Maryann's Musings

We are all mourning for  Snuggles Cuddle-Bunny.     This morning Snuggles passed into what Christianna announced was 'Holy Clover Grounds.' The cause of death is unknown.  Snuggles, you and your sweet spirit will remain forever in our hearts as a sweet, sweet memory.

Orphan Fund made possible by a grant from Baptist Global Response    On Sunday our family drove out near a village to see the church of Dennis ALLADOE; he runs a school made up primarily of orphans and a church made up primarily of children.  He had asked us to contact BGR to give him an orphan fund for 21 orphans that would have been on the streets had he not taken them in.  BGR bought their school supplies for this school term.  A little after we arrived, the village chief did. Then the ceremony began. Everyone was introduced to everyone else, songs of thanksgiving were sung, and then Dad explained how BGR was doing this, what it was doing, and why.   The orphans sang and danced for us and Isabelle stood up and said a formal thank you to everyone in French, and ending with, "Thank you very much." in English to us.  The Chief's 'Second in Command' also gave a speech, thanking BGR for taking care of the children.

We are expecting not Easter bunnies but Christmas bunnies! (or Thanksgiving :}) Reality Check; it's not always 8 kits (baby rabbits) although this is the usual number at a time. Dad is not so happy because he doesn't want rabbit overpopulation!!! But we figured something out. Cuddles (the daddy) and Snuggles (the mommy) have both been living life in our backyard after we gave them free reign to run around where they pleased. They love it there! Tristan told me to caption this, "Looking forward to little holiday bunnies!" We came up with a variety of names, most of them for litters of eight. There is the coffee group including Mocha, Cappuccino, and Arabica; there is the chocolate bar group including Caramello, Snickers, Reese's, and Krackel; there is the reindeer group that has Dasher through Blitzen; and then the $1, $2, e.t.c. group. Also the actor group including Knightely, Damon, Cumberbatch, Pine, and Hathaway. There are a few others, but we

THERE ARE MINOR SPOILERS IN THIS POST    'The Giver' fascinated me at the climax point.   Someone is going to be killed and Jonas is trying to release the memories before they are, which will save them. The Giver is trying to convince the Chief Elder that what they are doing is wrong, and that faith, hope, and love above all with everything human kind used to have can help us overcome the wrong.   "We can choose better." he says. The Elder shakes her head sadly. "When people have the right to choose," she looks at him, "they choose wrong;  every single time. "   This exchange is to me what made the movie. It asked the question, can man make the world better by deciding to make it so, or will they, when given the right to choose, choose selfishly and pick what satisfies them at that moment? The movie looked into human nature and gave you the right to choose. ' I'll let you decide," says Jonas.  There were cert

  The Giver  stars Jonas (Brenton Thwaites), a normal boy living in a 'Community.' The communities are virtually perfect; there is no hate, jealousy, physical pain, or war. No one has emotions; only feelings. There is no color (literally) and lying is, "against the rules."  Jonas and his friends Asher (Cameron Monaghan) and Fiona (Odeya Rush) are Elevens, (meaning they are 11 years old) and are soon to go through the ceremony of the Twelves. This is when they are given their life jobs and will be seen as adults.  The day before the ceremony, Jonas is at the 'Nurturing Center', where they take care of newborn babies, when he suddenly sees color in Fiona's hair. Fiona of course, doesn't know what color is, and can't figure out why Jonas is staring at her.  At the ceremony the next day, the Chief Elder (Meryle Streepe), when calling them to the stage to assign them, skips Jonas.  She calls him up last and announces he has