Scenes of Christmas 2009

Here are a few scenes from Christmas in our world. We hope that Peace and Love were felt throughout your day as well.
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Ryan Rocks the House

Ryan got his much desired electric guitar for Christmas, which has inspired Scott and I (mostly I) to sing songs at him about wanting to be a rock star. I tend to do this whenever I see him pick it up and start to "practice", which is driving him crazy. Here are a few of our favorites (with some creative liberties taken), please feel free to suggest others. He won't appreciate it but I will.

Didn't know how to play it, but he knew for sure
That one guitar, felt good in his hands, didn't take long, to understand
Just one guitar, slung way down low
Was a one way ticket, only one way to go
So he started rockin', ain't never gonna stop
Gotta keep on rockin', someday gonna make it to the top

And be a juke box hero, got stars in his eyes

and

Got my first real six string, Santa brought it right on time
played it til my fingers bled, it was Christmas 2009
These are the best days of my life

and

Ryan was a school boy, when he heard his first KISS song
Rock-n-Roll all night I think it was, and from there it didn't take him long
Got himself a guitar, used to play every night

Holiday Greetings

Wishing you and yours

a joyous Holiday Season

Scott, Jackie, Sam and Ryan

Happy Holidays

I am going to admit something publicly in this post, and I hope I don't get burned at the stake, but here goes.....I am a HAPPY HOLIDAYS person. Lately, I have seen Facebook postings and groups formed regarding the Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays debate, and I even had someone ask me if I realized that my own HOLIDAY card said "Happy Holidays." Yes, I did and Yes, it was deliberate. My reasoning is very simple and has nothing to do with taking Christ out of Christmas. It is simply that, to me, the holiday season encompasses all of the holidays that take place between October 31(if you include Halloween) and January 1. "Happy Holidays," to me, means "Have a Happy Thanksgiving, a Happy Hanukkah, a Merry Christmas, a Happy Kwanzaa, and a Happy New Year." This is the way I look at it, and I don't see any reason everybody else can't try to see it the same way. When somebody says "Happy Holidays" to me, it means that they are wishing me well on all of the November/December holidays that I celebrate or mean anything to me. Why say Merry Christmas to somebody unless you're reasonably sure that person celebrates it. You shouldn't necessarily be afraid of offending them, but you're going to be telling them something that's totally meaningless to them. If somebody were to wish me a Happy Hanukkah, I wouldn't be upset, but I'd probably just say "Uh...ok." And to the argument that "Happy Holidays" is just all about political correctness I say so what. What is wrong with going out of your way to not offend someone. Would you go out of your way to say Merry Christmas to someone you knew was Jewish or Muslim? Isn't this the perfect time of year to be nice and not offend anyone? As to the boycotting of stores that refer to "Holidays" rather than "Christmas," what is the big deal. It is a marketing strategy employed by retailers trying to cover all consumers with their advertising. They are after all, a business, and trying to make as much money as possible. I actually take issue with businesses that try to promote God and Christianity as their marketing strategy, but that is slightly off topic and better saved for another post. I never can understand why these Christian groups spend so much effort this time of year focused on what goes on in stores. Maybe we should all take a lesson from the Grinch who said "Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store." I also don't have a problem with the way schools treat the holidays. Is it really that big of a deal that the time off is called winter break? It is not just December 24 and 25 that school is out, it is a two week period. When they are off for Yom Kippur in September it is called a teacher workday, so all's fair right? I think schools can go too far in taking away any symbols of Christmas, though. Do I think that they should set up a Nativity scene in the lobby, No, but a few wreaths and stockings are fine. Anyway, I know some will think that I am missing the point, but I hope that I have made a few good points of my own.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!!!

WInter Parade

Today was the annual Winter Parade for Lake Wylie Elementary and the Steele Creek area. There are floats representing the various classrooms at the school, as well as many area businesses. The parade route starts at the school and actually runs right down the main street in our neighborhood. The first year that we lived here we heard a marching band and were like "What the Hell?" Normally Scott and I are very involved in the parade since we have access to a truck and trailer, but after 4 years I decided to take a break. My taking a break resulted in Ryan's class not having a float, but that is not as bad as it seems since he didn't want to participate,so he wasn't upset. Probably he was glad to have a break from hearing me bitch about making the float. So it was win win. Let me tell you, it is much easier to just drop your kid off at his float and pick him up at the end. Sam's class rode on an antique firetruck which was really cool. He is not visible in the pictures, though, because he ducked down when he saw us on the parade route. Little stinker!! If you notice the two kids in the front corner looking down, that is where Sam should be. Click on the pictures for a larger view. Even though it was a cold and wet day, a good time was had by all!

Advent wreath or Menorah

As many of you know, although I do try, we in this house are just not the most devout religious folks in town. I'm going to relay a story about Ryan that proves this very statement (let's keep mum about that, this post has not been "Ryan Approved." Ryan goes to Faith Formation (what we used to call Catechism or CCD)once a week and will make his First Communion in the spring. We have been working very hard on memorizing all of his prayers and such, but I think that some important facts about Catholicism and Christianity may have slipped through the cracks. In FF on Monday he made an advent wreath as a craft. They must have been talking about Advent and the calendar and the liturgical year, because he came home, showed Scott his wreath and asked Scott if he knew what part of the calendar we were in. Scott answered "November" and there was no further discussion. Later that night I was asking Ry about Faith Formation and what he learned about Advent and his craft he made. His reply to me was "Well, I made that candle thing for Hanukkah." The child thought he made a Menorah! Something is clearly lacking in his religious education. I should get right on that.

Dirtbike Days

Last Sunday we made our first trek down to the dirt bike track. This is one of Sam's all time favorite activities, and Ryan is starting to get into it as well. I currently have to go with them because Ryan sticks to the tracks, while Sam and Scott take to the trails. I CANNOT WAIT for the day when this becomes a Boys only activity and I get these Sundays all to myself. That is Sam in the top picture and Ryan below.

Operation Christmas Child

In some of our previous posts I have written about how Ryan's teacher likes to promote "giving back" to the community. So far we have done a walk for the homeless and after the holidays his class is going to sell hot chocolate in the mornings at school and give the proceeds to charity. I thought I would help her out by organizing the class to give items to put in the shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. The kids each brought in items and we had enough to put together a box for a boy and a girl. If you go online and make a donation to help with the shipping they will track your box for you and let you know where it ends up and what the kids are like in that region. I think that the kids will enjoy knowing that information. The one hiccup that I came across with this project was how to explain to a group of seven year olds why Santa can't find these kids. I explained that the boxes were given to the Moms and Dads so that they would have a gift to give to their kids since they don't have much money for gifts or many stores where they live (or the Internet, because online shopping did come up!)