Never Forget ....

This is "old news", in that the christening took place on March , 2008.

The USS New York is a new battleship commissioned into the U. S. Navy. What is special about this ship is that it is made with iron from the World Trade Centers in New York. The motto os the ship is "Never Forget".

We suggest that you check out the website. It is a wonderful story and a tribute to the lives lost.

We should NEVER FORGET ....

More and more every year ...

The US Dept. of Education has just published a new (2007) report on the homeschooling population.

Their conclusion - 1.5 million kids nation-wide.

You can see the complete document here.

NORAD Santa Tracking

Did you know that it has been 50 years since NORAD has been tracking Santa on Christmas Eve?

You can find out the story of the beginning of this Christmas tradition here.

And, in case you are interested in watching Santa's progress on the 24th, check out the NORAD Santa website.

Oh, Christmas Party, Oh, Christmas Party ...

Tonight was the christmas party for Daddy's work. It was held at a nice place and the food was pretty good. They gave out service awards after dinner - Daddy got one last year for being with the company for 5 years. After they awards, they give away door prizes. Most often they are gift cards, table centerpieces and one grand prize.

This year, Daddy won the grand prize!

He got a Wii game system plus two games. We were absolutely blown away! We don't play video games and are a bit lost as to what to do with it.

No, we don't intend to give it to other members of the family, so don't ask!

The girls don't know about it. We are saving it for Christmas. Hopefully, we can get a game that they can play before the 25th.

While Mommy and Daddy were busy, Kitty and Jules were able to see a three hour production of the Nutcracker ballet. They loved it! They went with friends and had a really great time. Then, the girls had a sleep-over with the friends.

God sure does bring surprises into our lives. What a night!

Christmas in November

Since we live to far from our Northern kin, we exchange Christmas gifts at Thanksgiving. It makes things a bit tense, getting gifts made/purchased in time. Especially, since the adults really have no clue what they want!

We do have a few standbys in terms on interest. Aunt C likes horses and her husband, Uncle E doesn't seem to mind those presents. We didn't really get their gifts done in time, except Kitty. Aunt C & Uncle E have a resale store. We would love to frequent it, but the drive is a bit much!

Little cousin L got a bear puppet that Mommy crocheted and a Little People set. It seems she also like cars - she sounds just like Kitty!

Aunt J & Uncle J are outdoorsy types, which is really cool. Uncle J is usually hunting/taking people out hunting during Thanksgiving, so we don't always get to see him. Mommy & Daddy's gift to them was a paper eagle. Mommy spent time cutting and gluing it together. It is really fragile, but came out great. It is about 2 1/2 feet from wing tip to wing tip. Jules has a present that she wasn't able to quite get done.

Grandma got some origami lilies in a glass vase and a papercraft swallowtail butterfly. Jules also made a painting of some roses for her.

Uncle R likes Ancient Egypt, so we have been doing that theme for a few years. This year, Jules, with some help from Mommy, made a customized matryoska (Russian nesting dolls) set. We are sure no one else has them with, going outside in, King Tut, Queen Cleopatra, Anubis, The Eye of Ra, a mummy and an anhk (the Ancient Egyptian symbol of life.) We chose Anubis, not because he is the Egyptian god of Funerals and the afterlife, but because he is readily recognizable.

The girls, of course, were thrilled with their gifts. Jules got an electronic dog, Tekno, a Bingo game, coloring books, The Frog Princess book set, a Christmas Duck and a necklace, the Sorry! Sliders game

Kitty got a Tinkerbell doll which flaps her wings and talks, a Crayola craft set, a Christmas Bear and a necklace, a Disney Fairies game, a Matchbox pop-up airport set, and coloring books.

We all got some gift cards to Barnes and Noble, which is great, because we can take our time figuring out what we want!

It was a late night, but we all had a really good time visiting with each other, sharing good food and just enjoying the time.

Goin' North, Eh?

We were pleasantly surprised to find out that Daddy had today off, so off North we go! Plans changed last minute, so we are heading to Grandma's instead of Aunt J's. No problem. Mommy's pain issues will be better if she doesn't need to go up and down stairs.

Traffic was a little nuts, as people were leaving for the holiday, as well. But we got through the interstates and tolls without any real problems.

It's a long trip, but we made it to Grandma's safely. Pizza was on the menu, which was great, as no one really wanted to cook, with Thanksgiving tomorrow and all.

Tomorrow, we all get to eat way too much!

Bowling!

This morning, we were able to attend a free bowling glass for kids. Each girl was in a different group, based upon age. We met our friends the Bs there as well. It was fun watching Kitty try to handle a 6 pound ball, which is the lighted made. She is not quite strong enough to do the complete follow through, but tried her best none the less.

While the lesson only lasted two hours, the girls had fun and we think they learned a few things. Daddy helped a few of the older Bs with their form and aim. He sure wanted to be able to do the bowling as well, but still had fun with the coaching. We all would love to be able to bowl more on a regular basis.