Merry Christmas To All

Below is a list of how to extend your best wishes to people in foreign countries:
Albanian - Gezur Krislinjden
Arabic - Milad Majid
Argentine - Feliz Navidad Y Un Prospero Ano Nuevo
Armenian - Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand
Bohemian - Vesele Vanoce
Brazilian - Feliz Natal e Prospero Ano Novo
Bulgarian - Tchestita Koleda; Tchestito Rojdestvo Hristovo
Chile - Feliz Navidad
China (Cantonese) - Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun Sing Dan Fai Lok
China (Mandarin) - Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan Sheng Dan Kuai Le
Croatian - Sretan Bozic Èestit Boiæ i sretna Nova godina
Czech - Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok
Danish - Gledlig jul og godt Nytt Aar
Dutch - Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar
Dutch (Netherlands) - Prettig Kerstfeest
English - Merry Christmas
Eskimo - (inupik) Jutdlime pivdluarit ukiortame pivdluaritlo!
Filipinos - Maligayang Pasko
Finnish - Hauskaa Joulua Hyvää joulua ja Onnellista uutta vuotta
French - Joyeux Noël et heureuse année
Gaelic-Irish - Nolag mhaith Dhuit Agus Bliain Nua Fe Mhaise
Gaelic-Scot - Nollaig Chridheil agus Bliadhna Mhath Ur
German - Frohe Weihnachten und ein glückliches neues Jahr
Greek - Kala Khristougena kai Eftikhes to Neon Ethos
Haiti (Creole) - Jwaye Nowel
Hawaiian - Mele Kalikimake me ka Hauloi Makahiki hou
Hebrew - Mo'adim Lesimkha
Hindi - Shubh Christmas
Hungarian - Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket
Icelandic - Gledileg jol og farsaelt komandi ar Gledlig jol og Nyar
Indonesia - Selamat Hari Natal Selamah Tahun Baru
Iraqi - Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah
Irish - Nodlaig mhaith chugnat Italian - Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo
Japanese - Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto
Korean - Chuk Sung Tan Latin - Natale hilare et Annum Faustum!
Lithuanian - Linksmu Kaledu
Macedonian - Sreken Bozhik
Maltese - Il-Milied It-tajjeb
Navajo - Merry Keshmish
Norwegian - God Jul Og Godt Nytt Aar
Papua New Guinea - Bikpela hamamas blong dispela Krismas na Nupela yia i go long yu
Peru - Feliz Navidad y un Venturoso Año Nuevo
Philippines - Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon
Polish - Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia i szczesliwego Nowego Roku
Portuguese - Feliz Natal e propero Ano Novo
Romanian - Sarbatori Fericite. La Multi Ani
Russian - S prazdnikom Rozdestva Hristova i s Novim Godom
Samoan - La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou
Serbian - Hristos se rodi
Serb-Croatian - Sretam Bozic. Vesela Nova Godina
Slovakian - Sretan Bozic or Vesele vianoce
Spanish - Feliz Navidad y prospero Año Nuevo
Swedish - God Jul Och Gott Nytt År
Thai - Sawadee Pee Mai or souksan wan Christmas
Turkish - Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
Ukrainian - Srozhdestvom Kristovym
Vietnamese - Mung Le Giang Sinh. Cung Chuc Tan Nien
Welsh - Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda
Yugoslavian - Cestitamo Bozic

Believe....

I have learned that believe is a very big word. How quickly we try to grow up and forget to believe. Then sometime, somewhere, in the eyes of a child when they come to you for the "truth" the memories of days gone by rush in...and as always you remind them how to believe...

From Drop Box

DO you believe in Santa Claus? Watch the little ones this Christmas, as they see the babe in the manger. DO you know the importance of Christmas? It isn't the cost of the gift, but the thought and love behind it. He who has no Christmas in his heart will never find Christmas under the tree. I wish for you all my family and friends the gift of "Believe". Remember the magic of Christmas ... let the blanket of white fill your heart, blow out the cobwebs of past griefs and grievences and start a fresh new year.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Deer Hunting

Steve and I went for a drive on Friday to see what we could out in the country. We just roamed around the backroads of Colony and we were delighted to find so much of interest. We weren't sure we would see any deer, until we came around the corner and saw a whole field full. Of course they were pretty far away, but we tried the best we could to get in close. With the light fading, we decided to go a little further up, and managed to get some better shots. As we were leaving, We saw a few more, much closer up. What an exciting day. As always, we had to shoot some unusual stuff as well. The frost by the water, the horse in the meadow, the light coming through the weeds, and the poor cat looking miserable and cold, but definately well feed. We hope you enjoy the slide show.

Giving Thanks

So very much to be thankful for....we are truely blessed

For all God's creatures great and small...

For family




Friends....


and Love that never ends

On Dave's recovery

I wanted to share with you about Dave. He is at home. It has been about 2 weeks since his surgery and he is beginning to get some sight back in his eye. They told him that they removed some bony mass from his optic nerve. It had wound it's way around it and the one side was growing out towards his eye. The other side was growing toward his Carotid artery. Thankfully they got to it in time. He says right now he is kind of cross eyed but they are hoping with time, the swelling will lessen and he will be able to see better. His spirits remain high. He will not be able to do much for awhile, including reading or watching TV. He has lots of good medical assistance however, since Jill his wife is an RN and his two boys own the ambulance service and are both paramedics. :) I don't think he has to worry. Please continue your prayers.

Brother Dave and the Marine Corps

Just wanted to let everyone know that my brother Dave's operation was a success. He had a fast growing tumor behind his eye, and they have removed all of it. He is resting comfortably and will be in the hospital for a few more days. Please keep him and the family in your prayers.
On the Marine Corps, today is the 234th Birthday and a shout out to all my Marine brethren (Esp. my big brother). Semper Fi

Happy Halloween

The ghost is put up and the candy is ready...
I remember past hauntings with peeled grapes and spagetti...
We are looking forward to a knock on the door...
Because you don't know what you will find, a witch, a bug, or more....
The dogs will be tired by the end of the night...
They have to be put up, or they will cause the kids a fright....

With barking and howling and just trying to play...
If we left them loose, they would get in the way.


We will be watching for postings and emails galore....
We want to see all the little ones from all over and more...
Happy Halloween everyone.

The week "flu" by...

First I want to start by wishing Dad M a Happy Belated Birthday. I did not want to give you the gift of the Flu, so I decided to stay away. (Dr's Orders). I have been home since Thursday, and am finally feeling well enough to get back to work again. It started out Tuesday evening. I sniffled and chilled, and thought....crap I caught a cold. OH WELL....Wednesday at work, I told someone, "I think I'm trying to get sick."
Next time I will be more careful about what I say....because Thursday morning found me at the Doctor's office with a diagnosis from him, of "Congratulations, you have the flu." By now I felt like I had been beaten with a ball bat and all I wanted to do was sleep, which I did.
By Saturday I had broken the fever and since I had to go 24 hours, I get to leave the house. HOOORAAAHHHH. I just wanted everyone to know that it hits hard and fast. Don't ignore it as the TAMIFLU (prescription) really does help. If you haven't gotten your flu shot yet, you might think about it. Wash a LOT, Sneeze and cough into Kleenex and throw them away....drink lots of water, and chicken noodle soup, and pray A LOT. It may sound like overkill but it is a lot better than feeling like "Death warmed over." Stay healthy.

My older brother

I spoke with my brother Dave tonight. For those of you that don't know, he is having surgery on November 10th to remove a bony mass from behind his eye. He wanted to put it off till after the first of the year, because he is expecting his first grandchild in January. However, the problem has progressed. He told me tonight that he was not wasting his time worrying about what might happen. His words touched my soul. He said, " I don't want to waste any time worrying about something happening, because if it does, I wasted the time I could have spent enjoying what I have. He says he doesn't need any help, just prayers and support from afar. I ask you all to please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. I will keep you posted on his progress when the time comes. In the meantime, He works on one of his favorite things. He goes out into the woods while he can to collect his wood for next winter.

Did you ever have one of those days???

I write down everything I want to remember.
That way, instead of spending a lot of time
trying to remember what it is I wrote down,
I spend the time looking for the paper
I wrote it down on.
Happy Wednesday everyone.

Calling All Angels

As we gathered yesterday, this song kept running through my head. I found the song and the lyrics...and thought I would share it with everyone.
Our journey is at times so very hard. But as it says further on....would you trade it all ...then you would miss the beauty...I hope you will share this with everyone....we will walk our journey together, all of Ann's Angels. I hope you will turn up your sound and press to listen to the full song. You will need to go to the song bar and push the PLAY FULL SONG HERE right underneath the song title and artist's name to hear the entire song. The lyrics are below so you can follow along.

Calling All Angels - Jane Siberry



Santa Maria, Santa Teresa, Santa Anna, Santa Susannah
Santa Cecilia, Santa Copelia, Santa Domenica, Mary Angelica
Frater Achad, Frater Pietro, Julianus, Petronilla
Santa, Santos, Miroslaw, Vladimir
and all the rest

a man is placed upon the steps, a baby cries
and high above the church bells start to ring
and as the heaviness the body oh the heaviness settles in
somewhere you can hear a mother sing

then it's one foot then the other as you step out onto the road
how much weight? how much weight?
then it's how long? and how far?
and how many times before it's too late?

calling all angels
calling all angels
walk me through this one
don't leave me alone
calling all angels
calling all angels
we're cryin' and we're hurtin'
and we're not sure why...

and every day you gaze upon the sunset
with such love and intensity
it's almost...it's almost as if
if you could only crack the code
then you'd finally understand what this all means

but if you could...do you think you would
trade in all the pain and suffering?
ah, but then you'd miss
the beauty of the light upon this earth
and the sweetness of the leaving

calling all angels
calling all angels
walk me through this one
don't leave me alone
callin' all angels
callin' all angels
we're tryin'
we're hopin'
we're hurtin'
we're lovin'
we're cryin'
we're callin'
'cause we're not sure how this goes

Engagement Story

Justin and Kat got engaged Friday night. It seems that it was quite a romantic proposal. George told us that Justin stopped by his apartment at lunchtime one day to ask for his daughter's hand in marriage, which impressed him very much. Then, Justin got a box of sand and made a heart out of seashells. He lead Kat blindfolded into the kitchen, had her put her feet in the sand and said he really wanted to take her back to the ocean. But this was as close as he could come. Needless to say, she was surprized and delighted. Steve and I went out to visit on Saturday and brought their dog Kiah along. We had a wonderful visit with the kids and Kat's Dad George. Kiah was happy to spend time with her pet parents as well. It was a day made for love and I wanted to share the romance with everyone.

Pillow Pet Mania

I started a fundraiser for Team Haldex Voice approx. 3 weeks ago. I am selling Pillow Pets.

From Pillow Pets Size

From Pillow Pets Size

It began small....and has taken off like a storm. Thanks to Michele loaning me her purple bunny, I was able to start even before my samples came in. I have 3 other people at Haldex selling them as well, and we are getting closer every day to meeting our goal. I hope you will come have a look at the Memory Walk , and see how soft they are. They are also machine washable and dry able. I think they make truly awesome gifts, and I will deliver these this weekend so will have plenty of room on my desk for more.

From Pillow Pet orders

Attitude

Butterflies

Early yesterday morning, I got up and went outside. The butterflies were still in the tree, waiting for the sun to warm them. The wind was whipping the branches around, but they just hung on. As the sun came up, they would spread their wings in a flash of color. They would fly just a few at a time, down the fence row to another tree. They fluttered around most of the day, and then yesterday evening, once again they tucked themselves into the leaves. By the time I came home from work today, they had all moved on. But what a delight. Enjoy the show.

Butterflies at Night

What a magical evening. Steve and I had gotten home from church and were out walking the dogs. It was about 7pm. I caught sight of something out of the corner of my eye. At first I thought it was a leaf. And then, I realized there were more. The butterflies were coming in to settle for the night. They are migrating again because the weather is starting to get cooler. The light was just right, because within about 10 minutes, you couldn't even tell they were there in the trees. They looked like leaves. I will be back up early in the morning to try and get more shots before they fly on. Keep watch for an update. I hope you enjoy the views.

Fairy Circles

Sometimes, when you are very quiet, in the morning light...the magic happens. The horse next door whispered a secret....
"Come here" he said. "Come closer".
I saw the fairies out in the pasture this morning. Look over there. And when I looked I was amazed at what I saw.

They had obviously been there just before I got there. I think I even saw some of them dash off, but wasn't quick enough with my camera. All I saw was the dew drops they left behind and the magic....Gabby looked. Gizmo looked and listened. But they were gone. Maybe next time.

Happy Birthday Steve

Happy 54th birthday Steve. It has been a year full of lots of ups and downs, but with love and family, nothing can be too bad. Hope you have another 54 in you.

A thought to ponder

"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."
Henry David Thoreau

Family Affair

It has occurred to me that most of you have not met my side of the family, so I thought I would share some recent photos to introduce you to everyone. It is difficult for my family to get together. We are scattered across the country. My Mom and Dad, George and Aline, who are retired and live in Arizona. . My older brother Dave and his wife Jill live in Northern NH. Dave has 2 sons both married, and now running the ambulance service that he built. My younger brother Tom and his wife Donna live in NH as well, about midstate. They have 3 daughters, one who is married and lives in Florida. Tom works for the county. The family is known for laughing a lot as most of you who know me realize, along with trying to top each other with a good joke. Dave is the one on the left. Then comes younger sister Kathy and her husband Larry, who live in Georgia. Kathy works at the Army crime lab and Larry is a detective. They have one daughter. . On top of the wedding, we all got to meet the first great grandchild, Tom's first grandchild, who lives in Florida with his folks. . I wished sometimes we all lived closer, as Dave and Jill are expecting their first grandchild in January. I guess that is all the more reason to visit. Hopefully we will have reason for everyone to come to Kansas someday.

Southern Wedding

As most of you know, I went to my niece's wedding back in June. I always meant to post about it, and finally figured better late than never. It was an amazing day. Mary Ellen wore a gown by Dimitrios, "The Mermaid gown". I was fortunate enough to be her "before the wedding photographer, and got some pretty unique photos. The wedding was at 6 pm at a southern plantation in Atlanta. Of course it was hot, but when you see the bride, everything seems to disappear in this amazing cloud of white and sparkles. . Her Dad was very proud as he escorted her around, and I thought my sister was going to faint. This is their only child. The wedding was held in the outside gazebo, and the whole place was amazing. After the ceremony, everyone adjourned to the inside, and the celebrations began. The first dance as man and wife, , as Mom and Dad look on with a sigh. .
From an amazing cake, to a bubble filled goodbye and a regal send off in a Rolls Royce the entire night was magical. I hope you all enjoy seeing some of it through my eyes.