Christmas 2007

We had a great Christmas celebrating the birth of our Savior. For the first time in my life, I did not travel on Christmas Day. We stayed home in attempt to avoid the Christmas rush of hurrying through Santa and then traveling several hours to make it in time for Christmas lunch. And I will excitingly say, it was the best ever. It was amazing how much stress was eliminated by just staying home. We did, however, go to my parents Christmas night for supper and more presents. For those who don't know, they only live about 5 miles away.

We began our Christmas travels, Sunday the 23rd to JB's parents. We spent the night and celebrated with his parents, his brother and sister in law and Nonna. JB's sister, Angie, was on call so she was not able to make it this year. Christmas Eve evening, we traveled to Granny and Granddaddy's to celebrate with extended family. This year's family crowd was slime due to various family reasons. Regardless, it was just as sentimental and festive.

After arriving back home late Christmas Eve, we put the boys to bed and began Santa's toyshop.

(No words can describe these pics above).

We finally got it all set up in about 1 1/2 hours. Santa brought a roller coaster, teeter totter, tools, vacuum, tub toys, sit n spin, and many other toys...too many to list all, of course.

As you can see in the picture above, our den was taken over by toys. Uncle Wade and Aunt Tracy gave them the tent and tunnel set. We went ahead and put it together for the boys to experience. We made sure they new that Santa did not bring the tent and that it was given by family.

The boys have loved their roller coaster. It is nothing more than a car that zooms down a 10 foot track of hills. Regardless of it's simplicity, it has already brought hours of thrilling rides.

Since Angie was on call and couldn't go home, she spent the day with us. My dad also spent most of the day with us. We had lunch of grilled pork loin, creamed corn, and baked sweet potatoes. My dad's attempt to fry a turkey resulted in a back up entree of grilled pork loin. He has always done a great job of frying turkeys, hence the reason I asked for one this year. Instead, this year poultry ended up poached. We were, however, able to salvage a few pieces. There's always next year.

Since we stayed home this year, JB and I decided to "give Jesus a present". We took lunch to an elderly couple that lives across the street from my parents along with a small gift. They have little family and she is not in good health. It was such an honor to spread Christ's love on Christmas Day.

I hope all of you had a blessed Christmas and look forward to what the new year has to bring. May we always keep CHRISTmas in hearts year round.

Until next time, HB

Out with the Old, In with the New!

I am terribly embarrassed to post the picture above, but I must in order to give y'all a "picture" of what I am talking about. This represents all the junk that we have cleaned out and getting rid of. We even had people to stop yesterday and dig through it like it was a "junk store" open for business. To my amazement they found some things they thought worthy of salvaging.

JB has been off all week, so we followed through with our plans of "cleaning out" and starting the new year clutter free. We spent all day yesterday cleaning our closets (both bottom and top), toy boxes, cabinets, my sewing room and the garage. Today JB is cleaning out and organizing the storage room within our garage. It's shameful the amount of stuff we accumulate. It is also a reminder of just how much we are not in need of anything. However, we had to do this in order to make room for all the new toys that will one day become the same junk as pictured above.

My motto when cleaning out was "if I didn't realize that it was there, it's gone." It's sad that I didn't even remember some of the junk that I had stored away. Some had been stored since we moved here 3 years ago. If I haven't missed it by now, I definitely didn't need it.

It was comical watching Waste Management pick up our stuff. It was so much, that the driver had to get out and help. They both shook their heads in either frustration, amusement or dread at having to "deal with" our version of a junk yard. I saw them as I peeked through our blinds, too embarrassed to let them see me watch. Although, the boys stood at the glass door and watched with amazement as they said "bye bye stuff".

I must admit that watching all that junk leave my care, left me feeling relieved, accomplished and somewhat refreshed. It reminds of the times I have left my sins at the altar for God to "through them away". What an awesome thought that is, that our Savior rids us of all sins (junk, trash, clutter, garbage) when we ask of His forgiveness. And just like all the garbage I threw away, it won't be remember. As Casting Crowns sings, it's as far as the east is from the west. Where Christ throws my sins away is as unknown to me as where my trash will end up. And as another song states, "your sins are erased, they are no more, they're out on the ocean floor". (Well, hopefully my trash doesn't end on the ocean floor, but you get the point.) As we no longer have to deal with the
material trash in our house, we no longer have to deal with the trash in our hearts and lives that keep us from feeling refreshed, revitalized, and redeemed when we give it to Christ and repent. And to know that the beginning of redemption all began with the birth of Jesus Christ in which we just celebrated through the Christmas season.

This new year, may you find your hearts, lives and homes to be clutter free...both of material trash and sins that keep you feeling guilty and unworthy.

Until next time, HB

As the World Turns...

I heard that my aunt's twin was seen at Carols by Candlelight this past Christmas season. Furthermore, she was with a much younger, handsome man. Their interaction with each other was so that it was obvious they knew each other very well and both appeared to be enjoying each other's company, despite of who might be watching them. They obviously weren't ashamed or afraid of being seen together even though my aunt's twin is married. Why would they take such a risk at being "found out"? What about their love did they not feel the need to hide? Is their love so strong that didn't care who found out?

Just the facts, Mam.
Well, my aunt's twin is my mom and she did not attend Carols by Candlelight this year. Instead it was my aunt's (and my mom's) older sister, Myra. Oh, but yes...she was with a much younger, handsome man. His name is Kelly and it happens to be one of her sons. Therefore, they were enjoying each other's company in spite of who would see them.

You see, a man that knew my Aunt Jean (my mom's twin) told her that he saw her twin sister at Carols by Candlelight. Aunt Jean responded as if it might have been true. For all she knew, my mom could have attended the Christmas program. Then the story took a turn..."She was with a much younger man", he inquiringly informed her.

Then, after a quick thought, Aunt Jean realized that it was Aunt Myra, their older sister and that she had to be with Kelly, her son. She then informed his inquiring mind that it was her older sister with her "middle" son. To which he replied, "I didn't know she had another son. I know Chris and Ryan but didn't know that there was a Kelly."

Glad to clear up this season's edition of "Inquiring Minds Want to Know".

Until next time, you never know what soap opera you might star in, HB

Few Funnies

Here are a few sites you might find amusing. The boys have been begging to watch them again, again, again, and again. You will have to copy and paste in your address bar to view. Have fun.

http://badaboo.free.fr/merryxmas.swf

http://www.icq.com/img/friendship/static/card_7944_rs.swf

Don't You Just Feel this Way Sometimes....

...me, too.

Remember, Jesus is the Reason for the Season. May we not forget the true reason we celebrate this time of year. Jesus, our Lord and Savior is Born!

(I got this through an email. Thanks, Denise)

Christmas Around the World--Brazil

Brazil (Boas Festas!):
Presépios (Nativity scenes) were introduced to Brazil in the 17th century in the city of Olinda, and they are proudly displayed in the northeast. This time of year the folk play Los Pastores (The Shepherds) is a big draw; the plot involves a gypsy trying to kidnap the Christ child. According to legend, Papai Noel (Father Noel) lives in Greenland, and when he visits Brazil to deliver gifts, he wears silk clothing to beat the heat; after all, the equator crosses Brazil.

Brazilians are a mix of people from many parts of the world, and as a former Portuguese colony, they have many Christmas customs which originate from this heritage.

One tradition is to create a nativity scene or Presépio. The word origins from the Hebrew word "presepium" which means the bed of straw upon which Jesus first slept in Bethlehem. The Presépio is common in northeastern Brazil (Bahia, Sergipe, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Maranhão, Ceará, Pernambuco, Piauí and Alagoas). The Presépio was introduced in the 17th century, in the city of Olinda in the state of Pernambuco by a Franciscan friar named Gaspar de Santo Agostinho. Nowadays presépios are set up in December and displayed in churches, homes, and stores.

The people of Northern Brazil, as in Mexico, enjoy a version of the folk play Los Pastores or "The Shepherds." In the Brazilian version, there are shepherdesses rather than shepherds and a gypsy who attempts to kidnap the Christ Child.
Papai Noel (Father Noel) is the gift-bringer in Brazil. According to legend, he lives in Greenland. When he arrives in Brazil, he usually wears silk clothing due to the summer heat.

A huge Christmas dinner, unusual in the hot summertime, includes turkey, ham, colored rice, and wonderful vegetable and fruit dishes.

Devout Catholics often attend Midnight Mass or Missa do Galo. (A galo is a rooster.) The mass has this name because the rooster announces the coming day and the Missa do Galo finishes at 1 AM on Christmas morning! On December 25th, Catholics go to church, but the masses are mostly late afternoon, because people enjoy sleeping late after the dinner (Ceia de Natal) or going to the beach.

Decorations include fresh flowers picked from the garden. Fireworks go off in the skies over the cites and huge Christmas "trees" of electric lights can be seen against the night skies in major cities such as Brasilia, San Paolo, and Rio de Janeiro.

DELHI CRACKS DOWN AS MONKEYS RUN AMUCK

I read this article through MSNBC's World Blog. It struck me quite funny but sad also. If you click on comments you will see where I published comments that were left by readers on the World Blog.

This article was writtend by Ian Williams NBC News Correspondent.

NEW DELHI, India – Sankar Masthri is a monkey catcher. It says so on his business card.

"Monkey, Dog Hunter," it reads, together with little drawings of his targets and his cell phone number. The phone's ringing a lot these days, as India’s capital tries to rid itself of an exploding primate population that’s accused of all kinds of mayhem.

"Problem is, monkeys [are] getting smart," Masthri said, as we watched from a distance as one audacious monkey leaned inside a cage baited with bananas and made away with the food before Masthri could pull a wire to close the hatch and trap it.

Monkey hunters are paid 450 rupees (around $11) per monkey, a good rate by local standards. The monkeys are taken to reserves outside the city after they are caught. Masthri claimed to have caught scores in recent days, but the day we joined him was clearly slow going. "Smart monkey," he repeated, shaking his head and again taking cover behind a bush, wire in hand.

There are an estimated 20,000 monkeys in Delhi, and the effort to get rid of them has taken on new urgency after the deputy mayor of Delhi plunged to his death in October while trying to fend off a group of primates on his balcony.
"Marauding monkeys kill deputy mayor," screamed one newspaper headline. The media was soon filled with lurid tales of monkeys terrorizing the city.
Later, a group of monkeys went on a rampage in a low-income neighborhood, injuring more than 20 people, mostly children. Residents claimed the monkeys tried to snatch the children.

"We have lost our dear deputy mayor," Aarti Mehra, the mayor of Delhi, told me shortly after ordering extra teams of monkey hunters. "This menace must stop."

Anybody who feeds the monkeys will be fined, she says, though more drastic action against the primates – culling, for instance – isn’t really an option since the monkey is revered by the Hindu religion. The monkey God, Hanuman, represents strength.

Do not provoke an angry monkey. To add insult to injury, monkeys have taken a liking to the main government buildings in Delhi, where on most days large troops of them can be seen scaling fences and roofs, sitting provocatively on top of signs reading "Government of India." Several recently broke into the Defense Department, fleeing with confidential documents, which were found scattered over the streets.

They were even declared a security threat recently, amid dark murmurings of a possible Pakistan connection. Some government ministries and foreign embassies have brought in langurs, which are lanky, aggressive monkeys that scare away those causing problems. The langurs patrol middle-class and diplomatic districts.


We’ve had no problem since we deployed the langur wallah," one woman told me in the front yard of her large house, near the park where Masthri was working. "Before they would go to the roof and throw off the pots. They’d tear our clothes from the line. They’d sit on the gate and shake it. We couldn’t go out. The kids couldn’t play."


I (the writer of this article) can testify that the monkeys can be pretty scary. We filmed a stand- up, a clip of me talking to the camera in the park, as I strolled through a bunch of them on a path. As we finished, a pretty angry pair of monkeys confronted me, baring their teeth. I made a pretty rapid exit, with Masthri urging me to avoid even looking at them. He told me that under no circumstance should you confront an angry monkey. Luckily that was the last thing on my mind.

Animal rights activists oppose efforts Plenty of people believe monkeys are getting a bad rap and that the real problem is one of man, not monkey.
Delhi is a rapidly growing city. Urbanization is eating into the forest areas where the monkeys used to live. With so much of their habitat destroyed by man, they’re heading to the city.

Animal rights activists claim the monkey catchers are making matters worse by splitting up families. "They get aggressive when you split up a troop," according to Sonya Ghosh, an animal rights campaigner who is working with the government on the city’s simian crackdown.

First catch of the dayIn the park, Masthri eventually got his first catch of the day, with the door of his cage crashing down behind a monkey that pushed its luck too far. It started thrashing around, shaking the cage. Outside, perhaps 20 others looked on from the trees and the edge of the path. One of them sat on a water tap, nonchalantly turning it on for a drink, then off again.


"They’re getting clever," Masthri repeated. "We’ll have to try a new area." Of course, there are no shortages of areas, and the $11 bounty for each monkey gives him plenty of incentive. But a morning with the monkey hunters does leave you wondering whether the monkeys are not adapting better to the city than the city is to them.