Ahh...Christmas Eve!

The one night of the year when the kids actually want to go to bed early...

Ode to Joan...

It took me awhile this year to feel the Christmas spirit. The first inkling came after I knocked on my neighbor, Joan's, front door. When she answered, her step ladder was in the front hall surrounded by burgeoning boxes of Christmas decorations and garlands. My inner child (complete with pigtails and skinned knees) came alive in a heartbeat. You see...no one keeps Christmas like Joan. I have an exclusive invitation into "Christmas Central" when our book club winds up a year of good reads at her house. Her home is a visual Christmas card. Each year I expect a photo crew from Better Homes and Gardens to interrupt our festivities. I purposefully drive the long way out of the neighborhood at night to pass her house, complete with candy-colored lights and festooned wreaths. It's not hard to explain the appeal. It reminds me of my home in Missouri. My Mom did Christmas the way Joan does Christmas. Every year my brother and I eagerly waited for the day after Thanksgiving when the boxes would come out of storage and our home turned into something magical.

Thanks Joan!

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!
We got hit with an impressive snow storm today. When the first flakes started to fall I immediately thought of one of my best friends growing up, Wendy. Wendy doesn't care too much for snow. In fact, that is an understatement. During our teenage years (and she claims it's still true), she refused to drive at the merest suggestion of snow. So I'm posting these pictures for her benefit. She can sit at home all snug and warm and experience our frigid weather vicariously.

Sledding from the neighbors driveway to ours

What do you do when the shovel is actually bigger than you are?

No, her tongue didn't stick to the house...

There is a moral to this story...

Sparky has been in desperate need of a haircut, but I have been short on free time. This morning I asked Ford to give J man's hair a trim with the clippers. This was the result. I tried to slick it to one side for church, but his hair (like the boy himself) has a will of it's own. We call him "Hamlet" now.

Speechless

Ok. I’m not ever really speechless. Those of you who are not politically minded, my apologies. I’m about to speak my mind…again.

Do I really live in a country where racial prejudice is still so strong that our newly elected President, just based on the color of his skin, is now the target of assassination plots and bigoted ridicule? I was raised in a family that taught me to be color blind. I was taught to form my opinions of people based on who they are and what they think, not on the color of their skin or their cultural background. I admit that I don’t agree with many (many) of President Elect Obama’s views, but that has nothing to do with his race.

Speaking of prejudice…how interesting to be a target of it.

I have been surprised and disappointed by the homosexual community’s reaction to the passing of Proposition 8. I saw last night, the latest assault on the Mormon Church in the form of a televised ad. I’m confused. What is the goal of this ad? Physical attacks against Mormons? Or how about discrimination based on religion? Thousands of people showed up to exercise their constitutional right to vote. The fact is members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe in the sanctity of the family. They organized, got the word out and voted their conscience. Didn’t the homosexual community organize and vote as well? No one is trying to legislate homosexuality. LDS support of Proposition 8 was support of the definition of family.

Speaking of families…I’d better go take care of mine.