December 27, 2007

The Christianville Spirit: Christian's Year in Review 2007


The Christianville SpiritThe Spirit of Christianville

OK. Christianville and Everyone, You know what time it is. It’s getting close to New Year’s Eve, Watching the ball drop, and The New Year of 2008 to come. BUT, WAIT! What about memories of 2007. Well, many people would say “Forget 2007, I want to push forward to 2008!” sure, that’s ok. But, before we watch the ball drop and party like no tomorrow, let’s go back over The Year 2007 in my life before I hit 2008. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Last issue of The Christianville Spirit of 2007; since this is a year in review let’s start from January. So, here we go. January 8, 2007: The first day of 2nd Semester of my Senior Year at Plano Senior High School. I was really excited now. Since Graduation was only 5 Months away and I couldn’t wait until Graduation. Later on in January, My Brother and I got our Graduation caps and gowns. To me, that meant we were only a short time away from Graduation later in May. On February 11, 2007 was the end of a weather event that in my mind will top all the weather events of 2007. I called it “The Lake Effect Snow Machine of 2007” What makes this event stand out from any other Lake Effect storm and blizzard was the amount of snow and the length of it that makes it stand out in 2007. This storm hit Central New York State near the Syracuse area; it happened for an entire week and in the end dumped in an area of 95-128 Inches of Snow, Causing huge mountains of Snow. This storm amazed me because I’ve never seen pictures of that much snow before. Also, later on in winter of 2006-2007 the low temperature in International Falls, Minnesota was Negative 50{-50}. In March of 2007 was The Christianville Spirit’s biggest and first reaction to the article called “The Christianville Spirit: Julie Smith Edition” and that started writing about all of my family and friends. And, I even wrote a newsletter about myself. That one got some reaction and some amazement. In Early March (the 7th or 8th),  my Special Needs was named. It was named after two doctors at the Baylor College of Medicine it is called Potocki-Lupski Syndrome. I was so excited when My Mom told me while driving home from school. May, though was an awesome month because it was the month of Graduation; the finale of 12 Years of School. After a long dry spell the clouds opened up and it rained all May long, enough to cause many area lakes to flood. Then, the day finally came, Graduation Day on early Tuesday Morning on May 29, 2007. A lot of family from both My Mom’s and My Dad’s side came to town to see us and finally I walked across the stage and got my diploma ending my High School Career and 12 Years of school, K-12. In June, we took our annual trip down to Gulf Shores, AL from our beach trip and that was a lot of fun. It was nice to see family and swim in the Gulf of Mexico.
July was a very sad month because on the weekend of the 4th of July, My Brother’s Friend’s Dad and Brother died while jumping off a cliff at Lake Texoma. In August, I turned 20 Years Old and also went on the annual Rangers Game Trip with the people from my work at the Frisco Roughriders. In September, My Brother started College and I felt left out because everyone was going to college and I wasn’t going to go to college because the classes were too hard for me. On September 16, 2007 My Mom took me to a new church called Celebration Covenant Church and it turned out to be an awesome church. When you walked into the worship center it felt like walking into rock concert. On September 19, 2007 I visited Traffic.com and met John McCarty. Then, I got to see the studio where they do the Traffic Reports for the Dallas Area. Also John McCarty offered to let me go up in one of the traffic helicopter. On October 3, 2007, My Mom and I went up in the traffic helicopter like John McCarty promised. And, that was like a ride of a lifetime because My Mom or I had never ridden in a helicopter before. On October 8, I decided to put The Christianville Spirit online on a site called blogger.com. Just in case, you’ve forgotten where it is, it’s at www.thechristianvillespirit.blogspot.com on November 1-2, 2007 My Mom and I drove down to Houston for a conference where a former fashion photographer named Rick had his exhibit at the Texas Children’s Hospital. And, My Mom and I got to sit on a panel at the Baylor College of Medicine discussing Special Needs. After that, he took pictures of me and other kids with my special needs. On November 16-20 was the 3rd annual Christian’s Best Friends Festival where I have days and events that honor friends. For Thanksgiving, My Mom and I drove to Atlanta, GA to visit family. And, finally in December; the final month of 2007 comes The Holiday Season. On Christmas Day, I called Popi (My Grandpa) to hank him for the present he gave to me and after the thank yous and your welcomes he told me that he put my holiday newsletter on his tree for all to see. And, Finally I wrap up my 2007 year in review with one of the best Christmas Presents I’ve ever gotten. My Mom got me a Street Sign she got from a Road Sign Store that said “Christian Pkwy.”(A famous street in Christianville) and a shirt that advertises my newsletter; All in all, 2007 has been a pretty good year for me. But, I believe 2008 will an even greater year.
(For the last time in 2007)
Thanks for reading The Christianville Spirit. I hope you had a good 2007 and I’ll see you back here in 2008!

December 12, 2007

The Christianville Spirit: My Love for The Holiday Season


The Christianville Spirit
The Spirit of Christianville

As everyone knows what time of year it is, it is The Holiday Season. Which of course covers Thanksgiving, Hanukah, Kwanza, Christmas, and New Years? But, it’s different for many people. Well, at least the Christmas side (Hanukah and Kwanza are another story). People react to The Holiday Season in different ways. Some dread it, some hate it, and some love it like no other. When you mention Christmas to someone, they would likely tell you about presents, Santa Claus, and Jesus’ birth. I know many people dread Christmas because malls/shopping, spending time with in-laws/family, and of course the favorite, brought to you by a song “The 12 Pains of Christmas.” In the song it mentions 5 MONTHS OF BILLS. Why? Well, because people have a mountain of Christmas Presents under the tree. Me, I absolutely love Christmas and not because of presents or Santa Claus. But, because of Christmas Lights, songs, and just the happiness of people during this time: Like I’ve said many times before, I feel what other people are feeling. And, I know a lot of people are happy during The Holiday Season. According to My Mom, I never got excited about opening presents when I was a kid. She says I got more excited watching people opening their presents. Now, that’s not to say I don’t want anything for Christmas but, maybe I’d want just a few things. Another reason why I Love Christmas is the pretty Christmas Lights and Christmas Music. The Christmas Lights are even cooler now-a-days because the lights of many houses are in sync with music on a Local Radio Station and they are computer generated. I like it looks awesome that the lights match up with the music and it makes you follow the beat. I really like singing along with Christmas Songs I know. I also enjoy the fact Christmas is in winter and the weather of snow is awesome. I dream that one day I will spend Christmas or live up in Maine to see a White Christmas. Because I have never seen a White Christmas before; Also I love the Christmas Stories that they have at my church because how they setup the stage is really awesome and unique. All in all, I love Christmas and The Holidays more than any other time of the year.

Thanks for reading The Christianville Spirit. The Holidays are the most wonderful time of the year!

December 3, 2007

The Christianville Spirit: Thanksgiving in Atlanta


The Christianville Spirit
The Spirit of Christianville

This Past Thanksgiving My Mom and I drove to Atlanta to visit some of The Smith Family. And, it was a lot of fun. We spent a lot of time with family which was good. My Brother, Michael didn’t come because he had to work. There were many cool parts but, one of them was something My Uncle Bruce has and did. Over the past several months he has been working hard at getting his Pilot’s License and a month or two ago he got it. So, one day he took My Cousin Gram and me up in his little Cessna Plane that the Flight School provided. So, we flew over a mountain that was called Stone Mountain and over Lake Lanier to see how dry it was. And, it was pretty dry, In fact I saw a whole boat ramp dried up and I’ve never seen a lake so dry that a whole boat ramp wasn’t covered in water. Another thing that was really cool was also was we saw the beautiful fall foliage. I got to wake up to it every morning in my Grandma Honey’s House; there were many colors like Orange, Red, and Yellow. Before we left, we had a wonderful opportunity to meet The Pulley Family which has a little girl named Ava that has the same special needs as I do and we met them at My Grandma Honey’s House, I was very nice meeting them. We hope to see them again and meet other families as well. All in all, being in Atlanta was a lot of fun.
Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Happy Late Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays!