Did you have a Merry Christmas, too?

It was a wonderful Christmas. Mine came in two parts. One with my friends on Christmas day and one with my family a couple days later.
There's nothing like friends and family for the holidays. And the one on one connection with the Lord is made more special around Christmas, too. A day to recall the great gift God gave us through his Son. What a doorway of immense blessing he opened on the day of his birth. The angels couldn't contain themselves and they burst into song that day. How I love that thought. Christmas is a season of great joy and wonder.
May all of you be filled with Christmas blessings as we start the New Year!

Have a Merry Christmas....

I got off work early today- got a three day weekend for Christmas. I wanted to blog today and the libraries were closed for Christmas. My oldest son, who has an internet connection and lives close by, wasn't answering his phone so I came to WebJoy but I forgot it didn't open until 11 am. I had a couple of hours to kill. I sat in the parking lot wondering if I should Christmas shop or wait for the after- Christmas sales since my family isn't celebrating Christmas until Tuesday.

I sat there for a couple of minutes and then my cell phone rang and I thought to myself that this would determine what I would do. It was Barry from Ireland! He called to let me know he sent a Christmas gift and to wish me a Merry Christmas. We also had been planning on talking for over a month. So we chatted for over an hour about life, our foibles, the Catholic church in Ireland (they can go to confession daily there!), our families and our spiritual disciplines we practice. I learned that Barry almost joined the US Marines when he was here in the 90s. What a surprise that was. After we talked I finished These High Green Hills, a Mitford novel in my Caddy. By then WebJoy was open. A perfect morning!

So here I am blogging away.

Now, I don't know what to blog. Well, let's see... Christmas day I will go over to Mark's to exchange gifts. I don't know what to get them.... I haven't done any shopping yet. Had to wait for payday. Then we will go to Chris and Missy's for Christmas dinner. I had to apologize to Missy for my big mouth. I had offended her last time they had a barbeque. I didn't know it until last week. My ADD mouth can get me into trouble, I sometimes say things without thinking of the consequences. Making amends is a good thing. Though I hate having to do it cuz I messed up, I am glad it is available as a way to restore human contact. I learned a lot about that when I thought I was an alcoholic and took the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. A wonderful program for all types of problems, btw. She told me I didn't have to apologize but had to go because of a family emergency. I felt like I was in a quandary cuz my making amends wasn't complete and was trying to figure when would be a good time to call her back. But she called Mark the next day and told him I was very welcome to come over for Christmas. What a good feeling that bit of news was! I like life.

The sun is shining today with some high clouds. It is 60 degrees with no breeze. A great climate, though I wish it were colder for Christmas. It is 4 degrees Celsius in Ireland. I'm guessing that's around 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Barry said he could walk around without a jacket so it can't be too cold. Wait, I'll surf the net and get a conversion from C to F.

I was right. 4 C is 39.2 F. He is warm-blooded. 60 F is 15.5 C. A bit warmer here.

What is the high temperature where you are at? Leave a comment.

What are you doing on Christmas day, gentle reader? Inquiring minds want to know.

Pizza and cards...

Had most of my kids over last night for Texas hold 'em and pizza. My youngest son, Josh, couldn't be there cuz he had to study for his finals. Jon came home for the holidays night before last and we all had a great time laughing and carrying on. I was the first to run out of chips. Then Chris went out and Jon and Serenity went at it for a few more hands before she went out.

We ordered pizza and salad, Chris had brought over cokes. We were chomping away between hands.

It was fun to see my blessed not-so-little ones teasing each other and laughing. My daughter kept anteing up for me as my chips dwindled in her sweet sympathy.

Then time was up and after hugging my boys I took Serenity home. We climbed into her new used car her aunt got for a heck of a price which she will sell to her. She drove under her learner's permit to Target where she shopped for her Christmas list and I gave her moral support as she decided what to get for her friends and family. She kept saying how delighted she was to drive her bright red 96 Grand Am. It's a blessing to see your child being delighted.

So, Christmas is around the corner, less than a week away. I might be able to go to a Christmas dinner with friends which would be a real treat. My family will celebrate Christmas a couple days later cuz of various work schedules. It looks to be a full time of celebrations this year.

I have to be creative for gifts this year. Might try and write a poem for each of my kids....

As promised, my latest poem

The Tears Of Monica

Bloodshot eyes, tear stained cheeks
Not unnoticed by heaven’s eye.
Running nose, puffy eyes;
Pure, like finest incense.

Matter mixed with the human soul,
Languishing; body convulsing
With the twisting of the spirit:
Most wholesome prayers.

The tears of Monica
Washed away deafness
From the Maker’s ears,
Caused heaven to be swayed.

Weeping for her first born son
Whose wage was death
Though he breathed the same
Yet was captive to his sin.

“Mountain be moved!”
her tiny faith said.
“Cursed fig tree,
Bear fruit!”

The prayers of a mother
Quaked the earth.
Her inward groaning
Touched infinity:
A saint was formed,
Augustine stood up,
Fortresses fell
And cathedrals arose.

Tim Underwood
November 23, 2005

Christmas Party with my daughter

I took my beautiful daughter to the company Christmas Party, dubbed Holiday Gala for the politically correct. I still have to retrieve my digital camera from a friend's house so I have no pics.
We arrived a little late. I had forgotten our tickets and almost panicked at the thought of driving all the way home to get my wallet. So we snuck right past the guy taking the tickets as if everything was normal. Heh, worked like a charm. How does the adage go, it is better to ask forgiveness than permission?
They had a sumptious spread. My favorite was the penne pasta in Alfredo sauce, the Prime Rib and eggnog custard. I sat with the same folks I sat with last year. You know, the girl I was going on a semi-date with? Check it out on this link from my first entry, way down at the bottom.

I got to show off my darling daughter. She makes me look good. We had fun gossiping about my different co-workers. Mostly, though, I shared with her my warm feelings towards most of the people I recognized. I realized two things that night. I knew a lot of people, being there for 5 1/2 years, and that I had a lot of positive feelings about most of them.
Another blessed night in the life of the not so lonely man.

And then he went into cardiac arrest...

That's right, gentle reader, my stepdad almost died. On the way to the hospital he went into cardiac arrest in the ambulance. The paramedics had to pull over and defibrillate his heart. And less than two weeks later he is resting at home. A Christmas miracle!
He has been ill for the past several years with some rare kidney disease. The past six months he has been in and out of intensive care.
He is my stepdad and at first I was indifferent towards him but the years have melted my heart. He is a wonderful man with keen insight who keeps a steady pace through life and has earned the love and respect of all his stepkids and grands.
He has had little appetite for a few weeks now and was low on his electrolytes and that coupled with his heart medicine almost did him in. I got several people in the Mitfordbooks.com community to pray for him. He still has no appetite but maybe he can get IV solutions administered like they do to NFL football players and people who've had fevers and are dehydrated. Once a week for a refresher, maybe?
Please pray for him to recover his health and to be at total peace with the Lord. I want to be with him in heaven.

Holiday trees? Bah, humbug!

Well, now they have taken Christmas out of Christmas. I can smell college educated personnel at work here. As Rush says about those who have been trained at liberal universities, their skulls are scooped full of mush.
I got motivated by this nonsense and posted about it at Mitfordbooks.com's forum as well as a quote from the Federalist Patriot. Then I decided to send a letter to the editor at our local paper the Las Vegas Review Journal.
Here it is:

To the editor:

What a colossal blunder major retailers have made in censoring Christmas from one of the nation’s biggest holidays. Holiday trees? Bah, humbug!
I can think of no better way to anger the general public at large than this ludicrous censorship.
And there are those who say that Christians should know that the “world” will hate them and we should expect and accept such treatment.
I say, not in America, baby. We aren't a pagan nation with a pagan majority. We are a Christian majority who refuses to be treated with contempt by a vocal anti-Christ minority.
You can't let the barbarians win a single battle. They must be put in their place.
The majority protesters of this censorship are saying this to the college trained politically correct corporate weenies of America:
"Stick it in your ear, it's a CHRISTMAS tree, get over it!"



Hehe, I love tweaking the noses of elitist busybodies....