daddy that worked crazy hours to provide for his family, that got down in the floor and played with us, that not only told us he loved us but showed us with the little things( like leaving Valentine's gifts on our pillow when we got home from school)... I grew up with a mom that stayed home, drove us to every softball , dance, gymnastics practice, that was room mom and stayed up late to bake 100 cupcakes for the Bake Sale, that made our Halloween costumes( you get the point) she was always there for us. I grew up with sisters that hung out with me, I shared rooms with, I laughed with and I cried with. These are just a few examples.. I have hundreds that continue to present day for I am still just as close to my family today.

Not only did we have a strong family unit of five, but I grew up REALLY knowing my aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins. And there were plenty of them. My dad grew up with 5 brothers and 4 sisters ( Yes that is 10 kids) and they all went on to have at least 30 total kids ( my first cousins). And all of these relatives lived in the same town. So I grew up with my aunts and uncles being like 2nd parents to me,. I grew up with my cousin being my best friend. I grew up with my granny being my inspiration.

So now you can see why family is so important. Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter to name a few were reserved for family. Sunday afternoon at my granny's at least 30 or 40 family members would gather every week for supper. My parents planned family game nights, family weekend getaways and familty fun time. My friends would rather hang out at my house than go anywhere else. So you can see what family means to me and why.

It is a good testament of what my childhood meant to me by just writing this blog. These memories are precious to me. The people I write about here are precious to me.. Family is precious to me. And it inspires me to instill this same family traditions, this same family honor, this same family love with my own " Family of Five"

"Who are The Jones' and why do we have to keep up with them anyways"

Growing up , one thing that stands out about my mom was that she was very frugal. Well now I can see that she was frugal, then I just thought she was cheap. But joking aside, my mom knew how to save a buck, or two, or three... you get the point. One of the first times that I realized just how frugal she was is when I discovered that the cereal that she cleverly disguised in her Tupperware was not the same cereal that Toucan advertised on TV, but in fact it was some knockoff called " Fruit Rings". Really, cheap cereal, that was how my mom was going to keep the family in budget. But mom didn't stop there. She was the master of disguise in the kitchen.. She could take SPAM ( yes we actually ate that stuff) and BBQ sauce and turn it into "cuisine." She was the mom that popped popcorn at home and put it in her reused Ziploc( I mean generic) baggies and snuck it into the movies ( and that was before it cost an arm and a leg for popcorn). She was the mom that could make a whole different meal with a few leftovers. She was the mom who made gallons of Koolaid while we envied the kids who got Capri Sun pouches. We were not poor by any means, and looking back I see just how blessed we were. I now see that all of these little sacrifices, these resourceful ways my mom saved money, is what helped make it possible for her to be a stay at home mom. I joke about it but I do see that my parents worked hard, sacrificed "things" and lived frugally to show us what is really important in life. We did not get gifts and toys throughout the year but birthdays and Christmas were a big deal. We didn't eat out weekly but special dinners at the Bonanza Steakhouse were a big deal. We didn't take extravagant vacations but family fun weekend getaways were a big deal. My parents showed they loved us not with things but with their time and their sacrifice. So if being a " Jones" would erase all of that.... I am happy to be a Jenkins.

Why bother taking the Christmas lights down when you just have to put them back up next year.

I don't know if it is because I was born 4 days before Christmas or because of the traditions that my parents came up with or that I was almost named Christmas, but it is my favorite time of year. And Christmas was always such a big deal in our house. Before the Thanksgiving leftovers were put away the Christmas decorations came out. And my parents went all out. Lights, santas, 3 ft candy canes, Manger scene, wreaths,candles in the window,animation figures in the yard , you get the idea. My dad preferred the traditional decorations with a green tree decked out in all our homemade ornaments and tinsel. However, my mom, being the artist that she is liked to experiment with unique, artsy looks. One year in the early 80's she decided to decorate the tree to match the living room. Normally this would be fine but our living room was black, silver and glass. The sofa's were black velvet with silver and glass end tables. Much to my dad's horror my mom found a silver Christmas tree that spinned when turned on. And she decorated it with black and silver balls. Luckily for daddy she still put his traditional tree up in the family room....

My daddy always went with tradition... He always read Twas The Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve ( and still does to this day), set out cookies for Santa, went looking at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve, had a big Christmas dinner at my granny's house with all my aunts, uncles, and cousins on Christmas Day and hanging stocking on the fireplace... Only problem is we didn't have a fireplace. But that didn't stop my daddy. He turned a bar into a fireplace( complete with fake bricks, fake logs but real stocking. That we proudly hung on our "fireplace" and pretended to warm our hands on. My parents went to no end to have a traditional family Christmas. Many years later when we moved to Florida, our house had a real fireplace. But as irony would have it ,that first Christmas it was 85 degrees. But that did not stop my dad. He was determined to finally have a real fire on Christmas Eve. So my first Christmas in Florida I remember all of us sitting around in our shorts with all the ceiling fans on, sweating , but we were happy to do it just to see how happy my daddy was to finally get his real fire in his real fireplace on Christmas

Random Quote

" Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives, is the perfect preparation for a future only He can see"

- Corrie ten Boom

" Well,we can't name her Christmas"

I was born Christie Dale. I never liked my middle name growing up. You may think I was named after that famous race car drive, I was born in Alabama after all. But no, I was named after my father, my daddy. You see my parents thought I was going to be a boy, or hoped( they already had one girl). If so I would have been named Roger Dale Jenkins Jr ( Praise God I was a girl, sorry daddy). But I was born on December 21st. My parents were all set to take me home on Christmas Eve but i still didn't have a name. My mom really wanted to go home before Christmas and joked to my dad " Well we can't name her Christmas and that's when they came up with Christie. And mom made it home before Christmas and I arrived home in a stocking to start my life.

It's funny my parents always had a time naming their kids. My oldest sister's name is Catrina, although my mom wanted her to be named Sabrina and we call her Tina. You see my mom was out of it after she had her first daughter and my aunt came in and told my mom that they needed a name for the brith certificate. My mom said Sabrina but somehow my aunt heard Catrina ( or maybe she liked Catrina better and made up this whole story). So she went home as Catrina. She was so tiny that my grandmother called her Tiny Tina and it just stuck. We have since dropped the Tiny part but I will always call her Tina even though she announced that she would start going by Catrina in High School. She will always be Tina to me.

Three years after I was named after my daddy ( I will always be the son he never had), another girl ws born into the family and my parents had the task of coming up with yet another girl's name. My mom wanted to name my younger sister ,Misty Dawn, but my dad veteod that idea. He said it sounded like a dang weather report. So they named her Amy after my granny and I think Tina aka Catrina should have been Sabrina came up with Michelle for her middle name.

And that is how my sisters and I got our names. And my dad never did get a Roger Jr....

Front Porch Swings and Backyard BBQ's

I grew up in the south, Alabama to be exact. It's funny when most people think of the south they think of rednecks, slow talking, Nascar loving, marrying your cousin kinda of folk, and yes I just said folk. You know what I am talking about, We have all heard the countless redneck jokes. But if you grew up in the south you know its about families that not only love each other, they actually like each other, freshly brewed sweet tea, Sunday supper ( the meal that replaces lunch and dinner), loving the USA, praising God, sitting on your front porch swing at dusk, and backyard BBQ's on the weekend.

I grew up as a middle child( more on that to come) between two sisters and with parents who were loving but strict and taught me the true meaning of the word family. And to this day I am closer than ever to my parents and my sisters are my best friends. Growing up we were a family who loved, fought, and at times struggled but in the end we were a family that laughed. I love telling stories about my childhood. And that is what has led me to start this blog. Plus I thought it would be easier than starting a book. So take off your shoes, grab a glass of sweet tea, and sit back and enjoy as you venture into my past in the heart of Dixie.

My First Post

It took me so long to figure out how to create this Blog ,that my first post will probably be short ( and I say probably because I do have a tendency to ramble). That also means there will be run on sentences and most likely typos. Anyways ( see I told you I ramble). I have decided to start this Blog because I think it will be easier than writing my book that my husband keeps telling me I should write. You see , I was raised in the south with a big southern family with very funny stories that my husband now knows by heart ( he has been to enough Family reunions) He keeps telling me that I need to write them down. So I think I will start off with a blog and if I can get enough stories on here,and people actullay enjoy reading them, who knows...... but for now this is all you get.. Stay tuned for my first real posting.......