Christmas Tree, a birthday and Remembering December 7, 1941!!

So many things going on…. I haven't’ even finished my Christmas decorating. For someone who has always loved Christmas and usually has everything in place the day after Thanksgiving it is kind of ridiculous! Well we have had sickness, and surgery and birthdays every weekend…..phew that equals= LIFE! It happens, we make plans and life comes along .

We did manage to get our Christmas tree and get it decorated. All of the  guys were of on Tuesday, so we used it to our advantage. I sent my two sons to get a tree and they sent back pics ( they wanted to me sure that momma approved).

Well I did approve! It is awesome! Also we had the pleasure of having all of our children and grandchildren stop by and help decorate the tree. That hasn’t happened in years!! I can’;t even remember the last time we all decorated the tree together. When they all lived at home, some were working, or out with friends, you know the typical family life. So here it is all decorated.

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We also celebrated our granddaughters birthday over the weekend, and as a grandma I have to show you a few pics.

We gave her a little outfit that her mom wore on Easter one year when she was about her age. Along with a picture showing mom wearing the outfit.

We also created this doll bed and armoire for her doll. I think she liked it because she laid right down on it. lol

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Well as I said, life happens…..and today I am so thankful for my husband and children. They wouldn’t be her today if their had been one more bomb. As we think about Dec 7, 1941, my father in law was there that day and here is his remembrance of that day!

~an excerpt from a couple of interviews that my father-in-law gave back in the 90's.

The entry in James Cocarus' diary for Sunday, December 7,1941, the day the Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor and surrounding Military installations, is frank and defiant.

It reads,"Papers say more than I can except for a few incidents that can't be discussed. Buddies getting killed and good men dying like flies. Sure took us by surprise. What stopped them from taking over the island will always keep me wondering. It was theirs for the asking. Our day will come soon."

That prophetic entry was penned 50 years ago, but Cocarus, like other survivors from that momentous day, doesn't need his notes or abundant photographs to recall the details of the surprise attack, and all that ensued in the following three or four years. Everything is still etched clearly on his mind.

Probe a little, and you will find a void that will never be filled. A void that boils down to two days out of the 25,550 plus he has seen so far. Two days that appeared on the calendar almost 50 years ago. Of course, Cocarus, along with thousands of others, remembers and will never forget Dec. 7th 1941, when Japanese attacked sleepy Pearl Harbor, destroying a major portion of the U.S. Navy and marking the nations's official entry into World War II.That day dawned when Cocarus, who had been attached as an airplane sheet metal mechanic to the 7th Air Force at Hickam Field in Hawaii for over a year, awoke to work in the mess hall while his buddies headed off to Hanger 17 to await the arrival of a flight of B-17 bombers.

Everyone anticipated the Japanese would strike, Cocarus says and he recalls hearing rumors about where the attack would occur, but no one seriously thought thought it would be

Pearl Harbor. And even when the infamous attack began, it took a while to fully comprehend what was going on, Cocarus remembers.

"While on K.P. we heard lot of explosions", he recalls."So we went outside to see what was going on. Planes were buzzing around and at first, thought it was weekend "maneuvers" until we saw the bombs dropping and saw the big red symbol on the planes. Then it hit us- the Japanese were attacking Hawaii".

Then things started happening real fast.

"We got our rifles and G.I.'s set up machine guns on the parade ground and began returning fire as the Japanese had now started attacking Hickam Field, strafing and bombing", Cocarus says, words not really effectively expressing what what must have been the shear terror of the moment.

"The planes were low enough so you could actually see the smiling face of the pilot as he fired away at his target" he says.

Evasive action was necessary and he and several others jumped into a car and headed for their posts at a nearby lumber yard. Then the future began looking a little dim for as a Japanese plane headed towards them.

They quickly ditched the car and sprinted for what appeared to be the relative safety of the parade ground, away from the airplane hangers and the flight lines packed with aircraft.

"As we were heading across the parade ground their was one pattern of bombs", he remembers. "If there had been one more bomb.....

~So as we remember all that have sacrificed to give us the freedoms that we take for granted , please pause and be thankful for all that it is that we have.

Remember Jesus is the reason for the season!!

Blessings ~Sara

ps- remember to enter my giveaway on the last post!! Only 2 more days to enter!