Christmas Trees

Today were going to talk about CHRISTMAS TREES! Why do we have them? Where did the tradition start? Well, let’s find out!

The tradition of Christmas trees has ancient origins which date back long before the first Christmas. Many ancient cultures treasured and worshiped evergreen plants and decorated their homes with them at the time of the winter solstice. Evergreens were considered a symbol of eternal life or the triumph of life over death. It is from these early traditions that our modern Christmas tree evolved.

Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles if wood was scarce. Legend has it that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree. Walking toward his home one winter evening, composing a sermon, he was awed by the brilliance of stars twinkling amidst evergreens. To recapture the scene for his family, he erected a tree in the main room and wired its branches with lighted candles. The Christmas tree tradition most likely came to the United States with Hessian troops during the American Revolution, or with German immigrants to Pennsylvania and Ohio. After the war in 1776, many Germans stayed in the United States, introduced the Christmas tree, and shared their traditions. The size of the tree was limited to 8 feet, and decorations consisted of dolls, as well as sugar items. In the early 19th century, the custom became popular among the nobility and spread to royal courts in Russia, Austria, France, Denmark and Britain.

The American Christmas tree market was born in 1851 when Catskill farmer Mark Carr hauled two ox sleds of evergreens into New York City and sold them all. By the 1890s Christmas ornaments were arriving from Germany and Christmas tree popularity was on the rise around the U.S. It was noted that Europeans used small trees about four feet in height, while Americans liked their Christmas trees to reach from floor to ceiling. By 1900, one in five American families had a Christmas tree, and 20 years later, the custom was nearly universal.

The early 20th century saw Americans decorating their trees mainly with homemade ornaments, while the German-American sect continued to use apples, nuts, and marzipan cookies. Popcorn joined in after being dyed bright colors and interlaced with berries and nuts. Electricity brought about Christmas lights, making it possible for Christmas trees to glow for days on end. With this, Christmas trees began to appear in town squares across the country and having a Christmas tree in the home became an American tradition.

(Sources: History.com, Wikipedia, AllAboutHistory.org, Christmas-Tree.com)

So now you know all about the history of Christmas trees :)

Want weird weather? Come to Oklahoma!

By Steve Olafson  OKLAHOMA CITY | Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:24am EST

(Reuters) - After one of the strangest local weather days in memory, an Oklahoma woman with a sense of humor asked on Twitter earlier this week:

"Wanna experience the apocalypse before it happens? Visit Oklahoma!"

She posted that on Monday night shortly after a 4.7-magnitude aftershock earthquake shook the state. The temblor occurred not long after six tornadoes ripped through southwest Oklahoma, which was preceded by flash-flooding in an area that's been plagued by a historic drought.

"Seriously, WHAT'S GOING ON?" someone else tweeted that night.

The answers vary. Global warning? Coincidence? Bad luck? Bad timing? End of time?

There's agreement on only one thing: It's been weird all year.

"Even for Oklahoma, this is crazy," said Rick Smith, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Norman. "Since January, we've been setting records. People are just kind of amazed and shocked."

State records set this year have ranged from the lowest temperature (31 degrees below zero in Nowata in northeast Oklahoma) to snowfall in a 24-hour period (27 inches, also in Nowata) to the largest hail stone (a spiky, six-inch piece recovered in Gotebo, in southwest Oklahoma).

This year also produced the state's highest-ever-recorded surface wind speed (151 miles per hour near El Reno, outside of Oklahoma City) and biggest known earthquake (5.6 magnitude, breaking the 1956 record).

On Wednesday, Governor Mary Fallin declared a state of emergency for 20 counties because of earthquakes, tornadoes and severe storms.

TOUGH YEAR

"It's been a tough year for Oklahoma when it comes to weather and natural disasters, but we're doing everything we can to help," Fallin said in a statement announcing the declaration.

The state's record-breaking earthquake got everyone's attention. In the past week, counting both foreshock and aftershock earthquakes that sandwiched the state record-breaking rumbler, 32 earthquakes have been recorded in central Oklahoma.

In Meeker, population 968, east of Oklahoma City, the town administrator was describing the damage and wondering aloud if his town, founded in 1903, could survive a California-style "big one."

"I'm beginning to think God's a little mad at us," Jim Howard said.

Howard was joking, but questions of the Almighty are coming into play in Oklahoma, where Christian beliefs underpin much of the culture.

An Oklahoma City TV station interviewed a preacher who proclaimed, "I think it's pointing up to the end of time."

That belief is not shared by all, even fervent believers.

Nancy Dailey, a school teacher in Oklahoma City whose father was a Baptist preacher, dismisses doomsday talk from the pulpit, saying it just scares people.

Still, she said she overheard two co-workers sharing end-of-the-world talk in the teacher's lounge.

"After all these natural disasters we've been having, at some point all you have left is humor to try and cope with it," said Gary McManus, associate climatologist for the state.

There is at least one benefit to the state's weather.

Norman, home to the National Weather Festival, has become a magnet for meteorology students from around the country. The University of Oklahoma there built a five-story, $69 million National Weather Center six years ago, and installed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) as its largest tenant.

This week, NOAA said it will send the university $75 million in federal funds for weather radar research to improve severe storm forecasts and increase understanding of extreme weather.

Smith, the National Weather Service meteorologist, calls OU a "top-of-the-list" institution for people serious about weather.

"For going to school in a natural laboratory, you can't beat it."

McManus agreed: "You don't want to go to L.A. and study endless sunny skies."

(Editing by Corrie MacLaggan and Jerry Norton)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/11/us-apocalypse-oklahoma-odd-f-idUSTRE7AA3VQ20111111?feedType=nl&feedName=usoddlyenough

Happy Halloween

Thought for Today ::

When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam,
May luck be yours on Halloween.

Thought for Today ::

Every time you smile at someone,
it is an action of love,
a gift to that person,
a beautiful thing.

Mother Teresa, 1910-1997

Thought for Today ::

There's always a little truth behind every 'just kidding.'
A little knowledge behind every 'I don't know.'
A little emotion behind every 'I don't care.'
A little love behind every 'I hate you!'
A little uneasiness behind every 'I'm okay.'
A little pain behind every 'forget it.'
A little fear behind every 'leave me alone.'
A little hope behind every 'goodbye.'
And a little 'something' behind every 'nothing.'
Author Unknown ~ But Very Much Appreciated!

Thought for Today ::

The adventure of life is to learn.
The purpose of life is to grow.
The nature of life is to change.
The challenge of life is to overcome.
The essence of life is to care.
The opportunity of life is to serve.
The secret of life is to dare.
The spice of life is to befriend.
The beauty of life is to give.
The joy of life is to love.

William Arthur Ward, 1921-1994

Time...

...it's time you let go. Of course, you want to control so everything happens in just the way you want it. But at the end of the day, we control nothing, - it's all in God's hands, - has always been, and will always be. So, do what you can, then let go and let God handle the rest.

Pictures before and after the storm

Thought for Today ::

The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything.
They just make the best of everything.
Author Unknown ~ But Very Much Appreciated

April Flowers

To get through the hardest journey, we need to take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping." - AUTHOR UNKNOWN

Thought for Today ::

We are more than what we do...
much more than what we accomplish...
far more than what we possess.
William Arthur Ward, 1921-1994

Oddz n endz

Thought for Today ::

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.

Dale Carnegie

The Lake

The Happiness Project

I L.O.V.E. this

Vision statement of The Happiness Project:

It is because the world is so full of suffering,
that your happiness is a gift.
It is because the world is so full of poverty,
that your wealth is a gift.
It is because the world is so unfriendly,
that your smile is a gift.
It is because the world is so full of war,
that your peace of mind is a gift.
It is because the world is in such despair,
that your hope and optimism is a gift.
It is because the world is so afraid,
that your love is a gift.

Where has the year gone?

It's so hard to believe it's already the end of November and the holidays are already creeping upon us! What happened to the entire year - it seems to have flown right by!

::Thoughts::

With Thanksgiving approaching - my thoughts are turning to all the things I am truly thankful for. My wonderful family, my faith, my home and friends and soooo much more.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

- St. Francis of Assisi

Hopefully this will prompt you to think this month about what is important to you.

:: Circus Time ::

We all went to the Carson & Barnes Circus last night and had a great time. It was the first time Travis had been to a circus and he was all but bouncing of the walls...LOL
Travis riding the ponies.


He kept bobbing his head and body up and down and saying yeah haw, ride em cowboys...LOL
(I think he's been watching to much TV)


Going up...
Coming down.
Riding the train...he's all into trains now.

Visiting the animal zoo.

Petting the Llamas.

A contortionist

The clowns..


the elephants...
...she is hanging by his feet..

Tried to get more pictures but the lights were shining right at us which made it hard to see so pics are few. All in all we had a great time.