Soon to be a family again...

I would like to get all sentimental, discuss the true meaning of Christmas, how blessed we are and have a amazing moving blog entry mentioning all my loved ones... But I can't think... I am so excited, anxious and can not concentrate right now to even write one cleaver sentence. I leave tonight for Italy to meet my other kids. We will all be a complete family again in less than 24 hours. YEA!!!

My bags are packed, presents wrapped with pillow cases cut in half, tied with pretty lightweight ribbon and a cute dated ornament dangles from each one. I hope you all paid attention to that, it is one of the smartest ideas on the entire planet. They should write a article in Hints from Heloise about this. It is environmentally suave, GREEN... Reusable, takes 5 minutes to wrap 20 gifts, all good. Make them whimsical or fancy... Just wished I would have thought about it when the kids were young, instead Chris and I would lock ourselves in my room for undetermined amount of hours with sore backs, rolls and rolls of paper, (coordinating of course), untwisting that paper ribbon or those stupid K-mart bows. How wasteful. Try this and you will love me forever... Plus it is real cute under the tree. Looks like Santa just dropped in.

We have planned every last detail. All I need now is a seat on the plane and a nice sip of wine on Qatar Airways, which is by far the best airline in the world.

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We hope and pray that all of you reading this have a blessed holiday with those you love... Enjoy each moment, listen to the music, taste the peppermint bark, embrace the giggles, read the bible story, go to church, lite a candle in honor of someone that is no longer with us, give to the needy, eat an oyster, make that weird stuff called eggnog, what is eggnog anyway? Just have a wonderful few weeks.


As for me, I will be laughing with my 4 beautiful almost grown children and my heart will be full.



I wish for you a full heart too.

This is the Amir waving goodbye to me as I fly away...

We can't get there fast enough...

See ya next year -
CIAO!!!

Choices choices.....

We went to lunch last week and had the hardest time deciding between the foot, or the camel...

NEW BLOG...

Drum roll....... I have a new blog.... I am doing a fun photography project with a friend from Texas... Less words... Go check it out. www.2chicks2clicks2countries.blogspot.com

Sexy Santa Dance

OK Gals,
Here is a very cute wish coming your way... Please click on the link below...
http://adoniscabaret.co.uk/saucy-santa-hen-night/index.htm

Smiles...
Sher

Cool Dude...

Did a fun shoot yesterday of a really nice young man. His mother recently told me of a story about him giving to the needy when he was 6 years old and how it bothered him so much. This distraught man who's wife had left him with 2 boys and cleared out the house of furniture and the boys didn't even have a bed to sleep on that night. Their family went directly to buy beds and have them delivered. My friend Debbie will never forget the image of this little 6 year old boy shaking the hand of this sobbing man.

Well this summer Chris , 3 other seniors at ASD and their parents put together a charity to build a bathroom for a school in Bolivia. It was an amazing undertaking and carried out so well. The four families and our entire community supported these children and this wonderfully successful project. I was proud to be a part of it.

Please remember those less fortunate this Holiday season, it will make your heart more fortunate to give. And by all means have your kids participate, you could be making a difference in more than just the lives of the people you are helping. You are teaching your kids to be aware of poverty all over the world for years to come.

I know there is one sobbing man and a little school in Bolivia that were blessed by Chris Wallace, 12 years apart.

On the serious side...

I do not read the newspaper, or listen to a radio station or watch TV. The only communication I have with the outside world is the people I meet and this silver box I am typing on. (I know this makes my friends from Reuters crazy.) I see the top news stories as it appears on Yahoo and that's all. I am not a person to discuss current events with, unless you want to know what I had for breakfast or the last picture I took.

Recently, we have had a few horrific worldly situations that wasn't caused by a natural disaster, but human disasters the worst kind. As I was walking the dog in the compound, us dog people discussed them. "Hey did you see the front page of the Gulf Times this morning?" a gal says from across the street. "No, what happened?" She tells me of a terrible terrorist attack in Mumbai India where they were targeting Westerns, especially Brits and Americans. Then another lady chimes in and says did you see the airports in Bangkok were closed and the entire county is going crazy. Now this is a much different conversation than I would be having on Clubhouse Circle Drive with Chancy, Kathy, Melinda and Socks about which Mexican food place we were going to eat for lunch that day Pappasitas or Rancheros.

But now I am in a different world, a much smaller one. This world I am in is transparent, you can see through to the other side now. Imagine a globe, America is completely opposite from where I am today, when I lived there all I knew was what was in my comfort zone, Texas. Living here, it is like the globe is glass, see through, you can see everywhere from here. Everyone is your neighbor, not just Louisiana. Does that make sense?

When we hear of these stories some of us, especially me, do not act like they even exist, because it is not real to me, Tsunami, fires in California, Earthquakes, train crashes, because we are so far removed from it. People don't get the hurricane damage either, unless you feel it or see it first hand...Like the Twin Towers, Heck I was in Magnolia and didn't know a soul there. Although it was horrible, It was almost like it wasn't real to me until 2003 when I went to New York and stood there among the rubble and felt the emotions as this street musician violinist was playing Amazing Grace, THEN I felt it. OUCH, double OUCH...
You see, Chris' boss and wife left for a wonderful vacation in Thailand last week to be greeted with a country of turmoil. They were cooped up in their hotel for days and finally bused to Phukett to try and get out of the country to return home. Prayers for their safe return tomorrow morning, please. They are still not back...

Yesterday I found out a good friend of ours from Geneva was in Mumbai in the Taj Hotel ballroom, the one that doesn't exist anymore, the one the Americans and British people were executed by terrorists, he escaped through a window he busted out. The room he was in was blasted later. He is lucky to be here today.

This is real. This is not just a story you are reading online, or a news breaking event on CNN that has nothing to do with you... This world from whatever corner of it you are on, affects us all. He is our friend, a Dad, Husband.. Shoot I took his son's Senior pictures! We are just so thankful he is OK!

I have come to the realization that nothing is safe, perfect or forever. Driving down I-45 is probably more dangerous than traveling to third world countries... I don't want to get my mother all riled up thinking I am in danger... But we are all in danger these days.. Although I didn't vote for Obama, I have high hopes that his leadership will improve the overall worldly issues surrounding us today.

Until then, I believe it is essential that we all continue to pray for peace.