AWESOME Pool & Domino Video

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Some Thoughts About God and American Culture

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary. I think it's pretty insightful.

(Ben Stein):

Herewith at this happy time of year, a few confessions from my beating heart:

I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are. I see them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I am buying my dog biscuits and kitty litter. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores. They never know who Nick and Jessica are either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who they are and why they have broken up? Why are they so important? I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is, either, and I do not care at all about Tom Cruise's wife.

Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I am a subversive? Maybe, but I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are. Is this what it means to be no longer young? It's not so bad.

Next confession: I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees. It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him?

I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.

Billy Graham's daughter Anne was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her"How could God let something like this happen?" (regarding Katrina) Anne gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we'vebeen telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"In light of recent events...terrorist attacks, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK. Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW." Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says .

My Best Regards.

Camryn's First Fireworks show

Camryn saw her first fireworks in the end of July. This photo was her FIRST glimpse of fireworks... BEFORE she heard the "bang".

Once she heard the noise, she wasn't so sure she liked them as much, but she went to another show in the end of September, and did a bit better. She still held on to Laurel like her life depended on it, but she was smiling and saying "ooooooh!".

They were ready for their closeups... and I obliged.

MATTHEW

(yes, I know... not my best work, but he was laying down at the time.)

ADAM

























ERIK

























HEATHER

























ELIZABETH


























CORRINE
























CAMRYN

ALL the kiddos

When I was a kid, we would go to visit my aunt, uncle, and cousins in Rhode Island. We have multiple photos of all five of us, and I LOVE THOSE PHOTOS. They're some of my favorite childhood photos.

So now, some of my favorite photos are of all my nieces and nephews together, on the couch. Here's the latest, from about 2 or 3 weeks ago:

Donna's Blog Challenge!

Name 5 favorite television shows:
That 70s Show
M*A*S*H
NCIS (all of 'em, but I like the original best, then NY, then Miami)
Grey's Anatomy
House

Name 4 favorite memories:
The day Laurel surprised me with a trip to Europe
The days my nieces and nephews were born (all of 'em!)
Watching Enoch being born
The day I got the call for my current job (after being unemployed for six months)

Name 3 things you want to do before you die:
See every state
Buy my own home
Get married

Give 2 names that you would use NOW if you were going to have a new addition to the family:
Um... not likely, but Chloë is a strong option. I've never thought of boys' names. (odd... I don't think I ever realized that before.)

Name the one thing that you're working on now to improve your life:
I am striving to be more positive.

Some Random Summer 07 pics

Some pics from the park and around the house...






Here are all the cousins on the Decker side:

Camryn, Cory, Matthew, Heather, Elizabeth, Eric, and Adam. This was taken at Matthew's birthday party in July 2007.

How much have I changed in 10 years?

You've Changed 36% in 10 Years

Ah, the past! You may not remember it well - because you're still living in it. While you've changed some, you may want to update your wardrobe, music collection and circle of friends.

How Much Have You Changed in 10 Years?

Ack! Cynthia tagged me!

Instructions: These are the rules…. each player starts with 7 random facts about themselves on their Blog. People who are tagged need to blog 7 facts about themselves and post the rules as well. At the end of their blog list 7 people you are tagging. Let them know that they are tagged by leaving them a comment.

Hmmm. Seven things.

1. I used to have VERY short hair (slightly longer and permed on the top, but almost buzzed on the sides). And I used blue gel on the short part. Hey, it was the 80s!

2. I've never really had a garden. One year, I grew zinnias. That was it.

3. I LOVE LOVE LOVE coffee but almost never drink it.

4. I have double piercings in each ear, but rarely wear any earrings any more.

5. I have a mole between my fingers on my right hand, and I absolutely hate it.

6. I have a new guilty pleasure: watching "Mind of Mencia" on Comedy Central. I blame Amy and Steve.

7. The only reason I have long hair is because I don't know what else to do with it. My hair is very very straight, and it refuses to "do" anything.

I am tagging: Parkie, Hoopy, Tigger, Melissa, Steve, Missy, and Amy G!

My new pic

OK. this is the first photo a 4-year old has taken of me that I've liked. Enoch took this pic of me, and while it may be a teeny bit blurry (because he was so close to me), I actually like how it came out. Try not to focus too much on the wrinkles and such. ;)

Is it my imagination, or does the angle of the shot make my nose look enormous? (or at least bigger than it is?)

It's OVER!

Well, graduation is over!

I personally think it went off without a hitch. We shall see if everyone else has the same opinion.

The only things that went awry were that the grads brought beach balls (which is very NORMAL). However, someone brought an ENORMOUS beach ball that was big enough that ten people could all touch it at the same time. When they took it away, the grads BOOED, right during the keynote speaker's address. The poor speaker thought she had done something wrong!

Now I just have to get them all certified, and send in the diploma order. ACK! (I'm nervous about this, too!)

The Professional Pouter!

How cute is she... really? Of course, she has been trained by the best of the best (Cory).

Registration wasn't so bad, but COMMENCEMENT...

Well, registration week wasn't too bad. It was busy, but not too super-busy. Next semester, they're talking about instituting college-wide online registration. So, we'd only have to deal with students who had problems registering.

Sounds better and better!

Now, Commencement is this weekend. That is a hugely stress-inducing thing for people around here. I'm concerned that I'll do something wrong and people will go ballistic on me. I don't think I will, but the paranoia is setting in.

Wish me luck! (That I won't have to throttle anyone before Sunday!)

Registration

OK. Today's the first day of registration for the Fall 2007 semester. Seeing as how I'm an Assistant Registrar, this is kind of our "thing". Registration so far hasn't been too bad. A couple of students were blocked from their classes due to lack of prerequisites, but so far it hasn't been too bad.

I'm not looking forward to Thursday or Friday. They're saying that by that time in the week, we won't even be able to go to the bathroom. Um... I WILL be going to the bathroom. Just try and stop me!

Over all, it's still going well. I'm still liking it... still liking the coworkers... so far, so good. Let's hope I'm not jinxing myself.

The New Job!

Well, my new job is going well. So far, so good!

But, it IS spring recess. Who knows what will happen next week? Ack! I think I'll stop thinking about it!

The job is Assistant Registrar for Degree Audit. I'm still getting acclimated and learning the computer systems.

Up next is finding my own place. I have a couple of appointments set for tonight. I really want a place that has at least some of the utilities included! It gets so cold here, I don't want to pay for heat!

The Johnsons in Cambridge

Left to Right: Liz, Aunt Lucille, Uncle Al, Craig, and Seth. Jasper's in the carriage, but you can barely see him. We went to Legal Seafood for lunch... YUMMY! It was a great day!

Jasper!

Well, I went to Rhode Island last week to visit Uncle Al and Aunt Lucille. It was a WONDERFUL trip, and we went to Cambridge on Saturday to see Craig, Liz, Jasper, and Seth. So, here's Jasper:

He's gorgeous! And what a good baby! Craig and Liz are definitely blessed!

January pics of the Benjamins

Cory & Camryn at the dinner table

Cory on the dome in the playground on Jan 1, 2007.

It was SO warm out, we went out to play to work out some of their cabin fever!

Camryn has started climbing in her tub of toys.
At first, she couldn't get out under her own power, but now she can!
It took about a month of her getting stuck before she figured it out.

Some pics of January 2007

Well, the Decker kids were in rare form when I visited in January.

Here's Erik. He kept running around to see the photo display on the camera's screen as soon as the red-eye reduction light flashed on, and I kept getting partial shots of his face. Oops!

Elizabeth did NOT want to give me a good pose. This was the best image I could get.

Heather

Adam was grabbing his tongue. He thought it was funny and wouldn't stop. So, here he is:

Christmas 2006

Well, here it is. Cory's fourth and Camryn's second Christmas. Cory made a gingerbread house out of graham crackers at pre-K. Camryn got into opening the presents a little bit, but once she started exploring one gift, she didn't want to let it go. Cory, on the other hand, had NO such problems. ;) Pop-pop and Grandmom Decker came up late on the 24th so they could be here for gift-opening on Christmas morning.


Oh, yeah... and Camryn was petrified of Santa. I am assuming she'll get over that in the future.












Here's Camy with Grandmom Decker:










And Cory watching TV with Pop-pop in the recliner:










I think this is my favorite picture of Camryn from the whole Christmas season. I think you'll see why:

Birthdays, 2006

Camryn had her first tastes of birthday cake in December 2006. Mommy and Aunt Lynnie had their birthday on 12/15, and Camryn's first birthday was on 12/21. She REALLY enjoyed the cake... and she sniffed each bite before she ate it.

Bathtime is FUN!

Well, Cory decided to "do" Camryn's hair in the bathtub one night. It was HYSTERICAL! Mommy tried to do Cory's hair, but I personally think she might have too much hair to do this to it!

Cory got her ears pierced!

Well, Cory started off all excited, but when the women popped the holes in her ears, she screamed loud enough to pierce OUR ears! She had asked several times before to get her ears pierced, but changed her mind at the last minute every time. This time, she went through with it.

The ladies at the ear-piercing place were smart... they took TWO people to pierce at exactly the same time, so there was no piercing the second ear on an already-traumatized little girl. :)

BEFORE:
She looks so... eager and excited, doesn't she? All ready?












AFTER:
She cried so hard, I cried! (But can you see the teeny little bit of bling? No more boring gold dots, unless that's what you want!)

Ahhhh, but the magical power of ice cream (and running into her friend, Griffin) helped stem the crying. (Thanks, Griffin!!!)

Thanksgiving 2006 and Thereabouts

Well, Thanksgiving 2006 was our one and only Thanksgiving in upstate NY. Around this time, Camryn also rode the merry-go-round at the Carousel Center Mall for the first time. She wasn't too sure about it, and held on to Aunt Lynnie for dear life most of the time. The ride ended JUST in time... if it had lasted any longer, I think she might have started crying.

We had Thanksgiving dinner pretty late. So, we all went to the park to kill some time. It was a little chilly, but not too bad. The girls had a BALL on the swings!

We also had a bit of an unconventional menu. We had... praline-stuffed sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, veggies, and CRAB. Since it was "just us", we figured crab would be a nice departure from the ordinary. I think it was a great idea. (Good thinking, Laurel!)

Halloween 2006

Well, I have just been an AWFUL blogger... I haven't uploaded anything in such a long time! I'm going to have to get you all updated, then.

Halloween 2006 was a lot of fun. I hadn't been trick-or-treating for a LONG time. Cory went as Tinkerbell, and Camryn was a bunny rabbit. And Cory ended up with a pretty good haul! Laurel and Brian each carved their own pumpkin. I think they did a great job!