smiling in south carolina

the are pictures of some of the things robin and i are wishing for this christmas. c'mon santa! send us 2 tickets to south carolina! plus, we want to see snow! maybe just for a day or 2-then it can go away. and we can't wait to see all the family and hold new baby lily and kiss her tiny little toes.... robin's latest (3 months) wish dream is wanting a black miniature poodle, a girl dog, whom he intends to name Roxy. and outfit with a black spiked collar. and of course, doesn't EVERYONE want a wii? so that we can pretend to play tennis and drive fast and fly and do all that? robin needs new tennis shoes, so i offered to look for converse high tops. instead he decided he HAD to h ave the all black ones. they aren't available in his size 3, for some, and besides, they are really expensive. so dream on! ALL the kids seem to have mp4 players these days, so of course robin wants one...music's not good enough for ya anymore? ah, the age of technology. what is...

Wishing you....a love-filled Winter Solstice. Did you know? Stonehenge is a perfect marker of both solstices. In Ireland, the megalithic site of Newgrange is said to be over 5,000 years old. Older than Stonehenge AND the pyramids. On the Winter Solstice, its central chamber receives at dawn a shaft of sunlight. The light illuminates a stone basin and inticate carvings of eye shapes, solar disks, and spirals. Hugs, Stephanie and Robin

Last Sunday was the graduation ceremony for Robin's school. Since the school has no auditorium, it was held in a hall adjacent to the town's bull ring. The 6th graders graduated to junior high and the preschoolers graduated to elementary, or something like that. In addition to singing the national anthem, state anthem, city anthem and school anthem the kids sang "joy to the world" (all the verses! in english!). the schools director gave out some awards and a the students then played music and sang some more while we watched other students parade their themselves in nativity costumes up the main aisle and back. Robin was the son of the innkeepers. His costume was fine but i thought the sheep were the cutest. Afterwards the school had snacks and coffee and tea for the families. It was a nice event. The picture just above is of Robin and his new buddy Alberto (of the 3 mohawks fame).