Happy 2008!

Welcome to the New Year! TWO THOUSAND EIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!! WOA!

Just a few things I thought about tonight...

Jason will be permitted to drive a car in the year 2015.
Sarah in the year 2021.

Jason will graduate in 2018.
Sarah will graduate in 2024.

Jason will be of age to be married in the year 2024. (if he graduates college first!)
Sarah in the year............who are we kidding..........never.
Okay, just kidding...we'll let her marry..........someday. Maybe.
But no way am I putting an acceptable year in print! She'd hold me to it someday!

As if all of that's not quite scary enough....
Our grandkids will most likely be born between 2025 and 2040.
IN THAT CASE, they are going to think we are WAY old because we'll have to say...

"When I was born in 1972 or 1975....." Which will mean to them :
"WOA...you were born in the nineteen-hundreds?"
"Man, you really are old!"
hahahaha

Todd and I will celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary in the year 2047!!!!!!!!!

Okay, so I hope I'm not the only one who looks at those year numbers and thinks....WOA...........is that possible? I mean, that looks REALLY wierd. I know 2000 looked wierd to us when it came, but I don't know what 2047 will look like!
By then, Apple will have invented some of the following...

iEat....A device that plugs into a USB port in your abdomen that in less than 3 seconds gives you an entire day's supply of nourishment and nutients ALONG with a variety of songs tailored to your daily routine.

iExercise...A machine which you can step inside of like a hampster and be completely tone and buff in a matter of minutes by attaching electrodes to specific power points on your body thus stimulating muscular movements and excercising your body without ever going to a gymnasium!

AND WITH ANY LUCK AT ALL.....And this is the one I hope for the most...

iLaunder...A hamper the size of a kleenex box that traps all the dirty clothes you can imagine and shrinks them to the size of a popcorn kernel, automatically detects the setting and temperature in which they should be laundered, sends those that must be dry cleaned through a teleport to the nearest iCleaners of your choice, after which within minutes recieves them back, folded, pressed and then pops them out into the ready and willing hands of your iDoItAll Robotic Maid (mine's going to be named Rosy!" and she will put them all away for you. Without complaining or claiming that there aren't any more clothes hangers.

Ahhh..........yes............the joys of hoping! I actually don't hope for any of these things. I hope only for love and peace and happiness. (Okay, maybe I still hope for the iLaunder.........and the robotic maid).....you all know me too well to believe I wouldn't hope for that!

At any rate, I hope you all have a great New Year and can look forward with anticipation to the years that lie ahead and do something in this new year that will help you prepare yourself for all the ones to come.

Love and Peace to you all!

Sharon

Christmas 2007

Well, Christmas has come and gone....again. Whew, how time flies! The kids got a lot of fun toys, we spent a lot of time together as a family and had a great visit with a lot of our family members and spoke to the ones we couldn't be with over the telephone.

We were thankful to have such a sweet Christmas this year. Our children had a blast and enjoyed every minute of it. Even the car ride to and from Lufkin was pleasurable this time! We may be making progress! I hope.

Todd got me a new iPod Nano for Christmas so I have been spending lots of time downloading my favorite music and photos! I haven't gotten to the "video" part of it just yet.......I'm good with music & pics, though!

We went to Lufkin for a few days before Christmas to spend time with Todd's family and to visit my Dad & Carol as well! We got to go to my Dad's church and listen to him play piano which I loved and then to their house for visiting which was a real treat. At Todd's parents we had the traditional Christmas feast on Christmas Eve before packing up and heading home. Christmas Eve night, Todd grilled steaks for us! They were so beautiful that I took a picture of them! See below!

On Christmas day, the kids woke up around 7:30 which is LATE for Christmas day! We enjoyed watching them see their presents from Santa and then opening gifts from us. They had so much fun. Then, Todd & Jason watched movies while I started preparing a Christmas dinner for us and my Grandparents! They came over for dinner. It was great! I made a HUGE turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole and my very first Pecan Pie! (which, I also took a picture of!) Sarah & I got matching aprons for Christmas and wore them. She loves to "help" me cook. She's only mixing water and flour, but look how happy it makes her!

We probably had one of the best Christmases EVER this year. We got to spend a lot of quality time with those we love. I did wish we could have seen some more of those who weren't here, but there's always next year! I missed my sisters and brothers, my mom and some of my closest friends during the holidays, but they were with me in my thoughts.

I hope each and every one of you had a great Christmas and I hope your New Year is great as well! Love and peace to all!

Love, Sharon

Is there a Santa Claus?

Well, it's that time of year that the age old question dances around in little ones' heads........."is there a Santa Claus?" My eight year old is surely questioning this thought in his mind even if he wouldn't admit it.........if you don't believe, you don't recieve! SO, our pastor sent me a link to this editorial from September 21, 1897 regarding this question. I think this is such a great editorial! I personally know that the spirit of Santa is alive today; in every mother who asks for help in getting gifts for her children because she cannot work, for every father who works overtime this time of year to provide special treats for his family on Christmas morning, for every family that takes joy in giving of their time and gifts to others who are not as fortunate........this story is for you! Merry Christmas!

Eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York's Sun, and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history's most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languages in books, movies, and other editorials, and on posters and stamps.


"DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old.
"Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
"Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.'
"Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?

"VIRGINIA O'HANLON.
"115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET."

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Thankgiving in Birmingham

We had the best time in Birmingham, Alabama for Thanksgiving. It is absolutely beautiful there! The trees are gorgeous! VIVID in fall colors. It literally looked like an autumn wonderland. I couldn't believe I'd never seen fall like that. It was truly amazing. The kids loved every minute of it. The photo above is one of each of Presley, Jason & Sarah's hands holding acorns and nuts that they found in the park.

We had a wonderful visit with some of our family and the kids got to play with their cousin, Presley and they loved seeing where she lives. This was our first of many visits. Although it did take us 13 hours to get back home and 11 hours to get there on Wed., it was worth the drive! (Barely! haha ......that's a looooooooooong way with the kids!) Whew.....

We stayed with Jenny & Michael who are Todd's sister's in-laws. They had a beautiful welcoming home and we loved staying with them. Todd's parents stayed at his sister's and her family's house. His dad was very sick the first part of the trip but got to feeling better. We were all really worried, but he seems to be doing much better now. Everyone had a good time and Mimi & Pop made it back to Lufkin safely, too. The kids enjoyed seeing everyone and playing with them for Thanksgiving and Todd & I LOVED it, too!

I am posting a lot of photos of the kids! See for yourself how beautiful it was there. They all looked so cute playing in the leaves and having fun!

Hope you all had a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!

Love, Sharon

Family Time at Thanksgiving...

(These are some snapshots my friend, Anna took of me and Todd & the kids tonight!)

Tonight, Jason came home with homework that he had to finish. He was asked to write a Thanksgiving story about what he is thankful for. What he wrote made me cry and I wanted to share it with you all...

"Who I'm Thankful For" by Jason

(Misspelled words and grammatical errors were ignored in the typing of this message. It made it that much sweeter.)

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, several of our school activities have had something to do with Thanksgiving. It really got me thinking about many things I'm thankful for.
One of the most important things in my life is my family.
One of the people I'm thankful for is my mom. I'm thankful for her because she takes care of me, she does normal stuff for me, like feeding me and washing my clothes. But my mom also does other things to make me feel special, like heating up my towel in the dryer while I'm taking a bath, and makeing me homemade hot chocolate.
The second person I'm thankful for is my dad. I'm thankful for him because, he works hard for our family, and he takes me to do fun stuff and spend time with me, and he shows me how to draw stuff.
I'm also thankful for My sister Sarah. I care about her soo much I can't even explain it. I' am so thankful for my family including my grandparents."

When I read this paper that my eight year old wrote with such care, it brought tears to my eyes. To know that when he truly thought about what he was thankful for this Thanksgiving, it was not toys, things or any kind of possessions, but it was us. Our family. The people that we mostly take for granted in our life, he is thankful for. I am so proud of this little paper he wrote. I never realized how much it meant to him that when it's cold, I heat his towel for him or make him hot chocolate. Or that he realized how hard Todd works to take care of our family. So, this Thanksgiving, after reading his paper, I am so thankful for a child who is growing up KNOWING what is important in his life. I'm so thankful to be a parent who is able to tuck my 2 angels in every night and wake them in the mornings and to be a parent who knows that the children they are trying so desperately to instill values in.......are actually getting it.......even if on a daily basis, sometimes, my work seems lost.

I hope you all have a very blessed Thanksgiving and that you are with your families and loved ones. Enjoy the food, football, whatever it is, but most of all.....enjoy the fact that you have somethings and someones to be thankful for.

Love, Sharon

My Friend, Anna & Her kiddos visit TEXAS!!!!!!

My childhood friend from over 20 years ago has come to visit me and Todd & the kids in Texas! After not seeing each other for 7 years, we are having a great time catching up. Her kids are 5 & 3 so they have had a great time with Jason & Sarah playing. We have at least one meltdown hourly by one of each of the 4 kids! They have kept a great schedule on that and that alone! haha We are having a blast visiting. They are absolutely adorable, as you can see! Such sweet boys and they LOVE giving Todd a hard time! It's great!