2008 Celebration

Good-Bye 2007

Here we go again....putting 'to bed' another year!

REFLECTION is a good thing....that's what I'm doing at the moment BUT only for a moment!

2007 gave our family .....two marriages.....one baby, Kason O'Neill, many a 'marital' spat and 'fun' make-ups, trips galore, good health, new friends and.....

....L O V E!

Life is NOT perfect ....BUT.....Love IS!

Leaning back, smiling to myself, I can only say, "Life is Good"!

The NEW YEAR is going to be G R E A T!My Prayer:

Dear Lord, continue to shine your Light in my Life and the Life of my Family and Friends and give us the strength we need to face whatever comes our way.

We look forward to tomorrow, and all the blessings it will bring.

Thank you for life, for love, and for being....our wonderful God....

Enjoying 'Winter' Florida Living with Sam & Sally

Visiting Chad was a 'fun' event....

Showing Sally the Don CeSar and all its history....

Merry Christmas from All of us...to YOU!

Merry Christmas Eve from Florida

This note if for all of you dear family and friends that have sent

me e-cards for Christmas...thank you so much for reaching out

in this electronic way to say 'Merry Christmas' ....I have received

greetings from many places and I want to say 'May you have a

very BLESSED Christmas where ever you are.....

Yes, Jesus IS the Reason for the season....of LOVE!

Prayer Girls Christmas Celebration....pictures by: Abby

Abby, Nancy and I have been a prayer group for years...
Others have come and gone but the three of us always pray
with and for each others families, friends and many others
as well....
Christmas is a time of 'Jesus Family Love' celebration for us
as a prayer group....
This note from Abby says it best.... "WE ARE A SMALL PRAYER GROUP BUT WE SURE HAVE THE BEST AND FASTEST INTERNET CONNECTION WITH THE GREAT MASTER PLANNER, WEB DESIGNER OR HOW WE USUALLY CALL HIM, "LORD".
WE SPEND 2 HOURS TOGETHER AND IT SEEMS LIKE 15 MIN. NOT LONG ENOUGH."

Joshua, my 'enthusiastic' teacher .....again!

Joshua with his 'Gator' tattoo from Neena....
When an individual really is enthusiastic, you can see it in the flash of their eyes, in their alert and vibrant personality.
You can see it in the spring of their step. You can see it in the verve of their whole being..

Enthusiasm makes the difference in our attitude toward other people, toward the world.

It makes a great big difference in the zest and delight of human existence.

Do you have enthusiasm today?

Or have you grown......dull?

Lackadaisical?

Indifferent?

Has the Z E S T gone out of you?.

Enthusiasm lifts living out of the depths and makes it.....mean something!

Rx for getting your enthusiastic attitude back....

.....Watch a child at Christmas, talk to a young child on the phone, listen to a conversation between a child and its mother while waiting in a line to see Santa....

Just now at this moment in time our 6yr. old Joshua called me on the phone while his Mom is traveling to work before dropping him off at school....

The conversation went something like this, 'Hey, MaMa, do you know what a shooting star is?'

"Yes, Joshua and isn't it beautiful!"......"But, MaMa, a falling star 'actually' (his favorite word) has nothing to do with a star!"

"Joshua, what is it then?"

"MaMa, it is really a meteor and it is filled with dust and rocks and things like that

but it burns out before it falls to the earth and it leaves trails of light which just

look like a star to us...Isn't that great, MaMa?"

'Uh, yea, Joshua dear, now YOU are the teacher.....your enthusiasm is....contagious...

Gimmme some of that!'

Joshua is.....our STAR student ...and teacher....this Christmas...or he is for me anyway....who is your 'child teacher'?

Sharing Christmas with Relatives....Merry Christmas Liz....

Santa's Sleigh was left 'unattended' so I did my Christmas
snooping early....

Liz, Charlie and I had a very intimate lunch together...
this means that... our knees touched 'under the table'...
We laughed, reminised and shared L O V E...

Liz and Charlie enjoy each other in front of
Liz's special window...

Christmas in the lobby of Liz's 'Resort Living'....

A visit to 'Santa' at International Mall...

Melissa Jo and Lil Chuck ready for a special child
wonderland kind of Christmas...

He told Santa that he wanted a 'real boat and a real truck'...
wonder where he gets such ideas?

Lil Turkey doing some shopping for himself at
The Children's Place....he actually picked out pants
and shoes that he liked....

He chose this hat...then wanted to wear it backward...

Pops enjoyed 'his boy' tremendously...enough to stand in
line with him for 2 hours to see Santa....

Mommy gets a 'thank you' hug for a special day....

Happy 24th Birthday Brittney!

Today is my 'Joy Child's' Birthday.....
We celebrate your 'being borned' dear Britt.
All the family loves you very much...
May God bless you in 2008 to be your BEST Year yet!

The CLOCK is....T I C K I N G

It is almost time for the PARTY!.......Jesus's BIRTHday Party....

Everyboy knows that our family loooovvvveeesss birthday's and the crazy ways we celebrate them.

Why should Jesus's birthday be any different?

He is a member of our family on a daily basis therefore it is only natural that we have a BIG party on HIS birthday...

We begin our party with a lighting of the Christ Candle to signify his 'being born' ....We then have our 'family prayers' of thanking Him for all our many blessings of life and then we all sing..."Joy To The World' together....some of the family singers are so 'off-key' that we usually end up laughing and making fun of each other....

It is then and then only that we begin....The Party!

In addition to giving each other gifts, eating food galore, having the 'birthday cake for Jesus, someone is always in charge of a 'fun game'.....and the prize given for this game is always....BIG!

This is where a great deal of 'bartering' comes in....and 'No, Carla, there will not be another DVD player to win this year!"

The Clock IS Ticking.....

The time is near.....

Merry 'Family Love' Christmas

To YOU...and ALL those you hold Dear!

Giving at....CHRISTmas.....don't we all?

This is the season of giving....charities abound and we all have our favorites....shopping with Cindy, Marina and Lynn the day after Thanksgiving, I was amazed as Cindy did her first buying for two pre-teens she had 'adopted' for the Christmas giving program....
Marina, a very knowledgeable and contemporary young lady of 'almost 13' helped Cindy as she had a 'wish list' to go by and they chose a beautiful bed spread set which included sheets, shams etc., not a cheap one by any means....but they disagreed over a matching 'throw pillow' as accent....
Cindy respected Marina's decision and it was fun to see their working relationship in a 'great' cause for someone else's needs.....and happiness.


Below is a note that I, and others, received from our daughter, Lynn, in regard to the St. Pete Dream Center which we did an outreach for in Sept....
Note***go to my Sept. 22, 2007 posting to see this Dream Center at work in the community....
Dear Giving Hearts,

This is one of the outreaches that Eden's Passion has contributed to in the past. They are in great need for Christmas assistance for some well needed families.
I ask those of you who can to contribute to this cause. If you were going to donate to a charity during the holidays this one is awesome.
You can contribute directly to Sharon Gonzalez the case worker or email me, or call me. I will be glad to take any donation to them for you. I pray God touches your heart to give.

Love you guys-
Michelle Lynn Santiago

drtdrm4him@yahoo.com

Here is the caseworker, Sharon Gonzalez's, note to Lynn about the need....

"The reason why I am sending you this e-mail is that we will be having a Christmas outreach in which we will be giving food baskets to 135 families that have signed up for assistance.

Within those families there are a total of 290 children that are in need of Christmas presents. There are so many children that we are currently short in the present dept. I am praying that maybe you will be able to help or know others that are wanting to put a smile on a child's face this Christmas by helping to provide gifts for the children. I am confident that God will not allow 1 child to go without receiving something. Any assistance that you may be able to provide would be a blessing. Even if you cannot assist in giving presents maybe you know someone who can.

I would also like you to please join me in prayer that God will open up the floodgates and the presents for the children will come pouring in.

Thanks,

Sharon....
This is info on the 'Dream Center'

St. Petersburg Dream Center You could pass by it a dozen times and never know it was there. But this little building nestled in a quiet Lealman Community strives to do great things.

The St. Petersburg Dream Center works daily to bring hope to the hopeless.

Director Sam Infanzon began this mission with a small blue mini van and a driving passion to reach out to people in need. In November of 2005 the Dream Center was blessed with a new location at 4359- 35th St. N. allowing them to expand the existing services offered that include Employment, Housing, Food, Clothing, Education, Food Stamps and other services such as disaster relief. In 2007 they added the re-entry program assisting ex-offenders in their return to self-sufficiency. The Center counts on community donations to keep its programs running. Currently the needs are for food, blankets, and volunteers. Financial donations are always appreciated and needed.
4359- 35th St. N. St. Petersburg, Florida

(727) 520-1909

St. Pete Beach Boat Parade as seen from Chad's balcony....

from ...F L O R I D A !




Dazzling sunset over the beach....

Lil Chuck doing what he loves best....

If you are really thankful, what do you do??? You share. by: W. Clement Stone

Who is W. Clement Stone?

Stone was noted for his striking appearance, with his pencil-thin black mustache, vibrant suspenders, polka-dot bow ties and spats, as well as his charitable endeavors of over $275 million to mental health and Christian organizations.

He was also a gifted inspirational speaker, and would shout "Bingo!" at board meetings if attention lapsed.

Overall, Mr. Stone's most often used quote was "All I want to do is change the world."
He celebrated his 100th birthday in May 2002 with a gift of $100,000 to the University of Illinois at Chicago. In 1980 he received recognition for his philanthropic endeavors in founding the W. Clement and Jessie V. Stone Foundation.

He was also the founder of Religious Heritage of America, a non-profit organization which was influential in getting the phrase, "one nation, under God", added to the US Pledge of Allegiance.
He was inducted into the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans.

Happy Birthday Mrs. Ashley Perry

Ashley, we celebrate your life
You are 'great' as a new wife,
You are fun, you are smart
And you have a loving heart
So celebrate we do....
Because God gave our family...YOU!

Happy Birthday, dear one
From: Your 'crazy, zany, family

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Birthday Presents???

...O.K. they say it is not 'politically correct' to use the term 'Christmas'...like 'Merry Christmas'...or now even....Christmas tree...it is a 'holiday tree'.....

How crazy can you be and still......'talk on TV'?

Lest we forget....we are celebrating a birthday.....the BIRTH of Jesus Christ....and everybody all over the world is acknowledging the FACT that this man was born, lived and died on planet earth!

Do you know how we ALL are...as a human race, confirming this fact....daily?Simply by using the year, 2007...2008....in all of our daily accounting of life by these numbers...

What does it mean to say 2007....two thousand and seven years of what event in life which started this number series?

DO YOU KNOW? Think about it.....we, WORLD WIDE, acknowledge HIS death in using numerical symbols in reference to it....therefore it stands to reason that his birth, too, is a fact of life on planet earth....That is why we can say simply....."Happy Birthday, Jesus!"

Merry Christmas to all of you as you send out your Christmas cards, as you put up your Christmas tree this Christmas season and may we always remember and celebrate.....

Jesus IS ....THE....REASON ....for the CHRISTmas......Season!

Merry "Jesus Love" Christmas!

Keep On Dancin'

Keep On Dancin’

One of my today’s inspirational readings is a perfect summary
of my “It’s A "Good Life" philosophy...
It is written by Tim Hansel who is a speaker and author...Tim wrote this:
“One of the rarest species on the face of the earth may soon become extinct .....those few human beings who truly know how to enjoy life....
They glorify God not only with their words but even more with their lives.
They enjoy God FOR WHO HE IS, not just for what He can do for them.
To them, each day holds its own reward.
They know that each twenty-four hours is a once-in-a-lifetime privilege and that happiness is a by-product of quality living.
Their lives are lived according to their priorities, in spite of the consequences. They have cracked through the thin crust we call civilization to find the supernatural substance upon which all life rests...."

Matthew 6:34...”So don’t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time