I appreciate all who serve to protect our freedom.  There are so many heroes out there. Including my dad.  He was in the Navy in WWII.  He saved everyone on his ship when he had to shoot down a Kamikazi that was aiming for his ship. I and so many other's would not be here if it wasn't for my dad's brave actions.

I have seen it done in the the old war movies, but knowing my dad had to do it, put's it in a different perspective.

God Bless All The Troops and Veteran's.

I recently lost my Dad as many of you know, plus I lost my Mom and two sister's a while back.  At this time of year I do miss them so very much. This poem helped me feel better. Thank you my friend's.  If you lost a loved one in your life, please read this poem. When I read it, I could almost hear their voices in my heart.

CHRISTMAS IN HEAVEN

Well this was a busy, but fun weekend. As I mentioned before I had 2 of our grandkis for the weekend.  It was my daughter Amanda and her husband Henry's first anniversary.  They went to Dallas to a Midevil times restaurant.  There was a jousting show included. They had a ball.

My sister Tammy had a birthday on the 7th. As did my dog Comet, he turned 13 years old.

My niece Nicole turned 29 on the 6th.  She say's it's 29 and holding!!!!

My niece Michelle turns 31 today.

My Aunt Audrey's birthday is the 13th.

My daughter in law, Sara turns 30 on the 18th as well as her twin sister Wendy.

Happy birthday to all and Happy Anniversary to Amanda and Henry........

 So here are some songs for them.........

We drove all around town looking at all the light's. We also drove through a live Nativity at a church. they gave us Hot Chocolate and the kids got a peppermint candycane. It was another special memory maker. At the beginning of it they had a tunnel of lights we drover under with fake snow blowing on us. It was lovely. Then we drove through a town of Jesus times. The had real donkeys and sheep. They had A manger with Mary Joseph and a real baby for the part of Jesus. Right before that there was an angel way up high pointing the way to the Manger. It was lovely and very moving. At the end they even had about 8 people ringing bells to the sound of Christmas tunes. We all had a great time.

Merry Christmas to you all!!! Love ya, Lynda

I am so happy.  I watched them as a child and so did my kids.  I plan on taking my grandkids to see this show.  I can't wait!!!!

The Miracle Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Courtesy of MeaningfulLife.com

What is Chanukah? ... When the royal Hasmonean family overpowered and was victorious over [the Greeks], they searched and found only a single cruse of pure oil... enough to light the menorah for a single day. A miracle occurred, and they lit the menorah with this oil for eight days. On the following year, they established these [eight days] as days of festivity and praise and thanksgiving to G-d. Talmud, Shabbat 21b Many miracles, great and small, accompanied the liberation of Israel from Hellenic dominance and the reclaiming of the Holy Temple as the lighthouse of G-d. But there is one particular miracle, the Talmud is saying, that is the sum and substance of Chanukah: the miracle of the small cruse of pure oil that burned for eight days. The challenge faced by the Jewish people at that time was unlike any that had confronted them before. Hellenism, a noxious blend of hedonism and philosophy, could not be resisted by the conventional tools of Jewish learning and tradition. Only the cruse of pure oil-the supra-rational, supra-egotistical essence of the Jewish soul, from which stems the Jews intrinsic self-sacrificial loyalty to G-d could illuminate the way out of the mudswamps of Hella. Only by evoking this inner reserve of incontaminable oil were we able to banish the pagan invader from G-d's home and rekindle the torch of Israel as a light unto the nations. But this was oil sufficient for only a single day. By nature, man's highest powers flare brightly and fleetingly, soon receding to the supra-conscious, supra-behavioral place from which they have come. When a person's deepest self is challenged, the essential oil of his soul is stimulated, and no force on earth can still its flame; but then the moment passes, the cataclysmic levels off into the routine, and the person is left with his ordinary, mortal self. The miracle of Chanukah was that they lit the menorah with this oil for eight days--that the flame of selfless sacrifice blazed beyond a moment of truth, beyond a day of reckoning. That the small pure cruse of oil burned beyond its one-day lifespan for an additional week, illuminating the seven chambers of the soul (Kabbalistic teaching enumerates seven middot or basic character traits--love, restraint, harmony, ambition, devotion, bonding and receptiveness--from which stem all feelings and motivations of the heart). This was no mere flash of light in a sea of darkness, but a flame destined to shed purity and light for all generations, under all conditions. Thus the Talmud relates that it was only on the following year that these eight days were established as the festival of Chanukah. A year is a microcosm of time, embodying all of times seasons and transmutations. So it was only on the following year, after it had weathered all fluctuations of the annual cycle, that the victory of Chanukah could be installed as a permanent fixture in our lives.

Hanukkah Celebration Begins At Sunset

PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) ?

Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights begins at sundown tonight.

For the next eight days and nights of Hanukkah, Jews around the world are celebrating the re-dedication of the holy temple in Jerusalem in 165 B.C. 

When the Jews returned to their temple they wanted to celebrate, but only found enough oil to light the menorah for one day.

Amazingly, the oil lasted for eight days.

Fast Facts About Hanukkah:

• Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, is not considered a major holiday because it is not found in the first five books of Moses.
• It recounts the first war for religious freedom ever recorded.
• In the years before Jesus, the Greeks would not allow the Jewish people to worship in their temple in Jerusalem.
• The Jewish people were faced with the decision of whether to go along with the new regime or fight.
• Jewish fighters banded together, led by Judah Maccabee, and defeated the Greeks.
• After the Greeks cleared out, the Jewish people had to re-dedicate temple alters and lamps.
• A problem arose when there was only a small amount of oil left that was used to light the temple at night.  It was suppose to last for only one day and by a miracle it lasted for eight.  This allowed time to purify and re-dedicate the temple.
• Hanukkah celebrates the Jewish re-dedication of the temple in Jerusalem for Jewish worship and signifies how long the sacred oil burned in the temple.
• Hanukkah begins in the evening on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev.
• All Jewish holidays start in the evening because there was evening before there was morning on the day of Genesis.
• Hanukkah takes place over eight successive days and nights.

The Menorah:

• The menorah is one of the oldest symbols in Judaism, but the Hanukkah menorah has its own unique feature in Jewish life.
• One candle is lit for each day of the celebration.  These candles are not to be used for any other purposes but for the menorah.
• The middle upper candle known as the helper or shamus is lit on the first night along with the candle farthest to the right.
• Each night a candle is added and using the helper candle the candles are lit from the left to right.  The new ones are lit first working back to the old.
• There are special blessings said during the lighting of the menorah.  First is to thank God for having traditions.  Second, the miracle God did for Jewish people in the time when they fought for their temple.  The third is only said on the first night and it is said every time a happy occasion occurs.
• The menorah is publicized by placing it near a window.

Traditions:

• Hanukkah is widely practiced in the home.  Many Jewish families develop their own traditions.
• It is common to eat potato pancakes (latkes) cooked in oil.  Potato Pancakes Recipe  Oil plays great significance during Hanukkah since the oil lasted for eight nights in the ancient temple.  In Israel, jelly donuts (sufganiyot) deep-fried in oil are popular for Hanukkah.
• A holiday gambling game is usually played called dreidel. Play Online Dreidel Game  It is played with a square top.  Many people play for M&M's, pennies, or chocolate coins.