Hotty Toddy from a Bulldog Fan

Okay, here is a shout out to our friends Shirley and Jay. Congrats on the Cotton Bowl win.

To those of you reading this post, this shout out probably seems like blasphemy since I am an avowed MSU fan. I am not as rabid as some I know (Laura and Chase) when it comes to pulling for or should I say against Ole Miss. I wish them the best when they play anyone but State.

A bit of history: During the early years of our marriages, Shirley and Jay and Lance and I use to attend the Ole Miss-State games together, going back to the time when the game was held in Jackson. At one time Shirley was a State fan, but over the years she has been worn down by all those Turners and even her own children, who both attended Ole Miss.

When we would attend the games, Shirley and I would sit on the State side and Lance and Jay would sit on the Ole Miss side. How about that for a house divided?!! But, Shirley just couldn't stand up to the barrage of Hotty Toddy ringing in her ears season after season.

Happy New Year to My Friends, My Other Friends, and More Friends

Hope everyone had a Happy New Year and you are are settled into your routine again. All is fairly quiet around the Baria house, as I am happy it is.

As you have read before about my precious friends and in my OCD way, I have arranged them into groups: my professional friends known as the Lalis; my know-all-about-me friends, the Sudduths and the Alexanders; my Church Girls; and my been-there-forever friends, the Turners and Dickersons. Plus, there are many others whom I count as friends even though they may not be a part of my daily or more private life. I consider all these people best friends in so many ways and know they would be at my side at the moment of any need. I have truly been blessed to have these all these wonderful people as friends.

What does this digression on friends have to do with New Years? Well, we continued our New Years tradition of spending the date with the Turners and the Dickersons. We went to the Dickerson's "boat house" at Lake Caroline and had a wonderful time catching up on news about our families and the goings on in our lives.

New Years Day 2009

Some of the best news is the Turners and Dickerson both are expecting grandchildren in the summer: second grandson for the Turners; first grandchild for the Dickersons (will know gender soon). I think it will be so much fun for us all to get together with all our grand kids for one of our New Years get togethers.

Anyway, Lance showed his old curmudgeon self (a bad-tempered, difficult, cantankerous person) by calling Shirley a particular name when she was having a hard time understanding what he was trying to explain. I can't repeat it on the blog for fear of someone taking it as a profanity. Being called this name floored Shirley and made the rest of us do a double take and then burst out in laughter. And, with our group we did not let Lance forget what he said. I think Shirley is gunning for him. If I was Lance, I wouldn't turn my back on ole Shirl.

I also learned a new name for all the "stuff" Cathy has to put up with at work; alas, it is another word I can not put on the blog. But, it is very descriptive of what she has to endure on a daily basis.

The girls relaxin' and rockin'

I guess you think all we do is use profanity, but that is not the case. This year was just a bit more rowdy than others. We did enjoy a great meal at the Strawberry Cafe in Madison New Years eve and managed to stuff ourselves to the max the rest of the time.

The six of us usually see each other four or five times a year, and when we get together, we pick up just where we left off. I realize we did not make a toast or drink any champagne this year, even though we did manage to stay up after midnight, quite a feat for us.

So, here's to friendship. May it be long, may it be wonderful, and may it be fulfilling.

Also, here's wishing you a Happy 2009! DK

Christmas 2008

Well, I know we probably all agree that we blinked and Christmas was gone. I know by the end of the 26th it was hard to tell that Christmas had even been at my house. I look forward to the season but am pretty much saturated by the time the day gets here. I think we need a law that says no one or any store can even think about Christmas retail wise until the first day of Advent.

We spent Christmas at Chase's and Laura's again along with he boys and my parents.

Christmas Eve

Wes and William making cookies for Santa

Chase tries out one of the plasma riders as Lance figures out how it works

Christmas Day

We ate food, watched some t.v., ate some food, played games, ate some food, waited for Santa Claus, ate some food, opened presents, ate some food, put a puzzle together, and ate some food. I heard on the new yesterday that the average person gains 5 pounds over the Christmas season. You might want to check with Lance on that stat. In his case, I think it was more than 5 pounds.

Wes catches on quickly to opening presents that come from Santa

William delivers stockings

Poppa has William's attention

William and Laura check out the John Deere Walky Talkies

Mamoo and Poppa check out a Christmas present

William explains how to play Hungry, Hungry Hippos

Ask Laura why she is so excited over a ladle!!

Out of the mouths of babes: When we went to the Christmas program to hear William sing, he informed us that Jesus did not show up for the program. He again reminded us that He did not come to the birthday party in His honor at Honey and G's house. I was excited to know that William associated Christmas with Jesus, whether He showed up or not.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and I hope Jesus showed up in your heart. DK

Mine Is the One in the Front

"The more things change the more they stay the same." I don't know to whom to credit that quote, but the older I get the more true it is. When Laura was growing up, we could always count on the grandparents being at our side whenever she did something special: an awards ceremony in school. a Christmas program at school or church, kindergarten, CDA, Pillow, Ole Miss and Pharmacy School graduations, basketball games galore, and even more tennis matches. Well, I became the grandparent this week when William was in his first church Christmas program. And yes, I was just as proud as our parents were even though he did pick his nose a bit, yawn, and almost get into it with the little boy who wanted him to change places where they were standing. It was high 5s all around when the program was over. I guess there were other children up front, but I didn't see them!!

Check out the video. He's the cute one in the middle in the white shirt.

A Mayberry Christmas Parade

As you know we live in Inverness, Mississippi. It is a small delta town that can boast of some of the most wonderful, colorful and caring people anywhere on this earth. Most of the small delta towns use to be thriving communities centered around farming. However, now as you drive through some of these towns there is a sadness that can be felt since many of them are just a mere shadow of what they use to be. Inverness, on the other hand, has been able to keep some of its small town appeal and is a bedroom community for Indianola and the surrounding larger towns. We still have a bank, a private academy, public elementary and middle schools, town hall, police station, 2 grocery stores (I use that description lightly), three white churches and 4 black churches, one of the best restaurants for several miles around, and a card entry gas pump. Our community is fairly united when it comes to the black and white population. Our crime rate is nominal, pretty much the petty stuff of breaking into cars and business after hours. We have had a couple of armed robberies, the latest being this past week. For the most part, parents feel safe about their children riding their bikes around town.

I have given you this recitation as a preface to a town activity we attended today. We went to our local Christmas parade. Yep, we have an annual Christmas parade complete with a marching band, the obligatory fire truck with Santa, horses and riders, clowns, thrown candy, and even a gentleman singing Christmas carols through a karaoke machine strapped to the bed of a pick up truck. Oh, I forgot to mention the Gangster City Riders.

Mayor Weems heads up the parade

The CDA float

Clowns on a cart

Told you we had the Gangster City Riders

Inverness version of horses and riders

Sparky the fire dog

Santa's elves a.k.a. Smith Construction Company employees

The big man himself

The only thing that made this day even better was that William got to share in the "excitement." We rode to town in our red golf cart and found a prime spot to watch the parade.

Waiting for the parade to start

I almost forgot. This is Cecil, our karaoke singer.

A Few Comments

If you look at the subtitle of my blog, you will notice that I have allowed myself space to make comments on things that give me pause. So, I am going to make a few comments on the book I just finished listening to yesterday, The Shack. There have been a lot of reactions to this book from it being the best book many feel they have ever read to it being condemned as heresy. Laura even made her recommendation in no uncertain terms: "Mama, don't read it!"

Being the educator I am, even thought I am not in the classroom any more, I have often told my students they can not make an argument against an idea unless they know something about which they are arguing. Emotion leads us down a precarious path, especially when we try to make our arguments known about something we feel strongly about. So, I felt if I was going to weigh in on the book (not that anyone really cares how I feel about the book) I needed to read/listen to it.

I am a Christian, and I try to live my life in a way that reflects God's love for me. I know that it is through His grace through Jesus Christ that I am allowed to be called "an heir, a co-heir with Christ" (Romans 8:17). I know I fall short everyday in my effort, but I also know I have an intercessor in Christ who allows me to confess those sins and who reconciles me to God. I know God has given me the Holy Spirit to be with me here on this earth as my guide. I know God is also just and will judge me according to my life lived here on earth. I believe the Bible is the inerrant world of God given to man through inspiration. I know as much as I study God's word to understand Him there are aspects of God's will I will never understand and I accept those things on faith.

With that said, I will preface this by saying it is a wonder I am still alive. I listened to the book, and many times I tried to write down my thoughts on something that was said as I was trying to drive down the road. Not a good thing to do.

As with the DaVinci Code, The Shack is fiction. However, Young left himself open, as did Larry Brown, to both the accolades and criticism when he chose to have his fictitious story centered on the Deity that is the center of a religion that is practiced and studied by so many. Young explores the matter of God's unending love for us and what it does for us and how it should be reflected in us as believers. I have no problem with that thought. He also examines forgiveness and how our lack of it only serves to entrap us more and rarely affects the person to whom our lack of forgiveness is directed. I have no problem with that premise either.

However, his view of truth is troubling. It appears Young considers truth to be relative, a concept based on past experiences, such as the experiences of Mack Philips, the protagonist of the story who had a harsh childhood and who later loses his daughter to a serial killer. He goes to seminary, in my view, to work out the conflicts he had with the way his father treated him and the faith his father professed to have. All of us have had experiences that influence the way we think, yet the truth is always the truth; it is an absolute.

Young, also in my view, takes a dim view of the church both as a local body of believers and as a universal entity. In a conversation with Philips, Jesus explains organized religion is not a priority in the greater scheme of things. I know that cruel events have played out in the name of organized religion, but I also know that the church is Christ's bride, whom he loves and who awaits his return. To dismiss the church is irresponsible.

The most disturbing concept, and one that almost made me run off the road, was Jesus' explanation of his purpose. Toward the end of the book Jesus states he came to reconcile God to us. God does not need to be reconciled to anyone. We need to be reconciled to God, exactly what Jesus does for us. Jesus also states in his discussion of the church that there all kinds of paths for the Buddhist and Jew and others to come to him. They may come to Jesus, like many who believe him to be a wonderful person to emulate but doubt his divinity such as Benjamin Franklin, but unless they come to God through faith in Jesus as their savior they have misunderstood God's plan.

Another point that bothered me was the acknowledgement Young gave at the end of the book to several universal and existential thinkers, in my view an endorsement of New Age thinking. This fact is reinforced by the name Saru that he gave to the Holy Spirit. This endorsement also reflects part of what has happened within the church today. It is what I call "feel good religion." In many of our churches, we don't want to chase away potential members, so we don't or won't mention sin, consequences, and responsibility. Back to my point, we must teach the truth.

Okay, I have had my say. Read The Shack or don't read The Shack. However, if you are examining your faith and the One you can place it in, read The Bible.

It's about Time

My mom and Lance are probably two of the most content people in the world. As long as it is working, there is no need to replace it, even if it is out of date. This is pretty much their philosophy. I, on the other hand, watch too much Home and Garden TV and Designed to Sell to know that updating, at the most, definitely raises the selling price of a house and at the least makes the inside look new and contemporary.

I remember when we broke up housekeeping for Lance's mom, I was amazed at the age of some of the furniture--a couch that was 40 years old, lamps that were even older, and a turquoise Formica kitchen table (now known as mid-century modern) that had its beginnings in the 50s. The kitchen appliances were the brown that was popular in the 60s, and the kitchen counters still had the original turquoise laminate counter tops that were installed in '63.

I know many of you are saying, " Yes, I know what you are talking about." And I also know there comes an age when we just don't see any sense in making changes for the sake of making changes, but I hope I don't get in that rut. I like classic things and don't go for the faddish stuff, but when a refrigerator is 28 years old, it is time to get another one.

So this past week, I got a new stainless steel side-by-side frig. It is pretty and holds more stuff than my old frig. There is nothing really wrong with my old frig other than it is old and a bit worse for wear and tear and that it is as old as Laura. As a matter of fact, it is older than she by 6 months. Anyway, the old one has been retired to the shop for extra frig space, and the new one now takes its place of honor in the kitchen.

Put out to pasture

Wow, with the new frig sitting so close to the stove, it really shows the stove to be a bit dated, too. I feel a new stove coming on. This may be a harder job to pull off. I am not known for my cooking. Just ask Lance. He will tell you that he doesn't need a stove, old or new, to fix a bowl of cereal.

In all its shining glory