GUITAR HERO

The Guitarist Tunes Up

With what attentive courtesy he bent
Over his instrument;
Not as a lordly conqueror who could
Command both wire and wood,
But as a man with a loved woman might,
Inquiring with delight
What slight essential things she had to say
Before they started, he and she, to play.

-- Frances Cornford (1886-1960)

Well...maybe it isn't quite that poetic. The boys bought Guitar Hero today ( a video game for their new X-Box 360). The person playing the game is a "rock star," and it is similar to the game Simon where you have to hit the colored sequence in the right order, only it is in real time, and you are playing guitar chords, so to speak. It is hysterical. I tried my hand at it. My stage name was Pandora, and I resemebled Posh Spice. Fantasy and reality did a little merging for me, but I think we can safely conclude that I won't be hitting the rock concert circuit any time soon.

Meet Julie 2

December 29th, 2007: After no less than 40 calls to the American Girl Store over a 17 hour period, and getting no answer, we decided to try our luck again, this time with Mark, Hayden, Maggie and me. Much to our excitement a new shipment of Julie dolls arrived sometime between 11:00 a.m yesterday and 6:00 p.m. today. Maggie was jubilant, Mark was overwhelmed, and Hayden had fun deciding which American Girl "Just Like Me" doll that she looks like. I just had fun taking it all in. Mission Accomplished, we have Julie.

MEET JULIE...Well Almost

December 28th, 2007: Maggie and Mommy head out to the mall to buy Julie, the American Girl Doll from 1974. (It is a bit serendipitous that my daughter would want the 70s girl). Maggie has been saving her money, and with the money she got for Christmas, she finally had enough to buy her. As we entered the mall and approached the store, we found a line that started at the door, wrapped around the corner and then snaked down a corridor of the mall. We joined the masses and took our place in line. After nearly 50 minutes of waiting for our turn to enter the store, we discoverd that all the Julie dolls were sold out. This news was greeted with a rush of tears. I think the girls who were the bearers of this bad news would have moved mountains to get Maggie her Julie doll.

Christmas Day 2007

I think the pictures say it all..We had a wonderful and blessed Christmas day...and Christmas still came despite the fact that I didn't get any "Christmas baking" done this year or much else done in the way of preparations.

Ted and Gretchen Celebrate 50 years of Marriage

When I get older losing my hair,
Many years from now.
Will you still be sending me a valentine
Birthday greetings bottle of wine.
If I'd been out till quarter to three
Would you lock the door,
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four. ...or so
From: When I am 64 by the Beatles

December 21st, 2007 marked the 50th wedding anniversary of Mark's parents, Ted and Grechen Fogas. In today's world, that is a HUGE accomplishment. Those 50 years included the births of five children, who then gave birth to 13 Fogas grandchildren (cumulatively), and all of which birthed countless shared family memories. We had a big party at Chris and Heather's house (Chris is the oldest grandchild). All five of the Fogas children were there along with their spouses and children, which made for a total of lots of extended family. The youngest grandbaby is only 9 weeks, and the oldest is "30 something." We have grandchildren spanning 3 DECADES!!! Other family and friends joined in the celebration, and, in the end, all were blessed by Ted and Gretchen's commitment to one another through the good times and the bad.....they made it 50 years!!!!!!

SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO...WINDSOR FOREST

Last night was our annual neighborhood Christmas party. It is really quite a treat on a number of fronts. First of all, the people who host it have an absolutely beautiful house that has essentially been gutted and rebuilt. It is like an episode of Flip This House, only everything was done with high quality products and the intent was not to flip it. Secondly, the food is wonderful. Thirdly, the company is great, and lastly, Santa comes to pay a visit to the children who live in Windsor Forest. Maggie would not sit on Santa's lap, but she would stand by him while MARK sat on Santa's lap. Maggie also had, yet another, opportunity to hang with her little preschool posse. As I have previously mentioned, she has three little friends in the neighborhood who are in her preschool class and will start kindergarten with her in the fall.

THE NUTCRACKER

A day in the life of Maggie Fogas is.....BUSY, FUN, EXCITING, EXHAUSTING!!!! Our day started yesterday with an adventure. We set out with our good friends, the Kesters, to see the Nutcracker. The moms decided that we would ride the train downtown, so we didn't have to be bothered with trying to find a place to park. Of course, we were dressed up (and the girls really were adorable) so we were the target of A LOT of unsolicited attention. One lady felt compelled to spend 3/4 of the train ride informing us that our girls should take viola lessons, not violin, but viola. After giving us the ins and outs of where to find teachers, how much they should practice, etc., she proceeded to tell us that since our girls were Asian, they would be "natural musicians, they have an innate talent." Carolyn and I just nodded and smiled, and cringed on the inside, hoping our girls were oblivious to the fact that they were being grossly stereotyped. Finally, we made it to the Nutcracker at the Wonderful Fox Theater. It is a magical place, and the girls enjoyed the show. Apparently Grace Ingram was so inspired that on the way home she announced that she was the ONLY ballerina (She is 2, and it made her sister cry). Carolyn had to console Mac by telling her that they ALL could be ballerinas.

Then it was time to catch the train again. In our haste, we got on the wrong train and had to ride it all the way to the end of the line. When we reached the end, and asked where we could catch the train to Northsprings, we were informed that we had to ride back to Lindbergh (almost where we started), get off, and then catch the Northsprings train. So we actually had two adventures, the Nutcracker and the MARTA ride.

We stopped at home long enough for Maggie to change her clothes so that she could go to her ballet class. They had a party and did a little dance from, of all things, The Nutcracker. She did a great job and had fun feasting after class.

The day wasn't over yet. We deposited Maggie home with Josh, and Hayden and I took off with two of my friends ( two playgroup moms)to go to our annual Christmas party/ornament swap. Despite being exhausted, we had so much fun, and the ornament swap always turns into a wild pursuit to get one or two prized ornaments. It is amazing how God uses the lives of our daughters to weave together the fabric of our friendship. The ladies from playgroup are some of my closest friends, and the bond that we share because of our children is indescribable. The Bible says "A chord of three is not easily broken." I say, a chord of playgroup moms cannot be broken. I can't imagine my life without these women in it.

So, that is it....a day in the life of Maggie...and Angela

THIRD ANNUAL PRESCHOOL PLAYGROUP COOKIE BAKE

Once again, we set out with our cookie dough, rolling pins, flour, cookie cutters, parchment paper, and cameras carefully packed away for our annual Christmas cookie baking extravaganza. It was different this year. For one thing, Marsha wasn't there, and she is the one who normally secures the location for us. So we were at Marsha's church with none of the Duncans there. And we missed Jeremy, who acts as our cookie police, whose job it is to remove trays of cookies from the oven, and to replace them with the next batch that is ready to go. And we missed the Witkowski girls, and Annabel. And it didn't seem right when Laurie Smith didn't stroll in an hour late with both of her girls trailing behind her. And we missed Abby and Shelby. I have to say that it was odd not chasing Ryan Ashton all over the place, who in years past was monitored by all the moms there. Because it literally took all of us to keep up with him....and hey, why not, he is a boy, and it is a wide open space. If you are a toddler isn't that an invitation to run like the wind. Maybe the weather cast a melancholy shadow on the whole experience. It is hard to get in the Christmas spirit when it is 79 degrees outside. We did miss our school-age friends and the Duncan's absence was greatly felt.

THE PINK PIG

After living in Atlanta for almost 5 years, we finally participated in a long-standing Atlanta Christmas tradition. We rode the PINK PIG. We joined our playgroup friends, rode the pig, and had some lunch. Then we were off to meet Josh at the doctor, and off again for ballet. I love the picture of Mag walking into the house with her little ballet legging sticking out of her pant legs, and her hair is still in her "ballet bun."

SWING SWING......

How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!


Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
Rivers and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside -



Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roof so brown -
Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down!

Written by Robert Louis Stevenson