Joelle's birthday, back in December. SIX YEARS YOUNG!! We celebrated with Crispy Cream early in the am, followed by opening gifts! Somewhere in between we went to the Family Store (Salvation Army resale shop, the only place I go besides HEB, Costco) When my mother was here, she kept asking me where I shop. I kept saying, the Salvation Army. We are disappointed they do not carry toys any longer, due to the recalls. Oh BOTHER. Liberalism at it's best. How many people have died from that toxic junk?

Back to the birthday celebration. Wow, Joelle had a blast! That night we went on a carriage ride. (thank you, Laws family!!) Truman cried when we got off, and Joelle had a blast too! San Antonio is beautiful at night.





Enjoying the River Walk in beautiful downtown San Antonio. No, it does not compare to Chicago, but it does have a charm all it's own!




Christmas Day 2007. We feasted all day.

The Weird World of Tattoos

Okay, so I find tattoos very weird and strange. I mean, some of them may be lovely, though I don't appreciate the dedication to avante garde edginess. I have seen a pretty butterfly (how quaint) that was attractive, but I mean, what is the point?? I truly find the attraction to tattoos odd. I think they are very ugly, and can't help but conjuring up a voodoo shaman, smoking his weed and chanting to, uh, not my god, when I see them. Sorry, you cooler than cool 20 something generation. (generation x'rs?) I have long ago lost my desire to be cool (actually, I don't think I ever had it...no surprise to any who know me...I DO NOT follow the crowd!!)

I am amazed at the popularity this "artwork". Such an ugly thing, and the pain involved to get them is tremendous I hear. I can just hear the same crowd complaining about the pain of childbirth...

Know of someone who wishes like anything he did not get a tattoo. My husband says that long sleeves have to cover them in the business world, to have some appearance of professionalism. In the office?? No, this is at a 5 star hotel. This friend is now a newbie cop, and he got tattoos before he was saved. He is terribly embarrassed of them and wants to get rid of them. Well, at least he sees their oddness and lack of professionalism.

Think long and hard about doing such an irreversible act. I know they can be removed, with lots of $$ and more pain and possible infection...yuck. No thanks.

“Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man."
Benjamin Franklin


January 2, 2008

Happy New Year!!

I have been giving some thought to the term, "Happy Holidays". Any cursory study of the word should indicate that "holidays" used to mean "holy days", which of course started with the Winter Solstice beginning on 12/21, the pagan ritual of celebrating the end of short days of Winter, and the suns lengthening of days. There is no mention of the birth of Christ at Christmas in Scripture. There is no mention of the celebration of Winter Solstice in Scripture...(I should hope not, as it was a completely pagan celebration complete with drunken orgies for several days.) So, when did Christmas come to be celebrated? As in several other "holidays", it came about from the Catholic Church looking to get in on the "fun". In the 4th century, the church first made mention of celebrating the birth of Christ, to be done on 12/25. Christmas is not a Biblical holiday. I completely understand those who do not celebrate this "holiday" at all. It has no Biblical basis at all. Christ was born in the Spring, according to historians.

For me, this is pretty clear evidence. I have not quoted sources here, but look into it yourself.

So what do I do with this? Well, now that our family has celebrated this "holiday" for 21 + years, it is a pretty difficult line to draw. My husband enjoys the ritual. I enjoy it. We do lots of family traditions together, though we are scaling back hugely in the "Christ" aspect of the day. Whenever I think of Christmas, I remember that God prescribed 1 specific holiday to be observed once a week. That would be the Sabbath.
***I AM DETERMINED TO CELEBRATE THE SABBATH WITH OUR
FAMILY MORE IN 2008!!!!!!!!!!!!!!****
Ok, enough of my reformed rant....
What do you think??? Let me know your thoughts.

Chicago, IL Trip!

Jaroski Family visits Wauconda, IL, birth place of:
Joseph Jaroski, Kathryn Jaroski and Grace Jaroski!!!
This house was our home for 10 years. Three bedrooms, 1 tiny Master Bath, that everyone was always in, 1 full bath upstairs, 1 powder room down, 1 Family Room with wood burning stove (we added), one Office/Living Room plus a basement that was always a mess!! Oh, yes. One dining room, that was actually used for eating, one Kitchen and Laundry Room.
I had the most difficult time driving away from this house because of all the wonderful memories it held!! It was a GREAT HOME!!! All 3 children were born in the Master bedroom, Kathryn before any doctor arrived.

This is the lake, where Jared, Graham, Joseph did their fishing for northern pike, largemouth bass and more. Graham was interested in ice fishing, so they did that too!! During the summer, we went swimming and sometimes took our boat for a ride. Great memories of the 4th of July party!!

This is Westminister Reformed Presbyterian Church, where we worshiped for about 5 years before moving to San Antonio. This is where we learned about the Reformed Faith, asked lots of questions, listened to lots of discussions, and after about 2 years, thought, "There might be something to this theology!" People never pressured us or told us we were wrong, but patiently explained their faith. We baptized Jared, Graham, Joseph, Kathryn and Grace here. Praise God for His mercy to us!!!

Thanksgiving, 2007!!!!
Grandma Neri celebrates her 96th birthday!!!
Hip hip hurray, Grandma!!!
We love you and are so glad we got to spend Thanksgiving with you and Mom J!!!!

Craig showing off his turkey dinner! Yum.

Looks like Joseph had something beef oriented, the carnivore that he is.

Ditto for Jared, and Graham and Grace!

Truman and Joelle with their 96 year old Grandma!!!
A big blessing, and wish we lived closer.

Kathryn!!

Miss those days of eating out with Grandma N. They are precious to us!

This is the John Hancock Building, 900 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60610. I worked at this building for 5 years before marrying the man of my dreams! This is the lobby. I worked on 23rd Floor, Near North Insurance Agency. Truly an education. Working outside the home in an office is not all its cracked up to be.... But it was fun being downtown!

Outside the John Hancock Building, Michigan Avenue.

The American Girl Store!!! What a great place!! Okay, I know they support lesbian ideals, but it is a American Girl is a great concept, and I admit to loving it too!!! This is the equivalent of the Marshall Field & Co. toy section I used to visit as a child. Amazing!!!!

Joseph and Graham love the Echo equipment, and wanted to visit the headquarters in Lake Zurich, IL. They make great trimmers and blowers....(I think.) This is 15 minutes from where we used to live.

This is the home where Graham Carver Jaroski was born, before the doctor arrived. Fun delivery, being my first homebirth. Craig remodeled this home entirely on the inside, then we ran out of money. We sold it, and the next people (we think) remodeled it on the outside. We did not get here during the day, but the Christmas lights are spectacular. This was our first home, after moving out of our townhouse. It was very comfortable. Three bedrooms, 2 full baths, 1 living space, kitchen, plus basement. We grew strawberries in the backyard. There was a creek just below our property.

Grandpa Al is doing well, and we all enjoyed seeing him for a visit!!!

Amy Walker introduced Craig and I in 1984. We got married in 1986. She and Pat are a terrific couple and we loved our visit with their family. They also have an older daughter, not in this photo.

Now we celebrate with Crispy Cream Donuts for breakfast on birthdays, but in Illinois, we always took at least the birthday person to Walker Bros. for an unbelievable experience in dining cuisine!!! :-) We miss those days.....

Our 7 kids with Grammy.

Bruce and Gail's home, Lombard, IL. Bruce is Craig's brother. We had a LOVELY dinner there, celebrating Grandma's 96th birthday, and Gail's 55th!!!!!

Our 7 kids with Great Grandma!!!

Uncle Jack and Grammy, Gail!!!!

Hope you have enjoyed this post, seeing where we have come from. These days were very happy for me, and I treasure them. Thank you Lord, for the gift of seeing it again.