Six Months

Yah...that's all it has taken to post. Christmas seems like yesterday and we had a great time at Jo's. We went the weekend after Christmas, dogs, extra friends and all!! Jo has the patience of a saint. Todd surprised me with an ipod for Christmas. I totally don't know how I survived without it. It is so much more than music. I even have knitting podcasts, patterns and project photos on it. He really hit a home run this year. I in turn got him nothing cool. We usually don't exchange much but once in a while a really good idea comes up. Well, my lovely nephew Andrew reminded Todd that Fergie was playing at Turning Stone Casino the night we arrived at Jo's. I grabbed the money from my purse and sent Todd on his merry way. He was so excited. He loves her music. Here he is with Jo just before heading out. All the boys had to suffer through his phone photos and videos all night when he got back. I'm sure it queered them out to have uncle Todd be hot for Fergie. hehehe....We played cheesie games and ate like pigs and were forced to wear crowns. We all really love wearing them. You can't open gifts unless you have your crown on.
Ash Turned 18!! Where is the time going? This weekend is her graduation. I think us three sisters are looking more forward to it all than she is. Look out U of Virginia....I personally think she picked it because the school color is orange but who am I to say!!! Of course Uncle Todd picked out her card. It appropriately played "Bad to the Bone" when she opened it.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE :

Hello family hope everyone is well. Just a quick note to say Merry Christmas Eve. Sometimes I enjoy this day better than the next. Enjoy the kids, no matter how old they are the"Magic" of the holiday season is here. Make your memories and hold them deep in your heart. All our love . The Armstrong's (Steve, Jo, Ash, & Luke)

Christmas Time is a' Comin

Hey Guys,

With the Christmas season approaching I think it is a time for us to think of those less fortunate than ourselves. Me and Meg decided that in this spirit we would not buy anything for each other this Chrstmas, and instead use the money we were going to spend to buy food, treats, and other things to donate to the local animal shelters. With the cold winter just starting we know that they are going to have an influx of new animals that they need to support and take care of.

We are looking at donating to three different shelters that have different levels of need in the north country. If anyone here wants to donate with us or help out in this effort for the christmas season just let us know. We are going to be baking the homeade treats and buying the items to donate the last day the shelters are open before Christmas.

Well have a Holly Jolly Christmas,

Josh and Megan

Sweetest and Newest Relatives of the Clan!!

Here is a picture of the newest members of our extended family. Aren't they adorable!! Kids, these are twins born to my cousin Katie and her husband. They would be the first grandchildren to grandma Sweeney's younger brother! Gracie on left and and Matty on right!

The Chapins and Social Criticism

Hey Guys!!!

I hope everyone is setting in well to the holiday season!! Here I am again as the blog's resident social critic. I had to bring this issue to all of you because of two reasons. For one you are all close to my heart and I believe that because our busy lives prevent us from looking critically at the world around us I should give everyone a few things to chew on. The second is because this issue is right at the heart of the Chapin Family. I know that at least five of you are in love with the late Harry Chapin's music and ideals.

This semester I have been taking a deeply anaytical course dealing with education with the social science and humanity fields. During this I have been looking at the development of public education and how it functions today. I know both Aunt Jo and Aunt Lou you have children within the public education so this could be an especially enlightening. Today we had a speaker come in who was one of the developers of the original New York State social studies standards and brought to my attention a song from Tom Chapin, Harry's brother. It is critisizing the "No Child Left Behind" act that Bush has been pushing for some time now.

If you haven't ready how this act works, it basically pushes for more math, science, and reading within the public school systems. It calls for more qualified teachers within the schools (which is a good thing) but threatens to take away funding if certain benchmarks are not met. This is bad because as all of you know that pay taxes, school taxes are voted on by the public and of course people hate taxes. So funding that is already too low for most school districts if being cut further through the withdrawal of federal support. This is just one of the things that is hampering the public school system and will just increase in the coming years.

Now this funding cut can be eliminated and further funding obtained if the district has increasingly goodtest scores. This is not a good thing though because then it makes education into test scores. These tests are like the NYS regents that push for a student to rmember dates and facts. All of which do not include any UNDERSTANDING of the material. All of these tests eliminate understanding because it is sooo much harder to be able to test. It is easy to judge whether a student can tell when the civil war happened, but it is hard to be able to judge the depth in which they understand its causes and effects. So these tests suppot math and science at the cost of other subjects. School districts want money so they push money into math and science causing music, art, and social studies to suffer. My instructor worked at a school district where they eliminated all of the schools art and social studies positions.

So in short the "No Child Behind Act" cripples the history, art, and music that our children are going to get in the coming years. Its call for higher scores in math, science, and reading push less funds into the other subjects. This is a simplified version of its affects on the public education system, but import to understanding the act.

Being a student in the humanities (both anthropology and history) has shown me just how important they are. Through them we understand human nature and how we as people fuction with each other and the societies in which we live. Can you imagine a child that has no idea about the history of racial discrimination in the country? Or the truth of what our country has done in the past? An uninformed citizen is simply a pawn that the country can use for its own purposes.

So where does the Chapin family fit in? Tom Chapin, the brother of Harry, wrote this song criticisizing the way in which "No Child Left Behind" degrades the education which our children are receiving from K-12. (Current studies have shown that children as young as 2nd grade are feeling immense pressure to do good on these tests that are just to get money)

Not On The Test by John Forster & Tom Chapin© 2007

Go on to sleep now, third grader of mine.
The test is tomorrow but you'll do just fine.
It's reading and math. Forget all the rest.
You don't need to know what is not on the test.
Each box that you mark on each test that you take,
Remember your teachers. Their jobs are at stake.
Your score is their score, but don't get all stressed.
They'd never teach anything not on the test.
The School Board is faced with no child left behind
With rules but no funding, they're caught in a bind.
So music and art and the things you love best
Are not in your school 'cause they're not on the test.
Sleep, sleep, and as you progress
You'll learn there's a lot that is not on the test.
Debate is a skill that is useful to know,Unless you're in Congress or talk radio,
Where shouting and spouting and spewing are blessed'
Cause rational discourse was not on the test.
Thinking's important. It's good to know how.
And someday you'll learn to, but someday's not now.
Go on to sleep, now. You need your rest.
Don't think about thinking. It's not on the test.

Now this isn't complete unless you go to http://members.aol.com/chapinfo/tc/mp3.html and click on "Listen" to hear it played by the man himself. :)

LIVE FOR TODAY

This was in one of the emails that was sent to me today. We all have so much to be greatful and thankful for.

Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right. Forget about the one's who don't. Believe everything happens for a reason. If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.

Belated Best Wishes

Hey, y'all. Sorry I haven't logged on in a while. I hope everyone had a happy, healthy and safe Thanksgiving. It was quite comfortable here on the Bay. I had the kitchen door open all morning with the sun beating in. It was a lovely day. My husbands family invaded. As Italians, it's the only way they know how to visit. :) I cleaned and cooked for three solid days. When I woke up on Friday morning my calf muscles were so cramped I could barely walk. It was wonderful!!! I love to cook and cater to everyone and play hostess. So much so, we're doing it all again on Christmas Eve, and expect about 30 people.

We used to drive home every year for Thanksgiving, but the drive is a bit much for a four day weekend. It's 380 miles to Mom's on Wednesday, 70 miles back to Mary's for dinner on Thursday, 70 miles back to Mom's, 380 miles back home on Friday or Saturday. All tolled, it's usually 16-18 hours in the car. Last year, Richard simply couldn't make the trip. This year, I didn't know what my job situation was and I didn't want to make a commitment to the family that I couldn't keep. Once we decided we could manage it, Richard couldn't get the time off and we couldn't find anyone to take the dog. (Mom's not fond of the dog hair Chip leaves behind.) Perhaps next year we'll make it.

I was interested to read about Todd's arthur. (Funny, that's what we call it, too.) I'll have to think about whether Richard incurred a specific trauma. He's getting a prednesone injection in his knee every 6-8 months. Other than that he's okay with the methotrexate. I'm not wild about the damage it could cause his liver, but it's not my decision. Tic a lock!

Trina, how did you make out with your teeth? I hope you were able to enjoy your holiday. I had mine out when I was 21 and I still tremble when I think about it!

I'm amazed at the athletes you ladies have raised! I'm impressed! Please post more pictures. And how about some play by play? Listen, I'm a Baltimore Ravens fan, so I don't have much to cheer about these days... I need someone to root for!!!

Love hugs and kisses to all.