Christmas Time Is Here

The sky is downpouring right now. What a nice gift to have some cold weather and rain after so many days and months of hot, dry days. Jared came home early and said it was so cold and rainy all day. He stayed wet because of getting in and out of the ambulance to transport today. Last week, we had a wonderfully fun evening up in Oakglen at the Currier and Ives supper and dance. The picture above does not include the people who had to leave early due to rising early the next morning for work and/or not feeling well. We began the evening with appetizers and carolers dressed in 18th century costumes. A delicious dinner was served, and then we sang some Christmas carols together. After decking the halls with boughs of holly (grown there on the property) and trying the roasted chestnuts, we cleared the floor to dance. It was so much fun! I will post pictures soon. All of you who didn't attend this year, put it on your calendar for the first weekend in December next year! You won't want to miss it!

FINE!!

1. YOUR REAL NAME: Sharon Beth Valencia
2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME:(first 3 letters of real name plus izzle.)Shaizzle
3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color and favorite animal) Pink Dog
4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME : (your middle name and street you live on/or neighborhood if it's a number) Beth Kahwea
5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name)Valsh
6. YOUR SUPERHERO/CRIMINAL NAME: (Your 2nd favorite color, and favorite drink) Turquoise coffee
7. YOUR IRAQI NAME: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, 1st letter of your last name,2nd letter of your moms maiden name , 3rd letter of your dads name, 1st letter of a siblings first name, and last letter of your moms first name) Hlvonpa
8. YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (parents middle names ) Anne Jefferson
9. YOUR GOTH NAME: (black, and the name of one of your pets). Black MK
10. YOUR HOOD NAME :....first 3 of your first name and add -iqua...) Shaiqua

Tagged

Lauren tagged me to list 6 random things about me. Hmmmm........what to write?


1. I've been a fan of Hello Kitty for 27+ years. When Lauren was a toddler, she and I went into a Hallmark Store in Chino and saw a stuffed Hello Kitty. I thought it was adorable, and made the purchase. I still think HK is fabulous and have a few items, however, I don't use or wear too many because for some reason, I struggle with age appropriateness for me.

2. I eat pancakes from the center to the outside. I like the moistness of the middle and the butter is concentrated there. Yum! Pancakes are very filling, so in order to enjoy the very best, I begin at the middle and then I don't mind leaving the outsides untouched.

3. Noise for the sake of noise bothers me. I don't like eating establishments that have TV's blasting, music blaring, and everyone talking loudly to be heard above the TV and music. Whatever happened to a quiet atmosphere where people converse in normal voices?


4. I have a penchant for red shoes. I can't explain why I like them so much, but I do. All of my kids had a pair of red shoes when they were little. I have had various pairs of red shoes and have a couple in my closet now.

5. I never ever thought that God would call me to serve Him in the capacity of standing up in front of people and speaking. But I trust Him and He is faithful to equip me.

6. I aspire to scrapbook the photos that I have acquired over the years. For some reason, I can't seem to make this happen. I bought tons of supplies and sat down to do it, only to be overwhelmed at the task. I discovered digital scrapbooking and really think it's something I could actually accomplish, only my laptop crashed and burned, so I don't have the motivation to try and do it on my 10 year old slow moving desktop.

That was difficult to come up with 6 things! I tag Debbie.

Lies and Half Truths

Putting a nativity in my yard at Christmas is not a statement of hatred toward unbelievers. Displaying an American flag in my front yard is not a statement of hatred toward non- Americans. Putting a "Yes On Prop 8" sign in my front yard is not a statement of hatred toward gays. The sign is my declaration of agreement with the definition of marriage being the union of one man with one woman, just as God designed it. I support this Proposition for a number of reasons and this article from a paper in Vallejo sums it up fairly well:

Proposition 8 - Truth vs. Myth
Article Launched: 10/28/2008 08:33:42 AM PDT

Proposition 8 - Truth vs. Myth
Over the last few weeks, we have seen many letters to the editor, political advertisements and news stories regarding Proposition 8. Unfortunately, many of these seem to be providing accidentally mistaken or deliberately incorrect information. I offer the following as a way to provide correct information:


g Myth: Proposition 8 strips constitutional rights from gay and lesbian couples.


Fact: Proposition 8 does not take away any rights. According to section 297.5 of the California Family Code (look it up) gay and lesbian domestic partners have "the same rights, protections and benefits" as married spouses. Proposition 8 does NOT change this.


n Myth: Gay marriage cannot (or will not) be taught in California schools.


Fact: The California public education code directs that marriage be taught as part of the kindergarten through 12th grade curriculum. Currently, some schools teach it and some schools do not. If Proposition 8 is not passed, schools will be free to teach gay marriage whether or not parents agree. This has already happened in Michigan and, in response to the Michigan example, the California Superintendent of Schools stated "nothing inappropriate will be taught in California schools" (KPIX News story, Oct. 22). Please note the important choice of the word "inappropriate." The superintendent knows, as should we all, that if Proposition 8 is not passed, gay marriage will not be considered "inappropriate" and, as such, will become an eligible topic to be taught to school children under the dictates of the education code.


n Myth: Proposition 8 discriminates against gays and lesbians.


Fact: The sole purpose of Proposition 8 is to prohibit the redefinition of marriage. In fact, the entire proposition is only 14 words long, the SAME 14 words passed by nearly two-thirds of the voters in the state of California in 2000. "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." It is a very simple statement.


n Myth: Marriage as an institution has already failed, so gay marriage won't make any difference.


Fact: Traditional marriage is an ideal worthy of emulation. Sure, there are situations when the ideal is not reached (or able to be maintained), but that does not mean it is something for which we should not try. Children reared in the home by a loving father and mother are provided with the best framework possible for future success and stability. Again, the world is not perfect and, occasionally, this is not possible. It is essential, however, that we as a society always strive for the best things possible and, failing reaching those goals, we make the best of what we have.
There are far more myths out there than I have time to mention in this brief letter. I would encourage anyone considering their position regarding Proposition 8 to research the proposition and what it means. If you agree that four activist judges should not be permitted to thwart the will of the people and that the definition of marriage, marriage between a man and a woman, should be the only marriage recognized in the state of California, I respectfully ask that you join me and many others Nov. 4 in voting "yes" on Proposition 8.
Steven Davis

We must understand that there is a battle in this world between God and his enemy. The enemy is crafty and subtle in spreading his lies. When someone who professes to believe in Christ states that a home where two people of the same sex are raising a child and the child is kind, polite, etc. thus causing this person to consider that it is a valid relationship, it disturbs me. When satan approached Eve and whispered the lie that God had denied access to all the fruit in the garden, it caused her to doubt God. Now, satan is asking "Does God really say that marriage is a man and a woman only?" Christ spent much time with sinners, however, He never embraced or approved of their sin, He forgave it and told them to go and sin no more. He told them to turn from sin and turn to God. If there are marriage failures in the community of believers, the answer is not to try alternatives to marriage, Christians have been sucked into the enemy's lies and need to return to God and live according to His Word. Love is always revealed in Truth. Our society is disintegrating rapidly, and our children, grandchildren and future generations will be swallowed if we do not act to keep principles that are important in place. When four judges have the ability to overturn a vote of the people....it's appalling. My placing a nativity scene on my lawn is a proclamation that God sent a Savior to the world. My placing a flag in my front yard is a proclamation that I live in a free country and people have given their lives for that freedom. My placing a "Yes on Prop 8" sign in my yard is a proclamation that God has designed marriage between a man and a woman to display Christ to the world. Eph. 5:32 " This mystery (a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh.) is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church."

Hot n fun in the Summertime part 2

So we had SOME fun! Here's Jana and Favian on the Sea Doo....Our camp on the lakeshore....Jus' chillin'........Tim gave Sima a Sea Doo ride....Sleeping in after a night interupted by some rain...Joel driving his 30 year old boat, resurrected for this trip...Kate shows us how it's done....We had some fabulous sunsets

Hot n fun in the Summertime

In July, we finally got our first "River" trip in for the summer. We went back to Temple Bar because it is less crowded and we knew we could probably find a beach suitable to camp on. We traveled onto Hoover Dam and traffic stopped as we waited for a couple of river rafts to cross in the opposite direction. Tim was pretty stoked as he has crossed Hoover Dam more than a few times and this was his first opportunity to get out and look over the Dam. Here is what he saw: After driving all day, we pulled into Temple Bar Marina just before sunset. A disappointing scene appeared as the wind gusted through the marina and whipped up the water with lots of white caps. We looked at each other and said "There's no way we're launching boats in this weather!" After scrambling for a few minutes we made a beeline to the office to see if we could rent rooms to sleep in that night. Home Sweet Home! Be it EVER so humble....excitement abounds Sima and Roscoe were down with the Cabin That evening we talked of options. Should we stay and see if the weather would improve? (the forecast was for high winds and thunderstorms over the next few days). Should we go to another area on the River? (the forecast was pretty much the same up and down the river). Should we give it up and go home? No, we're tougher than the weather! So we decided to get some sleep and see what the conditions were in the morning. I called Jana who was driving all night with her friend Favian to meet us, to tell her of our situation. She never gave it a second thought. She said we had been through thunderstorms before and came out fine. We rose the next morning to an absolutely gorgeous day! No wind or thunderstorms! We launched the boats and found a nice cove to set up our camp. For the next four days, we had the most incredible weather and water we've ever had at Mead! Yes it really was this calm and glassy the entire time!

Graduations and Weddings

This summer we were blessed to participate in a number of celebrations. A few of our friends had high school senior graduates. Here are the honored graduates: Derek , oldest son of Ed and Rhonda Zack, youngest of 3 children of Joel and Jill Daniel, oldest son of Andrew and Melanie Kyle, youngest son of Greg and Lori Greg and Lori had another event, their son Christian's wedding to Sarah. Christian and Sarah met through E-Harmony. Another success story :) The ceremony took place in a beautiful church. Christian's Mom sang while Sarah's Mom accompanied her on the piano. We also got to be a part of Katrina and Louis's wedding ceremony. Katrina's grandparents stood up during the ceremony and imparted their wisdom of a long and solid marriage. Alex had the privilege of standing in as Best Man to his good friend Luke in his wedding to Jaclyn. Luke's mom took this picture of Alex and Keegan at the wedding. God has given us so many great friends and we are grateful to be a part of these celebrations.

Birthday Baby Pics

At Keegan's request, and to be consistent, here are the baby pictures for my birthday post: That's Me!

I'm A Birthday Girl

Yesterday was my birthday. Sally, Katie and Lauren took me to breakfast and then we went for pedicures. Here are our Mother/Daughter toes: Lauren and I are red toe nailed in our functional, basic, reef flip flops, whereas Sally and Katie are pink, polka dotted and plaid. We hit the mall next, for some shopping. Later, dinner with the fam, minus Alex (in Panama) and Tim (working). A lovely, fun day!

FOURTEEN!!!!

How can it be true? Doo-wah is now 14 and beginning her high school freshman year this Fall. The day was nice for sitting outside. Her grandpa was able to rearrange his schedule at the church he where he works to attend Katie's party. Cousin Alex came with Keeg in tow And cousin Lauren with cousin Tim The grandmas ooh and aah over the presents WHAT?! Where are the 14 candles conveniently spaced all over the cake to blow out? Shocking and Appalling. Some nice gifts.....gel and lotion.....a funny book about cats fun family reading And now for the baby photos...When I heard Katie had arrived, I jumped in the car and headed to Anaheim to hold her and welcome her Her first trip to Lake Powell One year old Lady Katherine, I wish you a lovely year being 14. Let's go to the river!