"Xmas"

So, I have been the "Xmas" police for years now. I am not afraid to scold anyone for "taking Christ out of Christmas". I thanked a friend for NOT taking Christ out of Christmas in her Facebook post today and it started an interesting conversation. One of the people pointed me toward an article on the origin of "Xmas" that helped me understand it better. So I thought I would share.
p.s. I know I have been doing a lot of non-personal blogging lately. I'll try to get caught up with my pics ASAP.

http://www.thehistoryofchristmas.com/trivia/xmas.htm
Xmas is an abbreviation for Christmas. It is derived from the word ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ, transliterated as Christos, which is Greek for Christ. Greek is the language in which the whole New Testament was written.
Originally, Xmas was an abbreviation where the X represents the Greek letter chi, which is the first letter of Christ's name. However, because of the modern interpretations of the letter X, many people are unaware of this and assume that this abbreviation is meant to drop Christ from Christmas.

Also, here is a relevant excerpt from Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xmas
"Xmas" is frowned upon in modern guides for writing styles. Style guides at the New York Times,[2] The Times, The Guardian and the BBC all rule out its use, where possible.[3] Millicent Fenwick, in the 1948 Vogue's Book of Etiquette states that "'Xmas' should never be used" in greeting cards.[4]
The Cambridge Guide to Australian English Usage states that the spelling should be considered informal and restricted to contexts where concision is valued, such as headlines and greeting cards.[5]
The Christian Writer's Manual of Style, while acknowledging the ancient and respectful use of "Xmas" in the past, states that the spelling should never be used in formal writing.[6]

So I suppose I should stop telling people not to use it in forums like Facebook and Twitter. LOL!

Happy Thanksgiving!

A young man named John received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of the bird's mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity. John tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could think of to "clean up" the bird's vocabulary.

Finally, John was fed up and he yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. John shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even ruder, John, in desperation threw up his hands, grabbed the bird and put him in the freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed. Then suddenly there was total quiet. Not a peep was heard for over a minute. Fearing that he'd hurt the parrot, John quickly opened the door to the freezer. The parrot calmly stepped out onto John's outstretched arms and said......"I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I'm sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior."

John was stunned at the change in the bird's attitude. As he was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior the bird continued, "May I ask what the turkey did?"

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Will's mom read this poem to us at the first Christmas after Will's dad passed. I just dug it up to give to a grieving friend and thought there might be others who would benefit from it. Merry Christmas ALL!

My First Christmas In Heaven

I see the countless Christmas trees
around the world below
With tiny lights, like Heaven's stars,
reflecting on the snow

The sight is so spectacular,
please wipe away the tear
For I am spending Christmas
with Jesus Christ this year

I hear the many Christmas songs
that people hold so dear
But the sounds of music can't compare with
the Christmas choir up here

I have no words to tell you,
the joy their voices bring
For it is beyond description,
to hear the angels sing

I know how much you miss me
You know I hold you dear
And be glad I'm spending Christmas
with Jesus Christ this year

I sent you each a special gift
From my heavenly home above
I sent you each a memory of my undying love

After all, love is a gift
more precious than pure gold
It was always most important
in the stories Jesus told

Please love and keep each other
As my Father said to do
For I can't count the blessing or love
he has for each of you

So have a Merry Christmas
And wipe away that tear:
Remember, I am spending Christmas
with Jesus Christ this year.

Sack Lunches

Sack Lunches

I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight.. 'I'm glad I have a good book to read; perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought.

Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation.

'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me. 'Petawawa. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed to Afghanistan.

After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we reached the east, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time..

As I reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to base. His friend agreed.

I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.'

She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. 'My son was a soldier in Iraq, it's almost like you are doing it for him..'

Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, 'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?' 'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked.

She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class. This is your thanks.

After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room. A man stopped me. 'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars.

Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand, and said, 'I want to shake your hand.' Quickly unfastening my seat-belt I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.'

I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers. Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who looked 20 was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.

When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to depart. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars!

Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich. God Bless You.'

Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers. As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals. It seemed so little...

A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America ' for an amount of up to and including my life.' That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.'

That's my girl

Yesterday, Tatum was playing with this little animal puzzle that Roxelle got for her birthday and she kept insisting that the hamster piece is called a "Lommster". I tried to tell her otherwise, but she would not hear it.
This morning after we dropped the girls off at school, she said she wanted to watch "Scooby, Scooby Doo" and that she can't find it. I knew it was in the car so I started handing her all the DVD's from the car. The first one I handed her was "Barbie in the Nutcracker" and when she looked at it she exclaimed "OOO! It's the 'Buttcracker' one, Mommy!" I asked "It's what?" "Buttcracker", she said like DUH MOM!
She is killing me with her mixed up words and phrases. I can remember doing that as a little kid. (ok, Jolene. I know I still do it. LOL!! "Beth hairs" ha ha ha!!) That's my girl!