The Spiral Notebook: How Our Life Changed for Ever

by Bettis, Billie K.; Bettis, Terry W.

• ISBN13: 9781449049232
• ISBN10: 1449049230
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-01-16
• Publisher: Author Solutions

Excerpts

One of the many Christmas's we will never forget Monday December, 24th, 1984 Today was Christmas Eve. Everyone was excited about the next day. We were getting last minute presents and details ready. The kids played with their friends. Terry Don kept trying to guess what was in his presents under the tree. They were all excited about the microwave oven dad had gotten me for Christmas and all Terry Don talked about was having nachos and no more cold sandwiches for lunch. That night we went to Art and Karen's house to exchange gifts. (They lived next door) the Fords were there also. We ate, listened to music, opened presents, and had a good time. Art gave Terry Don a glass of wine. He thought he was hot stuff. After we got home around 10:30 p.m. we made the kids get ready for bed so that Santa could fill the stockings. Terry Don wanted to get up at 4 or 5 am. Terry told him 10:00 am, we agreed to 7:00 am. Marla lay awake until after 1:00 am. I didn't think she would ever go to sleep. We put gloves and candy canes in Marla & Micah's stockings, put a sling shot in Terry Don's. He had wanted that sling shot for over a month. Marla & Micah got toys and clothes and so did Terry Don. But we had bought him a microscope that he wanted very, very much and my folks had gotten him a B-B pellet gun. We had gotten them some ninja shoes at Kangs. After they were under the tree, we went to bed. Tuesday Christmas Morning December 25th, 1984 I woke up at 6:30 am to hear Marla and Terry Don whispering in Marla's room. I got up to check it out. They had already looked in their stockings and tried on their shoes. (Terry Don's fit and Marla's were too big). They were so excited and begged me to let them get up so we could open presents. I told Terry he might as well get up, because they were too excited to sleep. So we got Micah up, the coffee on and the cameras ready. They were so excited with their gifts. Marla had gotten a cabbage patch doll from Granny and Papa, and Terry Don loved his microscope and gun and clothes and etc. Ha. They played with their things and I got some food ready for Christmas dinner. We were to be at the Ashlocks house around 11:00 am to have dinner with everyone. After we ate, the kids played and we sat around talking and taking pictures. Ervin (Clarence's brother) had brought his son Lee who is about Terry Don's age. They went to the park for awhile. We left at 5:00 pm to come home. We were tired from lack of sleep the night before. The kids played "Life", the game we had gotten them for Christmas, and with the microscope. Wednesday December 26th, 27th, 28th, 29th, 1984 I don't remember all that happened during these next four days or the events in which they happened. Wednesday, Terry had to go back to work. I'm sure I cleaned house one of those days did laundry and ran errands. I took Marla to exchange two pair of pants that were too big. I had gotten him (Terry Don) a nice pair of maroon pants at Frougs that didn't fit. We went to several stores to try and find a replacement. We finally ended up at Sears where he bought a pair of red pants with a navy stripe down the side. My first thought was, "my goodness what in the world will he wear with them?" But that's what he wanted so I let him have them. I also remember a record he had been wanting at the mall. He told me if I'd get him the record, I wouldn't need to pay him for all the times he had babysat Micah plus he had taken orders for me one day while I was gone. I had told him I would pay him but never did. We went to Hastings Record Store in Woodland Hills Mall. They had only two copies of the album "Nucleus" (rapping music) left and he got one of them. I also got Marla a record for babysitting Micah. He was so excited about that record. He went straight to his room when we got home and recorded the songs onto a tape. Keaton, his best friend, had loaned him his box so he carried it around all the time playing that "funky music". HA. I always had to tell him to turn it down. I remember Cory Roberts came over one day and they shot their guns in the back yard at targets they had fixed along the fence. Terry Don loved his microscope. He had us look at all the slides he had, plus water, salt, pepper, and sugar. I remember one night be had his dad help him fix it where it would reflect the image on the wall. We turned off all the lights and reflected different things on the wall and on paper. He loved it! It had a camera on it to take pictures of different things. I had gotten him a roll of film for it. It is still unopened in the buffet drawer.