~Our Year in Review 2006~

January

The cutting of the Vasilopita, New Year’s Day- Basil’s and my name day- Jan. 1 St. Basil’s Feast day

Theopany Jan. 6  - The blessing of the Waters

Jonah turns five.

February

Valentine’s Day at Jonah’s nursery school, with Maria~Angelica in her sling

Maria~Angelica (4 months old) and the boys

Nicholas , Jonah and Basil earned ribbons at swimming lessons

Watching the world go by from the Moses basket  while mommy does laundry

Nicholas is 46 x46 – he weighs 46 lbs and is 46 inches tall, pretty cool

Meeting Frederica Mathewes-Green.

Sunday of Orthodoxy

Pan-Orthodox Vespers at the Antiochian Church.

A snow day on the first day of spring.

Pretty , pretty princess turned 5 months old – holding court with her subjects!  March 25 The Feast of Annunciation Visiting a GOA parish nearby, for their feast day – the blessing of the loaves. April Holy Wednesday Jonah being anointed with Holy Chrism.  The Sacrament of Holy Unction is offered for the healing of soul and body and for forgiveness of sins. Celebrating Papou’s birthday at Benihana. Papou and all his grandchildren, the best present of all! Basil  meeting Cincinnati Red’s player Ken Griffey Jr.    Maria~Angelica turns 6 months old Pascha(Easter) Good Friday   ~HOLY SATURDAY MORNING~ Receiving Holy Communion Fr. teaching the children about the cruxifixtion and resurrection of Christ. May   Enjoying dinner on the back porch The sweet way Maria~Angelica use to suck  her thumb.     ~Maria~Angelica’s Baptism ~ Click Here to learn more about Baptism in the Orthodox church.       Official Baptism portraits – taken several months later. June Our day at Children’s Hospital. (God willing, our only day at Children’s Hospital.) ~Meeting Lena~ ~Vacation Church School~ TO SEE THE REST OF THE PICTURE CLICK HERE.   ~Summer time fun~           July   4th of July fireworks Frontgate photo shoot St. Nicholas  Greek Orthodox Summer Camp – Basil’s cabin Basil canoening for the first time. ~ Clergy-Laity Congress-Nasvhille, Opryland Hotel~   Our Family with the Archbishop of America, Archbishop Demetrios. August ~First day of school~ It’s official! We are the parents of a kindergartner, a first grader and a third grader! Boy has the time  flown by since we had 3 boys, in 3 years, all in diapers! Nicholas turns 7 September September 21 Jonah’s name day Sister Vicki visits us at home   Our 12th wedding anniversary and Basil’s 9th Birthday, September 24, 2006 September 29th Fr.’s 10 Anniversary of ordination to the priesthood. Click HERE to see more photos from the Liturgy and luncheon. It was one of the most beautiful Liturgies I ever experienced in 7 years in our current parish.       October Jonah appears in the Holiday issue of Frontgate Catalog – the picture in the catalog shows more of Jonah then the one online. Maria~Angelica’s first birthday - October 19, 2006   November “O Lord Our God Crown them with Glory and Honour!” Michael and Lena’s Wedding       All dressed up for trick or treating Thanksgiving 2006   Our Three Little Indians December Nicholas’ and Papou Nick’s Nameday - December 6th    Merry Christmas 2006! Christmas Program at School        Basil and Nicholas’ first piano recital   Maria~Angelica meets Santa claus and doesn’t like it Christmas program at Church        Nicholas’ 1st grade formal Christmas lunch Christmas Eve Happy New Year 2007! Wishing all my dear readers and their families all of God’s blessing in the coming year and forever!

~A Soul is a Soul?~

I have wanted to blog about this subject for a long time, way before Saddam’s death, but never knew how to brooch the subject. I am not at all sorry to see Saddam gone from this earth, good riddance!  But truthfully if I was really the Christian I confess to be how could  I support the killing of anyone. A soul is a soul, right? I am defiantly pro life but am not necessarily outspoken about the death penalty one way or the other. (Although I am certain innocent people have been put to death.)  I did feel very sorry for Karla Faye Tucker and I prayed for her to be pardoned. How can Christians be pro-life and also pro-death penalty? As Christians we really should struggle with this oxymoron. Pro life means, pro life for everyone, right? Esther’s post makes entire sense to me but yet I feel nothing about the death of Saddam (remember the Kurds) and other proven murders. I am not sorry to see them gone from this earth but I would never want to be the person making that decision or doing the actually killing. That is a sin with in itself.  I do believe only God can decide when to end a life. There is always hope that someone will come to Christ, even up until they take their last breath, and repent of their sins. Shouldn’t we as Christians not want to take that chance away from anyone?  Just as St. John Chrysostom’s Pashca sermon (of the 4th century) says (and I am paraphrasing here) That the Lord will accept even those that come to HIM at the 11th hour. But yet after saying all that I am still not sorry for Saddam.

Why is it in our culture we like a lot of house, a lot of car, a lot of food, basically a lot of everything but….not a lot of children?  Why in a culture that has everything in abundance is having a large family not considered desirable as well? 

*Edited to add* The questions is really not about how many children people should have it is more about why a society as rich as ours undervalues children (but values stuff)  when cultures with a lot less consider children to be a blessing. Godwilling those children grow up and become good and productive members of the society, shouldn’t they be valued and desired?

I have been reading The Theologians Cafe blog and I like that he asks so many questions and gets some interesting responses.

So here is my first attempt at this kind of blogging.

Do Americans over do it at Christmas with the gift buying?

Do we buy things for people that the really don’t need in the first place, just to be giving someone a present?

   ~Pictures from Christmas Day~

Christmas morning~Our house

~Yiayia and Papou’s house~

Christmas afternoon and evening – my childhood home

 “Will the 21st be the Orthodox Century?”

December’s issue of “Christianity Today”

This month’s issue of “Chritianity Today” features a very interesting  article by Dr. Bradley Nassif, an associate professor of biblical & theological studies at North Park University. The  article appears on page 40 and is titled “Will the 21st be the Orthodox Century?” Dr. Nassif’s article argues that “fascination with the Great Tradition may signal deep changes for both evangelicals and the Orthodox.” Dr. Nassif is a member of the Antiochian Orthodox Church and is “a courageous and enthusiastic pioneer of Orthodox-Evangelical dialogue around the world.” The “Christianity Today” article is not on line  here  is an interview with Dr. Nassif, in “Again” Magazine. Check it out!

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

Nativity of Our Lord (explanation of the icon)

Church of the Nativity, Bethelem
The star marks the place believed to be
the actual site of Christ’s birth. (Fr. and I were blessed to visit there several years ago.)

“Your birth, O Christ our God, dawned the light of knowledge upon the earth. For by Your birth those who adored stars, were taught by a star, to worship You, the Sun of Justice and to know You, Orient from on High. O Lord, glory to You.”

“Today, the Virgin bears Him who is transcendent, and the earth presents the cave to Him who is beyond reach. Angels, along with shepherds glorify Him. The Magi make their way to Him by a star. For a new child has been born for us, the God before all ages.”

~Hymns from the Feast of the Nativity Of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ

 ~Christmas Eve Photos~

“Merry Christmas from our family to yours.”

Basil is holding  an icon depicting the “The Nativity of Christ” and “The Annunciation”

  Events I haven’t had time to blog about part II

~Nicholas’ 1st grade Christmas Party~

The first graders have a tradition of a “formal” Christmas lunch, complete with real china, silverware, glassware and place cards. The meal is very kid friend though. It was a lot of fun and even funnier to go through the “Wendy’s” drive through window and order 60 chicken nuggets. The kid behind the counter was funny, he tells me, “It’s all good; I eat a lot of chicken too.”

Fr. said the blessing and blessed the food and the children all prayed the,”Lord’s Prayer” together.

Ashlee (Nicholas’s teachers dd) and Maria~Angelica. Ashlee graduates this year and we hope she will return to the school to teach someday!

Santa Claus just called our house; complete with caller ID that said North Pole! He mentioned Nicholas by name, several times.  I think we MAY have some believers.  Never the less they believe in St. Nicholas and he is the REAL deal! The boys are enjoying activities from this St. Nicholas site. Jonah wanted some coloring sheets from the Santa tracking site and Nicholas said, “I don’t want ones that I don’t believe in.” So I have printed off some St. Nicholas coloring sheets. Here is Nicholas’ favorite. Do you know in Greece St. Basil brings presents on New Years Day? Fr. did not grow up with St. Claus. Christmas was not a gift giving day it was a day to wake up early to go to Church to celebrate the birth of Christ. St. Basil brought gifts on St. Basil’s day (Jan. 1). St. Basil was known for his philanthropy.

We also saw Santa over Russia. The clip mentions Orthodox Christians. We celebrate tomorrow but the Russians follow the older calendar for Christmas which is 13 days later then the Western Calendar.

Here is the link to see Santa over Moscow.

   Events I haven’t had a chance to blog about, part I.

~Sister Vicki’s visit~

Sister Vicki is a dear friend, we have known one another for the last 20+ years. We worked together at Church , for many years. She was the on the first OCMC mission trip to Africa and also went on an OCMC mission trip to Russia and much more recently was making regular mission trips to the Hogar Rafeal Ayau, an Orthodox orphanage in Guatemala, run by Orthodox nuns.  Sr. was a teacher in the public schools before going to live in the monastery a few years ago. She is a novice nun at the Monastery of the Transfiguration. The monastery publishes a wonderful journal called ““Life Transfigured (A Journal of Orthodox Nuns)”.  To receive the journal you can call or write the monastery.  We were able to visit the monastery this time of year, two years ago (here are some photos of our visit). We hope to visit the monastery again in the summer. Keep Sr. Vicki and her family in your prayers, her dd mother passed away, suddenly,  last Christmas and her father has had a rough time this past year.  Sister came to town a few months ago and stopped by for a visit. It was great to see her and the children really enjoyed it. I think Sr. just stopped by to play a little air hockey.lol!