Commenting and Posting

If you'd like to enter a new thread or write a longer message than is appropriate for a comment box, you may do so by clicking the button at the top-center of the page titled, "Blog This!"You'll be given a sign-in page to enter your user name and password, and then a screen appears for writing your message. An orange button at the bottom of that screen titled "Publish Post," will display your message on the main screen of the blog. It's all pretty simple. When we get from Hawaill, I'll show you how to upload photographs. Hoping to see lots of stuff, Andy.

Pass the turkey!

Kirk really did a beautiful job preparing the turkey! Everything was delicious, prepared and presented with genuine sprezzatura!

What did you get?

"I got a dinasaur!" Hayden says while Jackson begins to open another gift. What did you get, Jackson?

One Happy Kid!

Jackson, what a guy! He's all boy, smiles--all topped and tosseled with blond hair. And, girls! -- can he hug!

Time to play "Open Gifts"!

Oh, boy! Oh, girl! Dinner's over, and it's time for desert and gift-giving. The whole family gets ready. Madalene brings over the big card that the kids have made with the words of "Silent Night, Holy Night" inside. Amy sets out the coffee while Hayden, MaryCarol, and Jackson look around wide-eyed. Lora wonders where Kirk is while Tim findles with his watch, and Lisa heads off for more cake. It's gonna be a great Christmas!

Kirk goes to work with Hayden's truck!

Oh, Hayden is having a little trouble getting his box with the bulldozer hopen. He brings it to Uncle Kirk, who gets right to work with his usual aplumb, tool in hand, delicately edging the box open, with typical grace under pressure. Or was he saying something nice to dad? Surely yes, after all, it was Christmas Eve!

Everybody so enjoyed getting together. Amy Carol, and Lisa--and lots of others!--pitched in to serve us such a lovely evening dinner. Amy and Kevin's house, with the table setting as a lovely centerpiece, was stunningly beautiful/

O, those marshmellow guns!

We saw them first in Barnesville; and when it came time to pick gifts for MaryCarol, Jackson, and Hayden, we heard that Carole's friend makes and paints those marshmellow guns. Well, we got three of them, but guess who got to blow a marshmellow ball first? Amy? Or was it Kirk? Well, at any rate, it was Amy who had to clean up the mess!

Christmastide 2005

We're so grateful for each year's Christmastide. June, Chelsea, and Andy visited our families in Nashville where MaryCarol, Madalane, and Chelsea sang "Silent Night, Holy Night" too everyone in Amy and Kevin's home just before we open our gifts for one another. And then all the gleeful opening of gifts got started!

Supplementing Update !

Hi, everyone! It's time for us to use this blog as a supplement to Update, the snail-mail newsletter June and I have been fairly faithfully sending out over the past year. While we'd be delighted to keep up the printing, addressing and stuffing envelopes, and licking of thirty stamps for each month's mailing, we'll be able to save almost $200/year if we start sending out our Updates via the net. With the rise in the cost of stamps (39 cents each now) and the cost of color print cartridges (nearly one for each Update) inching up too, we hope you let us substitute a little electricity for a whole lot of paper.

And all of this will give us a huge advantage over printed Updates too! As Carol and Hugh have already indicated, all us can post and comment back and forth whenever we wish--and that way we'll be able to chit and chat--and post pictures!--for one another. All of this means, of course, that you'll have to get to your computer and come to www.yourfamilyblog.blogspot.com on a regular (daily?) basis. You can do it!

To make sure that everyone who has Internet service is with us, I'll be sending our invitations today and tomorrow. Once you've gotten your invitation, simply follow the directions, come to www.yourfamilyblog.blogspot.com, and familiarize yourself with all the options. If you have any difficulty, send me an email andrew.harnack@eku.edu, and I'll be glad to send you any clarifications that will help.