Wheeler

Maybe I'm just "old fashioned" or maybe just "old".... but I don't like dirty jokes and this one about "no undies" was, to me, dirty! We've never had things like this in our MrsSurvival home before, so if this is to continue, maybe I'd just better stay away from the "humor me" forum.... huh?

I had no Christmas spirit when I breathed a weary sigh,

and looked across the table where the bills were piled too high.

The laundry wasn't finished and the car I had to fix,

My stocks were down another point, the Dolphins lost by six.

 

And so with only minutes till my son got home from school

I gave up on the drudgery and grabbed a wooden stool.

The burdens that I carried were about all I could take,

and so I flipped the TV on to catch a little break.

 

I came upon a desert scene in shades of tan and rust,

No snowflakes hung upon the wind, just clouds of swirling dust.

And where the reindeer should have stood before a laden sleigh,

eight hummers ran a column right behind an M1A.

 

A group of boys walked past the tank, not one was past his teens,

Their eyes were hard as polished flint, their faces drawn and lean.

They walked the street in armor with their rifles shouldered tight,

their dearest wish for Christmas, just to have a silent night.

 

Other soldiers gathered, hunkered down against the wind,

To share a scrap of mail and dreams of going home again.

There wasn't much at all to put their lonely hearts at ease,

They had no Christmas turkey, just a pack of MREs.

 

They didn't have a garland or a stocking I could see,

They didn't need an ornament-- they lacked a Christmas Tree.

They didn't have a present even though it was tradition,

the only boxes I could see were labled "ammunition."

 

I felt a little tug and found my son now by my side,

He asked me what it was I feared, and why it was I cried.

I swept him up into my arms and held him oh so near

and kissed him on the forehead as I whispered in his ear.

 

There's nothing wrong my little son, for safe we sleep tonight,

our heroes stand on foreign land to give us all the right,

to worry on the things in life that mean nothing at all,

instead of wondering if we will be the next to fall.

 

He looked at me as children do and said its always right,

to thank the ones who help us and perhaps that we should write.

And so we pushed aside the bills and sat to draft a note,

to thank the many far from home, and this is what we wrote:

 

God Bless You all and keep you safe, and speed your way back home.

Remember that we love you so, and that you're not alone.

The gift you give you share with all, a present every day,

You give the gift of liberty and that we can't repay.

 

 

© Dec. 2003 - Michael Marks

 

~~God Bless Our Troops~~

From: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/22...htm?list1020543

 

Christmas Moon

 

The smallest full moon of 2004 will brighten the nights around Christmas.

 

Rudolph coughed and sneezed.

Ahh-choo! His nose was really red.

The doctor nodded ruefully.

"He has to stay in bed."

 

Rudolph had a cold,

a bad one, plain to see.

He wasn't going anywhere

with Santa Christmas Eve.

 

Rooftops dark and tricky.

(Hey ... where'd the chimney go?)

That's what Santa has to deal with

absent Rudolph's rosy glow.

 

But Santa is a cheery soul

and a smart one, too.

He quickly had a bright idea:

"I know what to do!"

 

Using special Santa-magic,

he conjured up a moon,

a full one, round and shiny.

Who needs Rudolph? That old prune!

 

So... to those of you who don't believe

in Santa, here's the proof:

Look out the window Christmas Eve

at the moonlight on your roof.

 

You lovers of the English language might enjoy this: There is a

two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter

word, and that is "UP."

 

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the

list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a

meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are the

officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a

report?

 

We call UP our friends And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP

the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock

UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car.

 

At other times the little word has real special meaning.

 

People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and

think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is

special.

 

And this UP is confusing:

 

A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a

store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be

pretty mixed UP about UP!

 

To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the

dictionary.

 

In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can

add UP to about thirty definitions.

 

If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways

UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give

UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain,

we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is

clearing UP. When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things

UP. When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.

 

One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP,

so.............Time to shut UP.....!

 

Oh...one more thing: What is the first thing you do in the morning &

the last thing you do at night?

 

U P

Wow!!! Thanks for that picture... I've been told that cows didn't have upper teeth... now I know!!!

 

Gosh... I thought it was cold here at 13 degrees this morning. I don't believe that I could live up there where you are Hill... Makes you think and count your blessings, doesn't it? Take care and try to keep warm...

love

Family Tree Magazine has created forms that can help you access and organize your family history information...

http://www.familytreemagazine.com/forms/download.html

I didn't know where to put this so I decided to put it here!! A rather neat game that you should enjoy!

 

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/states_exp...ate15s_500.html

 

 

 

Links to some of the counties in all the U.S. states. Very helpful. It links to the current Web site of each county... not all counties have websites. Many of the counties have extensive information about their history on the site.

Go to-- http://www.us-counties.com/

 

Me either Westbrook!!! I'm a warm weather person...

"While never willing to bow to a tyrant, our forefathers were always willing to get to their knees before God. When catastrophe threatened, they turned to God for deliverance. When the harvest was bountiful, the first thought, was thanksgiving to God. Prayer is today as powerful a force in our nation as it has ever been. We as a nation should never forget this source of strength. ... Through the storms of Revolution, Civil War, and the great World Wars, as well as during times of disillusionment and disarray, the nation has turned to God in prayer for deliverance. We thank Him for answering our call, for, surely, He has. As a nation, we have been richly blessed with His love and generosity." --Ronald Reagan

The fire broke out on the roof of the three-story red-brick courthouse, which had been undergoing a $27 million renovation. Hose taps and sprinklers in the unoccupied building had been disconnected by workers. Old records had already been moved so were not destroyed... read more here...

http://cms.firehouse.com/content/article/a...46&id=36306

Health care professionals have known for a long time that common diseases - heart disease, cancer, and diabetes - and even rare diseases - like hemophilia, cystic fibrosis, and sickle cell anemia - can run in families. If one generation of a family has high blood pressure, it is not unusual for the next generation to have similarly high blood pressure.

 

Tracing the illnesses suffered by your parents, grandparents, and other blood relatives can help your doctor predict the disorders to which you may be at risk and take action to keep you and your family healthy.

 

Read more... http://www.hhs.gov/familyhistory/

 

Please pray also for all the troops fighting this day! The National Guard, 3rd Battalion, 178th Field Artillery unit from my hometown is fighting in Falluja (sp?) My minister's son is in this unit... There have already been some lives lost in this battle and prayers are needed asking God to put a protective shield around the others who are serving to protect us! And if you haven't thanked a veteran... please do so!

"Seasoned" is right... WELL seasoned... I would guess that I'm the Grandma on MrsSurvival... so y'all have to be very patient with me... but, they say "You're only as old as you feel", and I don't feel as old as I am...

Thanks Cat...It took a little while for me to figure it out but I finally got in and posted two pictures... Gosh! You have a great place for us to put things... I hope you know how much you are appreciated on MrsSurvival... Thanks for all that you do!!!

Knock...Knock!!!! Caaaaaaaaaattttttttttttt!!!! Unlock the door!!

I have a cute little wooden turkey that would look cute sitting on a side table at Thanksgiving... when the holiday is over it comes apart and lies flat and can be put on a shelf in the closet until the next year! I was going to try to post a picture of it here... but after getting here I found out that I don't know how!!! Can somebody help? I clicked on 'Image' but it asks for a url and all I have is a .jpg for the photo... Thanks anybody... Joan don't you know how to do this? H E L P !!!

OK, I thought that I had found him on a census page but not so! The last census that has been released was in 1930. Thought that he was older than that... so, you're just a "spring chick", eh? I have a son who was born in 1953... so that makes me as 'old as dirt' to you!!! I hope that you continue your interest in genealogy...

alclary, was your father's name Cecil?

Hi Alclary,

What you need to do first is sit down and write down all of the ancestors that you know... your mother and father... , your mother's mother and father... and your father's mother and father, etc. until you get to the point where you don't know the name of the next ancestor. If your parents are still living they will probably be able to help you with this. Try to find out where each ancestor was born, when they were born, if they are dead... approximate year that they died and where they are buried, if known. If your parents are not living maybe an aunt or uncle could help.

 

The Latter Day Saints have a fine genealogy program that many people use to record their ancestors... and it makes it easy for you to keep up with what you've found... dates of birth and death, etc. This program is PAF 5... and the best part about it is that its FREE!!! You can get it by going to www.familysearch.org and downloading it. While you're on the first page of that website look on the left and you will see several titles of articles that will help you to learn..."How do I get started" and "Family History Forms"...

 

When I first started working with genealogy I didn't even know what my great grandparents names were! I wrote to a cousin that I had never seen before or even corresponded with and she sent me a wonderful letter containing a lot of information on my ancestors. After that I went to the town where they had lived and found records... my great great grandfather's 1786 handwritten will [now that gave me chills up and down my spine], probate records for some of the other ancestors, etc. This has been a wonderful learning experience for me and I dearly love genealogy. Get in touch with your living relatives before it's too late!!! Ask questions! Write it down! Always write it down! Also write down who said that and the date that they said it... you will forget if you don't make a record of it.

 

I have access to the United States Census from 1790 thru 1930 and would be glad to look up people for you if you will send me some names and counties and states where they lived. I don't guarantee that I'll be successful in finding them, but I will try!

 

If you need any help please let us know... we'll be so happy to help you. That's one thing about genealogists... they love to help people find their ancestors!

Whoa!!! I'm sorry unikemom, I think you misunderstood what I said...

This site gives addresses where you can send for birth certificates, etc. These are State Departments and not a company or corporation... If you ordered from one of the clickable sites on the side of the webpage then you ordered from the wrong place... I'm sorry for the misunderstanding!!

 

When you click on the url it will take you to a site that lists all the states in alphabetical order... you then click on your state and, since I'm from South Carolina I'll use that one as an example, here's what you get...

 

Event: Birth or death

 

Cost of copy: $12.00

 

Address:

Office of Vital Records

SC DHEC

2600 Bull Street

Columbia, SC 29201

 

Remarks: State office has records since January 1915. City of Charleston births from 1877 and deaths from 1821 are on file at Charleston County Health Department. Ledger entries of Florence City births and deaths from 1895 to 1914 are on file at Florence County Health Department. Ledger entries of Newberry City births and deaths from the late 1800's are on file at Newberry County Health Department. These are the only early records obtainable. Additional copies of the same birth records ordered at the same time of certification are $3.00.

 

Personal check or money order should be made payable to Department of Health and Environmental Control. To verify current fees, the telephone number is (803) 898-3630. Information on how to obtain certified copies is also available via the Internet at http://www.state.sc.us/scdah/vit.htm

 

This is a state run agency and is legitimate! I think you ordered your document from the wrong place... Sorry!

Old dummy has a question about this recipe... Is this added to the whole batch [seems like it would be hard to work in] or with each load of clothes?

From Kimberly Powell...

Most of us don't think about specific cousin relationships in exact terms - "cousin" seems good enough - so many of us aren't very familiar with what these words mean. When working on your family history, however, it's important to understand the various types of cousin relationships.

 

First cousins are the people in your family who have two of the same grandparents as you.

 

Second cousins have the same great-grandparents as you, but not the same grandparents.

 

Third cousins have in common two great-great-grandparents and their ancestors.

 

When cousins descend from common ancestors by a different number of generations they are called "removed."

 

Once removed means there is a difference of one generation. Your mother's first cousin would be your first cousin, once removed. She is one generation younger than your grandparents and you are two generations younger than your grandparents.

 

Twice removed means that there is a two-generation difference. Your grandmother's first cousin would be your first cousin, twice removed because you are separated by two generations.

 

Just to complicate matters, there are also many cases of double cousins. This situation usually occurs when siblings from one family marry siblings from another family. The resulting children, grandchildren, etc. are double cousins, because they share all four ancestors in common. These types of relationships can be difficult to determine and it is usually easiest to chart them one at a time (through one family line and then through the other line).

 

Print this chart for future reference... http://genealogy.about.com/library/nrelationshipchart.htm

I know you'll enjoy this site, especially if you enjoy American history, but have forgotten a lot of what was learned in school. Turn on your sound, as the narration is a significant portion of the presentation.

http://www.animatedatlas.com/movie.html