Beyond The Jingles
UPDATED on 12/23.
IMAGE SOURCE. Picture shot 1,2 and 3 by Curtis Fletcher. I’ve done slight digital enhancements on these already beautiful shots
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To some of us who celebrate Christmas:
The Grinch perhaps has stolen our joy
Or perhaps, he has hid our peace in the deepest part of his attic
Brightness of Christmas lights failed to brighten one’s heart
And even, the beauty of winter couldn’t cheer up a clouded heart
As rows of candles beautifully illuminate a dark room,
may the true message of Christmas would touch every soul who longs and thirsts for …Hope
May hearts be restored, …. be mended
and to ALL of us as the New Year is around the corner:
Wishing you all a year filled with heaven wonders
From our home to yours, sending you a warm Season’s Greetings:
……… Merry Christmas 2007 and Happy New Year 2008 …….
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Special Note for my wonderful blogging friends:
Thank you for reaching out to me. Thank your for the friendships. I’m going to take an indefinite break from blogging … I guess I’d talk to you again ’sometime’ in 2008 … I’m dedicating this Kenny G Christmas song for all of you … Take care everyone ….
Happy holidays to you too Annita. May God bless you and your family
Hi Annita, thank you for the beautiful message of Christmas. I pray that next year will be better for your family. We will always have positive thoughts for you and especially for Emily.
God bless and Happy Holidays!
Rolando
Hi! Just want to wish you Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays. May you & your family have a great week this time of the year.
Hey Annita,
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog with your warm wishes. MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and your family as well.
I pray for you and your family that God will bring blessings, restoration, and peace.
Love N Him,
Janet
Hope Christmas is everything you want it to be Anita. Merry Christmas and may the spirit of Christmas be with you and yours, always.
Will come and visit your blog again, ummm, sometimes in 2008.
Take care yourself. GBU …
Hi Annita!! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! May 2008 be full of blessings to you and your family.
A hug from the distance,
hello Annita dear,
belated merry xmas and advance happy new year!thank you for the friendship too and hoping to talk t you soon on 2008!
enjoy your vacation dear!
that poem is so warm and meaningful,as usual
sorry im late,hubby`s apt has no internet connection,we will probably go home on the 30th,i am here in the net cafe to greet you
Enoy the holiday!!
hugs from japan,
ghee
Happy New Year My dear friend! I hope you and your family have a great year ahead. God bless!
Dear Friends
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008!!! ..
Thank you for your warm Christmas/New Yr wishes!! … Hope you had a wonderful Christmas too.
Snow did visit us on Christmas day. So, yes, we had a white Christmas here. It was such a beautiful sight to see those gentle cotton balls slowly landing themselves on a cold ground.
But alas, the Grinch sent flu bugs to us the day after Christmas. Emily came down w/ high fever: 104F = 40 C. Thank God, she is doing much much better now.
In the meantime, myself is still trying to get a little holiday from blogging before I’m back here again.
Will do my best to reply to your comments in the 2 days.
Take care everyone.
May this year be filled w/ more joys, happiness and love despite of any setbacks that happened last year.
Hugs,
Annita
Hi Annita! Happy New Year for you and your family!
Hello Wen
Happy New Yr to you too!!! .. wish both of you the BEST
Talk to you later ..
Take care
~ Annita
Hello Ivy ..
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Thanks for the warm wishes
.. May God bless you and your family abundantly this yr ..
Blessings,
~ Annita
Hello Rolando
Thank you for the visit!! … and Thank you for your positive thoughts for little Emily .. I do really appreciate that
May the richness of heaven be overflown in your life.
Blessings for you and Ebru
~ Annita
Hello Tots Mom
hope you had a wonderful Christmas too!! .. my daughter got a nasty flu bug right after christmas day so we barely had a chance to really have a nice holiday break
Take care,
~ Annita
Hello Janet
Thank you for the visit too!!! and your warm Christmas wishes!! ..
yes, I’m in agreement w/ you that may this new year brings peace and restorations.
Wishing lots of blessings for you and your family!
~ Annita
Hello “Tere”
Thank you for the visit. And Thank you for your thoughtful words
Hope you had a wonderful Christmas too ..
In this new yr, wishing you lots more joys and happiness
Take care,
~ Annita
Hello dear Ghee
I definitely treasured your warm Christmas wishes
..
Trying my best to enjoy my little holiday from blogging .. Emily came down w/ high fever last week (40 Celcius). the munchkin is recovering but her mom is practically (and totally) tired now
..
I’ll visit your nest as soon as I’m done replying the comments ..
Take care and BLESSINGS.
Sending you digital HUGS,
~ Annita
Hello Lisa
Happy New YEar dear .. and May this yr be filled w/ MORE joys, happiness and heaven wonders
Take care there.
Blessings,
~ Annita
Hi Annita
Welcome back. Hope everything is better now. I do hope 2008 brings you and your family health, happiness, and success. Take care.
~JD
Hello JD
Thanks
.. well, actually I’m somehow not back to blogging yet 
.. Life priorities still drag me to be away from here 
wishing you the BEST in this new yr
Blessings
~ Annita
Happy New Year to you, your loved ones, and your beloved friends who frequently come to your blogs for inspiration. Please forgive me in not visiting you as often as I like. I got crazy over the holiday. When I play your youtube, I can’t wait for next year Christmas. I hope you don’t mind, I will use your same video as another blog post, I have kenny G in my household but my boys misplaced the CD and I miss the cd box and cover and CD is somewhere in the household.
I have a good year start. We went cold turkey in visiting San Francisco Fisherman Wharf with a train. I dropped in a hotel and jokingly ask for a room to stay overnight, I was not prepared at all with no toothbrush, no new set of clothing, no asthma preventive medicine but we have the rescue medicine, no anything, but just sheer romantic love and spontaneous fun loving for my boys after the long train ride and very tiring walk from Bart (some sort of train in bay area) station to Pier 39 in SF. And on 3rd less popular hotel drop in, they have 1 room left and I hug my wife to beg her worrisome mind to let us stay overnight without the Asthma prevention medicine at hand for Benjamin. And she said ‘Yes’. And we had a blast in the New Year to be ‘Brave & Silly’ and ‘Focus & Trust our Lord’ in 2008. We had no resolution for 2008 and we are going not to have plans but purely focus on our lord Jesus and His teachings so that He would guide us into the 2008 and beyond. He really blessed me to love my wife and boys more in the new year.
Please pray for me as I spent way too many hours in photography and writing and please pray for a good balance in my life. I love all of my friends and family but I need to yield my priority to my beloved wife and two wonderful boys, the greatest gift in my life from the Almighty.
God bless you, your hubby and your little one, and all of your wonderful and heart warming friends around the world.
Hin
Oh Annita,
I just got your message. Please know that even though I don’t know your current personal struggles. Pleae,please don’t do what I did. Don’t delete your blogs from any of the forums….just simply take a break as long as you need. Panther tried to tell me the same thing and I didn’t listen. He left one of his blogs for 2 years. Please I beg you….take all the time you need but don’t delete your blog.
And, please don’t feel alone with your struggles with your faith. I face them everyday. I will be praying very hard for you. Go and do what you need to do…but, please,please don’t just disappear from all of us.
I have come to think of you as a very dear friend. I did not forget you I simply couldn’t get to you. Also my sister-in-law passed away right before Christmas, and, then my blog was taken over…if you delete yours that may very well happen to you. There’s a lot of fishy stuff going on right now at one particular forum.
However, I will honor and respect any choice you make. But, I will be praying that you don’t delete anything. And, I will also pray about your personal struggles. Please if you do leave….keep in touch via email. My email is sunshinezdelight@yahoo.com. Don’t be alarmed though if you email me and I respond with the name W.M. that’s my husband’s initials. When I first set-up the email account I had no clue I would be using it for my blog. I am here for you.
God bless hun…and here’s a great big hug from me to you,
Jackie
Hi Annita, I have just read your message. So sorry to hear that you are leaving the blogosphere. I will certainly miss you very much. Hopefully you can blog again in the future? I hope you will let us know if and when you decide to post again.
I send you my best wishes and hope that you will overcome the struggles.
Hugs,
Hello Annita dear,
First of all,I`d like to thank you for the greetings and the comments that you`ve left on my blog.Work started this monday again so I became very busy again.
Honestly,I feel so shocked of what you`ve said…I really consider you a great friend of mine,eventhough I ve just known you for a short span of time.
I have no idea on what kind of challenges you are facing now.I know that I cant help to what kind of heavy loads you have,although,all of us are strugglers in the world,and it would be easier for you to share them with someone…me,i unload through my blogs.I put my sentiments out there,my cries and my laughters,I feel good that my readers symphatize me.
Take me as an example Annita.I take a leave every now and then,my longest leave was 3 months,I never opened my blogs so I wouldnt be tempted to post anything. so…we are free in this world.we come and go…but i suggest you not to delete your blog permanently.
lets stay in touch dear,emails will do
hug you a lot!!!!
ghee
http://akoni.info
You are one of the most memorable friends that I have in the blogging community. It would be sad to see you removing your blog. Please leave it behind for our inspiration. I have to admit it may be a selfish thought and request from me as I come here often for the genuine visit with inspiration through your insights in living our lives in Him.
We all face life struggles and there is no issues bigger than Him. Sometimes, we just need that blank sheet of faith in Him that He will carry us through even the toughest problems that we are facing. It is very hurting and daunting at times. I pray that you take refuge in Him and find a hiding place in Him for strength, wisdom and comfort. And we as a good friends of yours around the globe can only hope that you reach out to someone to share your burden. The Almighty may choose some of us to comfort you as well as share your burden. Thoughts and best wishes are with you always from your very admired friends across the blogging community.
Annita
I totally understand and do sympathize. I do wish you the best of luck and happiness in whatever endeavor you chose to do. Thank you for the short time we had together in this virtual world. Your comments have always been uplifting and helpful to me as I struggle in my decision to carry on blogging as well. So, my thoughts are with you and your family and I wish you all happiness and health for 2008.
~JD
hi annita, i hope you’re all is well with you and like Shinade I do urge you not to delete your accounts. I hope we can still get in touch sometime soon. God bless you dear!
Hey great to see ya over a GO! Smell the flowers and we’ll gladly feature your blog at sometime in the future!!
Happy flower smelling and keep up the blogging in 2008 – you’ve a slick design here!
Dear my blogging FRIENDS ,
THANK YOU for your thoughtful messages and warm wishes
that you left either on this blog or at my Blog Catalog .. I do treasure your supports .. 
I do really apologize that my decision to leave was kinda sudden. At this moment, I have no choice but to do so.
The reason of my leave is very personal and I’m really sorry that I can’t tell it out on this blogosphere. Even our own parents don’t really know exactly the pit we are in now.
Perhaps, I should have shared our life struggles w/ them to ease our burdens.
My hubby and I did make wrong major life decisions that is costing our future. I blamed myself, too, as I wasn’t stubborn enough to stand firm on what I thought was the right thing to do. IF, I was not so easily agreeable, life wouldn’t take so much bliss from us. The road we’re in now may, perhaps, be different. smoother w/ less speed bumps.
Anyway, there’s no turning back now, isn’t it?? … We DID learn our mistakes painfully. What we’ve got to do now is to keep on persevere.
As most people, we’re so longing for a mountain top. One day, by His grace, we do pray that HE would take us there.
At this point, as the leader of our family, my hubby is trying his best to be optimistic than ever. That God’s goodness is still there for us. For myself, I must ashamedly confess to you that I’ve been the one who is still searching.
Who knows after this valley moment passing by, my hubby and I would become much better people. Our views to this life perhaps would be somewhat evolved.
Although I’d be on my hiatus from blogging, I’d still love to drop by at your ‘homes.’ And PLEASE GIVE ME A SHOUT WHENEVER YOU STOP BY HERE as well!! …
Wishing OVER-FLOWING heaven blessings to all of you
… as I’ve said it many times to you all “Thank you for the friendship!” 
~ Annita
Hello Go Smell the flower
Thank you for the visit back here. Appreciate it.
ABOUT this website design, the credit should go to WordPress. I practically did nothing!!
… This particular blog theme allows me to put a custom image header 
…. and oh, bye the way, I’m on my leave from blogging.
Take care there!
~ annita
Hello Annita!
I had more than a month of break from blogging. I’m hoping to update my blog soon but it’s not my top priority. My kids are growing so fast, I feel like I’m missing them already. Spending time with my family and growing in my relationship with God have to come first. God loves you! I hope we can communicate thru emails too if ever you do decide to take a long leave from blogosphere. Take care and God be with you always!
Grace
Hello Annita,
Take whatever time is needed, but whatever you do, as others have said, do NOT delete your blog…this is most important as it will cause many problems as many have found.
I wish you and your family a blessed journey on lifes bumpy road. We all take our knocks and setbacks for all kinds of reasons, but be optimistic and smile in the face of adversity, not always easy but it helps. God is on your side and you will come through, it just seems to take longer than what it really is and you will then look back with hindsight as you overcome it and learn from it.
Take care my friend,
Colin
Hi Anita,
Sorry to hear that. I had the same kind of situation last year and still going on up to now. Business is not going well lately for my hubby, but we have made the decission, so we have to fight and leave the rest to God. Besides that, I also struggle in my working place and it made me crazy like hell last year. I couldn’t write, it’s hard for me to write even though I have a bunch of word in my head. Lucky that I have you, Gurushabad, Silver-lines, where I always go back to read all the stories and my best friend who reminds me to go back to Church and surrender my life to God.
As cotojo said, I also request the same thing to you. Please do not delete your blog, since your blog have given me strength to pass my hard day.
Couldn’t say much, only hope that both, you and your husband, can pass this hardest time. I know that life would not be easy but I do believe that God will never leave you.
One thing that I learned that actually God loves you, otherwise He wouldn’t give you this experience, the experience of trust and surrender.
Take care Anita …
I still come to your blog, just to sit on your veranda, to listen to the sounds of the waves.
Please hang on there Anita, my pray goes to you …
God Bless you and yours Anita …
Hello my dear, I’m sorry our time zones don’t seem to be in sync when you are online. But anytime you need me for anything just holler.
Please know that there ain’t no mountain high enough for God’s blessings to reach you. Take care my dear!
Im glad I tsill found your blog,Annita…
I read what you`ve wrote above…and I know that probably,I cant help nor do anything to lessen your burdens.But I will pray to God to always bless you and your family,always.
we all have trials,we all have our crosses to carry,and i do believe that everything has reasons,sometimes they are just over our edges that bring us so much pain.
I hope you feel better now.I really wish you good luck..
hugs,
ghee
Hi Annita, hope you’re having a good break and hope everything is fine over there.
Just dropping in to say that you are still very,very much in my thoughts and prayers. I am so pleased to see that you didn’t delete.
Much love is flowing out to you and your family…that is obvious just looking through these posts.
I send my love as well…..take care…do waht you need to do and we’ll be here waiting for you.
God Bless,
Jackie
Hello Annita,
wow!its really nice to see you in my blog
Thank your for the ecard,too.i feel that you are still around 
yeah,i was away for a week,was too busy for our house hunting.and finally,its over and can blog regular now
Thank you for all the messages and comments you left me,dear!I appreciate them a lot!
btw,is milk tea effective?during PMS,i feel so disturb and irritating,its getting worse lately.im thinking of aroma therapy or maybe milk tea could help too?
i hope you and your family are in good shape,Annita!
enjoy your day!
ghee
Belated Happy Vday,Annita dear!
Thank you for the messages in my blog and mybloglog,too.really sorry cant respond so soon,im just too busy with everything,packing up and the documents here and there,cant concentrate blogging.
well,we have our priorities,right? 
but its always nice to know that you visit my site and giving me your warm msgs.
hope everything is well with you.
hugs,
ghee
Hi Anita,
Happy belated Valentine day and Chinese New Year.
Hope everything is well with you and your family.
Just stop by to check whether you’ve back from your “holilday”
Take care yourself, wish that someday you’ll be back …
Hello Annita dear,
So youre packing up,too
but sorry to say that you have no life 
thank you for the messages.my daughter passed the exam(I just posted about it a while ago) and it was such a relief!
Jakarta might be your lucky place,i hope
keep in touch wherever you go,my friend. 
take care,health is more important than anything else.
hugs,
ghee
Hi Annita,
How are you? Hope the situation over there is improving. I missed you and your post. By looking at the amount of comments left on this post, I guess a lot of your friends are missing you too. Take care my friend and keep in touch.
Hi Annita,
You’re still in our thoughts.
Hope everything is well over there.
Hi Annita,
How are you? I hope everything is fine over there.
Just dropped by to say hi and to tell you that you’re still remembered in this blogosphere.
Take care.
Hi Annita,
Just dropped by to keep the lights on
Hope everything is well over there my friend and take care.
Hi Annita,
I very much hope that everything is going on smoothly at your end. Love to hear from you.
Hello Annita!
Im here again!so hows your moving?im finally settled and my internet connection got fixed up at last,after a month!
i hope you re doing great out there Annita!i miss you friend!
hugs,
ghee
Hello Annita! I hope you and your family are doing well!
Hello Annita dear!!
Ive been away fr blogging world,too…im having a hard time to adjust here in my new place..but now,eveythings getting better….i just saw your msgs on my tagboard and im really sorry for the late reply…
i hope you and your family are doing better out there…miss yah,my friend!!
btw,if ever you cant see me on my blog,feel free to send me an email here at my yahoo accnt.
hugs to you!!
ghee
Hi Anita,
How’s life ? It’s been more than 6 months after my last visit to your blog.
So many things happened in my life and I do believe yours to.
Well, I just back from my hiatus period for almost 2 months, my dad had passed away, so sudden, in July. Am still grieving, but can manage myself.
Miss you anyway …, take care yourself and please be back when you’re ready.
Hi Annita,
How are you my friend? Hope everything is well.
Love to hear from you. You’re still in my thoughts. Take care.
I’m still waiting…
Hi Anita dear,
Happy new Year!!How are you doin lately?I hope you`re doin great out there!ive been away for long,now im finally back and busy blogging again!
I just wanted you to know that I do remember you…
hugs,
ghee