Welcome Happy Holidays 2007

[Da-Chief]

http://homepage.usask.ca/~amn076/lights.wmv

Enjoy!

[Doc_Pardue]

I put up lights outside after Thanksgiving and put fresh cut tree up on December 15th. We go see our children when they were in school Christmas shows, now we go see Holiday shows our grandchildren are in. We spend about 3 evenings going to see the Christmas lights. When I was a kid, growing up onsouth side of Chicago,I used to love going to see how the department stores on Michigan Ave were doing their windows. Christmas eve we attend Mass and go sing carols as a family at a nursing home. I remember I couldn't wait for the first snow. But now I am in Arizona I kind of look back now and say, boy am I glad I don't have to shovel the drive way. Of course, now, my mind is like a steel trap- rusty and illegal in 37 states.

MERRY CHRISTMAS NAVY...

[Doc_Pardue]

This is me and my twin sister one Christmas in 1958, I was 11.

[Corpsman77Wife]

Aww how cute. You were a skinny little thing back then!

[hm1park]

For Thanksgiving..Well first I go to the hangar, then around noon I trot on over to the chow hallon Al Asad base to scarf down some really good Thanksgiving dinner, and then I scurry back to the hangar. Happy Thanksgiving!!! Woo hoooo!! Gotta love tradition :P

[Doc_Pardue]

THE GIFT OF HOPE

Three years ago, a little boy and his grandmother came to see Santa at Mayfair Mall in Wisconsin. The child climbed up on his lap, holding a picture of a little girl. "Who is this?" asked Santa, smiling. "Your friend? Your sister?". "Yes, Santa," he replied. "My sister, Sarah, who is very sick," he said sadly. Santa glanced over at the grandmother who was waiting nearby, and saw her dabbing her eyes with a tissue. "She wanted to come with me to see you, oh, so very much, Santa!" the child exclaimed. "She misses you," he added softly. Santa tried to be cheerful and encouraged a smile to the boy's face, asking him what he wanted Santa to bring him for Christmas.

When they finished their visit, the Grandmother came over to help the child off his lap, and started to say something to Santa, but halted. "What is it?" Santa asked warmly. "Well, I know it's really too much to ask you, Santa, but," the old woman began, shooing her grandson over to one of Santa's elves to collect the little gift which Santa gave all his young visitors. "The girl in the photograph, my granddaughter, well, you see ... she has leukemia and isn't expected to make it even through the holidays," she said through tear-filled eyes. "Is there any way, Santa ... any possible way that you could come see Sarah? That's all she's asked for, for Christmas, is to see Santa." Santa blinked and swallowed hard and told the woman to leave information with his elves as to where Sarah was, and he would see what he could do.

Santa thought of little else the rest of that afternoon. He knew what he had to do. "What if it were MY child lying in that hospital bed, dying," he thought with a sinking heart, "this is the least I can do." When Santa finished visiting with all the boys and girls that evening, he retrieved from his helper the name of the hospital where Sarah was staying. He asked the assistant location manager how to get to Children's Hospital. "Why?" Rick asked, with a puzzled look on his face. Santa relayed to him the conversation with Sarah's grandmother earlier that day. "C?mon.... I'll take you there," Rick said softly.

Rick drove them to the hospital and came inside with Santa. They found out which room Sarah was in. A pale Rick said he would wait out in the hall. Santa quietly peeked into the room through the half-closed door and saw little Sarah on the bed. The room was full of what appeared to be her family; there was the Grandmother and the girl's brother he had met earlier that day. A woman whom he guessed was Sarah's mother stood by the bed, gently pushing Sarah's thin hair off her forehead. And another woman who he discovered later was Sarah's aunt, sat in a chair near the bed with weary, sad look on her face. They were talking quietly, and Santa could sense the warmth and closeness of the family, and their love and concern for Sarah.

Taking a deep breath, and forcing a smile on his face, Santa entered the room, bellowing a hearty, "Ho, ho, ho!" "Santa!" shrieked little Sarah weakly, as she tried to escape her bed to run to him, IV tubes in tact. Santa rushed to her side and gave her a warm hug. A child the tender age of his own son -- 9 years old -- gazed up at him with wonder and excitement. Her skin was pale and her short tresses bore telltale bald patches from the effects of chemotherapy. But all he saw when he looked at her was a pair of huge, blue eyes. His heart melted, and he had to force himself to choke back tears. Though his eyes were riveted upon Sarah's face, he could hear the gasps and quiet sobbing of the women in the room.

As he and Sarah began talking, the family crept quietly to the bedside one by one, squeezing Santa's shoulder or his hand gratefully, whispering "thank you" as they gazed sincerely at him with shining eyes. Santa and Sarah talked and talked, and she told him excitedly all the toys she wanted for Christmas, assuring him she'd been a very good girl that year.

As their time together dwindled, Santa felt led in his spirit to pray for Sarah, and asked for permission from the girl's mother. She nodded in agreement and the entire family circled around Sarah's bed, holding hands. Santa looked intensely at Sarah and asked her if she believed in angels. "Oh, yes, Santa ... I do!" she exclaimed. "Well, I'm going to ask that angels watch over you! "He said. Laying one hand on the child's head, Santa closed his eyes and prayed. He asked that God touch little Sarah, and heal her body from this disease. He asked that angels minister to her, watch and keep her. And when he finished praying, still with eyes closed, he started singing softly, "Silent Night, Holy Night. All is calm, all is bright." The family joined in, still holding hands, smiling at Sarah, and crying tears of hope, tears of joy for this moment, as Sarah beamed at them all.

When the song ended, Santa sat on the side of the bed again and held Sarah's frail, small hands in his own. "Now, Sarah," he said authoritatively, "you have a job to do, and that is to concentrate on getting well. I want you to have fun playing with your friends this summer, and I expect to see you at my house at Mayfair Mall this time next year!" He knew it was risky proclaiming that, to this little girl who had terminal cancer, but he "had" to. He had to give her the greatest gift he could -- not dolls or games or toys - but the gift of HOPE. "Yes, Santa!" Sarah exclaimed, her eyes bright. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead and left the room.

Out in the hall, the minute Santa's eyes met Rick's, a look passed between them and they wept unashamed. Sarah's mother and grandmother slipped out of the room quickly and rushed to Santa's side to thank him. "My only child is the same age as Sarah," he explained quietly. "This is the least I could do." They nodded with understanding and hugged him.

One year later, Santa Mark was again back on the set in Milwaukee for his six-week, seasonal job which he so loves to do. Several weeks went by and then one day a child came up to sit on his lap. "Hi, Santa! Remember me?" "Of course, I do," Santa, proclaimed (as he always does), smiling down at her. After all, the secret to being a "good" Santa is to always make each child feel as if they are the "only" child in the world at that moment. "You came to see me in the hospital last year!" Santa's jaw dropped. Tears immediately sprang in his eyes, and he grabbed this little miracle and held her to his chest.
"Sarah!" he exclaimed. He scarcely recognized her, for her hair was long and silky and her cheeks were rosy-- much different from the little girl he had visited just a year before. He looked over and saw Sarah's mother and grandmother in the sidelines smiling and waving and wiping their eyes.
That was the best Christmas ever for Santa Claus. He had witnessed --and been blessed to be instrumental in bringing about -- this miracle of hope. This precious little child was healed. Cancer-free. Alive and well. He silently looked up to Heaven and humbly whispered, "Thank you, Father. 'This a very, Merry Christmas!

Author unknown



MERRY CHRISTMAS[/b]


Doc P

[I DO CPR 2]

How do you humble a grown man?



Thanks Doc Pardue.

[DeeDee]

Nothing too special planned for this holiday season - Dan comes home from Great Lakes on the 22nd - driving down to pick him up & bring him home for a visit- we are doing the family dinner thing on the 23rd so everyone can see him in his uniform.

By the time he comes home we will have put up our tree (doing a charlie brown one again this year) and decorated the yard with our blow up snowmen and lights in all the windows.

Christmas day will be a quiet day at home - dinnerwith Rob and the boys - being lazy around the house checking out our presents - I know Rob is going to LOVE what Dan got for him. :DI am not asking for anything other than to enjoy our time with Dan at home.

Hope everyone enjoys their holidays no matter how they celebrate it.

DeeDee

[Da-Chief]

WAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

OH MY GOD.. DOC---

WOW.. The SCHMALTZY Side of me takes over..

I am putting this out in a blast to all..

and to all ..

a good night..

da-chief.

[Doc_Pardue]

What is Doc Pardue's cutest photo? The one with his twin sister, he is on the left. How cute was he?

[Da-Chief]

Nice dress.. did you wear tights with that..

;-)
See make fun of my son, at least he didn't have a dress and a bonnet on!

HAH!
:-)
Da-Chief

[DevilDoc]

OH GEEZ....one emotion to the next...first the crocodile tears about Doc P's Christmas Miracle story...and then the photo of him in a dress.....laughing so hard I almost fell out of my chair! Thanks Doc P for the tears and the smiles! I am supposed to be studying for my finals and instead I am here, hanging out with you!

[DevilDoc]

Christmas in New York

Well, this is now my 3rd Christmas in New York. My husband and I put up our tree usually the day after Thanksgiving, but this year, he decided to decorate on Thanksgiving day! He's very excited about the holidays! We put lights in the window to look like ice cycles and snowflakes. We have a lit up Santa and tree in the front yard. The door is docorated with red velvet ribbon and a big red bow and jingle bells of gold. We put up our tree and I always decorate that, this year with a train set running under it (husband's idea). He's like a kid...only he's 40. LOL!

We don't have any snow yet! I am happy about that actually. But it is freezing! Isn't that enough? Each year we go to Brooklyn to look at the lights. There is a neighborhood there that the well off wealthy people live in and decorate thier houses like something from a Santa movie...beautiful. We may go there tomorrow evening actually.

Christmas eve, this year will be spent first at a friend's house and then later at the Sister-In-Law's. My husbands family tradition is to stay up until midnight and then open the gifts. I personally think this is insane. The children are bouncing off the walls by then, crying in delirium because they are so tired. They can't even enjoy the gifts. I have maintained that we do not do this, and so we wait to open our gifts on Christmas morning, but we do watch the others open theirs, and then we hurry home, trying not to fall asleep on the way there..... can't wait till we are out of NY and don't have to participate in this chaos of crying unhappy children. I feel bad for the kids....Christmas is supposed to be about going to bed early so Santa can come....the anticipation of waking up to see what he brought you and then spending all day playing with your new toys, while Mom cooks Christmas dinner. Instead, they are exhausted, whining and cannot enjoy any of it. Yuck! I of course, say nothing and just observe, knowing that we at least have something to look forward to the next morning. Of course there is no sleeping in, even though we are up until 2 or 3 in the morning. My husband is much like a little kid, waiting to open his gifts! And this year will be the worst...as he asked for the Xbox 360 and is convinced he got it! Oh boy....... of course, I aim to please....but I have something up my sleeve with that one. It's not under the tree...it's hidden away. I thought maybe I would make him go on a treasure hunt to find it....seems like it would be worth the effort...this way he can open his other gifts and enjoy them, without his prized gift drawing away from the others.....seems like a good idea anyway. Make him really wait it out! Is that evil???

This year I was thinking about going to a shelter to volunteer to give out food on Christmas day... I am also donating gifts to the Pediatric Unit of the Hospital, that I attend my clinicals for Nursing school at. I usually like to attend Mass on Christmas eve or Christmas Day. This year, it will depend on the schedule at my Parish.

Anyway, all the shopping is done, Christmas cards are sent. All I have left is to bake bake bake. Pumpkin cheesecake anyone?



http://img11.mytextgraphics.com/christmastext/2006/12/12/e10854613b0c3310d76358c916f80e11.gif (http://www.christmastext.com)

[Da-Chief]

Jeez, I thought my schedule was crazy..

;-)

Devildoc, Congrats on the Nursing.. Keep it up. Get the Commission if you can as well. I have a new found gratitude to Nursing after seeing what Karen went through to get this done.

If you want to send me a Pumpkin Cheese cake, I'll send you my address!!!!!!

;-)

Da-Chief

[hm1park]

Well for Christmas this year, I'm sure mine will go something like this. I'll sleep in late and then around 1030 I'll unzip my sleeping bag and crawl out. Then pull out my best Christmas day desert MARPAT uniform, check my mirror to make sure my medium reg hair is all in place, and stepthrough my plywood door out of my"room" into the hallway. A quick stop by the "ready room" a tiny room with one bench in it and a few computers for my morning coffee will give the day a nice kick start. Back to my room to grab my pistol, magazines, leatherman, and cover to make the trek across the FOB to the chow hall. Smiling ShriLankans greet me in the chow line with a broken english "Merry Christmas" as they serve a wonderful spread of food. After enjoying this joyous time in the desert, Christmas trees around a triple wide, prefab trailer/chow hall, I take my tray and with a THUD...dump it's remains in the trash....and I burp..

Back across the FOB to my berthing/work/recreation center where we tell stories of Christmas' we were with families...and then go to sleep, stuffed with food. We wake up...and Christmas..has passed

That's my Christmas plan :)

Oorah and Merry Christmas from CKV Iraq

[DevilDoc]

Well Chief I don't know how well it could keep in the shipping. I know there must be a way...I could give you the recipe and your wife could make it for you!!:DIt's really delicious!!!

HM1Park,

We'll be thinking of you! You will be in our prayers for a safe return home so that you may spend your next Christmas home with your family! God Bless you.

[crazycajun]

Just send him a picture of one, it'll almost be like the real thing....

Thankfully my wife makes a good Pumpkin Cheesecake. Gotta luv her!

[hm1park]

Thank you for the well wishes and prayers. It's been almost torture as my family has described all of the holiday festivities and menu lists, parties, etc. Still nice to reminisce and knowI'll have the party of parties when we get home. We are VERY well fed out here thanks to the work of KBR inc. Gone are the days of Trayrats and MRE's with exception ofthe guys who are "In the shit". They still get to eat in these chow halls when they'renot on a mission. My fellow Navy brothers on the Amphib LHD may be eating better with the Marines gone, but our selection of food has surpassed my wildest deployment dreams. Guess they have to do something out here for retention of our servicemembers. ha!

To those of you reading this who are thinking about military service or deployments. If you're fearful about missing these momentous occasions with family and friends, I won't lie and say it's a pleasureable occasion to be away at. However, I can say that the sad moments have a special silver lining that I believe far surpass the departureand missing of your loved ones. Seeing your beautiful wife standing on that pier as you come down to her at homecoming is an occasion that can't be captured by any civilian experience or portrayed in a movie. We are part of a fraternity/sorority that lasts not just 4 years of college, but the duration of your career and lives. You bond with your fellow shipmates like brothers and sisters, once again an experience that rarely is captured in civilian life.

Merry early Christmas

[crazycajun]

HM1,

Brother, I know what you are talking about my brother! I've missed many of special occasions, through-out my years of service.

KBR does usually produce a good menu. Much better than the guys who had the contract in '03.

You guys are in my family's prayers!

[DevilDoc]

HM1,

Can we send you guys some cookies or something?

[DevilDoc]

So I am seeking a little advice from the peanut gallery....

Husband calls me and says he's at the mall...he wants the new Ipod Nano 8GB...blah blah blah...If I don't buy it for him for Christmas, he's going to buy it for himself anyway....so on that note! Do I buy it for him? Or let him go get it on his own? I already bought him the Xbox 360.....with a butt load of games and accessories....he's a little spoiled...what can I say?

I could always go get it and charge it on the AMEX...which he pays anyway. So in a sense I got it for him and he's buying it for himself..he he he...

[Corpsman77Wife]

He sure is spoiled and a lucky man to have you as a wife. I would have to say just go ahead and buy it. Will he really realize that you charged it on the AMEX and that he is paying for it himself?

[Da-Chief]

Let him get the NANO, and send Da-Chief the 360...

:P

Out..

HMC

[Doc_Pardue]

Talk about present blackmail, just get him a dozen donuts...

http://badaboo.free.fr/merryxmas.swf (http://badaboo.free.fr/merryxmas.swf)

[Doc_Pardue]

This one is for the guys...

This is the time of year when we think back to the very first
Christmas when the Three Wise Men: Gaspar, Balthazar and Herb
went to see the baby Jesus; and according to the Book of
Matthew, "presented unto Him gifts; gold, frankincense, and
myrrh."

These are simple words, but if we analyze them carefully, we
discover an important, yet often overlooked, theological fact.
There is no mention of wrapping paper.

If there had been wrapping paper, Matthew would have said so:
"And lo, the gifts were inside 600 square cubits of paper. And
the paper was festooned with pictures of Frosty the Snowman.
And Joseph was going to throweth it away, but Mary saideth unto
him, she saideth, 'Holdeth it! That is nice paper! Saveth it
for next year!' And Joseph did rolleth his eyeballs. And the
baby Jesus was more interested in the paper than the
frankincense."

But these words do not appear in the Bible, which means that the
very first Christmas gifts were NOT wrapped. This is because
the people giving those gifts had two important characteristics:
1. They were wise. 2. They were men.

Men are not big gift wrappers. Men do not understand the point
of putting paper on a gift just so somebody else can tear it
off. This is not just my opinion; this is a scientific fact
based on a statistical survey of two guys I know.

One is Rob, who said the only time he ever wraps a gift is
"if it's such a poor gift that I don't want to be there when the
person opens it."

The other is Gene, who told me he does wrap gifts, but as a
matter of principle never takes more than 15 seconds per gift.
"No one ever had to wonder which presents daddy wrapped at
Christmas," Gene said. "They were the ones that looked like
enormous spitballs."

I also wrap gifts, but because of some defect in my motor
skills, I can never completely wrap them. I can take a gift the
size of a deck of cards and put it the exact center of a piece
of wrapping paper the size of a regulation volleyball court, but
when I am done folding and taping, you can still see a sector of
the gift peeking out. (Sometimes I camouflage this sector with
a marking pen.)

If I had been an ancient Egyptian in the field of mummies, the
lower half of the Pharaoh's body would be covered only by Scotch
tape.

On the other hand, if you give my wife a 12-inch square of
wrapping paper, she can wrap a C-130 cargo plane. My wife, like
many women, actually likes wrapping things. If she gives you a
gift that requires batteries, she wraps the batteries
separately, which to me is very close to being a symptom of
mental illness. If it were possible, my wife would wrap each
individual volt.

My point is that gift-wrapping is one of those skills like
having babies that come more naturally to women than to men.
That is why today I am presenting:

GIFT-WRAPPING TIPS FOR MEN:
* Whenever possible, buy gifts that are already wrapped.
If, when the recipient opens the gift, neither one of you
recognizes it, you can claim that it's myrrh.

* The editors of Woman's Day magazine recently ran an item on
how to make your own wrapping paper by printing a design on it
with an apple sliced in half horizontally and dipped in a
mixture of food coloring and liquid starch.
They must be smoking crack.

* If you're giving a hard-to-wrap gift, skip the wrapping paper!
Just put it inside a bag and stick one of those little adhesive
bows on it. This creates a festive visual effect that is sure to
delight the lucky recipient on Christmas morning:

YOUR WIFE: Why is there a Hefty trash bag under the tree?
YOU: It's a gift! See? It has a bow!
YOUR WIFE (peering into the trash bag): It's a leaf blower.
YOU: Gas-powered! Five horsepower!
YOUR WIFE: I want a divorce.
YOU: I also got you some myrrh.

In conclusion, remember that the important thing is not what you
give or how you wrap it. The important thing, during this very
special time of year, is that you save the receipt.


by Dave Barry~Go Army

Don't forget to laugh during this Christmas season,
and to my knowledge one of the wise men was not named Herb.

[Doc_Pardue]

Great memory of a wonderful singer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKTHvW2JcAA&eurl (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKTHvW2JcAA&eurl)=

Merry Christmas Navy.