The Christianville Spirit: Christian's Year-In-Review 2017

The Christianville Spirit
The Spirit that Makes You Wonder
December 26th, 2017-TCS # 576

Well, My Readers, PTLS Family Members, and Friends, It looks like We have come to The End of Another Year here at The Christianville Spirit and What a Year it was. It has been a Year that has Made You Wonder! See what I did there, hehe! This Year’s Tagline was “The Spirit that Makes You Wonder” and It was credited actually to Myself. Last Year, I forgot to ask People about Suggestions for Taglines so, I decided to come up with My Own Tagline. Anyway, The Year of 2017, I feel was a Brilliant Year! Besides The Fact of Turning 30 This Year, I feel like I have grown in a lot of Ways. So, I guess You could say, It has been a Year of Growth for Me. Some Years, that has to happen, It does not mean that It is a bad thing. So, in 2017 I repeated My Brilliant Idea of instead of Creating New Year’s Resolutions, I came up with Goals for The Year, Many of Which I am proud of. So, Refresher here, What were My Goals?

My 2017 Goals were:

• Finally Meeting The Woman of My Dreams (Okay. Definitely Next Year)
• Work on My Independence (That Goal has been Hard. But, I really improved This Year)
• Get Laser Hair Removal Treatment (This Goal, Believe it or not, is in Progress. I am hoping for “Mission Accomplished” Next Year)
• Meet More PTLS Family Members (I met quite a Few This Year!)
• Go to France, Sweden (again), and Australia. (Not This Year. But, Definitely Next Year)

So, When I look back on This Year, I remember different events both Personally and In The News, I remember it like “Wow! That Happened This Year?!” and Now, This Year of Memories, Adventures, and Of Course, Growing are Over. Of Course, My Grandma Honey will tell me “You never stop growing”. Yes, that is True! Life would be Boring if You stopped Growing. Anyway, Before 2018 comes and We watch The Ball drop, Let’s Re-Live 2017 via what I call “Christian’s Year-In-Review 2017”, My self-produced Year-In-Review.

So, without Further a due, Let’s get started!

So, like all Years We start in January.

In The Beginning of January, I wanted to Meet Lynee’s Parents again since We had such a Good Time the First Time that We met. So, We met Lynee’s Mom and Dad for Dinner, The Second Time on January 11^th. It was Good to see them again, and We met with Them many more Times This Year. In Fact, We have became really good friends with Lynee’s Mom, Dona. We actually hung out with Her 10 Times in One Year! To Me, that is an Accomplishment! Speaking of Accomplishments, Because it was The 10^th Year since the Naming of Potocki-Lupski Syndrome, We sold Special 10^th Anniversary Shirts. Our Shirt Sales hit 5,700 Dollars Raised for PTLS. I call it a New Record! Perhaps, We can raise more in 2018. Hint-Hint. Before I start with The News, I try as Hard as I can to avoid any Upsetting Political Stories, but For The Sake of History and My Year-In-Review, I feel I must mention them. Political Story Alert! So, Let me say this first. Let Me Make it VERY  Clear that Us here at The Christianville Spirit and In Integrity of This Newsletter, **The Christianville Spirit is and Forever will be Non-Politically Aligned with any Candidate or Leader.** Us in The United States got a New President, Billionaire Donald Trump on January 20th. There actually was quite an Impressive Patriotic Concert on January 19^th, The Night before He was Inaugurated. Also, There was a Shooting at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport on January 6^th.

A Bit Sad News at The Beginning of February, on February 14^th, It was The One Year Anniversary of when My Aunt Ginny past away. On February 7^th was The Beginning of One of My 2017 Goals as well as Something that I have needed for a Long Time, My 1^st Laser Treatment. For The Record, It is not an Easy Process, but I am working through It. This was one of The Ways that I grew This Year! In the News, an SUV struck a Mardi Gras Parade in Gulf Shores, Alabama on February 28^th.

March or Marzo, as I call it was a Very Successful Month because it was The 10^th Year since The Naming of PTLS. Because It was The 10^th PTLS Day on March 8^th, I actually did a LIVE PTLS Day Countdown on Facebook! On March 14^th, Another bit of Growth for Me, My PTLS “Brother”, Tyler and I made Meatballs on Our Own with Help from Tyler’s Mom. It really was a Test of Our Texture Issues. In The Laser Hair Process, It was the 2^nd Treatment on March 23^rd. In The News, A Part of Interstate 85 in Atlanta collapsed on March 30^th, causing a Huge Traffic Mess there! Also, on March 22^nd There was a Terrorist Attack in London.

In April, was a Big Moment of Growth for Me! Probably The Biggest One of All of This Year. One that I still cannot believe. PTLS Member, SueVa and Fiancé, Marvin took me on a Cruise for 7 Days. It was One of The Most Awesome Things that I did this Year, I went from April 2^nd to 9^th and We visited Roatan (Isle Roatan), Honduras; Belize (City and Interior); and, Cozumel, Mexico. (Refer to “Cruise of a Lifetime” Newsletter for More). In The News, In April 7^th, There was a Terrorist Attack in Stockholm, Sweden. Also, on April 16^th, Political Story Alert! There was a Referendum in Turkey regarding The President of Turkey and How much Power He should have

In May, We spent a lot of Time with Lynee’s Mom, Dona because She was in The Hospital and She wanted us to visit her as well as it being “Lynee Day” on May 22^nd. We actually got to spend “Lynee Day” with Her Mom. We had a Special Lynee Remembrance Day or LRD Party with Her. Also, In Early May, The City was changing the Street Signs in Our Neighborhood and I was lucky enough to catch them as They were changing them. I asked if it was Okay if I could have one and They said I could. In The News, On May 24^th, there was a Bombing at a Ariana Grande Concert in Manchester, United Kingdom.

In June, was an Exciting Moment for Me! I met a Friend that I met online via My Mom’s Former Student and Expat, Monica. Her Name is Heidi. She was one of Monica’s Expat Friends who is from The Midwest. She came to see Monica and I joined them for Dinner on June 26^th (Refer to My “Include, Not Exclude” Newsletter for The Picture). I did watch a Good Movie! This Movie that is Noteworthy, “Jane wants a Boyfriend” which is a Movie about a Young Adult Woman who has Autism and Wants to date. In The News, There was a Shooting at a US Congress Baseball Game on June 15^th. The Person that was Shot is Okay now. In Case Anyone wondered. Also, In London on June 17^th, There was a Fire at a Resident Tower. I believe it is because of Poor Building Standards.

July was a Busy Month in The PTLS World because on July 5^th to 7^th, It was The 4^th PTLS Conference. I actually had an Accomplishment there, I spoke at The Conference, something that for Me, was a Very Big Deal. I met several Very Nice PTLS Family Members. After We arrived We went to Dinner with PTLS Family Member, Chris Ludlow from Connecticut. After that, We watched The Fourth of July fireworks in Houston with them. It was quite a Fun Time! I also met PTLS Family Member, Vivian and Her PTLS Child, Who I refer to “My Lil’ PTLS Sis’ McKenna”. After The Conference, We drove out to the Ft. Worth Stockyards (Because They were Flying Out of Dallas the next day) to Hang out with Them and show them around The Stockyards. In The News, Canada celebrated It’s 150^th Birthday! Happy Birthday to Canada! In Sports News, An Early Announcement came out on July 31st that Los Angeles will host the 2028 Olympics and Paris, France will host The 2024 Olympics.

August was a Very Exciting Month for Me because I turned 30 Years Old on August 11^th. One of My Favorite Moments of My 30^th Birthday Celebration was that My Brother came down to Dallas to Surprise Me! One of The Best Presents that I got from Him! For My Birthday Week, We had 3 Surprises for Me. The First was My Brother, The Second was at My Mom’s Friend, Max’s House and then, Our Awesome Neighbors did a Surprise Party for Me too. I even got to have a Birthday Dinner with Lynee’s Mom, Dona on August 31^st. In The News, what became a Legendary Hurricane this Year, Hurricane Harvey hit The Coast of Texas as a Category 4 Hurricane on August 26^th and Later Flooding the Houston Area. As Bad of an Event as Hurricane Harvey was, It really brought Houstonians together and even The Rest of The State of Texas together. Another Big News Story this year was The “Great American Solar Eclipse” going over The US from Oregon to South Carolina on August 21^st.

In September was a Month of Love and Joy. On September 23^rd, My PTLS “Brother”, Tyler’s brother, Eddie had his Wedding Reception/Celebration Dinner at a Very Popular Restaurant in Fort Worth called Joe T. Garcia’s. Of All the Time that I have lived in The Dallas Area, I had never been to Joe T. Garcia’s. It was really good food, as You could tell from The Long Line of People out the door! For the Record, The Reception was in a Very Nice Part of The Open Garden at The Restaurant. It was really good to see Tyler as well! In The News, if You were a Fan of a Show called America’s Got Talent, Child Ventriloquist Darci Lynn wins America’s Got Talent on September 20^th. Also, It was a Bad Month in terms of Disaster News, Hurricane Irma hit The Islands of St. Martin, St. Barths, and USVI as well as Florida as a Very Strong Hurricane in Early September. A Week or so Later, Hurricane Maria, which was another Very Strong Hurricane hits Puerto Rico. As I write this, A lot of Puerto Rico still does not have Power. Also, a 8.1 Earthquake hit Mexico.

Enough of Disaster for Right Now! In October, We had a Nice Dinner with Jennifer-Samantha on October 10^th. It was for a Fundraiser for an Organization called “Volunteer McKinney”. It was Cool to have Dinner and serve the Community as well. (Refer to “J-S Right Place, Right Time” Newsletter). At the End of October was a Moment of Growth from My Brother, Michael because He went to Europe by Himself for 2 Weeks. I was Very Proud of Him. He went to London, Amsterdam, and Madrid then back to London to go home. In The News, There was a Mass Shooting at a Concert in Las Vegas on October 2^nd. It actually was The Biggest Mass Shooting in American History. Also, There was a Truck Attack in New York City on Halloween, October 31^st. People thought it was a Halloween Prank, but It was not.

In November, after Several Years of Fans of The 90’s TV Show, Hey Arnold! Demanding that The Creator of The Show to make a Movie answering all of The Questions that We have ever wondered about The Show, Finally on November 24^th, the Movie came on TV. I will probably have to write about that in The New Year. For Thanksgiving, My Mom and I had our own Version of Thanksgiving. Create Your Own (CYO) Thanksgiving was what We called it. In Christianville News, I changed the last Festival Day of “Christian’s Best Friends’ Festival” from Steven Day to McKenna-Faith Day. It will honor My “Lil’ PTLS Sis’ McKenna” as well as a Relation of My PTLS Family, Faith Thompson. In The News, Some Good News! On November 2^nd, The Houston Astros won Their First World Series title in History! I believe that They deserved to Win This Year after All the Disaster from Hurricane Harvey. Also, There was a Shooting at a Church in Texas November 6^th.

And, Finally We wrap up The Year with December. It was been a Good Month and a Good Year. I am ending The Year by spending some much needed time with My Brother, Michael in Denver. It was Very Cold up there for Christmas and Best of All, It snowed on the 23^rd of December and The Snow remained there until Christmas Day. So, Maybe it was not Snow falling on Christmas. But, You could see the Snow on The Ground outside. I call that a White Christmas! Another Positive Note, because after all the News Events I had to mention, We deserve Some Positive before I close The Year out. My Brother and I went out to a Christmas Tree Lot and got a REAL Christmas Tree, something that I will admit that We have not done in quite some Time. Anyway, as We started Decorating Our Real Christmas Tree, It started to Snow outside. Could not have thought of a Perfect mood jumper! All in all, 2017. It was a Good Year, a Little Crazy at times but What Year isn’t? But, like I said, It was Year of Growth, Some Changes, and Quite a Few Accomplishments. Anyway, I hope You, My Readers, had a Good Year too. And, I can’t wait to see you back here for Another Year of Inspiring, Make-You-Wonder, and Thought-Provoking Newsletters in 2018!

(For The Last time in 2017)

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Celebrate Your Accomplishments!

The Christianville Spirit: Favorite Christmas Memories

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Makes You Wonder

December 20th, 2017-TCS # 575

Well, My Readers, It is that Time of Year, My Favorite Time of Year, Christmas. I know I said that probably Last Week and The Week before, but I mean it Every Time. Christmas is My Most Favorite Time of The Year. Every Year, in The Start of The Month I start to write about December and How Much I Love Christmas, then I get to This Week’s Newsletter, Perhaps One of The Biggest Newsletters in My Schedule, My Annual Christmas Newsletter, and Sometimes I use all the Good Ones up during My other December Joy Newsletters. It is Difficult to come up with a Topic after All of Those Brilliant Topics before. So, I have talked about My Favorite Christmas Songs as well as Favorite Christmas Movies and Of Course, Last Week’s Newsletter about My Ideal Christmas and Christmas Romanticism. So, We have focused on Christmas Present with Music and Movies and Christmas Future with Ideal Christmas and Christmas Romanticism, but aren’t we missing Something Here?! (as I wondered in My Head). Well, I came up with My Own Christmas Song This Year...Hmm, Too Much of Christmas Future! (Although It is a Good Song!). Well, If Anyone knows The Story I am Referring to, There must be a Another Part! Christmas Past! I don’t think I focus on that too much in My Newsletters at Christmas. In My Head, I do. I remember all The Great Memories I had at Christmas Time. But, I wondered in My Head about This Week’s Newsletter about My Favorite Christmas Memories. So, That is what I am going to Write about for My Christmas Newsletter This Year, My Favorite Christmas Memories!

So, The First Christmas Memory that is My Favorite happened when I was a Kid. It was because of This Memory that I still believe in Santa Claus. This was at a Time when My Brother and I shared The Same Room with Bunkbeds. Actually, We shared a Room up until High School because Little did I know at The Time, My Brother really enjoyed My Nightly Humming. Whether I was Humming the Sound of The Road or Singing a Song. It helped him get to Sleep. Anyway, I digress. I believe I was in Middle School at The Time. As I wrote in One of My Newsletters.

(From Newsletter 477)

I remember One Year that I was going to Sleep on Christmas Eve when I heard Jingle Bells in The Distance and that is How I knew Santa was coming as well as a Few Thuds on The Roof in My Childhood. So, the Magic still lives in Me! 

At The Time, I got Chills hearing The Jingle Bells and a Little Startled with The Thuds I heard, as with Any Kid excited about Santa on Christmas Eve. I thought, “It’s Santa!”. I’m not sure I told My Brother at the time or Maybe I did and He told me to “Go to Sleep”. I thought it was So Magical that I could hear Santa in The Distance. Come to Think of It, that is probably why I liked that “Santa on The Rooftop” Song from Trisha Yearwood so much. 

Another Favorite Memory that I am not sure that I have Mentioned or not, was That Every Year when I was a Kid, Santa and His Elf called Our House. From When I was a Little Child living in San Antonio to When I was in Middle School. He would call and talk to Us, He knew Things about Us and asked if We were Good or not, and Of Course, Asked us What We wanted for Christmas. We also talked to The Elf and asked about Santa’s Reindeer. I Believe that My Brother was The One who always wanted to know what Santa’s Reindeer were up to. I remember the Opening of The Call, It started with Jingle Bells and then, Santa came on. I was not sure what to do with Santa on The Phone. I thought it was Pretty Crazy that Santa was on The Phone with Us. 

My 3rd Favorite Christmas Memory was a Little More Recent. One that I mentioned in My Newsletter. This happened when My Uncle Craig was living in Dallas for a Year in 2013. Because Uncle Craig was living in Dallas, My Cousins Anna and Olivia came to visit. Anyway, It had Snowed a lot a Week before They came and It was Really Cold, Anna and Olivia thought that It was going to be Warm, so They packed for Warm Weather. Anyway, I explain in a Newsletter about “The Gift of Family”

(From Newsletter 381)

The Next Day, on Saturday, We were supposed to hang out with them during the day but, due to other things we could not. However, We did get to hang out with them in The Evening, This Time we went to My Favorite Collin County City, McKinney (the 2nd biggest Historic Downtown in Texas). So, We hopped on the road going toward Downtown to find MORE TRAFFIC, but, We were all surprised as to why. Apparently, They were having a “Parade of Lights” in Downtown McKinney. Wow! Talk about a Total Surprise! Because We didn’t know it was going to be that busy that evening. So, We stood along the street in the Freezing Cold (which was both really cold and Spirit-Lifting for Christmas) and watched all the floats, There were about 80 Floats in The Parade. We joined in the fun in yelling either, “Merry Christmas!” or “Merry Christmas Y’all!”, Anna and Olivia even joined in saying, “Merry Christmas Y’all.”

Actually, This Year, My Mom and I went to That Same “Parade of Lights”. It was pretty fun! I wanted to Re-Live that Christmas Memory, even though My Uncle Craig, Anna, or Olivia were not there, It was still Fun. So, Those are My Favorite Christmas Memories!

By The Way, I should do an Honorable Mention to those who do not celebrate Christmas. So, To You Hanukkah Celebrators, I wish you the Happiest of 8 Nights of Hanukkah. The Jewish Celebrate that, by the way. You get One Present for 8 Nights as well as Lighting The Menorah and Spinning The Dreidel. Kwanza is a Holiday celebrated in Africa. Happy Kwanza to You also! And, Finally, The Holiday of Yule. They celebrate The Winter Solstice, They are originators of the “Yule Log” and “Yule-Tide Carols”. Happy Yule to You as Well. Just thought that I would mention them all! All in all, I Hope You have An Awesome (Insert Holiday Here) and From The Bottom of My Heart, Have a Merry & Blessed Christmas!

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah (or Chanukah), Happy Kwanza, and Blessed Yule from The Christianville Spirit! 

The Christianville Spirit: The Ideal Christmas meets Christmas Romanticism

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Makes You Wonder

December 13th, 2017-TCS # 574

Ahoj, My Readers! Although I may sound like a Pirate, that is actually how They say Hello in The Czech Republic. I have to say, before I start My Newsletter that The Czech Republic (Czechia, as it is now referred to in English) is Quite an Interesting Country and Language. Czech is most definitely not an Easy Language but, An Interesting One. So, Anyway, Every Couple Weeks, I come up with a New Word that only means Something to Me whether It is or not actually a Word. The Word that I have been using is One for The Holiday Season, Christmas Romanticism. Christmas Romanticism is basically what describes Hallmark Channel Christmas Movies which I Very Much Enjoy! It basically means a House that is decorated literally, to The Brim with Christmas, Tons of Christmas Trees (Real and Fake Ones), Garland on The Windows, Lights Everywhere, A Christmas that a Guy like me would dream of. Also in a Town that is decorated fully, Carolers Singing, and Yes, Can’t have Christmas without an Ice Skating Scene. Some of The Christmas Romanticism I don’t really get, like The Romantics of Ice Skating. I guess You have to be in the Moment to understand it. Every Time I watch a Hallmark Christmas Movie, I think, “I could do that! Decorate My House that Way, Live in a Town like that (usually a Small Town, Christmas Romanticism does not occur in the City), and Most of All, having Someone who Loves Christmas as much as I do”. It does remind me though of a Newsletter that wasn’t as much about Christmas Romanticism but, Perhaps, My Version of what Christmas Romanticism is to Me. The Ideal Christmas meets Christmas Romanticism. Now, Let’s Make one thing clear, It is Okay not to have a Perfect Christmas and Sometimes, Too Much is just Too Much, It is Just Right. Enjoy!

This Newsletter was written on December 16th of 2015 (Refer to Newsletter 478)

Well, My Readers, It is that Time of Year, My Favorite Time of Year, Christmas. I know I said that probably Last Week and The Week before, but I mean it Every Time. Christmas is My Most Favorite Time of The Year. When I picture The Quintessential Christmas, I picture Myself around My Family, namely My Intermediate Family (My Mom and Brother) and having Quality Time with them that I enjoy Very Much. I enjoy My Mom with Her annual Let’s call it “Grandma Honey Mushiness” (a Very Proud 

Thing in Our Family!) and My Brother being Goofy as well as Making us Laugh. and Yes, He often makes us Wonder about The World and curious of How exactly does He see The World. I do include My PTLS Family in There too, We wish them a Merry Christmas on Facebook and Hope to see a Few over The Holiday Season. But, Here is a Golden type of Question, What would be The Ideal Christmas? The Perfect-but-Not Perfect Christmas. By That I Mean, that People put too much Pressure on Themselves to have the “Perfect Christmas” or More on The Lines of “A Christmas that HAS to be Perfect” and because of That, they don’t enjoy this Happy Time of Year. But, Everyone should have an “Ideal Christmas”, a Christmas to Dream about! Now I know, It is hard to think in Our Natural Crazy World that this could ever be put together but, We can Dream can’t we?! So, What is Your Ideal Christmas and What does it look like? Well, Mine would be Heaps of Fun! I have gotten in a habit of saying “Heaps”, It is a Phrase that They use in Australia. Anyway, I picture Most of The Christmas Season seeing The Christmas Lights, and Music that Me and My Future Wife are jamming out to in The Car while seeing The Lights, Ooooing and Awwwing along The Way. Christmas gets kicked off by Putting up a Small-but-Real Tree with Pretty Lights and Ornaments. Then, We could watch a Tree Lighting somewhere, maybe like We did with Uncle Craig in Houston. Me and Said Wife would stay up late and Turn the Lights and Television off and Just stare at Our Tree because It is So Peaceful! Maybe We would lay under The Tree looking up at Lights to see it from The Inside. There would be a Time when We just Cuddle looking at The Tree in disbelieve that We would be that Blessed. As Christmas got closer, We could have a Little Party with Family and Some of My PTLS Family, that would be Heaps of Fun! Boy, It would be One Long Table to fit My Mom, Some of Smith Family, and PTLS Family. Then, that gives me all Quality Time with Everyone that I would ever need. I would have a Few Helpers with The Food and I would try to help as much as I can. Me and My Wife would probably play Host. On Christmas Eve into Christmas Day, Myself and My Wife, My Brother and Wife, and My Mom and Her Future Husband will all be Together in a Beautiful Log Cabin in The Mountains, with it Snowing! Now, That would be Romantic! We would stay there until probably The 27th. At that Time, We will all be Excited and Thrilled about Christmas. After Christmas, Me and My Wife will cuddle together and Watch the Ball Drop in Time Square on TV to celebrate New Years. So, That would be My Ideal Christmas. Yes, It sounds a Bit Cheesy and Uberly Romantic but, like I said, We are Very proud of that “Grandma Honey Mushiness”. All in All, My Readers, I hope You have a Very Merry-Blessed Christmas, If You do not Celebrate Christmas, I hope You have a Happy Hanukah, Happy Kwanza, and a Blessed Yule.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Look in Your Heart for The True Meaning of Christmas. Find Your Christmas Romanticism!

The Christianville Spirit: Christmas Favorites

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Makes You Wonder

December 6th, 2017-TCS # 573

Happy December, My Readers! Wow! Can You believe that The Year is almost over?! And, What a Year it has been, but More on that after Christmas. It is that Time of Year again though! It is My Favorite Time of Year, The Month of December filled with Christmas Cheer, Christmas Music, Christmas Lights, and above all, Christmas Magic (And, Believe Me, It can happen!). I know I Write The Following Statement Every Year but, I Love December because of One Holiday, Christmas. I do however have a bit of Different Swing to My “Happy December” Newsletter. So, This December, I have been Considering What truly is My Favorite of Favorites in Christmas. What Makes Christmas, Christmas? Now, The Christmas Light Traditions, The Decorating The House, and Spending Time with Family are What makes Christmas, Christmas, but, We all have that One Song or That One Movie, that tells us that It is Christmas. Now, Come On, We have that Song or Movie that We can not go a Christmas without Hearing or Seeing. But, It also makes me wonder, What are My Favorite Christmas Songs (There are Many Christmas Songs to choose from!) and Christmas Movies? I will tell you My Favorite Christmas Songs and Movies. 

Favorite Christmas Songs

1. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays! by N’Sync. Call Me Old-Fashioned but, I like to Begin and End The Holiday Season with This Song
2. Felix Navidad by Jose Feliciano. Blame It on The Fact that I am Part Puerto Rican but, I Love This Song. Bonus Here! It works with All Colors of People!
3. The Following Songs in Rosie O'donalds Christmas CD:

-Santa on The Rooftop: Trish Yearwood

-Magic of Christmas Day: Celine Dion

-Who could forget this one! 12 Days of Christmas: The Muppets. We used to listen to this CD Every Christmas! I would skip other songs, Just to hear those Songs! For The Record, With Respect to The Symbolism of “The 12 Days of Christmas”, It is Difficult for Me to remember all The Days, but That Version of The Song makes it fun.

4. Two Songs From Trans-Siberian Orchestra (Also known

 as  TSO):

-Christmas Canon

-Gloria/Angels We Have Heard on High

Really, Who could resist a Little TSO at Christmas Time. Christmas Canon is in D Minor. It is both My Mom and I’s Favorite Song. Gloria, It is a Good Song to bellow out to. 

1. Silent Night Medley by Hanson. Again, Another Old-Fashioned Song. Okay, so It is a more Modern Song, but a Song from an Old-Fashioned Band. It combines Silent Night, O Holy Night, and O Come All Ye Faithful

Next Comes My Favorite Christmas Movies

My Favorite Christmas Movies

1. A Very Merry Mix-Up (Hallmark Movie). No One can resist ANY of Hallmark’s Annual Christmas Movie Marathons. But, If I had to Pick a Few out of All of Them. It would be This One. Destiny can happen at The Weirdest Time. It is all about Timing though!
2. Matchmaker Santa (Hallmark Movie). Yes, Another Hallmark Movie! Who says that You can’t Make a Wish about Love at Christmas Time and It comes True.
3. A Christmas Kiss. This One is What I call a Non-Hallmark Movie. There is a Brilliant Quote in There about The Difference between whether Your Love for Someone is True Love and Not.
4. Elf. I Think that This One is on Everyone’s List. It is a Modern Christmas Movie that is Quickly becoming a Classic and Honestly, It should be a Classic Christmas Movie even though it has been around a Few Years!
5. Deck The Halls. Nothing is Funnier than Watching a Comic Disaster happen between Neighbors. Along with The Coolness of Extreme Christmas Lights, trying to be seen from Space. Isn’t that Everyone’s Dream?!

So, then Comes Another Question, In The 10 Years I have been Writing, What is My Favorite Newsletter about Christmas? Well, I am going share that one with You too! This Newsletter was Written on December 9th of 2015 (Refer to Newsletter 477) Enjoy!

My Name is Christian Smith-Centeno and I believe in Santa Claus! Wow! It takes a Man to say that! It takes a Man to say at My Age that He still believes in Santa Claus. In Fact, I challenge you to say the Same Thing. You See, When I was in School, at the High School Age, You were ridiculed for still believing in Santa Claus, as if Santa is only for Children and That could be The Farthest from The Truth. The Reason though? I believe in not just Santa but, more on The Lines of The Magic of Santa. I remember One Year that I was going to Sleep on Christmas Eve when I heard Jingle Bells in The Distance and that is How I knew Santa was coming as well as a Few Thuds on The Roof in My Childhood. So, the Magic still lives in Me! Now, when People say “The Magic”, It is not like a “Magic Trick” type of Magic, It is Legit. Now, Of Course Everyone has Different Version of how Santa actually works but, This is My Belief as well as Curious Questions about it. I should mention here that There are People who do not believe in Santa for Whatever Reason. Some are just what I will refer to as “Actual Factual” and Only believe what Those down here tell you. But, They don’t cherish The Magic in Him. 

So, His Home, The North Pole. Actual Factual People will tell you that There is Nothing there, It is only Ice. That part is True, but I like to think of it in a Magical Way and Believe Me, I  have seen quite a Few Christmas Movie Depiction of It. The Debate here is That, does The North Pole Just Appear or Is There some kind of Secret to It? “The Polar Express” claims that It appears out of Nowhere, “The Santa Claus” and “Northpole” claim that It is Secret, Like You go to The North Pole, You go underground under What “Actual Factual” People say is Just Ice and More Ice, and No Typical Person can come in. I would like to go with that Answer. I Believe that in order to get in, You have to do a Very Complex Top Secret-Classified Code. Funny Enough, Only Santa, Mrs. Claus, and a Few Select Elves know this Code. I kind of wish that It was as Easy as The State Farm Jingle, “Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There!” only “I believe in The North Pole because Santa is There!” and You Magically appear at The North Pole. Elves are Very Cheery and The Last Thing You would want is One to Tell Everyone the Code and then, alot of People ooooing and awwing while The Elves are trying to Work. Picture a Bunch of News Crews from all over The World interviewing Santa on Christmas Eve. He is a Busy Man, You Know! It would not be Good either because of Those “Actual Factual” People who Do not Believe, May or May not be as Nice. If an Elf does not know The Code then, Someone on The Other Side will let them in. I picture The North Pole to be sort of like a Mix of the Hallmark Movie “Northpole” and “The Polar Express”, It is The Most Beautiful City, Filled with Heaps of Christmas Lights and Music playing all the time. Elves skipping up and down The Street when They are not Working. They do have Elf Parties in The Off Season and on Christmas Day. They do take trips “Down South” for a Little Vacation, most likely during The Summer. They like to have Fun after Work, They go Bowling and Play other Sports. Maybe They go out to Dinner before heading Home for The Night. They have Very Pretty Tiny Houses with lots of Cool Stuff.  Their Workshop can get very Crazy some days, I am sure that It is Calm some days and It is like The New York Stock Exchange when it gets closer to Christmas. I am sure that They get a lot of Calls over Christmas and They transfer as much as They can to Santa, although He is Very Busy checking lists and checking them twice, He does take time to talk to Each Child. Santa must be a Very Good Multi-Tasker! In The Time that He is not taking or making calls, He spends The Evening answering Letters and He must do it VERY Fast. It would be Interesting to watch that happen! In This North Pole Town, There is a lot of Christmas Cheer, Christmas Music, and Most of All Christmas Magic! It makes me wonder though, What do The Elves do after Santa has left for His Christmas Eve Run? Maybe they party all Night, Watch The Kids (ahem...clearing throat) and Adults open Gifts, and then Maybe relax toward The End of The Day. Santa comes back and they all hang out. Maybe They all sit in The Hot Tub and juuust relax. After Christmas, They most likely go on Vacation. 

So, on The Next Question, How does Santa go around The World in One Night? By The Speed of Light and Of Course, with a His Magic. He goes down The Chimney VERY Quickly. I would think that He could either make Assistant Santas go down The Chimney and Give the Gifts while Santa provides The Magic. Santa does make a few Pit Stops at Those Houses that Deserve a little extra Attention and He randomly picks each year so Don’t Worry Guys. 

So, then what about The Santa at The Mall or in the Parade? The Actual Factual will say that They are just like You and Me and Only Partly, They are. To Me, They are a Very Special Santa. I Believe not ALL The Santas there are close to The Real One. But, All of them have a Direct Line to Santa at The North Pole. Likely, That is what They do when They are not sitting on The Big Chair. They have to relay Gift Requests and Wishes to “The Big Man”. The Santas though, That legit look like Santa, They have a Very Classified Magical Job. They do Some of The Magic of Santa behind closed doors. Maybe, THAT is what They do during Their Breaks. 

So, How does Santa know when You are Sleeping, Awake, Good/Bad, and Happy or Sad? I believe that He can see through a Giant Snow globe, up at North Pole Headquarters. Hidden Cameras also work in Some Cases too though! Maybe There is an App for that on His Phone. Remember that Santa does not just bring to Children and Adults, He is also brings a little goody for Dogs and Cats. All in all, These are My Theories about Santa and The North Pole. Even Santa represents The Magical Spirit of Christmas.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Christmas is not about Gifts. But, It is about The Lights, The Music, and The Magic.

The Christianville Spirit: PTLS en España Rerun

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Makes You Wonder

November 29th, 2017-TCS # 572

Happy Holiday Season, My Readers! Yes, My Readers! It is that Time of Year again, My Favorite Time of Year, The Holiday Season! Also, Welcome Back from The Holiday of Thanksgiving. These Past two Thanksgivings for Us, have been less than Traditional. Last Thanksgiving, We went to Spain and Skipped Thanksgiving, although We did have a “Friends-Giving” that was a Good Make-Up Thanksgiving. This Year, due to a lot of Reasons, and because We did not have anyone to Watch The Dogs, We decided to stay Home for Thanksgiving, Just My Mom and I. It was a Quiet Thanksgiving, Less-Than-Ideal, but We did have some fun with it though. We bent some of The Traditions, because Who says that We have to follow Every Tradition, that is Except for Christmas, Christmas must stay The Traditions of Christmas! Thanksgiving, You can bend a little. We had a Create-Your-Own Thanksgiving (or CYO Thanksgiving) in which, Yes I got to have the Meal with a few tweaks and A Ton of Stuffing, which is My Favorite Part of Thanksgiving. This is certainly different than Last Year with Going to Spain for Thanksgiving and Honestly, I would not mind doing it again because Going to Europe during The Holidays is Very Fascinating! If You have ever wondered about it, like I know that You are. I am going to Rerun The Newsletter that Explains It. Plus My Humbleness gets to have a little bragging rights in This Newsletter. Folks, I am a Humble Man, but, It is Okay to brag every once and a while! Enjoy and Happy Holiday Season!

This Newsletter was Written on November 30th of 2016 (Refer to Newsletter 522)

Hola, My Readers! Welcome Back from a Lovely Holiday! I hope You enjoyed your Thanksgiving. So, Boy do I have an Interesting Story with quite a Twist to Tell You. So, What did I do for Thanksgiving? Oh Just...You Know, hang out with Family...Well, Yes and No. I actually went to Spain for Thanksgiving. Woah! Hold The Phone! You went to Spain for Thanksgiving?! Yes, I know, Crazy, right?! Yeah, You normally don’t hear that in Most People’s Thanksgiving Plans. The Only Reason You would hear that is if Someone had No One to spend The Holiday with, so Why not travel somewhere and Skip Thanksgiving. Well, I will assure you that it wasn’t Us. You See, a Month ago, A Couple PTLS Members wanted us to come to Spain and meet and talk with a Few PTLS Members, Keyword here, a FEW PTLS Members. It was to be a PTLS Hang-Out if You will. They had already picked The Date and It happened to be over Thanksgiving. So, Thanksgiving Week it was! Over the Next Month, The Amount of PTLS Members coming grew from a Couple of PTLS Members to 20 PTLS Members! Now, for those of You wondering, We did have a Thanksgiving, We will call it a “Make-Up Thanksgiving” because One of My Mom’s Friends was having a “Friends-Giving” at their House and so that was Our Thanksgiving. Now, This Second Trip to Europe, was a much shorter and More PTLS Business Trip than A Mix of both Business and Pleasure like Stockholm and London was. We flew on Thanksgiving Morning to Madrid, Spain. I will say that it is quite busy at The Airport on Thanksgiving Morning, but I think most of it was for Those flying home within The United States. This was The First Time that I ever flew on Thanksgiving Day as well as The First Time that We flew on an International Airline where They spoke two Languages in their Announcements, both English and Spanish. We arrived in Madrid, Spain on Friday Morning, as The Sun was starting, It was really pretty to arrive as The Sun was Rising. One of The Organizers of This Meeting, Ana, was Nice enough to pick us up from The Airport and took us to Our Hotel that Early in The Morning. She gave us a Nice Introduction to Spain and Preparing us to meet PTLS Family Members in Spain. None of Them except for Her and Another PTLS Member, Erik another Organizer for This, spoke English. Most of them speak only Spanish and maybe a Little (keyword again, little) English so, It would be a bit of a Challenge but, as Barney of How I Met Your Mother would say “Challenge Accepted!”. So, We arrived at Our Hotel, and let This Business Trip get going! First Thing on The List is an Interview with The Nursing Board of Spain, little did My Mom and I know that Said Interview was to Take Place on Camera. Due to Arriving early in The Morning, Our Room was not ready yet So, We did The Interview, on Camera and with Pictures as well while We waited. After all that was Finished, We were not going to be picked up until later that Evening to go to Dinner in The City Center. After a Nice Nap and a Really Nice Rain Shower in Our Hotel Room, Organizer Erik picked us up and Showed us around on Our Way to Dinner. We drove past several places including The Prado Museum; a Local Department Store called “El Corte Ingles” on Black Friday (which is a New Idea for Those in Spain); An Arched Monument in a Traffic Circle called “Puerta De Alcala”; and, A Traffic Circle with Spanish Flags around it, called “Plaza De Cibelas” near Banco de España; and, Finally, Walking by a Christmas Market in “Plaza Mayor”. We also got to see Some Pretty Cool Christmas Light Displays along the Drive to Dinner. We made a Slight Detour to meet Erik’s PTLS Child because He was not coming to The Event the next day. By The Way, The Way that The Spanish pronounce “Plaza Mayor”, To me, It sounded like “Playa Mayor’d”. We all had a Nice Dinner with a Few PTLS Members at a Restaurant in Madrid’s Old Town. Thank God that We had Erik and Ana to help Translate! My Mom really pulled from Her High School Years of Her Spanish, She can understand more than She can Speak. We tried Several Different Foods including Garlic Soup (It was really good) and Broken Eggs with French Fries (I am told that It is a Spanish Delicacy). I should mention that The Spanish tend to Eat Late, like around 8 or 9 O‘ Clock at Night and then, They party all Night in the Summer because They don’t have Air Conditioning and It gets Very Hot, so They stay out all Night. However, It was Freezing while We were there so We did not stay out late. They also do things Late, Lunch is Late (like 2 or 3 In The Afternoon) and Dinner is Late. Of Course, Organization in Spain may not be Top Priority either, but apparently That is How They like it there. Anyway, so Saturday was sort of like a Mini-Conference, like We did in Stockholm. My Mom spoke most of The Time all the way until After Lunch. By The Way, The Lunch that We had was really good too. Luckily though, We had a Friend of Michael’s Girlfriend, Nicole, named Marta came and She helped us Translate as well as Translators for The Speeches. Boy, Did We need those Translators! What was funny to me (But, It was Respectful) was that Some of the PTLS Members came up to Us and started speaking Spanish and Spoke to us as if We knew what They were saying. It took a lot of Listening to hear Words that You knew in Spanish and then, Get a General Idea of what They were saying. To Be Fair, I am sure that They were listening for Key Words that They knew in English.

After Lunch, I was up to Speak. Yes, I was Up to Speak! Now, This was The Organizer’s Idea for Me to do this. I did Very Brilliantly and I made My Own Powerpoint to Present and I spoke a Bit of Spanish to Impress them a little bit. For Dinner, We went to This Place called “Kilometros De Pizza” (Translating into Kilometers of Pizza) and They had Pizza that was VERY Long for a Group of People! First came Two Appetizers, One which was Real Mozzarella Cheese and Pita Bread. Then, Came the Main Dish, a Board of Pizza that was Literally a Meter Long and It had 4 different Kinds of Pizza (Cheese, Margarita, Ham and Cheese, and Barbecue) that was a 5 Person Length. It was Huge! The Next Day, Sunday was sort of like a Business Meeting. It was Interesting to say the least! After that, Ana took us on a Final Tour on The City and See The Places that was on Our List to See. So, We stopped for Lunch before Our Tour because I had to make sure that I had Paella while I was there. After We walked another PTLS Member to The Train Station (which was quite Extensive!), It was on to The Tour. Due to The Fact, that It was Raining most of The Time that We were There, We could not really explore too much but, We saw The Major Places, The Spanish Palace; “Gran Via”, The Spanish Version of Broadway; The Tourist Avenue; and, Finally, “Puerta Del Sol” which was a Highlight for Me to see! I realized Later that “Plaza Mayor” is More Significant than “Puerta Del Sol”, but to be Fair, “Puerta Del Sol” is the Exact Heart of Spain and Heart of Madrid. After that, That was The End of The Tour and It was Time to head back to The Hotel. The Final Day, Monday, It was Time to head Home. All in all, It was an Awesome Trip and I wish I had more Time in Spain to see it, but Maybe Next Year! A Huge Thank You (Muchos Gracias!) to Our Translators; Organizers (Erik and Ana); Our Cheering Squad, Pili and Laura; a Special Thanks to My Little PTLS Brother, Carlos for His Smile and Kit-Kat, and Finally, the People of Spain for showing Your Lovely and Historic Country.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Spending Thanksgiving can mean Spending It with Family Anywhere.

The Christianville Spirit: Happy Thanksgiving!

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Makes You Wonder

November 22nd, 2017-TCS # 571

Hello My Wonderful Readers and Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that You had a Great Year to This Point! I know that I have had a Great Year so Far. I am thankful for Many Things and Many Things extra! The Roof over My Head, Food on The Table, and All the Basic Things that We have that We don’t realize that We should be Grateful for. Additionally, I am Thankful (Truly Thankful) for all of The Meet-ups that I had This Year, 9 almost 10 Times in a Year with Lynee’s Mom, Dona. It really helps both of us with both Closure and Showing Lynee (as well as Lynee showing us) that We truly Loved her! That and Dona is just good company! We, between My Mom and I have become really good friends with Her, and She is a Good Friend to have. Someone to Laugh with, Cry with, and Yes, have Some Really Good (Deep at times) Conversations. Now, that I think about it. I am thankful for that more than Anything This Year. On Top of That, I am Thankful for The Cruise that I went on Earlier This Year and The PTLS Family that took me. Of Course, I am Very Thankful to My Neighbors! Who would have thought that after All This Time living in The Neighborhood that I do, that I would have Great-Awesome-Brilliant Neighbors, even in My Head, Although I am not European (I am of decent) eerrr...I mean, I don’t LIVE in Europe, but I say it as Neighbours (It sounds the same when said but, to Me, it should sound like Nay-Boors instead of Nay-Bers.) Anyway, I am going to rerun a Thanksgiving Newsletter that I feel is One of My Best Ones. A Note, before I start, This Newsletter was written in the time of the Ferguson Riots and I mention it very briefly, In case You were wondering what Ferguson was. Anyway, Enjoy The Newsletter and Have a Very Happy Thanksgiving! 

This Newsletter was written on November 26th of 2014(Refer to Newsletter 426)

Happy Thanksgiving, My Readers! Really, I hope that You have an Awesome Thanksgiving No Matter Who You Are. So, I was having a bit of Trouble with figuring out What I should write about This Thanksgiving Eve. I thought of Maybe, What I’m thankful for or Maybe, My Feelings toward all the Unrest in The Country and In Ferguson, Missouri, but I figured that I should not give that Anymore Energy than it already has. So, What I am going to Write about, You Say? Well, Let’s start with a Question. Oh Boy, I am sure You are thinking. What does Thanksgiving mean to You? And, Don’t Worry, if You say, “Shopping”, I promise to not judge you, unless it is for a Greedy Reason, then I do not Support You. So, Back to My Question, What does Thanksgiving mean to You? As a Friend of My Mom’s and Mine, says, “Thanksgiving is the Only Holiday where You can spend time with Your Family, and not have to Worry about Gifts or Presents” Now, when I heard that, It kind of stung but, only because I am a Christmas-Lover and After Halloween is over with, I am ready for Christmas Movies, Music, and So On. But, The Ugly Truth is that This Friend is 100% Right, Thanksgiving is The Only Holiday to Really have Genuine Quality Time with Family without Gifts or Presents. Again, Not to Diss Christmas because I love Christmas and I always will. But, What about Thanksgiving? Well, Unfortunately, Thanksgiving is often overlooked by The Frantic Holiday Shopping known as “Black Friday” which to be honest, seems to be turning into “Black ThanksFriday.” In My Head, It is like driving into a Double-Metro Area like Baltimore-Washington or Even My Own, Dallas-Fort Worth. You enter Fort Worth and find that, No You do not want to go to Fort Worth (and, Fort Worth is a Very Down-to-Earth, Cowboy City) but, You want to go to Dallas. Well, What do You do? Well, skip it of course, take the “Bypass” around it and get to Dallas faster, instead of going through it. So, Thanksgiving, By The Way, to me, Anyway, means Quality Time with Family (If Family is not around, Then Friends and New Friends can do), It means Turkey and Stuffing! (Stuffing is One of My Favorite Parts of Thanksgiving), and Of Course, Watching The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which not only is My Favorite Tradition but, It is the Official Start of The Holiday Season. Now, I know that There are some people who love Football on Thanksgiving. If I ever had a Discussion about it with Someone who is a Passionate Football Fan, They would probably tell me that 1. It keeps the Family entertained if You just can not handle staring at Your Family Member without nothing to talk about or It is just plain awkward. and, 2. It prevents the Family from Fighting (unless, and God Help You, Your Family roots for Different Teams) Believe Me, I am pretty sure that There are those type of Families Out There and The First Type of Family would be just Funny to watch and observe But, as They say in The News, I digress. and, Finally, There are People who sadly either do not have Family to go to, in which it is better for them to hang out with Friends, and If They do not have Either, that is When They need a Friend or Someone to spend Thanksgiving with. So, Thanksgiving is not the Best for them. and, Finally, There are The Shoppers. Now, in my head, There are two types of People that shop on Thanksgiving. Either those that are Alone with No Family or Friends, so Why not spend your heart out on Gifts and What not, It seems Logical and It helps them. BUT, There are also those who just want to Shop, Just because. or, maybe We can use the “Awkward Family” excuse and Maybe it provides more Entertainment when You can not handle being at Home anymore. The Ones that I do not agree with are “Black-Friday Shoppers” because In My Head, There is nothing that You need at 4 in The Morning. Anyway, My Readers, like Christmas, Thanksgiving is What You make of it. But, If Anything, Do Something Good for Thanksgiving, Help an Elderly Lady if You are Shopping, Shout Loud if You are a Football Fan and Make Sure that “Awkward Family” of Yours does it too (It is More Fun that Way), and Finally Enjoy The Quality Time with The Family because You never know what may happen. Sure, They may be Awkward, a Bit Messed Up, and They are just Funny (and, Fun) to be around, like My Family. But, Enjoy It and Lastly, (all in all) I hope You have a Great Thanksgiving with Lots of Love and Happiness!

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Give Thanks and Cherish What You have, This Thanksgiving. Also, it goes without saying, Happy Thanksgiving!