Belated Christmas

Well I had planned on posting before Christmas. Well better late than never.

Decorating for Christmas can be a lot of fun. I can watch others do it just fine. I did hang one ornament on the tree. Deb and Andrea did the rest. Andrea added the ribbons.Some of the other decorations. Andrea likes to wrap the pictures. It makes a nice touch.Here are a couple other decorations. There were others but unfortunately I either didn't take pictures of them or they didn't come out good enough.And even the toilet received a little Christmas decoration.And here is our tree lit up. Not the best shot.

Christmas in Ct. This year the Hobden family Christmas was in Ct. (Patty and John switch every year). Here Paige and Caleb are playing with an old toy while waiting to open this years presents.

Both John and Paige really liked John's Thomas blanket.Paige waiting to open another present.
I asked little John if he wanted to open more presents and this was his response. I guess he was overwhelmed.
Finally after all presents were opened, the two oldest sat down to watch a video. Before Paige, Grace and family had to head back to NH.

Christmas in Lowell. Well I didn't take ,many pictures. The first one is Matt after he saw that he finally got his Kayak. The wait is finally over. Unfortunately it was a little too large to wrap so we put it on the back of the couch (with a nice bow).

And Andrea received a new laptop. I think she was pretty happy with it.

After Christmas I went to visit Paige and Grace.Grace really seems to like Curious George.

Did you know?

I found this email I received to be very imformative. Unfortunately the pics didn't copy so get out a $1 bill and take a look.


Who was Hayim Solomon?
On the rear of the One Dollar bill, you will see two circles. Together, they comprise the Great Seal of the United States . The First Continental Congress requested that Benjamin Franklin and a group of men come up with a Seal. It took them four years to accomplish this task and another two years to get it approved. If you look at the left-hand circle, you will see a Pyramid.

Notice the face is lighted, and the western side is dark. This country was just beginning. We had not begun to explore the west or decided what we could do for Western Civilization. The Pyramid is uncapped, again signifying that we were not even close to being finished. Inside the capstone you have the all-seeing eye, an ancient symbol for divinity. It was Franklin's belief that one man couldn't do it alone, but a group of men, with the help of God, could do anything. 'IN GOD WE TRUST' is on this currency.

The Latin above the pyramid, ANNUIT COEPTIS, means, 'God has favored our undertaking.' The Latin below the pyramid, NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM, means, 'a new order has begun.' At the base of the pyramid is the Roman Numeral for 1776. (MDCCLXXVI) If you look at the right-hand circle, and check it carefully, you will learn that it is on every National Cemetery in the United States It is also on the Parade of Flags Walkway at the Bushnell, Florida National Cemetery , and is the centerpiece of most hero's monuments. Slightly modified, it is the seal of the President of the United States , and it is always visible whenever he speaks, yet very few people know what the symbols mean.
The Bald Eagle was selected as a symbol for victory for two reasons: First, he is not afraid of a storm; he is strong, and he is smart enough to soar above it. Secondly, he wears no material crown. We had just broken from the King of England Also, notice the shield is unsupported. This country can now stand on its own. At the top of that shield you have a white bar signifying congress, a unifying factor. We were coming together as one nation. In the Eagle's beak you will read, ' E PLURIBUS UNUM' meaning,'one from many.'
Above the Eagle, you have the thirteen stars, representing the thirteen original colonies, and any clouds of misunderstanding rolling away. Again, we were coming together as one. Notice what the Eagle holds in his talons. He holds an olive branch and arrows. This country wants peace, but we will never be afraid to fight to preserve peace. The Eagle always wants to face the olive branch, but in time of war, his gaze turns toward the arrows. They say that the number 13 is an unlucky number. This is almost a worldwide belief. You will usually never see a room numbered 13, or any hotels or motels with a 13th floor. But think about this: 13 original colonies, 13 signers of the Declaration of Independence, 13 stripes on our flag, 13 steps on the Pyramid, 13 letters in, 'Annuit Coeptis,' 13 letters in 'E Pluribus Unum,' 13 stars above the Eagle, 13 bars on that shield, 13 leaves on the olive branch, 13 fruits, and if you look closely, 13 arrows. And finally, if you notice the arrangement of the 13 stars in the right-hand circle you will see that they are arranged as a Star of David. This was ordered by George Washington who, when he asked Hayim Solomon, a wealthy Philadelphia Jew, what he would like as a personal reward for his services to the Continental Army, Solomon said he wanted nothing for himself but that he would like something for his people. The Star of David was the result. Few people know that it was Solomon who saved the Army through his financial contributions but died a pauper. I always ask people, 'Why don't you know this?' Your children don't know this, and their history teachers don't know this. Too many veterans have given up too much to ever let the meaning fade. Many veterans remember coming home to an America that didn't care. Too many veterans never came home at all. I for one, plan to share this page with everyone, so they can learn what is on the back of the United States one dollar bill -- and what it stands for!

Grace Baptism

Grace along with her proud parents waiting for the ceremony to begin. I think Grace is wondering why she is in this fancy dress and hat.Doing the Baptism is Linda Pendleton. She is a friend of mine from my part time job at H&R Block. She is also the one that married the proud parents.

Nice family shot. Paige and Grace with their parents and John and Caleb with their parents. Patty's brother and sister in law are Grace's Godparents.Paige and Caleb play while waiting for the meal.And of course there has to be cake and it was delicious.
But little Grace couldn't enjoy the cake. Not yet anyway. But her sister and cousin sure enjoyed theirs.

Happy Veterans Day

Well today we celebrate Veterans Day honoring all those that have served in the past and the present. Although it is a holiday (as it should be) many compnaies opt to save the day for the day after Thanksgiving to give employees a longer weekend. My company is one of those. However, we did not forget that today is still Veterans day. The Managment team puts together a nice tribute every year to honor all veterans. The Veterans line up according to branch of service. Then the service flags are marched in (with the respective song) to stand in front of fellow service members. Then the color guard raises the American Flag. After some very nice remarks by Leadership, it is followed by a moment of silence while taps is played. It is a very fitting tribute to all that have served or are currently serving this great country of ours. I thought this would be a fine time for this picture again.

Happy Veterans day to all.

Haloween not just for kids

This year Deb and I dressed up for Halloween. In case you can't tell, Deb was an outlet and I was the plug. We decided to dress up the basic costume a little and make it look like there was a short circuit.
One thing that is always interesting in our neighborhood is one of our neighbors goes above and beyond when it comes to Halloween decorating. Here are a few of his creatures.

And then of course there are always the grandchildren.

And last but not least is our pumpkin. In the background you can see the eyes of the Halloween Black Cat. He did dress up but wasn't too keen on the idea. Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween. Not long to turkey day...

Fall in New England

We love the fall in New England. There is always something fun to do. From craft fairs to apple picking to pumpkin or harvest festivals to trick or treating. Along with this is the beautiful colors of the fall foliage. The only disappointing part is that the beautiful colors don't last that long. And soon the trees will be without their beautiful leaves.

Here are some pumpkins from the Keene Pumpkin Festival. Each year they City of Keene holds the annual Pumpkin Festival. They are always trying to beat the record of number of lit pumpkins. They are in the Guinness Book of records a couple times. Can you imagine over 20,000 lit pumpkins? It is quite the site to see. Although we did not go this year, the middle pumpkin was submitted by my daughter and son in law.

Mount Wachusett is home to the Annual Apple fest weekend. This takes place over two weekends in October. The first weekend this year was a country theme with country music. The second weekend (which we attended) was an Irish celebration. Their is plenty of food and music along with numerous crafters displaying their crafts for sale. In addition if you like, you can ride the chairlift to the top of the mountain. Although it was late in October, there was still some beautiful color.

One of the activities is called Birds of Prey. This is an extremely interesting display of Owls. Hawks, Falcons and this beautiful bald eagle you see here. Makes you proud to be an American.

Well with the end of the beautiful colors, comes the next big event. The one that happens every 4 years. That's right this year we get to elect another president. I am not that much into politics but I will say one thing, that I am not that crazy about either candidate. So I am voting for the one below.

Now that's entertainment

Last night Deb and I went to see Terry Fator. Terry is a ventriliquist that won the America's Got Talent search last year. He is truly an amazing entertainer. He not only is a great ventriliquist, but he is also an impersonator, singer and stand up comic. In addition to winning the million dollar prize he also has a show at the Las Vegas Hilton. He recently signed a 5 year $100m contract with the Mirage in Vegas. He is truly amazing and very entertaining. He has a dvd and cd out that can be ordered on his website. http://www.terryfator.com/

I ordered mine. His new Vegas show starts in February 09 so if you happen to be in Vegas, I would check it out.

The Beginning

Deb and I met on Eharmony in May of 2006. In September of 2007 we were married at the Manchester Country Club. We love to do all kinds of activities together.

One of our favorite activities is going to various Bed and Breakfast's. We have been to several over the course of our almost 2 1/2 years together. It is a lot of fun. The most recent bed and breakfast we went to was the Wildflowers Inn in North Conway, NH. The reason for this location is the annual Pumpkin People contest. More on that later. Another favorite past time is spending time with family and friends.