Our Community Christmas Parade

I'm so proud of our little community. Tonight was our annual Christmas parade, and it rocked!!

We are a community that actually CELEBRATES CHRISTMAS!!!! There were THREE different nativity scenes in the parade from 3 different churches; there were several floats singing different Christmas songs celebrating the birth of Jesus... and there was one float from another church where my friend, Lilly (along with others from her worship team), sang "Mighty to Save".... (you guys were the best, Lilly)!! All the banners on the floats and cars said "Merry Christmas", not 'Happy Holidays'! PEOPLE shouted "Merry Christmas" to each other!!

It's just so wonderful to live in a place where people aren't afraid to stand up for what they believe!! I love my Lord, and I'm so blessed to live in a place where I'm free to share my passion.

Sometimes, I'm not sure how much longer I'll be FREE to do that, but I'll always feel the same about Him!! That will NEVER change!!

Joann~

It's Christmas Time!!!

Well, I haven't posted an entry in a very long time... and now that I've changed my playlist, the only way to get anyone to listen is to post something, right?!? LOL!!

I just added a few of my very favorite Christmas songs... hope you enjoy them!! Can you tell which one is my absolute fave?? OK, so I have to make a choice... oh wait, no, I don't... It's MY playlist!!! LOL!!!

The last post I did was in early October, when my nephew was leaving to Australia. Well, an update is that he's made alot of new friends there, and is having a good time. He's DRIVING there now... which is a feat, because they drive on the WRONG side of the road, there... (OK, maybe it's US who drive on the wrong side of the road, but it's become the CORRECT side for us... LOL!!) He has a job, and seems to be doing ok. Just remember to keep him in your prayers, kind of sad to be away from family over the holidays.

I'm writing out my Christmas cards already.... so if anyone would like one, just e-mail me your address and I'll send you one.

Some pics of our Thanksgiving......





I hope you had a great Thanksgiving.... Mine was wonderful!! We went to my cousin's where there were about 18 people, so we potlucked it, and there was ALOT of delicious food!! My mom took a ham and I made an apple pie (my first ever), and two pumpkin pies with the little crust maple leaves and pumpkins on them!! I didn't get a pic of those!





Well, I hope you are all doing well, if I missed anything important in your life, please e-mail me... because I'm here now. Meanwhile, I'll try to get to all the blogs this week, because I've really missed you guys!!

Take Care,
Joann

The Land Down Under

What's Down Under got that we don't have here???

My nephew is MOVING to Australia this week. He's leaving Thursday to LIVE there. Said he'll check it out for a year, see how things go, then decide whether or not he'll stay there.

He is a real adventurer!!! When he was in the navy, he lived in a few different places, including Iraq and Hawaii, and he saw many different places. But he fell in love with Australia, and made some good friends there.... so they talked him into moving there and staying with them until he gets settled. I think he's going for the GIRLS, myself... but hey, wherever he'll find happiness, right!!?

He asked my advice, rather than his mom's or his grandmother's, because he knew they'd give him selfish advice to stay here.... LOL!!! I was proud to tell him that he should GO, he's not married, he has no kids, and he just got home from Iraq, so he doesn't have a job here yet to tie him down. He's young and should experience as much of the world as possible, in my opinion.

I did and I love the experiences I've had, I didn't LIVE in any other country, but hey, I tried another state for a summer... LOL!! I think that if I were as bold as my nephew, I'd be living in England right now, I LOVED England!! But I'm not bold that way, I was chicken to move away from home, away from mommy and daddy (at the time!).

I'm really glad that my nephew is taking chances to find his happiness, and of course, I'm VERY PROUD of him!!!

When I told him how much I'll miss him... he said "Hey, just think of it as another vacation destination!!" = )

Joann

2009 L.A. County Fair

Yesterday was the last day of the Los Angeles County Fair. We loved going when the weather was cool enough to actually enjoy it!!

I did not go crazy on the fair food.... instead I bought fun stuff. Got a couple of very pretty rings, some flavored dipping oil, and some Christmas gifts.

Chris saw the concert (Shinedown, Puddle of Mudd, and Saliva... crazy names, huh!?? LOL!!). He and his (girl)friend enjoyed the concert, and we closed down the park.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend, too!!

Joann

California Central Coast!

I wanted to share some of the pics from our vacation, last week!! We had a great time, wish we were still there!! We shopped alot, tasted wine, ate alot, and RELAXED some, too!! LOL!!! The weather was PERFECT, we slept with our balcony door open every night to hear the ocean!!


Our Beach!! This was taken from our balcony.




Splashes!




Chris and a friend at the caves down the beach.




Beautiful sunsets.




My son and me.



Another Beautiful Sunset!!

A better view of September 11

September 11 holds a bad memory for us all... a memory that will forever be with us. We will never forget the tragedy that affected so many lives.

However, as of Friday, September 11, 2009, New Yorkers have another view, a better memory.

It happened in the bottom of the third inning, NY Yankees against the Baltimore Orioles....




Derek Jeter singled to right off of Orioles's pitcher, Chris Tillman, for hit number 2,272 of his career, beating Lou Gehrig's (NY Yankee) record set 70 years ago!!

Derek Jeter, Captain of the NY Yankees, hit another single later that day, for a total of 2,273 career hits. Only 727 more hits to go to get to the elite 3,000 Hit Club!!

THAT'S MY MAN!!!!!!

(info. & photo courtesy of the Bleacher Report)

Fun at an Angel's Game!!!

Angels vs. Detroit!!!








Angel's lost... DRATS!!!