One of the most cherished traditions of our family at Christmas is to watch two favorite movies. In years past, we had to wait for network TV to show them. Then the advent of VCR's and now, DVD's, make it so we can turn it into and event.
What movies are they? "Christmas Story" with Peter Billingsly. We have it on DVD, and definitely love that movie. I showed it to my dad a few years ago, the man who is not a movie watcher. He loved it because it captured his childhood, and he had a Red Rider BB gun just like that when we was a kid. This year is the 25th anniversary of the movie and it sounds like a nice celebration is going on. Click here.
Now, the next one? "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" is the most watched movie in our family. We know all the lines, we have studied each scene. In almost every scene we can show you funny things that you may not catch the first dozen times you watch it. We know all the trivia behind this cinematic nightmare (ie did you know during all the snow scenes, that is fake snow?? All of it, it was 80 degrees outside when they filmed all the outdoor snow scenes).
Charlie Brown Christmas? Frosty the Snowman? 'Twas the Night Before Christmas? No, those are not family favorites, but we watch them. But just not with the same vigor as those two. Did you learn something new about me today?
Nov 30, 2008
Nov 26, 2008
It's either here or there....
It's been one of those weeks where there could be a whole lot of nothing to say. Not much in terms of interesting things, but a whole lot of stuff.
Here goes:
* Trying to incorporate Lizzie back outside, and the other chickens are attacking her. Normally, I would let her duke it out, but she won't fight back and she is still slightly injured. Not sure what to do. I think she actually likes being inside, but being in a cardboard box 24/7 is no existence for a chicken, or my family.
* Had my huge annual candle sale yesterday. I didn't put as much effort into as I usually do, but I still sold close to $1,000 in products that were stored in my basement. So I cleaned out some stock, some friends got some great deals, created some future business, and now I can hibernate for Thanksgiving.
* School is going well for JM. He aced a math test yesterday, and I am so proud of him!
* School is going okay for BH. He is doing great, loves his teacher, loves his classmates, and tells me all the fun preschool things he does. The church that runs the school just pulled one of those typical church politics stunts (three influential people had a back room meeting while the school director was gone on vacation, and had her fired) that just chaps my hide. So we parents are dealing with that, and hoping the church realizes, no matter if she was worthy of being fired, that their way of doing it was completely mean-spirited and ungodly. The former director is planning to sue. It will be pretty I am sure!
* Need to make a spinach salad and a requested broccoli salad for my part of Thanksgiving dinner. Going to the inlaws. Just as a general rule, when I go to my inlaws, please pray for me.
* Went to cash a check at a bank yesterday that I don't bank at. The bank teller couldn't cash it. She needed an approval from the branch manager. Way back in college, I was a bank teller for three years. I know that was long ago, and fraud is a huge problem, I know this. I told this branch manager, "Why do you even have tellers? If she can't cash a check on your bank with sufficient ID and my fingerprint (yes, I had to fingerprint the check for CSI purposes) then why do we have bank tellers?" I got the "we need extra measures if you aren't a bank customer...." bit. That didn't answer my question, seriously, why have bank tellers?
Corollary, I am thankful to have banks. I am thankful to have money that needs to be cashed. I am thankful to have a distraction for my preschooler at the time I waited that thirty minutes for the manager. I am thankful I have these simple inconveniences that others don't have. I am thankful.
* Our beef has been ordered since the beginning of November. We have conversed with the butcher. On December 13th, our freezer will be full. I am so excited, and yes, very thankful.
I wish all of you a wonderful, safe, thoughtful and special Thanksgiving. We have much to be thankful for. We have roofs over our heads, we have warm beds, we have people in our lives that make us who we are, we have opportunities, we have a warm meal on Thursday, and we have Jesus Christ. We have so much!
Here goes:
* Trying to incorporate Lizzie back outside, and the other chickens are attacking her. Normally, I would let her duke it out, but she won't fight back and she is still slightly injured. Not sure what to do. I think she actually likes being inside, but being in a cardboard box 24/7 is no existence for a chicken, or my family.
* Had my huge annual candle sale yesterday. I didn't put as much effort into as I usually do, but I still sold close to $1,000 in products that were stored in my basement. So I cleaned out some stock, some friends got some great deals, created some future business, and now I can hibernate for Thanksgiving.
* School is going well for JM. He aced a math test yesterday, and I am so proud of him!
* School is going okay for BH. He is doing great, loves his teacher, loves his classmates, and tells me all the fun preschool things he does. The church that runs the school just pulled one of those typical church politics stunts (three influential people had a back room meeting while the school director was gone on vacation, and had her fired) that just chaps my hide. So we parents are dealing with that, and hoping the church realizes, no matter if she was worthy of being fired, that their way of doing it was completely mean-spirited and ungodly. The former director is planning to sue. It will be pretty I am sure!
* Need to make a spinach salad and a requested broccoli salad for my part of Thanksgiving dinner. Going to the inlaws. Just as a general rule, when I go to my inlaws, please pray for me.
* Went to cash a check at a bank yesterday that I don't bank at. The bank teller couldn't cash it. She needed an approval from the branch manager. Way back in college, I was a bank teller for three years. I know that was long ago, and fraud is a huge problem, I know this. I told this branch manager, "Why do you even have tellers? If she can't cash a check on your bank with sufficient ID and my fingerprint (yes, I had to fingerprint the check for CSI purposes) then why do we have bank tellers?" I got the "we need extra measures if you aren't a bank customer...." bit. That didn't answer my question, seriously, why have bank tellers?
Corollary, I am thankful to have banks. I am thankful to have money that needs to be cashed. I am thankful to have a distraction for my preschooler at the time I waited that thirty minutes for the manager. I am thankful I have these simple inconveniences that others don't have. I am thankful.
* Our beef has been ordered since the beginning of November. We have conversed with the butcher. On December 13th, our freezer will be full. I am so excited, and yes, very thankful.
I wish all of you a wonderful, safe, thoughtful and special Thanksgiving. We have much to be thankful for. We have roofs over our heads, we have warm beds, we have people in our lives that make us who we are, we have opportunities, we have a warm meal on Thursday, and we have Jesus Christ. We have so much!
Nov 23, 2008
Thankfulness
As we approach our Thanksgiving season, I do like to reflect on what I am thankful for. I think I may have more than one post on this, so I thought I would get started early.
Here goes:
I am thankful that I have a job. I am thankful that my job still pays bills and puts food on the table.
I am thankful for my family, always. With every breathe I take, I am so thankful for them.
I am so thankful for my friends. As I have lived over the years, it is the influence of my friends that has chiseled me into the person I am today, and I am ever so thankful.
I am so thankful to God for giving us Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate artist in my life that has the most influence. He has redeemed me, saved me from my ungodliness, and made my life something that glorifies Him. Only God can do that.
I am so thankful for living in the United States. The freedoms we enjoy, the rights we enjoy, the basics we enjoy, etc. They are because pioneering folks got into a boat, and braved a new world.
I am thankful for the writers of the Constitution and the huge amount of wisdom and foresight they had when writing such an amazing document. I honestly believe God was influencing their writing.
I am thankful for all American soldiers, past, present and future, who have sacrificed for those freedoms that we have all enjoyed since the earliest settlements of Northern America. Those soldiers have sacrificed life, liberty, limb and peace for those freedoms we all enjoy, and I take every opportunity I have to thank them for protecting my home and family, and the rights I enjoy.
Please add any more you can think of! I am sure as I reflect more this week, I'll have another post this week.
Jesus, to you alone be the glory!
Here goes:
I am thankful that I have a job. I am thankful that my job still pays bills and puts food on the table.
I am thankful for my family, always. With every breathe I take, I am so thankful for them.
I am so thankful for my friends. As I have lived over the years, it is the influence of my friends that has chiseled me into the person I am today, and I am ever so thankful.
I am so thankful to God for giving us Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate artist in my life that has the most influence. He has redeemed me, saved me from my ungodliness, and made my life something that glorifies Him. Only God can do that.
I am so thankful for living in the United States. The freedoms we enjoy, the rights we enjoy, the basics we enjoy, etc. They are because pioneering folks got into a boat, and braved a new world.
I am thankful for the writers of the Constitution and the huge amount of wisdom and foresight they had when writing such an amazing document. I honestly believe God was influencing their writing.
I am thankful for all American soldiers, past, present and future, who have sacrificed for those freedoms that we have all enjoyed since the earliest settlements of Northern America. Those soldiers have sacrificed life, liberty, limb and peace for those freedoms we all enjoy, and I take every opportunity I have to thank them for protecting my home and family, and the rights I enjoy.
Please add any more you can think of! I am sure as I reflect more this week, I'll have another post this week.
Jesus, to you alone be the glory!
Nov 21, 2008
Church Bulletin
Got this out of our church bulletin last Sunday. I have taken it from "The Church Around the World" volume 38, number 12.
Pro-Life Leader: Poland is Profoundly Pro-Life Culture
Abortion was first instituted in Poland in 1943 by the Nazi occupiers, whose stated goal was to exterminate the Slavic peoples under their control, and continued under the Soviet Communists. Throughout the Communist period, lay pro-life activists worked hard to retain a deep sense of the sacredness of human life under successive totalitarian regimes. Today, a dramatically dropping abortion rate in Poland is the payoff of the concerted work of those activists, says the vice president of the Polish Federation of Pro-life Movements, Antoni Zieba.
Polish law allows abortion in cases of rape or fetal abnormalities. Although Poland and Spain have similar abortion laws, in 2006 Spain reported 98,500 abortions, while in Poland that same year, there were only 360 abortions. This marks a massive reduction from the 1990's, when the number of abortions was 100,000 a year. During the Communist period, it is estimated that the total number of abortions was over 600,000 a year.
Zieba explains this disparity simply, saying that Poland enjoys a pro-life culture, so even though the law allows abortion, few Poles would consider it. He attributes this to the extensive apostolic work of lay Catholics during the Communist period and continues during Communism's decline. "Within the structures of the Catholic Church, we have engaged in intense activity in defense of the life of the unborn." Zieba pointed out that, while most of the world has been convinced abortion is the key to women's emancipation, in Poland, through the work of the pro-life movement, it is still remembered as a tool genocide popular with racist and inhumane totalitarian regimes.
Thoughts? I wonder what Obama would think of this. Considering he could say something similar. His ancestors can say they were mistreated by racists and kept in mini totalitarian regimes (southern farms) and seen as property, not humans. Yet, he is the most pro-abortion president this nation has ever had and has already started to change legislation regarding stem cell research. Yet, the most abortions done in this country right now are in the African American, low income, communities.
Too bad, unlike Poland, we can't learn from our past on that one. Obama may just lead the way too.
Pro-Life Leader: Poland is Profoundly Pro-Life Culture
Abortion was first instituted in Poland in 1943 by the Nazi occupiers, whose stated goal was to exterminate the Slavic peoples under their control, and continued under the Soviet Communists. Throughout the Communist period, lay pro-life activists worked hard to retain a deep sense of the sacredness of human life under successive totalitarian regimes. Today, a dramatically dropping abortion rate in Poland is the payoff of the concerted work of those activists, says the vice president of the Polish Federation of Pro-life Movements, Antoni Zieba.
Polish law allows abortion in cases of rape or fetal abnormalities. Although Poland and Spain have similar abortion laws, in 2006 Spain reported 98,500 abortions, while in Poland that same year, there were only 360 abortions. This marks a massive reduction from the 1990's, when the number of abortions was 100,000 a year. During the Communist period, it is estimated that the total number of abortions was over 600,000 a year.
Zieba explains this disparity simply, saying that Poland enjoys a pro-life culture, so even though the law allows abortion, few Poles would consider it. He attributes this to the extensive apostolic work of lay Catholics during the Communist period and continues during Communism's decline. "Within the structures of the Catholic Church, we have engaged in intense activity in defense of the life of the unborn." Zieba pointed out that, while most of the world has been convinced abortion is the key to women's emancipation, in Poland, through the work of the pro-life movement, it is still remembered as a tool genocide popular with racist and inhumane totalitarian regimes.
Thoughts? I wonder what Obama would think of this. Considering he could say something similar. His ancestors can say they were mistreated by racists and kept in mini totalitarian regimes (southern farms) and seen as property, not humans. Yet, he is the most pro-abortion president this nation has ever had and has already started to change legislation regarding stem cell research. Yet, the most abortions done in this country right now are in the African American, low income, communities.
Too bad, unlike Poland, we can't learn from our past on that one. Obama may just lead the way too.
Nov 19, 2008
More Chicken Updates
Okay, I know you are all sick of this topic. I am about done with it too. But I still have gimpy chicken in a box in my bedroom. It's still kind of consuming my time and efforts at least for a few more days.
I have posted some before and after pictures at the bottom of this post. The before picture is not pretty. It isn't disgustingly graphic or anything, but if you are squeamish, you might think twice before looking. I posted them on my Facebook page with the same warning, and people seem to not be squeamish. But I think it might be worse for me because I saw it up close and fresh.
The only new thing we have noticed is how Lizzie drinks water. The fact that she is drinking water is important. Birds in general need lots of water and can become dehydrated easily. So I have put water in her box, but not sure if she is drinking it. But what is funny, if I am holding her and put it in front of her, she cranes her neck like a duck and puts almost her whole face in the water and drinks deeply. The kids think this is so funny. She didn't do this out in the yard, I am wondering if her craning has something to do with her neck. But, hey, she is drinking and letting me handle her and staying relaxed.
My dad, who grew up on a chicken farm, told me she should be just fine within a week. He also told me the finer points of how to use my new pellet gun to kill rodents and get rid of raccoons.
Why am I showing these? Well, I am pretty pleased that in just a few days she is doing so well. I am quite amazed in fact. I am an animal lover and have never given aid to an injured animal before, so this is an accomplishment for me. And I never want to repeat it again, because the initial stress was gut wrenching.
Lizzie right after the attack.
Lizzie yesterday, with my little helper who loves to see how she is doing.
Yesterday up close. Looking not so bad!
Where that feather is sticking out on the back of her head is her worst gash. It's deep and hard to clean. I don't mess with it much because it opens up pretty easily.
Sitting quite relaxed on my arm. Yes, her box is under my sewing desk.
I have posted some before and after pictures at the bottom of this post. The before picture is not pretty. It isn't disgustingly graphic or anything, but if you are squeamish, you might think twice before looking. I posted them on my Facebook page with the same warning, and people seem to not be squeamish. But I think it might be worse for me because I saw it up close and fresh.
The only new thing we have noticed is how Lizzie drinks water. The fact that she is drinking water is important. Birds in general need lots of water and can become dehydrated easily. So I have put water in her box, but not sure if she is drinking it. But what is funny, if I am holding her and put it in front of her, she cranes her neck like a duck and puts almost her whole face in the water and drinks deeply. The kids think this is so funny. She didn't do this out in the yard, I am wondering if her craning has something to do with her neck. But, hey, she is drinking and letting me handle her and staying relaxed.
My dad, who grew up on a chicken farm, told me she should be just fine within a week. He also told me the finer points of how to use my new pellet gun to kill rodents and get rid of raccoons.
Why am I showing these? Well, I am pretty pleased that in just a few days she is doing so well. I am quite amazed in fact. I am an animal lover and have never given aid to an injured animal before, so this is an accomplishment for me. And I never want to repeat it again, because the initial stress was gut wrenching.
Lizzie right after the attack.
Lizzie yesterday, with my little helper who loves to see how she is doing.
Yesterday up close. Looking not so bad!
Where that feather is sticking out on the back of her head is her worst gash. It's deep and hard to clean. I don't mess with it much because it opens up pretty easily.
Sitting quite relaxed on my arm. Yes, her box is under my sewing desk.
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