Silver Bells in the City

Silver Bells in the City is an annual event in Lansing to kick off the holiday season.  The major events are the Electric Light Parade, the lighting of the state Christmas tree, and fireworks.  There are lots of other small things going on downtown, too.  It's the largest event of the year. 

I've always wanted to watch the parade, but it seems that every year it's very cold and windy.  This year it was pretty nice.  The temperature was in the mid 40s so my feet and hands didn't freeze.  Another complication with going to a parade is that MWH is claustrophobic and standing in the crowd about does him in.  But we decided to go this year.

MWH took the pictures because my attempts all came out blurred.  Here are just a few of the floats we saw.

We had a great view from the 4th floor of one of the parking ramps downtown.  No crowds for MWH!

 

 

This is a model of a beautiful historical home on the north side of Lansing.  It's a beautiful place to visit.

 

Poor Santa had to be towed.  That's a HUGE wrecker.

 

 

I liked this one a lot.  The reindeer are all lifts.  The one in front has a red "nose"!

 

I hope you enjoyed the electric light parade!  You can click on the pictures to see them larger.

Today I Am Thankful For...

Today I'm thankful for...

• Water - creeks, streams, rivers, lakes, oceans, rain, ice, swimming pools....
• Skies - beautifully blue, gloomily overcast, menacing clouds, feathery clouds, super cells....
• Hills - low rolling, foothills, mountains....
• God - who made them all...,

What are you thankful for?

Today I Am Thankful For...

Today I'm thankful for...

• This week's Entrecard advertisers (scroll down to previous post)
• Everyone who visits and comments on this blog
• My church family and my Pastors
• God who knows my every thought and motive and action and loves me anyway.

What are you thankful for?

Thanks, Entrecard Friends

A big thank you to all my advertisers this week.  Go visit them!

 

 

Today I Am Thankful For...

Today I'm thankful for...

• a great time at the Electric Light Parade
• audio books
• dead tree books
• the book of Psalms - it's one of my favorite books inside my favorite book.

What are you thankful for today?

Flag Friday - Taiwan

Symbolism and Colors:

The Taiwan flag was officially adopted on October 28, 1928.

The white sun on the blue field was the Kuomingtang party flag, and the rays represent two hours of each day. The red field represents the Han Chinese race.

The above information is from this site.

The following information comes from the Flag Counter widget in my sidebar.  There is much more to be found there about geography, government, population, economy, and military.

      

In 1895, military defeat forced China to cede Taiwan to Japan. Taiwan reverted to Chinese control after World War II. Following the Communist victory on the mainland in 1949, 2 million Nationalists fled to Taiwan and established a government using the 1946 constitution drawn up for all of China. Over the next five decades, the ruling authorities gradually democratized and incorporated the local population within the governing structure. In 2000, Taiwan underwent its first peaceful transfer of power from the Nationalist to the Democratic Progressive Party. Throughout this period, the island prospered and became one of East Asia's economic "Tigers." The dominant political issues continue to be the relationship between Taiwan and China - specifically the question of eventual unification - as well as domestic political and economic reform.

Population:

22,920,946 (July 2008 est.)

Languages:

Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects

Government type:

multiparty democracy

Capital:

Taipei

Independence:

Currency (code):

New Taiwan dollar (TWD)

Technorati Tags: Flag Friday

Today I Am Thankful For...

Today I'm thankful for...

• Clean water to drink
• Clean (mostly clean) air to breathe
• Plenty of food to eat
• God's grace and mercy

What are you thankful for?

Today I Am Thankful For...

Today I'm thankful for...

• Church choir - I love to sing, but not a solo!
• My DVR
• Soft, sweet kitties who love to cuddle
• The Bible - the instruction manual, a love letter from God to me

Wednesday Hero

Staff Sgt. Dennisur Thompson


Staff Sgt. Dennisur Thompson, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, overcompensates a left turn while on a driving simulator as a part of the Save a Life Tour in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

Photo Courtesy of U.S. Army

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Today I Am Thankful For...

Today I'm thankful for...

• My most wonderful husband
• Our Select Comfort bed
• The new gas meter to replace the one that developed a leak
  
• God who...
• listens when I cry
• saves my tears in a bottle
• comforts me
• loves me

Spongy Jumping

Jeanne Robertson is one of the funniest women alive.  I've seen her in person and nearly split I laughed so hard.  I hope you enjoy this video.  A good laugh will make you feel better!  (BTW, Left Brain is her husband.)

Today I Am Thankful For...

Today I'm thankful for...

• Laughter
• Family 
• God's never ending love
• Ice cream

What are you thankful for?