O Come All Ye Faithful

O Come All Ye Faithful

Joyful and triumphant,

O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.

Come and behold Him,

Born the King of Angels;

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord.

O Sing, choirs of angels,

Sing in exultation,

Sing all that hear in heaven God's holy word.

Give to our Father glory in the Highest;

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord.

All Hail! Lord, we greet Thee,

Born this happy morning,

O Jesus! for evermore be Thy name adored.

Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing;

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord.

The First Noel

The First Noel, the Angels did say

Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay

In fields where they lay keeping their sheep

On a cold winter's night that was so deep.

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel

Born is the King of Israel!

They looked up and saw a star

Shining in the East beyond them far

And to the earth it gave great light

And so it continued both day and night.

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel

Born is the King of Israel!

And by the light of that same star

Three Wise men came from country far

To seek for a King was their intent

And to follow the star wherever it went.

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel

Born is the King of Israel!

This star drew nigh to the northwest

O'er Bethlehem it took its rest

And there it did both Pause and stay

Right o'er the place where Jesus lay.

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel

Born is the King of Israel!

Then entered in those Wise men three

Full reverently upon their knee

And offered there in His presence

Their gold and myrrh and frankincense.

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel

Born is the King of Israel! 

Then let us all with one accord

Sing praises to our heavenly Lord

That hath made Heaven and earth of nought

And with his blood mankind has bought.

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel

Born is the King of Israel!

Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Did you know that the lyrics to Hark the Herald Angels sing was written by Charles Wesley, John Wesley's brother. The song was written in 1739 and placed to the tune we sing now in 1840, it was composed by Felix Mendelssohn written to commemorate Johann Gutenberg and his invention of the printing press.

Hark the herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!

Peace on earth and mercy mild

God and sinners reconciled"

Joyful, all ye nations rise

Join the triumph of the skies

With the angelic host proclaim:

"Christ is born in Bethlehem"

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ by highest heav'n adored

Christ the everlasting Lord!

Late in time behold Him come

Offspring of a Virgin's womb

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see

Hail the incarnate Deity

Pleased as man with man to dwell

Jesus, our Emmanuel

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!

Hail the Son of Righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings

Ris'n with healing in His wings

Mild He lays His glory by

Born that man no more may die

Born to raise the sons of earth

Born to give them second birth

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

Silent Night

Silent night, Holy night

All is calm, all is bright

'Round yon virgin , mother and child

Holy infant so, tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace,

Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night, Holy night

Shepherds quake, at the sight

Glory streams from heaven afar

Heavenly, hosts sings Hallelujah.

Christ the Savior is born,

Christ the Savior is born.

Silent night, Holy night

Son of God, love's pure light

Radiant beams from thy holy face

With the dawn of redeeming grace,

Jesus, Lord at thy birth,

Jesus, Lord at thy birth.

Joy to the World!

THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS CAROLS 

I'm going to attempt to write a post a day about some favorite christmas carols. In celebration of Christmas. Today's carol is my favorite "JOY TO THE WORLD". 

Did you know that Joy to the World was written by Isaac Watts and was an imitation of the last half of Psalms 98. Up until that time in history church hymns were limited to the psalms from the old testament. The deacon of a church challenged Isaac to write music at age 15 after Isaac complained about the atrocious worship in song; the deacon said to Isaac "the give us something better". 

Well I have to say he did give us something better. 

The tune was composed by George Fredrick Handel. 

Joy to the world! The Lord is come

Let earth receive her King!

Let every heart prepare Him room

And heaven and nature sing

And heaven and nature sing

And heaven, and heaven and nature sing

Joy to the world! the Savior reigns

Let men their songs employ

While fields and floods

Rocks, hills and plains

Repeat the sounding joy

Repeat the sounding joy

Repeat, repeat the sounding joy

No more let sin and sorrow grow

Nor thorns infest the ground

He comes to make

His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found

Far as the curse is found

Far as, far as the curse is found

He rules the world with truth and grace

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness

And wonders of his love

And wonders of his love

And wonders and wonders of his love

A Feminist Friday

I always say I'm a bit of a feminist, and I know hearing the word "Feminist" can automatically bring out a picture in peoples minds of a radical woman who pickets and protests, burns her bra, and refuses to shave her legs. I think that's a flawed interpretation of feminism but needless to say that stereotype does exist, and while I'm no bra burning feminist. I am strong believer in upholding intrinsic values of humanity. Too long have women been scrutinized and objectified in the media, too long have women (globally and nationally) been tortured abused and mistreated. I am passionate about creating a world where men and women can reach their potential regardless of their gender. I could go on and stand on my soap box for days but the reason I decided to post this topic was because I saw two videos this week on the facebook newsfeed that shocked me to my very core. Both videos brought to light how we are failing at creating a world/society/culture that values women.

MEDIA INFLUENCE



QUESTIONS OUR GIRLS ARE ASKING!
Fathers Mothers and anyone who has a woman that they love whether it's their mother grandmother sister or daughter etc. Take note we need to do a better job at creating a world where women are valued and treated that way.

I had a High school bible teacher tell us one day that he believed women were the crowning jewel of creation. He went on to explain that when crowns are crafted for royalty the crown is incomplete until the last jewel which is usually the most exquisite is placed on the crown, that jewel is referred to as the crowning jewel. Creation was incomplete just as a crown is incomplete until God created women that is why they are the crowning jewel of creation. I always respected that man because he really did value the women in his life.

If you value your women they will go on to do incredible things in this world. I think Louisa May Alcott had it right when she wrote this in her most famous book Little Women.

“If you feel your value lies in being merely decorative, I fear that someday you might find yourself believing that’s all that you really are. Time erodes all such beauty, but what it cannot diminish is the wonderful workings of your mind: Your humor, your kindness, and your moral courage. These are the things I cherish so in you. I so wish I could give my girls a more just world. But I know you’ll make it a better place." -- Marmee, Little Women”

Let's take note. we need more Marmees in this world. I hope I can be a mom just like her someday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WALT!!!

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. ~ walt disney

A co-worker brought it to my attention that today is Walt Disney's Birthday. And while dear old Walt is no longer alive I think in honor of the day he was born I would dedicate this post to my love for Disney!

I mean if you think about it what an incredible man, his life work has probably played a part in each of our lives. Can any person really say that they did not have Disney as a part of their childhood memories. He had an influence on so many people and children in this world. It's inspiring how one person can have a dream and an imagination and when given the opportunity to really create and bring that dream to life, it can have the power to touch
so many people's sense of childhood wonder and joy. So to Mr. Walt Disney, thank you for sharing your magic and may your legacy live on!

Farm Day Dreams

Sometimes I daydream about what my life would look like if I could pick out a different way of life and what that would be like. Today's day dream is about being a farmer. I know farm life is really hard, but it seems like a rewarding hard work. I think there is something so appealing about growing things in the dirt and taking care of animals. It would be so rewarding to be working hard and watching the fruit of your labor with each and every harvest. I bet you would sleep so good and be so healthy from all the hard work required of farming. I imagine farm life like the story of Charlottes Web. I would have adorable baby pigs, chickens, ducks, cows and horses. I would ride around on my tractor and watch my freckle faced children play in fields with their overalls covered in dirt and mud, and at the end of a hard day I would make a tasty pie with fresh picked apples.  Doesn't that sound like a dream! What do you day dream about?

Caught in the "In Between"

Well friends family, if you even read this blog you probably have noticed that it has been a while since I have posted anything on here. A few months in fact, my last post being about my yosemite trip.

The truth is that I'm kind of at a "in between" stage right now and there is not much to share. I used this phrase the other day and realized that there are actually so many "in between" stages in life. One memorable "in between" is that age between childhood and teenage years, it's a time of awkward moments of wanting to be older but still having fun like a kid.

Then there is the "in between" that is the most fun the time in between young adult age and adulthood meaning the time when you are still somewhat dependent on your family/parents but trying to work toward an independence.

Then there is the relational "in between" where you are done dating for fun and are looking for something serious so you are in an "in between" being a member of a family a son or daughter that comes home to parents to being a wife or mother.

Singleness "in between" I think is the hardest and loneliest, I remember when I was in that in between I would do huge 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzles on lonely nights just to pass the time, thankfully God had another plan for my life and Tim came into my life to save me from my life of jigsaw puzzles.

Right now I am in another "in between", I am in the "in between" being just a wife to being a wife and mother. Many friends and family have been patiently waiting for the day when Tim and I finally decide to start having children, and though I'm sorry to disappoint those hoping for good news we are still waiting to have kids, but I am getting much closer to wanting to be a mom. I feel ready now but I know I want to be a financially responsible mother, and I don't know that I'm there yet we still have some catching up to do on bills and I know God has a perfect timing for everything so I have to just trust Him for his timing for when Tim and I should be parents.

I feel confident in God's timing because through each of those in between times I have faced before (times when I felt like screaming out to God when will this stage be over God will it ever be over) God has always carried me through He gave me the faith when mine was weak. It's crazy to look back at those "in betweens" and realize wow God answered my prayer even better than I could have imagined, why was my faith so weak, (i'm human I guess).

I know someday I WILL be a mother, and life will be busy, tiring and wonderful filled with cuddles, hugs, kisses, snotty noses, poopy diapers, bedtime stories, and all the other joys of parenthood. But for right now I'm going to be in the present and enjoy the in between I'm in now.

And if I can share any words of wisdom with anyone who is caught in the "in between" just go ahead and enjoy your "in between" as hard or as challenging as it may be life is too short to be in a hurry to get to the next stage. Enjoy the ride you're in!

Fischertrails Yosemite Trip Day 6 Our Farewell to Yosemite!

We woke up early the next morning early enough to still have the option to leave on the backpacker's bus. Still not sure what we wanted to do we asked each other what sounded better to leave this morning or spend the day in Yosemite Valley and leave this evening. The choice was pretty obvious to both of us

Fischertrails Yosemite Trip Day 5 A Tale of the Misty Trail Traffic

It was our last full day of hiking, we would be in Yosemite Valley by the end of the day and would finally be able to shower and eat a huge meal (we had already decided it would be a bacon cheeseburger with a shake and fries!), we could hardly wait. We woke up early that day to get a head start and head out we left in amazingly good spirits looking forward to our big cheeseburger celebration at the end of our day.

We headed down the trail trekking along the river, until we finally made it to Nevada Falls, It was so beautiful again we could hardly believe what a gorgeous day it was! We began to see a few more people on the trail they were headed up the trail to get to half dome, and we were feeling smug enjoying our down hill hike watching them torture themselves up the trial. We started down this really narrow part of the mist trail it was made up of huge stones carved into the side of the cliff creating a somewhat gnarly stairway. We made our way down to Vernal Falls we could see it just below us

Fischertrails Yosemite Trip Day 4 and A Tale of the Half Dome Adventure, and The Mama BEAR!!!

An excerpt from the Journal!

Thursday June 20, 2013

We woke up early this morning and closed up our tent and headed out to hike up to half dome. The morning was chilly and we thought we would be the only one on the trail, but into our hike we met a family who had started hiking from Yosemite Valley at 3am. We took our time until we saw more people coming up the trail then; we made it our goal to get up there before it was too crowded. The hike was a bit strenuous at the start; along the way we saw a large group of young boys we found out once we got to the top that they were a group of boy scouts. We began to make our way over the sub dome and I began to have that woozy feeling it was pretty scary climbing over the first dome. Then we finally got to the cables of half dome, and that is where I froze I looked up at the cables that led straight over the face of the dome, and I sat there quietly contemplating the torture I would endure climbing over (not because it was too physically difficult but to emotionally difficult) my palms began to sweat and I looked into Tim’s eyes, and I could tell that he saw the fear I was feeling, and then I just began to tear up (again it might have been the PMS). I asked him to go up without me, it was never a dream of mine to climb up half dome, it was one of Tim’s for years, so I didn’t want to have him miss out but I

Fischertrails Yosemite Trip Day 3 and A Tale of a Journey to Cloud's Rest

Day 3 journal excerpt

Wednesday June 19, 2013

This morning we woke up early to get a head start on hiking while we were fresh. We cooked breakfast by the lake and as we began packing up our tent we were shocked to find ice on the fly of our tent, it was so cold that ice had formed on our tent overnight. It all made sense why we couldn’t sleep that night. We finished packing and headed out, we felt good today our packs didn’t feel as heavy I think because we were now getting stronger so we had a much faster pace. We walked on this trail that I think was my favorite trail of the trip it was so scenic in the forest over this beautiful stream and up hill. We could see our destination (cloud’s rest) far off in the distance and were in good spirits feeling fresh on this trek. We saw some frost on the ground cover and passed by trees that looked like little Christmas trees it kind of gave me that warm fuzzy Christmastime feeling, even though we were in the middle of June.

We kept seeing cloud’s rest off in the distance and it seriously seemed so far away I couldn’t believe that we would make it there eventually. As we got closer to the hike got much steeper and our morning freshness was quickly wearing off. We were beginning to feel very tired and weary, but there was only one choice, to keep walking, so that’s exactly what we did. When we finally made it to the incline of cloud’s rest it was extremely hard to see over the peak it was nothing but giant granite rocks piled up higher and higher on each other all you could see was a narrow pile of rocks paving the way toward the endless sky and nothing but sheer cliff drops on the left and right. The wind was blowing so hard and my balance was not it’s best due to my heavy pack so I began feeling a fear building. I tried to crawl over a few of the rocks but it was difficult and I couldn’t figure out how there could be a trail leading us down at the end of this nothing rock piled trail that looked like it dropped off the mountain to the large valley below. I started to get that woozy feeling you know the one where your heart drops to your stomach I shakily walked forward then tripped and got down on my hands and knees and just began to cry silently to myself (I do have to add that during this time I was experiencing some pre menstrual syndrome) just as I was sitting on my hands and knees a few bees started to circle around my head throwing my balance off even more (it was obviously the wrong choice to wear a bright yellow hat on this trip, I was the only thing on those rocks that was bright and colorful). Tim became concerned and

Fischertrails Yosemite trip Day 2 and A Tale of too Many Skeeters

Here is an excerpt from Tuesday's Journal!

Tuesday June 18, 2013

We slept in a little in the morning and cooked breakfast beside the lake we had a beautiful lakeside view while we enjoyed our oatmeal. We quickly packed up our packs and were so excited to be on out way. We started out on our trail and were hiking along this hill then made our way into this beautiful meadow and along this stream where we saw this little marmot that seemed so curious about us. As we continued walking we found ourselves walking beside this marsh that was covered with mosquitoes which was complete torture for me at one point I began running with my heavy pack to get away from all the skeeters. (and if you think that your bug spray, pants and long sleeve shirt will keep the skeeters from biting you, think again because they bit right through all of that) By the end of the day I was covered in bites. 

Fischertrails Yosemite Trip Day1 and A Tale of Beginnings!

The next few days I will be posting little blurbs from our Journal on our awesome backpacking trip through Yosemite! Tim and I had such a fun trip together and got hooked on backpacking hoping to do many more trips in the future!!

Monday, June 17, 2013

We arrived in Tuolomne Meadows around 2:30 after the long 7 hour drive from San Elijo, Encinitas. We weren’t sure if we were going to be able to get a wilderness pass for the next day but we were hopeful, and we were even going to try to get it for that  day. We stopped at the ranger station, and Tim went in to see if he could get the permit while I stayed out in the car. Next to our car a huge family was organizing and packing up their gear for their back packing trip. The family took turns weighing their bags and each one weighed about 20 lbs except for the dad’s his weighed 45. I perked up when I heard them exclaim that was too much for the dad to carry and they should each take a pound from him. Dad was insistent that he carry it and they all went on their way. I began to worry that Tim and I were carrying too much. We didn’t even think to ask our expert Laurie how much our packs should weigh, but now I began to second guess if we were really ready for this my pack was between 30-40 lbs while Tim’s was 50 lbs. We were definitely the backpacking rookies (for those seasoned backpackers feel free to laugh at us when you read this) 

 A few minutes later Tim came back to the car so excited, as he was able to get our wilderness permit for that day! So we went to the little market in town bought a postcard to send home charged up our phones for the last time and went to find our trailhead. I couldn’t help but laugh at Tim he was like a little kid in a candy store he was so excited to begin the journey. 

We parked at the Cathedral Lakes trailhead and began hiking right away. About 30 minutes in to our grueling up hill hike I began to realize that backpacking is pretty hard. I think we arrogantly assumed we were in the right shape and could take on this short 4-mile hike with no problem but we didn’t factor in how heavy our packs were and how much they would slow us down. With the altitude gain and the heavy pack we found ourselves needing plenty of breaks to catch our breath and hydrate. I looked at Tim with concern as our week was just beginning and we had around 30 miles to go to get to our final destination. I looked at him and said I’m not sure if I can do this it’s a lot harder than I thought it would be, and we were under the impression we were going mostly down hill, but this first trail was definitely not down hill. We had no choice but to put our heads down and power through nothing to do but keep walking forward it was the most fantastic physical and mental challenge. After a long hike we arrived to our destination of Cathedral lakes along the trail we passed incredible landscapes including cathedral peak. I can't really describe the feeling of accomplishment I felt when we reached our destination a little feeling a pride welled up inside me and I knew not only could I do this week trip but I couldn't wait to see more of this little wilderness adventure we were on! 

That night we set up our tent made dinner and crawled into our tent early to warm up and rest. We were so exhausted that first night that we fell asleep shortly after the sun went down to the sound of the croaking frogs along the lake. 

our total trek was 4.1 miles that day!

Enjoy the Weekend!!!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!!

Happy Friday Everyone!! I hope you have some fantastic Memorial Day weekend plans set in place for your three day weekend!!! I myself will be heading to the beach for a fun weekend of beach camping, can't wait to get the weekend started and soak up some sunshine!!!

Here are some fun reads to get you through the rest of your Friday!!!

Summer Music Playlist for your weekend!

Tasty Margarita Popsicles for keeping cool!

Eight Easy Ways To Spread HAPPINESS!!!!

Haven't picked up your summer swimsuit yet?!?!

When Celebrity's Become Positive Role Models

I must admit I have found myself drawn to celebrity gossip every once in a while and I always feel ashamed of myself, because I feel like intelligent educated women should have better information, and reading materials they can fill their time with! However for once I am proud to say that I have been more than intrigued by the current buzz about Angelina Jolie.

Before you walk away from reading celebrity buzz ask yourself this, do you have any family or friends that have experienced a form of ovarian or breast cancer. If you answered yes then you need to pay attention to the brave decision Angelina Jolie made once she had a genetic testing in which she found a gene that has an 87% chance of breast or ovarian cancer. Jolie's mother had passed away from cancer, and because of the current preventative strategies that we have now she was able to get genetic testing, which led her to find a gene that increased her chance of cancer to 85%. Once Jolie found this out she made the decision to get a double mastectomy (breast removal). This lowered Jolie's chances of getting breast cancer from 87% to 5%!! Of course the genetic testing Jolie received was very expensive and getting breast removal was costly as well, but props to her for being brave enough to just get those boobs removed!

I know the rest of us lower income folks can't get the testing Jolie had but it is important to get checked as often as possible and to do monthly self breast examinations if you have breast cancer in your family.

Click this link to read more about Angelina's story. 

Convinced My Husband Tim Fischer Is The Same Person As Phil Dunphy

“I'm a cool dad, that's my thang. I'm hip, I surf the web, I text. LOL means laugh out loud, OMG: oh my god, WTF: why the face” –Phil Dunphy
Ever since I first started watching Modern Family I have thought from day 1 that Tim is Phil and my opinion has not changed, the more I watch the show every new episode the character Phil will do or say something that reminds me of Tim. Here are just a few ways in which Phil reminds me of Tim! (and if you know Tim at all you will know what I'm talking about)

• Tim and Phil are both two very laid back people.
• Tim and Phil have a very endearingly child like attitude, Claire refer's to Phil as "The Child I Married", I can relate!
• Tim and Phil both have a serious case of Coulrophobia (FEAR OF CLOWNS) it's almost hard not to laugh when Tim is around a clown, because he quite literally freaks out very similar to how Phil freaks out in the show. 
• Tim and Phil are always in a good mood and tend to find joy in everything they do!
• Tim and Phil are both very goofy!
• Tim and Phil have very personable way of relating to people Tim will often treat you like you're pals before he even knows you well and will start calling you by your nicknames when he hears them for the first time. Phil is the same way and creates "cool" things like "manshakes" to relate to people. 
• Tim and Phil both don't plan things out! And both have to avoid getting in trouble with their wives for lack of planning! 
• Tim and Phil both like to have any excuse to break out their dance skills!
• Tim and Phil are both very competitive so much to the point that Phil will often beat his son at basketball games without any remorse. 
• Tim and Phil both have a great enthusiasm for life!
• Tim and Phil both have a sensitive side as seen in many episodes of Modern Family Phil will choke up during emotional moments very similar to my husband Tim. 
• Although we are not parents yet I believe  I got a taste of what type of parent Tim will be just by watching Phil on modern family. I think he too will refer to himself as "the cool dad" and have the parenting style of "Peeranting" which is the style of of parenting where you are both a friend and a parent. And when it comes time to step it up as Phil did during the episode where Haley gets kicked out of college I believe that Tim would also say something similar to "This is real life Haley not an excellent movie" (referring to legally blonde)

Such a Fun man I married!

The Cool Dad