The New Upcoming Garden - 2009

After hours of work the bottom garden is getting ready to plant.
Isaiah's 10th birthday he wanted to work on the yard.

Max is watching them work.

Max is a great dog.

Dream Big - Bulvine - Dream Big

Dog - Cat Funny

Usually I don’t do this but in the dog vs cat world this was cause for some serious chuckles. P.J.S.

This was a forward of a forward, which I asked Mary to forward to me. We laugh and laugh at this. Only it isn't true of our cat. ~P.C. : -)

Dog Diary:
8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 pm - Ran back and forth in the hall! My favorite thing!
5:00 pm - Milk bones! My favorite thing!
7:00 pm - Got to play tug! My favorite thing!
8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

Cat Diary:

Day 983 of my captivity. My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength. The only thing that keeps me going is my Dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them I once again vomited on the carpet. Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear in to their hearts since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a 'good little hunter' I am. Slime heads! They continue to pick me up and handle me; an obvious attempt to subvert me. There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of 'allergies.' I must learn what this means and how to use it to my advantage. Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow -- but at the top of the stairs. I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released -- and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded. Tonight I will again lie on their heads while they sleep and hope to smother them.

It All Started This Morning When I......

Made breakfast for the cranky youngsters

And fed the baby a bottle She dribbled milk all over herself and my new blouse I loaded up the kids in the carseat

and took them to daycare & school I was late for work, and traffic was a nightmare My husband called my cell phone

to tell me, he got laid off from his construction job

I got to the office (I'm a Tech Analyst) My supervisor chewed me out For misplacing the mouse I went out for lunch

and got caught in the rain I left work early to pick up my new eye glasses (wrong size) I then picked up the kids from school & daycare

Fed them all a quick meal Drove the boys to karate lessons And, then the girls to tap & ballet When we got back home,

all they wanted to do was watch TV

And, sing karaoke instead of doing their homework

After much chaos,

they took their baths

and got ready for bed

And after much hounding,

they brushed their teeth
Then I read them their nightly bedtime stories They finally went to sleep So, I tried doing some aerobics in the living room
Uh oh, I don't think all the 'fast-food'

and exercise is agreeing with me

Now, I think I'm getting a migraine And a runny nose I'm pretty certain it's the flu After a long and grueling day,
I crawled into bed
and was just drifting off when I realized I had forgotten something Dear Lord, despite the topsy-turvy day I've had,
I give thanks to You and For all the blessings You've bestowed upon me
and my family!

That's how MY life is going......so, how are things with YOU?

Forwarded to me from my friend - Des Steffens

The Twelve Days of Christmas; by: Dennis Bratcher

By: Dennis Bratcher


The Twelve Days of Christmas are probably the most misunderstood part of the church year among Christians who are not part of liturgical church traditions. Contrary to much popular belief, these are not the twelve days before Christmas, but in the Western Church are the twelve days from Christmas until the beginning of Epiphany (January 6th; the 12 days count from December 25th until January 5th).


The origin of the Twelve Days is complicated, and is related to differences in calendars, church traditions, and ways to observe this holy day in various cultures (see Christmas). In the Western church, Epiphany is traditionally celebrated as the time the three Wise Men or Magi arrived to present gifts to the young Jesus (Matt. 2:1-12). In some cultures, especially Hispanic and Latin American culture, January 6th is observed as Three Kings Day, or simply the Day of the Kings (Span: la Fiesta de Reyes, el Dia de los Tres Reyes, or el Dia de los Reyes Magos; Dutch: Driekoningendag). Even though December 25th is celebrated as Christmas in these cultures, January 6th is often the day for giving gifts. In some places it is traditional to give Christmas gifts for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Since Eastern Orthodox traditions use a different religious calendar, they celebrate Christmas on January 7th and observe Epiphany or Theophany on January 19th.


By the 16th century, some European and Scandinavian cultures had combined the Twelve Days of Christmas with (sometimes pagan) festivals celebrating the changing of the year. These were usually associated with driving away evil spirits for the start of the new year.


The Twelfth Night is January 5th, the last day of the Christmas Season before Epiphany (January 6th), and often included feasting along with the removal of Christmas decorations. French and English celebrations of Twelfth Night included a King's Cake, remembering the visit of the Three Magi, and ale or wine (a King's Cake is part of the observance of Mardi Gras in French Catholic culture of the Southern USA). In some cultures, the King's Cake was part of the celebration of the day of Epiphany

The popular song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is usually seen as simply a nonsense song for children. However, some have suggested that it is a song of Christian instruction dating to the 16th century religious wars in England, with hidden references to the basic teachings of the Faith. They contend that it was a mnemonic device to teach the catechism to youngsters. The "true love" mentioned in the song is not an earthly suitor, but refers to God Himself. The "me" who receives the presents refers to every baptized person who is part of the Christian Faith. Each of the "days" represents some aspect of the Christian Faith that was important for children to learn.

However, many have questioned the historical accuracy of this origin of the song The Twelve Days of Christmas. It seems that some have made an issue out of trying to debunk this as an "urban myth," some in the name of historical accuracy and some out of personal agendas. There is little "hard" evidence available either way. Some church historians affirm this account as basically accurate, while others point out apparent historical discrepancies. However, the "evidence" on both sides is mostly in logical deduction and probabilities. One internet site devoted to debunking hoaxes and legends says that, "there is no substantive evidence to demonstrate that the song 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' was created or used as a secret means of preserving tenets of the Catholic faith, or that this claim is anything but a fanciful modern day speculation ..." What is omitted is that there is no "substantive evidence" that will disprove it either.

It is certainly possible that this view of the song is legendary or anecdotal. Without corroboration and in the absence of "substantive evidence," we probably should not take rigid positions on either side and turn the song into a crusade for personal opinions. That would do more to violate the spirit of Christmas than the song is worth. So, for the sake of historical accuracy, we need to acknowledge this uncertainty.

However, on another level, this uncertainty should not prevent us from using the song in celebration of Christmas. Many of the symbols of Christianity were not originally religious, including even the present date of Christmas, but were appropriated from contemporary culture by the Christian Faith as vehicles of worship and proclamation. Perhaps, when all is said and done, historical accuracy is not really the point. Perhaps more important is that Christians can celebrate their rich heritage, and God's grace, through one more avenue this Christmas. Now, when they hear what they once thought was a secular "nonsense song," they will be reminded in one more way of the grace of God working in transforming ways in their lives and in our world. After all, is that not the meaning of Christmas anyway?

God's Gift to Me Christmas Day

On December 20th after opening gifts with the kids and eating breakfast I heard a different sound and thought that it was a squirrel.

Then on Christmas morning I heard the sound again and went to the window to see what it was and there was the most beautiful blue bird that flew by into the plum tree. I grabbed my camera and went out to find it. It flew across and down the street (couldn't see it, only heard it), as I was debating about going down the street to find it, the sound was getting closer, and it flew into the neighbor’s yard. I went as quietly and slowly as I could in the snow and ice. I saw movement and aimed the camera that way (the camera was zoomed as far as it would go) and started taking pictures. It was picking through the leaves and then flew into a tree. I couldn’t see the bird only the movement. So I was delighted when I saw these pictures!!!

Never saw this bird before but saw three of them today. Does anyone know the name of the bird?

Matthew 6:
25(Jesus said),"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? (NIV)

Wonderful Snow

The church this morning. You can't tell I love snow! HaHa

My First Carolers

Zeke & Lily - Singing 'I wish you a Merry Christmas'

Vowels Y & W Made Easy:

A vowel is the sound in a spoken language were the vocal tract is open and there is no build up of air pressure between the vocal cords at the upper part of the larynx, i.e.; ah, oh, ee, ay, ow …. There are five true (they are only) vowels a,e,i,o,u, and then sometimes y & w. Y and W can be a vowel or a consonant depending upon where it is in the word. In English orthography some letters may represent a consonant in some circumstances, and a vowel in others.

Diphthongs-- two vowel sounds that slide together when you say them. Example: ey - ā, oy - oi, uy - ī , au - aw, ew - ū ,ou - ow, ow - ō. W is always a vowel sound following another vowel and not starting a new syllable like - bewail.

Rule of thumb for y:
As a consonant: The beginning of a word or beginning of a syllable – yard, beyond...
As a vowel:
Y as long ‘i’ sound at the end of single syllable words – by, cry, fly, my…..
Y as a long ‘e’ sound at the end of a double syllable words – baby, carry, funny, windy….
Y as a short ‘i’ sound the middle of a word as it vowel – gym, myth & hymn.
Y taking the place of the a‘i’, ay at the end of a word making the long a sound - play, tray….
Y taking the place of the e‘i’, ey at the end of a word changing the sound to long a - hey, they..
Y taking the place of the o‘i’, oy at the end of a word – boy, joy, toy….
Y taking the place of the u‘i’, uy at the end of a word once again sounds like a long i– buy, guy

Rule of thumb for w: in 'wow' (wou) w is both a consonant and a vowel
As a consonant: The beginning of a word or beginning of a syllable – wagon, always….
As a vowel: In the English language there is not a word with a single w as a vowel. It always has a partner before it.
As with the y it replaces the u at the end of words and replaces the u before an l or n.
W taking the place of the a‘u’, aw at the end of a word making the au sound - claw, paw….
W taking the place of the e‘u’, ew at the end of a word changing the sound to long u - new, crew, flew,…..
W taking the place of the o‘u’, ow at the end of a word sound like ou in ouch- how, now, brown, cow, owl…
W taking the place of the o‘u’, ow at the end of a word sounds like long o – blow, crow, bowl
Vowel itself is an interesting word in which the w is a vowel (vou-el) the ou sounds like in ouch.

I found two word where the 'W' comes before the partner vowel. (1) geo·duck also gwe·duc (gōō'ē-dŭk') n. A very large, edible clam of the Pacific coast of northwest North America, (2) two [too]

By: Pastor Cindy 23 November 2008

P.S. I pray that this will help someone. Hey leave a comment if you said the vowel song, "A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y & W. And tell me which state you learned it in. I am very interested in this.

Thank you!

W - A Vowel?

Today I learned sometime new. That a lot of people haven’t been taught, and don’t think that ‘w’ is a vowel. This was sometime new to me. How this new thinking came about was my eight year old nephew informed me ‘w’ isn’t a vowel, and later my nine year old nephew informed me of this again during a phone conversation tonight.

In all the schools that I went to as a child (all of my elementary years were in TX and CA) and teaching phonics to Kindergarteners and 1st graders in Idaho for many years this was the way we sang the song; ‘The vowels are A,E,I,O,U and sometimes Y and W'. I went to many google sites and found a big debate about this. I asked Kit (my friend) today and she said the song she learned didn’t add the ‘w’, and everyone that I ask today who were schooled in Washington said the same. This is very interesting to me. But with learning different languages you learn the difference between, 'Monophthong, Diphthong, Triphthong, and Semivowel' in these ‘aw', ‘ew’, and ‘ow’ the ‘w’ is a vowel.

Here are a few things I found on google; Is ‘w’ a vowel? Today I was amazed that different people are being taught different things. This seems like a pretty heated subject. I guess it’s not that important if educators don’t agree.

http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhenIsWAVowel/mwbn/post.htm
MY CHILDREN ARE BEING TAUGHT THAT "W" IS A VOWEL. I NEVER REMEMBER THIS GROWING UP AND WAS NEVER TAUGHT IT IN COLLEGE. PLEASE HELP, CYNDI

Reply:
It is probably part of a particular way of teaching reading. I wouldn't get too excited about it.
Strictly speaking, we can never see vowels, so that "W" sitting there on the page is not a vowel and neither is this "A". We can only hear vowels. Vowels are sounds. Loosely speaking, the vowel letters A, E, I, O, and U are often called vowels. "Y" and "W" may or may not be included among the vowels, depending on the teaching method. The typical sound we make (in English) when we see the letter "W" is called either a semi-vowel, a semi-consonant, or a glide. The same terminology can be used to describe the sound of "Y" in the word "Yes". The sound of the "Y" is a front glide related to the sound "EE" (bee) and the sound of the "W" is a back glide related to the sound "OO" (boo). A good reason to include Y and W as vowels (vowel letters, actually) is that they pair with other vowel letters to create digraphs which have characteristic sounds. "AY", "EY", "OY", "AW", "EW", "OW". But when not at the end of a word, these are "AI", "EI", "OI", "AU", "EU", "OU". (Of course there are exceptions. That's how English is!) Because Y and I form a pair that substitute for each other, and W and U also, it's not such a bad idea to include both when introducing the concept to children. Hope that helps!


http://www.angelfire.com/biz/valderbooks/lesson6.html
Teach A Child To Read
SUBSTITUTE VOWELS
It is finally time to introduce the substitute vowels. We simply tell the children that Y and W can sometimes be vowels.
When is W a vowel?
When w follows o, and the o says it's name, the w is acting like a vowel (follows double vowel rule above).
In these words: cow, town, brown, etc., w is a consonant.
In these words: tow, low, bowl, etc., w is a vowel. Notice the o is long and the w is silent.
Like the oo words, we don't fuss over the difference, but just practice some words and let the child get used to them.
When is Y a vowel?
Y acts as a vowel when it comes at the end of a word. It follows the double vowel rule in words that end with the following:
Words ending in -ay have the long a sound, such as pay, May, play, etc.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vowel#Monophthongs.2C_diphthongs.2C_triphthongs

Written vowels
Main article: Writing system
The name "vowel" is often used for the symbols that represent vowel sounds in a language's writing system, particularly if the language uses an alphabet. In writing systems based on the Latin alphabet, the letters A, E, I, O, U, W and Y are all used to represent vowels, although not all of these letters represent vowels in all languages (some of them, especially W and Y, are also used to represent approximants); in addition, extensions of the Latin alphabet have independent vowel letters such as Ä, Ö, Ü, Å, Æ, and Ø.


http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/499/is-it-true-w-can-be-used-as-a-vowel

Is it true "W" can be used as a vowel?
September 11, 1987
Dear Cecil:
In elementary school I remember the teacher telling me that the vowels were AEIOU and sometimes Y and W. But I can't think of a single word where W is used as a vowel. Are there any?
— Michael S., Baltimore

Dear Michael:
Sure. Try "how," which is phonetically equivalent to "hou," as in house. Ou and ow are diphthongs--that is, two vowel sounds that kind of slide together when you say them. W and Y are often called semivowels because they go both ways, as it were, depending on the company they keep within the word. (Low morals are obviously a problem at every level of our society.) In cow, for instance, W is a vowel, but make the word coward and you can hear W working as a consonant. Similarly with Y become I in copy and copier. I could also expound on the vowel-likes, yet another class of letters with an identity crisis, but I think we've had enough angst for one column already.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-vowel.htm

Since a vowel refers to a specific type of sound, orthographically some letters may represent a consonant in some circumstances, and a vowel in others. In English we can see this with the letters y and w which are most often used to make consonant sounds, but can also be used to represent vowels. In the case of y, for example, we can compare its use in the words yonder and day. In the word yonder, it acts distinctly as a consonant, with the center of the tongue blocking the flow of air on one side by touching the palette of the mouth – as what is called a palatal approximant. In the word day, on the other hand, it is forming a vowel sound akin to if the word were written in English as dei.
In the case of w, we could look at the words woo and how. In the word woo, the letter is acting as a consonant, with the back of the tongue blocking the flow of air on one side by touching the palette of the mouth – what is called a labiovelar approximant. In the word how, it serves as a vowel, which could be represented in English writing as hao.
In English, there are five letters which always represent a vowel when written: a, e, i, o, and u. These five letters represent more than five vowel sounds, however, depending on the word, or if they are combined with other vowels. Compare the letter a in the words hat and hate as one of many examples.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/39850

Hope you don't mind if I ask a question that has bothered me for some time. When did elementary schools stop teaching the vowels as "a,e,i,o,u and sometimes y and w." My children (16,15,and 7) have just learned "a,e,i,o,u and sometimes y." I hadn't thought of it before but maybe not all elemetary schools in the 70's taught the W as mine did.


There are a lot of different opinions out there! ~ Cindy

Some things are worth more then a million dollars.

The beauty of this morning's sunrise. The joy of love ones around enjoying a book together.

White Tigers Find New Momma!!

When hurricane Hannah separated two white tigers from their mother, Anjana came to the Rescue. Anjana, a chimp at TIGERS in South Carolina, became surrogate mom and playmate to the cubs, even helping with bottle feeding, according to The Sun). But here's the truly amazing part: Anjana does this all the time, having raised leopard and lion cubs.

May you see the smile of God in these pictures.