1 Day 'til Christmas

I've saved the best for last. If the good Lord is willing, tomorrow night I will be standing inside the Magic Kingdom in Orlando and watching this show with my wide eyed 5-year-old princesses. I have seen Cinderella's castle lit up before and watched the fireworks afterwards. It is an experience to take away the breath of a full grown adult. I simply can not wait to watch my girls faces as they soak it in for the first time. I wish all of my friends here a very Merry Christmas!!! I hope that this holiday brings an opportunity for you to watch and enjoy your family as well. People is people and everything else is just stuff. Be good to one another and hold tight the ones you love. And always remember the One who's birth has given us such a time and such an occasion as Christmas.

Simple and Beautiful

We were eating dinner at my sister's house on Sunday when something was brought to my attention by my brother-in-law. People have jumped on this news story and broadcast it across the world. Headlines from newspapers and on the internet proclaim things like "Bush Cowers at Shoe Attack" or "Iraqi Journalist Hurls Insult" or "Bush Too Quick." People on the left relish the idea of someone hurling their shoe at President Bush and are lightning quick to point out what a huge insult that is in the Iraqi culture. I've heard everyone putting their own little spin on it. Seven years ago you would never even have known this man's name. Seven years ago you would not have even wanted to be from this man's family or even village. Now try to really soak in the scene and appreciate it for what it is. Here's the simple and beautiful truth that this picture conveys:

A journalist, who was able to question the highest ELECTED officials in the land and in the world, hurled a shoe at the President of the United States while Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki was also standing there and DID NOT DIE.

4 Days 'til Christmas

Uncanny Likeness

I was over at Vinegar and Honey today and my friend Jan had this photo posted on her blog. I couldn't help but laugh out loud immediately when I saw it because it looked so familiar to me. I've seen this likeness before many times. This is what popped into me head:

Christmas Gifts and Kindness

I have a great job for which I am very grateful. Many are without jobs right now and many more will be without jobs in the months to come. I don't consider my job to be great because it will make me rich or powerful or respected. But these are not the things I strive for. I have a great job because I enjoy the work I do and enjoy the people that I work with. Many of my coworkers are also my friends. When Mama Frank was pregnant with our girls the people there threw me a baby shower and were very generous. It was the first and only baby shower that anyone could remember having there. One of my friends there has always enjoyed seeing my girls and has known them from birth. She has a special place in her heart for Jessica as they share the same name. Today she brought me a gift for the girls which she knitted herself. I am thankful for the kindness to myself and to my family. Hand made gifts are very special as time is a real commodity these days. Especially time coming from someone who works more than one job. The hats that she knitted are beautiful and my girls were overjoyed to receive them. They informed us that they wanted to wear them to bed tonight (a request which we gladly obliged). I hope that you are as fortunate with your job as I am although I know that many are not. My thoughts go out tonight to those who are out of work unexpectedly. My prayers are with you and your families.

7 Days 'til Christmas (Admit it! - These posts make you smile!)

9 Days 'til Christmas

Well, this is what was awaiting me at work today.



There are several ways to clean off 41 school busses. None of them are fast. None of them are fun. But this little toy here does come close:



Industrial backpack leaf blowers work wonders on snow if it's not too wet. By the way, it's only nine more days until hanging out with these guys is all I have to worry about. I'm really...........um...I mean.....my GIRLS are really looking forward to it. (yeah, that's the ticket)

And So Ends the Reign of King Carl

It was announced today that after spending the last twenty years running the Kansas City Chiefs into the ground our General Manager, Carl Peterson, is finally going to pack his bags and ruin somebody else's town. Good riddens to bad rubbish!!! I am hoping that he will take Herm Edwards with him and we could start fresh with our undoubtedly high draft picks we should receive next year.

10 Days 'til Christmas

This is where we are going to stay while we are at Walt Disney World. It is called the Pop Century Resort. There are different wings of the resort and each one of them pay tribute to a certain decade of the 1900's. It's the most cheesetastic place you can imagine and I can't wait to get there and drink it in. This video also features my girls favorite song. I play this song and they jump up and down and dance and sing like crazy. Not the typical choice for 5-year-olds but then again my girls are anything but typical. I'm a proud Papa you know!!!

Welcome to our home! We have finally got a chance to decorate for Christmas. Feel free to stop by and we'll share a cup of hot cocoa or a glass of egg nog. Maybe we could even sing a song or two and share a meal. Come one, come all.

12 Days 'til Christmas

Since we are down to twelve days I bring to you the Muppets and John Denver singing the "12 Days of Christmas."

13 Days 'til Christmas

14 Days 'til Christmas

Snow White was the first full length animated feature to be produced by Walt Disney, and the first American animated feature film in movie history. Walt Disney had to fight to get the film produced. Both his brother Roy Disney and his wife Lillian attempted to talk him out of it, and the Hollywood movie industry mockingly referred to the film as "Disney's Folly" while it was in production. He even had to mortgage his house to help finance the film's production, which eventually ran up a total cost of just over $1.5 million, a massive sum for a feature film in 1937. Disney's wife, Lillian, told him: "No one's ever gonna pay a dime to see a dwarf picture." Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiered at the Carthay Circle Theater on December 21, 1937 to a wildly receptive audience, many of whom were the same naysayers who dubbed the film "Disney's Folly." The film received a standing ovation at its completion from a star-studded audience that included such celebrities as Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard, Shirley Temple, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Judy Garland, Ginger Rogers, Jack Benny, Fred MacMurray, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, Burns and Allen, Ed Sullivan, Milton Berle, John Barrymore, and Marlene Dietrich. Six days later, Walt Disney and his magical seven dwarfs appeared on the cover of Time magazine. The New York Times said "Thank you very much, Mr. Disney." RKO Radio Pictures put the film into general release on February 4, 1938, and it went on to become a major box-office success, making more money than any other motion picture in 1938. The film grossed $66,596,803 domestically when released, and has had a lifetime gross of $184,925,486. For a short time, Snow White was the highest-grossing film in American cinema history; it was ousted from that spot by Gone with the Wind in 1939. Adjusted for inflation, and incorporating subsequent releases, the film still registers one of the top ten American film moneymakers of all time.

15 Days 'til Christmas

THE DAPPER DANS ON MAIN STREET USA

A Red Letter Day

This is a red letter day in our family. Today Mama Frank will complete her Masters degree in education from Baker University. Not only will she be graduating but she will have a 4.0 GPA to boot. She has been working very hard on this degree and has done it all on top of being a full-time elementary music teacher and being the most wonderful mother to her children and wife to her husband. I honor her today and am exceedingly proud of her. She is the strongest of our family and we love her dearly. Congratulations Mama Frank!!!

16 Days 'til Christmas

Taiko drummers outside the Japan pavilion in Epcot

17 Days 'til Christmas

19 Days 'til Christmas!!!

There's only 19 days until Christmas and people are starting to get excited here at the Frank residence. Our excitement this year is a little different than most years. Yes we are looking forward to celebrating Christmas with our family. And yes we are keeping in mind the greatest gift ever given to us by our Creator. And yes we are enjoying seeing the Christmas lights all around us. And yes we are singing the Christmas carols that we love. But this year our excitement is also tied to my girl's first trip to Disney World. In 19 days we will board a plane early Christmas morning. When we get off that plane the Disney Magical Express will pick us up and take us to the Disney Pop Century resort which will be our home until after the New Year. To say that we are excited is really quite an understatement! To get us in the spirit here I have changed up my blog colors a bit and added a nice little snow shower as well. Hope y'all like it.

For My Friend Salubrina

In the spirit of retro-week here at Papa's I am including three things brought up by Salubrina at my friend Steph's place. Our childhoods must have been somewhat similar.

Article 1, Section 6 of the Constitution

It seems that even European countries can easily recognize the disdain that the Democrats have for The Constitution and the legal acrobat tricks they pull to get around following the rules clearly written out to guide our legislators. Appointing Hillary to the Secretary of State position is clearly unconstitutional but that means very little to the leftards.

From a newspaper in the UK:

Hillary Clinton's appointment as US Secretary of State has been challenged as unconstitutional. In fact it conflicts with Article 1, Section 6 of the Constitution which states: "No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time."

Hillary Clinton has been a Senator since 2001. In January of this year President Bush signed an executive order raising the salary of the Secretary of State by $4,700. That disqualifies her from taking office, according to the advocacy group Judicial Watch. But Democrat apologists insist there are ways to circumvent this disqualification. Congress could reduce the salary to its former level, as was done in 1974 to enable Senator William Saxbe to become attorney general and in 1993 to facilitate Senator Lloyd Bentsen becoming treasury secretary.

Those moves were unconstitutional, riposte the purists, carried out by Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton, both notorious for constitutional improprieties. Using a Clinton precedent to validate a Clinton promotion does have a gamey odour to it. Opponents point out that, because of this clause, Ronald Reagan refrained from appointing Senator Orrin Hatch to the Supreme Court.

Nevertheless, Democrats are preparing measures to evade the clause. One notion proposed has been that it should be ignored since nobody has the standing to sue under its provisions to block Clinton's appointment. The same argument was advanced, during the recent election, when some of the common people impertinently asked to see Barack Obama's birth certificate, as proof of his right to stand for the presidency.

So, after the founding fathers burned so much midnight oil over that document, it turns out to be inaccessible, unenforceable and irrelevant. Proponents of a written constitution for Britain might take note of this situation.

Muppet Magic

I am dedicating this post here to my wonderful wife. She is a kid at heart even as I am. We grew up on opposite coasts of the USA but with many of the same tastes in humor and entertainment. We have always been very fond of the Muppets in general and The Muppet Show specifically. We've spent time recalling our favorite bits and pieces and trying to remember how each of them went. There is one bit though that she and her older brother saw that they talk of when they are together that I never did see. And try as I may I never could seem to find this episode anywhere as they could not remember the name of the guest star or in which season it was. All they described was that it had a guy doing a magic trick where he "shuffled" sausages. As children they laughed and laughed and laughed but neither of them ever did see that particular bit again. I was thinking of this story again today and decided to once again search for this episode. At long last I found it. Before you judge their humor remember that their only experience with this clip was as small children hyped up on too much candy and too little sleep. (Although, I'm not suffering from either of those things and am laughing like a child.) Believe me when I tell you that she is going to absolutely FREAK when she sees her childhood memory played out before her. Without further adieu I bring you the infamous "sausage" episode:

Schoolhouse Rock

Since we are on the theme of Schoolhouse Rock here this week I thought I would share with you the favorite one from my childhood.



Mama Frank's favorite was "I'm Just a Bill."



What was your favorite?

Also, please visit my friends STEPH and CUBE who have picked up on this and shared part of their childhoods with us as well.