1200 POSTS BY CHRISTMAS 2009

[mistletoe misfit]

OH,Noel. I am saddened to hear of your husbands job loss.
I will be praying for you and your family.
Your son has true Christmas spirit. It's no surprise when he has such a wonderful role model for a mom.
Your an inspiration to me. With the many hardships and tragedies you have been through these past few years. You are still able to keep your thoughtful, and positive outlook on life.
I pray that your hubby is able to find another job very soon.
Hugs!
Your friend Ange

[Jodie]

Happy Valentines Day to all my Christmas buddies.

That Koala in the picture was so close to death - did you know that Koala's do not need to drink and when they do, they are not well at all. This little lady (now called Sam) drank 3 bottles of spring water before they took her to a wild life carer - where, I am very pleased to say, she has a boyfriend Koala and is doing very well. Her little feet were badly burned but she is getting all the care she needs.

There have been so many stories and pics of wildlife allowing themselves to be cared for when the firemen approach it is just not funny.

Good news on the Arson front - they have caught 2 teenagers for one lot of the fires and one of the biggest ones was lit by a 39 year old man who has since been charged and is in prison awaiting trial. I hope they charge him with murder and imprison him for life (which sadly can be anything from 8-20 years here - not nearly enough).

Noel I thought of you as I wrote my first post and how you lost everything - I was worried about writing it because I can imagine that the memory, although faded a little with time, will never leave you and I really did not want to open old wounds for you.
Sorry to hear about your husbands job - I am praying for another job to turn up that is better than the last for him.

Well it has been a very hectic time here with everything going on and all the fund raising for the fires - I think we are up over $70 million dollars - not bad for a country of 22 million people hey!. The pride I take in being Australian when I see the rallying that we can do as Aussies fills my heart and makes me cry.

Well I am off again as I have 2 assignments due for Uni next week and I have hardly started them with everything going on.

Please know that even though I am not here much, you are always in my thoughts

[CandyKane]

Jodie---So glad to hear that you and your family are safe from the terrible disasters going on over there. And how wonderful of you to offer to open your home to strangers in need. I'm really impressed by the amount of money that has been raised to help victims. The true Spirit of Christmas is displayed in this generosity. And thanks for the koala info..Very interesting.

Noel--I'm so sorry to hear of your husbands job loss. I'm hoping and praying that he'll find another job very soon. Your son has a wonderful attitude. You should be very proud of this remarkable young man.

[Noel+]

Jodie, you could never be insensitive! And, it is important to share news about people/animals in need of care. I appreciate your updates! And it is great to know that "Sam" is healing and has a boyfriend! My daughter loves that news! And I certainly hope they imprison the arsonists..........because in America they have a high track record for repeat offensives!

Candy Kane, thanks for the lovely remark about my sweet DS!

And both your prayers are appreciated .......you show the Spirit of Christmas all year long! And we all need our jobs in this downturn world economy!

[Mrs.Claus]

Jodie - very relieved to know you are well and am happy to hear of the generosity of your country. That's the true Christmas spirit all year. Way to go Australia!!!

Noel - please know that we are thinking of you and you are in our prayers.

We're having a good weekend here. On Monday we celebrate Family Day - an official holiday in Ontario and our second one. There is no school and many businesses are closed. We have been focusing on family all weekend and have been having a good time, playing board games, Wii, watching movies. We even spontaneously went to Medieval Times on Friday night (it was buy one get one free - so it was half the price). It was the girls first time and they really liked it.

Hope everyone else is doing well.

[Jodie]

Mrs C what a great holiday - Family day (no work and businesses closed). I think every country should adopt Family day.

I have always said that I remember when I was young and the shops were only open from 9am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday with late night shopping on Friday nights and the supermarkets were open until 8.30pm. Shops were open on Saturday from 9am to lunchtime and so many were closed on Sundays - I really think that we could learn from this and take back some family time.

More time with family is so important, that is one reason I love Christmas so much because we all take time to spend with our family and friends

[Noel+]

Your holiday sounds lovely, Mrs. C! I'm all for a FAMILY DAY!!!

Today was a day of rest for me. Tomorrow, President's Day, I actually have off work! So tonight I paid bills, tied tax papers for IRS prep, and just relaxed. Tomorrow I am looking forward to a nice quiet family day!

The Christmas Spirit reigns in our hearts!

[Merry Sage]

Family Day. What a great idea! Is it something new? I've not heard of it til now. I like to think of Christmas as the ultimate Family Day!

[mistletoe misfit]

Merry Sage
Yes, it is a new holiday. It started last year. It is a great idea, the kids have it off from school and some things are closed. It is a provincial holiday however, so anything federally overseen doesn't have to give their employees the day off. My hubby's place of work doesn't give it to the employees, but he asked for it off well in advance so he could spend it with us this year.YAY!!
He works so hard, so when he has an extra day off it is like another Christmas gift for the kids and I.

[CandyKane]

Family Day sounds like a wonderful holiday. Wish we had it here in the US. It would be almost as good as Christmas!

[Merry Sage]

Family Day sounds like a wonderful holiday. Wish we had it here in the US. It would be almost as good as Christmas!

I wonder if its something a person could get started at the local level?

[Mrs.Claus]

Here's a little blurb from wikipediaabout Family Day:

Family Day is the name of a public holiday in South Africa, in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Ontario, and Saskatchewan, in the American state of Arizona, in Vanuatu, and (as "Family & Community Day") in the Australian Capital Territory.

Although, like so many of you, I consider Christmas as family day, too. It's nice to have few a year to put more focus on family and remind us what really matters.

[Noel+]

I won't be online for a few days. My Mom cannot walk..........it started last night.........no diagnosis yet..........and no sleep for me. She's lost the Christmas spirit so I am fighting to hold onto it for us both.

[mistletoe misfit]

Noel I hope the doctors very quickly have a diagnosis and have your mom back on her feet once again. Poor her and you it must be so scary not knowing what is going on. My prayers and hugs are going out to both of you. Update us on your moms condition when you can.


There is a fresh blanket of snow on the ground, looking like Christmas once again.

[CandyKane]

Noel--I'm praying for your Mom and praying that her doctors find out what's wrong with her so they can start treating her and get her well.

MistletoeMisfit--Glad you've got some 'Christmas' snow.

[Mrs.Claus]

Noel - we're praying for you here too. Please let us know how things are going. I'm sure you have more than enough Christmas spirit for the both of you.

[Noel+]

Update on Mom [in a Christmas spirit!]

The doctors have recommended Hospice care at home for Mom. NOW the hospice agency must approve it according to Medicare guidelines. This is the 4th time we have requested the care.........in the past they turned us down.........your prayers are greatly appreciated!

The combination of Mom's neuropathy, severe osteoporosis and Alzheimer's disease [her brain is forgetting how to make the body work properly] combined to produce partial paralysis. She also has COPD w/emphysema from a lifetime of smoking so lack of oxygen contributes to the problem as well.

For now, I ordered a hospital bed and porta-potty so I can care for her at night and we pay a nurse to care for her when I work. It's up to Hospice now.

Your words of care and prayers are a real strength! Bless you!!!

[nettescraps]

Hi everyone. It's been awhile since I have been on and I am in need of some Christmas spirit.

Noel, I hope your mom is approved for the hospice care. My prayers are with you and your mother.

[CandyKane]

Noel--I can't even imagine how hard this is for you and your family. I'm praying that Hospice will come in and help you.

We have a slight chance for snow late tonight and tomorrow. Just the chance for snow has really put me in a Christmas mood!

[Merry Sage]

Lots of heartfelt prayers and a big hug to your mum Noel. I think we can all use a little Christmas spirit these days.