Thank You to All My Cyber Friends…..

 

I totally borrowed this from my dear friend Jaydee at http://lifeinthelostworld.blogspot.com/.   Blogging has enriched my life in so many ways, friends and relatives near and far being right at the top of the list.   Enjoy Jaydee’s post and I so hope that like she has suggested…. if I can only do 5 of the things on the list….I will be much better off in 2011.

out with the old and in with the new....

Dr. Frank Lipman has an awesome list of 22 new year's

resolutions on his blog:

• More Real Food, Less ”Food-like Substances”
• More Fruit and Vegetables, Less Sugar, Gluten and Dairy
• More Organic, Less Chemicals
• More Clean Products, Less Toxic Products
• More Chewing, Less Eating
• More Water, Less Alcohol
• More Walking, Less Driving
• More Exercising, Less Watching TV
• More Music, Less Noise
• More Recycling, Less Waste
• More Outdoors, Less Indoors
• More Sleep, Less Worry
• More Slow, Less Hurry
• More Smiles, Less Anger
• More Love, Less Hatred
• More Fun, Less Serious
• More Letting Go, Less Holding On
• More Being, Less Doing
• More Presence, Less Absence
• More Generosity, Less Greed
• More Forgiving, Less Blaming
• More Ubuntu, Less Me!

As Archbishop Desmond Tutu says:

“Ubuntu is about the essence of being human, it is part of the gift that Africa

will give the world. It embraces hospitality, caring about others,

being able to go the extra mile for the sake of others. We believe that

a person is a person through another person, that my humanity is caught up,

bound up, inextricably, with yours. When I dehumanize you, I inexorably

dehumanize myself. The solitary human being is a contradiction in terms

and therefore you seek to work for the common good because your humanity

comes into its own in belonging”.

Let 2011 be the year of UBUNTU

One Drink, One Village...One Very Special Birthday!

What are you doing New Year's ~ New Year's Eve.....36 years ago I spent the night in Payson Hospital having my first born. He will be celebrating the New Year by donating his birthday to a Village like you just watched in this video. I'm oh so proud that he has such a big heart!

You can be a part of this project if you would like by visiting

http://mycharitywater.org/p/campaign/?campaign_id=8591

just click on the link and follow your heart.....

Little Man has Discovered His Tongue!

Basket Day….or Boxing Day

“In this corner weighing in at 17 lbs….is Kendry”   Okay so I know Boxing Day is not a boxing match and we didn’t really Box Kendry up this morning….we just plotted him in a basket.   Isn’t he just adorable! 

When I was first introduced to Boxing Day….30 years ago….I didn’t have the foggiest of ideas what it was, actually I had never hear of it! My first thought was, “Oh…they just box up all the Christmas decorations and put it away???”

Well, after a little research on the topic, I unearthed quite a bit of interesting….although not completely consistent…. information about the origins and meaning of Boxing Day, which occurs on the day after Christmas.

One source states that Boxing Day started in England in the Middle Ages and that the holiday was created because servants were required to work on Christmas but had the following day off….(no day off at this household)…..and I thought I was the resident servant!  Anyway, as they prepared to return to their families, their employers would present them with gifts and I assume they put them in boxes!

Another website states that Boxing Day is when people give gifts, bonuses, donations or items to others, often those less fortunate. For centuries, a Christmas box was an earthenware box, introduced by the Romans, used to collect donations, either as tips at a business or as donations for the poor. These "boxes" were smashed the day after Christmas and the funds were distributed, hence the name Boxing Day.

And from Wikipedia……

Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December and is observed in Australia, Austria, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and in some Commonwealth nations that have a mainly Christian population. In South Africa, the public holiday 26 December is called Day of Goodwill, in Ireland St Stephen's Day or Lá an Dreoilín, and in continental European countries the "Second Christmas Day."

Though not an official holiday in the United States, some Americans use the term "Boxing Day," particularly those who live near the Canada – United States border. In Canada, Boxing Day is listed in the Canada Labour Code as an optional holiday. Only the province of Ontario has made it a statutory holiday where all workers receive time off with pay.

No matter the historic origins, or the more recent incarnations, it seems like what's most important is a spirit of charity shared by all.

So ………….Happy Boxing (basket) Day to everyone around the world!   

Merry Christmas 2010

Bell Still Rings

At one time most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed, it fell silent for all of them.  Even Sarah found one

Christmas that she could no longer hear its sweet sound.  Though I’ve grown old, the bell still rings for me as it does for all

who truly believe.

Gingerbread House

What is Christmas?

Toy Land

How Many Shopping Days?

While Visions of Sugar Plums Dance in Their Heads

Christmas Melody

Wishing You a Merry Christmas Throughout the Year

Santa and His Little Elves

Well, it’s that time of year again.  You know the time where you force your child to sit in a strangers lap so that you can get that coveted Christmas picture!  This is Kendry’s first Santa Lap.  He did an amazing job of not smiling….and not crying….after all it is not every day that he sees an overweight man in a red suit with his face obscured by white curls. Another treasure for the memory book.   And yes Santa….I’ve been a very good grandma this year.   So I’ll be expecting my share of the loot come Christmas morning!  My kind of loot is lots of hugs and kisses from the cutest grandkids in the world!

May Your Christmas Story Be Filled with Joy, Peace, and Love

Calories Don’t Count During the Holidays

Breakfast with the Poinsettia

This morning we read a charming story of Pepita, a poor Mexican girl who had no gift to present the Christ Child at Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita walked slowly to the chapel with her cousin Pedro, her heart was filled with sadness rather than joy.

"I am sure, Pepita, that even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes," said Pedro consolingly.

Not knowing what else to do, Pepita knelt by the roadside and gathered a handful of common weeds, fashioning them into a small bouquet. Looking at the scraggly bunch of weeds, she felt more saddened and embarrassed than ever by the humbleness of her offering. She fought back a tear as she entered the small village chapel.

As she approached the altar, she remembered Pedro's kind words: "Even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes." She felt her spirit lift as she knelt to lay the bouquet at the foot of the nativity scene.

Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into blooms of brilliant red, and all who saw them were certain that they had witnessed a Christmas miracle right before their eyes.

From that day on, the bright red flowers were known as the Flores de Noche Buena, or Flowers of the Holy Night, for they bloomed each year during the Christmas season.

Our Little Elf…in training….or sleeping?

Frosty Friends

6 Months Old

Today Kendry turns 6 months old. Where has the time gone? How has half a year passed already since we first laid eyes on one another? We celebrate your first six months Kendry with joyful hearts. We celebrate our first half year with grateful prayers. We thank our Heavenly Father daily for our new found courage, fierceness, dedication, and our ability to love all we've been given more than we ever imagined.
With the Christmas season upon us we have so much to be thankful for, but nothing tops the joy and love we have for our little man. We could not be happier, it is truly a dream come true.

Festival of Trees

We enjoyed the Festival of Trees in Salt Lake City this year. Festival of Tress was started 40 years ago as a fundraiser for Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City. People donate large decorated trees with matching paraphernalia, small decorated trees, wreaths, centerpieces, quilts, gingerbread houses, and sweets. Most items are auctioned off at a fancy gala the night before the Festival opens. Anything not bought at the auction is available for the public to purchase. We didn't buy a tree, but we sure had a lot of fun strolling through the isles and seeing all the amazing work that goes into the decorations

A Winter Hat

Great Grandma Buffo loves to make hats for all the kids....look how beautiful our little man is in his winter hat. Thank you Grandma. Kendry loves wearing the hat, never gives us even a minutes trouble getting it on and keeping it there!

A Conversation with Grandpa

Kendry is such a good conversationalist this seemed like a perfect way to start the season. Here he is having a good old boy's chat with Grandpa. Grandpa has been under the weather for several days....so sitting next to Kendry is just about as relaxing as it can get for him.