Aunt Kari came for 3 days.

Holiday cheer

...having a fun time during these holidays.. Family came and brought loads o toys, etc for the twins... We are now kinda in a series of visits from friends (Brandy and AJ, Kari, Jessica and Jason, Erik, Jamie) and it is so nice to see old friends. To those who are far away who might be reading this... we miss you all. And now that the twins are reaching a more managable age to travel with, we hope to get out more this year to see you. And yes, that includes the Millers and the Keaslers (smile)

Erik and Jessica having a laugh.... he always brings a lot of laughter and joy to our house when he comes.

Brown and Rylee

Jessica and Jason stopped by. Always great to see them!!!!

What Does "Christmas" Mean?

The word "Christmas" occurs nowhere in the Bible. It is an old English word that means "Christ's Mass" which refers to the celebration of the Lord's Supper, i.e. the Mass. The earliest occurrence of the word on record is 1038 A.D. Christians at this time considered the Mass (Lord's Supper) to be the most important part of the celebration of Christ's birth, hence it came to be called Christmas.

See Francis X. Weiser, The Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs (New York: Harcourt, Brace, and Company, 1958) and Clement A. Miles, Christmas (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1912).

Quote of the day

Let There Be Peace on Earth and let it begin with me.
Let There Be Peace on Earth, the peace that was meant to be!
With God as our Father, brothers all are we.
Let me walk with my brother in perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me. Let this be the moment now.
With ev'ry breath I take, let this be my solemn vow;
To take each moment and live each moment in peace eternally!
Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me!

Written by Sy Miller and Bill Jackson

An Embarrasment of Riches

it was an embarrasment of riches...but yet it wasnt embarrasing, or extremely rich. But it was thought provoking to me. The twins celebrated their birthday with a party on Saturday with one of their playmates from daycare, and 3 other kids. They got so much stuff, part from what they got from Jessica and me. Got got stuff from the grandparents, from Aunt Ellen, friends, etc....and it made me realize that they really have gotten more stuff in their lifetime than I EVER got. Period. And I was wondering if it is a good thing? And I think it is.... i guess I want my children to be better off than I was, although I was in a good position growing up. And I hope that my grandchildren will be better off than my children.

Jessica got a fire bowl from a couple of generous friends.... we sat outside until 1:30am last night around the Port-A-Bonfire...kinda was wondering last night if it shouldnt make it warmer around the old campfire, so to speak. Upon further thought this morning, I realized that since it was ...like....10 degrees!!!!!!!! outside last night, i think the fire was working overtime to counteract the extreme cold. It will probably fare better in the future when it isnt as severely cold. But it is cool...a ready made bonfire that we can place anywhere (within reason)

I have got to get our xmas cards out this week...been slack the past week.

Happy Birthday to Rylee and Ian

Happy Birthday to Rylee. Happy Birthday to Ian. Hard to believe that at 12:24 and 12:28 today, they were born 3 years ago. I say that because it seems like they have been here longer than that... and I can hardly remember a time without them in my life now. Oh sure, i CAN remember times when I didnt have to factor them into my life, but I think that times are far better now with them, than without. So now we delve into the world of 3T (well, Ian mostly, and some for Rylee), look forward to officially ending potty training and start pondering things like Dance lessons and piano.

not..a good night

last night, on my way home Jessica called me to tell that she was sick and that she thought Rylee and her had caught something Ian had had over the weekend. She said she was throwing up, etc.... I was feeling just fine, so I thought that I had not been affected. Well, once I arrived home, I almost immediately started to feel queasy, but soldiered on anyway, putting the kids in bath, then to bed, albeit early. Well, as soon as I go tthe kids in bed, it hit me. I started to have to throw up every 45 minutes or so.... It was not good. It sucks to throw up, then have to deal with perhaps having problems at the other end, as well. I ended up staying up most the night between spells, until I finally drifted off the sleep around 4am. By that time, both Rylee ans Ian had meandered into our bedroom, and we had all four of us in our king size bed. I had weird dreams once I got to sleep about Dale Ernhardt and perhps a small part of DNA being needed for some reason...I always have whacked dreams when I am sick...and I do not remember ANY dreams when I am well. oh, and by the way, Ellen called around 10pm asking us if we were sick, as she was sick too... well, once morning arrived, Ian and Rylee seemed to be doing better, and I think Jessica was better, but I am still pretty queasy and am sitting here at work tryin to make it through the day. I might try to leave early around noon and go home and try to sleep till Jessica and the twins get home.

So the jury gave that guy out west the death penalty...kept saying something about him not showing any remorse, etc.... excuse me, but....if you are claiming that yu are innocent, why would you show remorse. Now dont get me wrong..I think he's guilty, but I dont think his not showing emotion would have been a factor in my decision....

Wow..time flies

I didnt realize that I had not posted anything since wednesday... got my stuff for Jessica wrapped this weekend, got birthday stuff for Rylee and Ian wrapped... bought myself a little Compact flash reader to use on the computer at home so I can download pictures from there... but I will probably not post anything until the twins birthday later this week.

Braves making moves at the wintermeetings...looking like they are going to try to contend and rebuild at the same time...tis good....

Rylee refuses to go to bed last night...then comes into our bedroom and crawls into bed at somepoint, hten is all sprawled out and chilled out this morning. For some reason, she was reluctant to get up...got all upset and stuff... keep trying to tell them that they would be better served to go to bed when we tell them to...sigh...kids...tsk, tsk...

What do they say to each other?

While driving the twins to daycare this morning, I was struck as to how much Rylee and Ian talk to each other. And how much of it I do not understand still, despite the fact that they obviously understand each other. Oh, i can understand some sentences...about 60 percent of it. But there are times one will say something to the other, I havent a clue what was said, but the other will acknowledge, understand, and reply. What strikes me is that there will come a time in the future when they will be separated ( it is usual policy to separate twins in school )... and I ponder what will they think then? They have hardly spent a total of a day apart from each other for their entire lives so far. Can you imagine? Even though I am married to my wife, there have been times when we havent seen each other for a couple of days. Ian and Rylee have hardly gone a few minutes...ever in their 3 years, 9 months of existence...without being within shouting distance of each other.

...but what is equally interesting and amusing is to what them when one is upset about something, or especially when one is being scolded. For example, if Ian is upset or being scolded for not doing something right, Rylee will quietly chid Ian saying something like "Ian dont do that!" or kinda giggle at Ian...and you can clearly see the frustration on Ian's face as he whacks Rylee upside the head...in a "I may be getting yelled at, but you sure as hell aint going to make fun of me while it happening" sort of response. Of course, this causes Rylee to start bitching that Ian hit her, and I have to scold both of them, all the while knowing that Rylee had it coming to her..... of course, it happens the reverse way too....

Actualli, we went to the Greenville Zoo with Lynns kids on Saturday. Rylee was not a trooper, but she did liven up on Sunday.

Ian, in his usual pose.

another day, another dollar....

I have been tryin to get my 60 gig external harddrive to be recognized by my laptop. for some reason, it doesnt want to behave. Kinda sucks because that is where most of my downloaded pictures are, and I have one I need to print out and frame. But I still have time....

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"It is better by noble boldness to run the risk of being subject to half the evils we anticipate than to remain in cowardly listlessness for fear of what might happen." - Herodotus

FACT OF THE DAY
Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:
Spades - King David
Clubs - Alexander the Great
Hearts - Charlemagne
Diamonds - Julius Caesar

why is it?

Why is it that your kids will ALWAYS wake up at 7:30am on Saturday and Sunday, despite your wishing that they would sleep til at least 9:00am....running into your bedroom, crawling on the bed, and using it as a trampoline...???.... of course these same two kids cannot get up by 7:00am Monday through Friday without major fussing, crying, whining and arguing about "Can't Wanna!"

So, Barry Bonds says he didnt know they were steriods he was taking.... heh, heh...this is the same, notorious control freak who doesnt let anybody or anything control his daily life. Are you telling me that he would just use that stuff, and when he suddenly bulked up and started crushing balls out of the park at the age of 37, wouldnt suspect that something was up?...please....

ah...weekends here.

Its Friday! Going to see SpongeBob this evening with the twins. Not sure how they will react in that type of environment. But I am sure it will be fine for a while, at least. Then going to the Furman/JMU game on Saturday.... will take camera and snap off a few shots...

Ellen, Wes and Jessica...moments before I slipped and crashed into the creek....

Rylee as a Squaw (with runny nose)

We, Rylee and Ian watching Shrek 2

Ian and Papa on creek rock

Rylee and Ian waving from the creek

man...

...just getting into blogger has been problematic today...Ive tried to upload picture a couple of times.... but i will keep tryin...