Remembering Benazir Bhutto

Pakistan is considered to be a country which could easily slip into civil war or chaos. This country lost an icon of democracy in recent days when Benazir Bhutto's life ended tragically. After being exiled for months, she had returned to Pakistan last October and continued her pursuit of peace and democracy. Upon her return she was quoted as saying, "We have started a process where we could bring the moderate forces together for the holding of free and fair elections." She also stated, "The terrorists are trying to take over my country, and we have to stop them." Left unsaid—out of political sensitivities—was her belief that Musharraf himself was responsible for permitting the rise of extremism by banning secular alternatives like her party from participating in elections.

Benazir understood that the freedom many here in the US take for granted, is far from free. Bhutto's father was executed decades ago for his belief in democracy. Her brother was later poisoned. She also understood and even expected the price for democracy would be her own life. And yet she willingly continued her cause to bring peace and freedom to the country she deeply loved. This reminds me what the Master of Peace had to say about this, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13).

Many questions remain unanswered regarding Benazir's assassination. Were the assassins members of Al-Qaeda or where they instructed by Mussharraf himself? Was this an effort to simply quiet Benazir's passionate quest for peace and democracy? Or was her death intended to send a message to an increasing number in Pakistan, who have a growing thirst for a life of freedom and peace?

Personally, I believe the desire most of humanity has for freedom is a desire of the heart - a Goodness put their by God. Of course the presence of good is always at war with the forces of evil. This war is fought on many fronts such as physical all out "wars", the war of minds, and more important, the war for our hearts or souls. Therefore, this world is has been ensnared in a continual war since evil took a strong hold here.

I admire Benazir's own son for quoting his mother when the whole world was watching. He simply stated, "My mother always said democracy is the best revenge." In life, this extraordinary lady peacefully sought freedom and democracy for her country. She used her life to rise to a higher calling than SELF. Ironically, through her death, her hopes and dreams are more alive than ever as the desire for democracy and freedom grow each and every day within the hearts of her fellow Pakistanis. I am so thankful that death cannot stop the Goodness God sets forth........................ Praise to the God of Peace and Freedom!

My Favorite Holiday Photo

Looking back through years of photographs, I have a few regrets. I regret not taking more select pictures. I regret not purchasing a better camera, and I regret not taking time to learn more about photography as technology has expanded. This year for Richard's birthday, I surprised him with his dream camera - a Canon Digital Rebel XT - whatever that means.

I got the old automatic digital camera and we each took our new and old cameras on a photography trip to Arizona in August. Since then, I think we have secretly tried to outdo each other as shutterbugs. I have not been too impressed with most pictures either of us have taken lately though.

Richard attempted to take a group Christmas card photo with the whole family, including the pets. But those pic's were not that great - not neccesarily Richard's fault since it is a challenge to get 3 kids, 2 cats, a dog and the parents to pose while Dad snaps the camera with a remote. So Richard photo shopped our heads from various pics into the "elf" bodies for our 2007 Beard Family Christmas Card. I wasn't really that crazy about this year's card, but little time was left to process and mail the cards, and since it was already past 12 am, we decided to send the Elf card to press, or www.walgreens.com.

I didn't even bother to take any photos on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Part of the problem is the kids won't leave my camera alone. I have tried to keep it in my purse, in the case. When I experience a Kodak moment and go to retrieve my camera, I find it is either missing, the battery is dead, or some culprit has taken the SD card out of my camera to use in his own gadget. I have not seen my camera since before Christmas and have yet to upload any pics I have taken in a few weeks now.

A few days after we put the Christmas tree up, I took a some photos of Hope and the tree. This is by far, my favorite Christmas photo of 2007. Can anyone help me come up with a caption for this one? I may just have to enter it in the Wilson County Fair of 2008.



And by the way... Richard's Arizona photos will be competing against my photos in several categories at the fair next year. Let the WAR OF THE ROSES, or BEARDS begin!

My Christmas Story - John McCain

I thought this was a fitting message for posting today:


My Christmas Story
As a POW, my captors would tie my arms behind my back and then loop the rope around my neck and ankles so that my head was pulled down between my knees. I was often left like that throughout the night.
One night a guard came into my cell. He put his finger to his lips signaling for me to be quiet, and then loosened my ropes to relieve my pain. The next morning, when his shift ended, the guard returned and retightened the ropes, never saying a word to me.
A month or so later, on Christmas Day, I was standing in the dirt courtyard when I saw that same guard approach me. He walked up and stood silently next to me, not looking or smiling at me.
After a few moments had passed, he rather nonchalantly used his sandaled foot to draw a cross in the dirt. We stood wordlessly looking at the cross, remembering the true light of Christmas, even in the darkness of a Vietnamese prison camp. After a minute or two, he rubbed it out and walked away.
That guard was my Good Samaritan. I will never forget that man and I will never forget that moment. And I will never forget that, no matter where you are, no matter how difficult the circumstances, there will always be someone who will pick you up and carry you.
May you and your family have a blessed Christmas and Happy Holidays,
John McCain

Merry Christmas

In keeping with the Beard Family Tradition of producing a Corny Family Christmas Card, allow us to present HAVE YOUR 'ELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS!

Favorite Holiday Traditions

Some of my favorite things to do through the holidays are rooted in my childhood while others traditions Richard and I have established during our marriage and parenting years. Here are some of my favorites in no particular order:

• Christmas shopping early the day after Thanksgiving with Richard. We rise in the dark and head out with a list and sale papers in hand. Our morning ends with a peppermint mocha from Starbucks


• Putting up the Christmas tree no later than Thanksgiving weekend


• Making a barrage of holiday sweets which include, but are not limited to gingerbread cookies, cathedral windows, peppermint bark, cherry macadamia nut bark, fudge, Chex puppy chow, red velvet cake, pumpkin roll, and whatever else we can think up


• Decorating a gingerbread house and cookie cutter cookies with Hope


• Driving around after church on Sunday or Wed evenings through different neighborhoods to look at the Christmas lights


• Seeing the Radio City Rocketts - need I say more


• Attending the annual Christmas play and choir performance put on by our home school coop. This year's play was THE CASE OF THE MISSING CHRIST, which was hilarous, but had a strong message


• Wearing my Santa Clause necklace, carrying my red purse with fur trim, and breaking out the red jacket. It really gets me in the spirit


• Wearing out our Christmas CD's, Charlie Brown, Time Life, and Amy Grant are my fav's


• Watching our collection of Christmas movies, Home Alone, Santa Clause, Grinch, Charlie Brown, It's a Wonderful Life, and watching Christmas Vacation with Richard is a must do!


• Having Richard build a fire in the fireplace on Christmas Eve


• Christmas Breakfast - Mom's croissants (thankfully she wrote this recipe down), sausage balls, and hashbrown casserole


• The creating of another corny Beard family Christmas Card


• Lighting fragrant holiday candles


• Buying gifts for those who can't buy for their own family


• Hot chocolate with marshmallows and a candy cane


• Christmas shopping with Kathy Hall


• Sometimes we'd load the kids up in their PJ's and drive around to look at the lights

So what are some of your traditions?

Bubba Clause is Coming to Redneckville Near You

This makes me laugh until I cry. I hope you find some Holiday Cheer in this video. Does anyone know this man?

Bored Boys

We're still without a decent TV or cable at our house. Here's what bored boys do when there's not much to do: Click Here

First Date

This year has been a year of firsts for Ethan - first job, first year to drive, first vehicle, and first date. Here is a photo taken last Friday night at the Christmas Formal. This event is put on each year by our tutorial school. This year it was held at the Gibson Showcase at Opry Mills. Here is Ethan with his first date - Sarah.

Micah also attended the formal, but went solo this year. Rumor has it he was a popular dance partner with several pretty young ladies. He is trying to keep all options open!

GIRLS NIGHT OUT WITH THE "ROCKS"

Last week, Hope and I along with my sister-in-law Sunny and my neice Abby Kate, all headed to Nashville for a girl's night out. We hope to make this a tradition, at least once a year so our girls will have some fond memories growing up together. Abby Kate had been soooo excited about going to see the Rocketts. She calls them THE ROCKS! We arrived at Opryland early to take a boat ride through the Delta wing of the hotel. The kids were facinated with all the lights, fountains, and decorations. My nephew, baby Jackson also went along with the girls, since he cannot be away from his mommy too long. We ended our evening with a carriage ride after dark to see the holiday lights close up. Here's some pictures of our evening to remember.

Abby Kate loves aunt Tara's beads



Hope and Abby Kate on a pew at the Grand Ole Opry House

Hope and Mom by the Christmas Tree at the Opry House

HOPE'S TWIN SISTER

This past year, Hope has made a dear friend named Anna. At church, people have to look twice to figure out who's who. Everyone calls them THE TWINS. Last week the girls made Christmas cookies and had a lot of fun. They even have the same kind of glasses!

TARA'S FAVORITE THINGS

I don't watch Oprah often, but if I could ever be in her studio audience, I would want to attend "OPRAH's FAVORITE THINGS" show. This is the show which is aired around Thanksgiving. Oprah has a slew of neat gadgets and the latest technological equipment which she debuts as her fav's. Then she has elves parade out and "present" every memeber of the audience with every one of her FAVORITE THINGS. This year everyone walked away with nearly $10,000 in gifts.

I am amazed at the power this woman has over our economy. Two days after her show, some of her favorite items were sold out on Amazon. I was in Barnes and Noble last night and they had her complete list OPRAH'S FAVORITE THINGS posted throughout the store. At any rate, I am posting here TARA'S FAVORITE THINGS. Perhaps I can help out the national economy too! Here goes - Guys take note, you might find some terrific gift ideas for that special woman in your life. These are in no particular order:

THE MAGIC BULLET as SEEN ON TV - Kohl's $49.99 - This is the best kitchen gadget ever! We use ours every morning to make healthy smoothies, frapuccino, mocha's. My favorite is made with vanilla protein powder, frozen fruit meddly, and OJ. My next favorite is made with chocolate protein powder, ice, left over coffee, cream, sugar free chocolate syrup, and a dash of mint. Breakfast in 30 seconds! It also chops any fruit or veggie, makes salsa and sauces in seconds. Thanks Melissa for recommending this.

Mary Kay's Timewise Targeted Action Line Reducer - $40.00 from your Mary Kay consultant. This will turn back time on the face and works with natural light to erase the appearance of wrinkles and the effects of time. Perfect stocking stuffer!

TRUE BLUE SPA products from BATH N BODY WORKS - Guys if you want to score points in the emotional bank account, get her the FOOTLOOSE AND FANCY FIZZ (aromatic foot bath), TOE THE LINE foot scrub, and HEEL OF APPROVAL (cracked heel treatment). Go the distance and wash her feet, and massage the scrub and heel treatment afterwards. Don't forget a handful of marbles during the footsoak - AHHH so SPAHHH. $9.00 to $15.00 each

TRUE BLUE SPA products from BATH N BODY WORKS - the LOOK MA NEW HANDS and JUST A MINUTE 60 second manicure scrub give you buffed smooth hands in under 2 min's. $10-$15 each

STARBUCKS - Peppermint Mocoa available only from Thanksgiving to Christmas at Starbucks. This is one of my favorite holiday treats. Take her to Starbucks for some "conversation" time, after Christmas shopping for the kids - $4.00

PEPPERIDGE FARM GINGERBREAD FAMILY COOKIES - These are another holiday treat that I just love. They are sooo yummy and come in Gingerbread Men, Women, and children. They are almost too cute to eat and look very festive on her favorite Christmas dish. $3.50 at Target.

THE BIG COMFY ROBE and HOUSE SOCKS - These are available at many stores. Find the softest and smoothest one offered. I love the ones at BATH AND BODY WORKS (39$ with a purchase) and at Belk and Pennies for about the same price. Don't forget the matching house socks with treads on the bottom - you want her to be comfortable AND safe!

YANKEE CANDLE anything. Most gals love to go into these shops and just sniff. I try to pick up one for the holidays. I love the PUMPKIN SPICE for Thanksgiving. I try to pick out something I think HE would like. This year I got HOLIDAY BAYBERRY. The fragrance reminds me of the evergreen trees my Dad would cut each year and it's very pleasant. Often these are 25% off at the YANKEE store, or at CRACKER BARREL. $19-$25 retail. Go to www.yankeecandle.com and sign up to receive a $10 off coupon.

ANITA RENFROE DVD - She has been described as a triple shot of expresso in a decafe world, but there isn't a latte cup big enough to hold the party that Anita Renfroe brings. Her inventive blend of musical comedy and inspiration leave audience with cheeks that hurt and hearts with humor and hope.This DVD conatins the hit song Momisms that is taking the nation by storm. It's everything a mom would say in 24 hours and reduced to 2 minutes and 55 seconds and sung to the breakneck pace of the Willaim Tell Overture (think: Lone Ranger). --David Chaudhry. Offer to take the kids out and let her invite her gals over one evening for a night of deep belly laughs :) More points in the emotional bank!! $10.99 at www.amazon.com.

PLANET EARTH DVD set www.amazon.com $59.99. There is something very calming about watching these DVD's. I am reminded that God is very much in charge of everything. I don't know why, but I love watching these with my significant other. It's like going somewhere together that we've never been before. If I could afford to buy everyone I know something - THIS WOULD BE IT! Following is the reveiw from AMAZON:

As of its release in early 2007, Planet Earth is quite simply the greatest nature/wildlife series ever produced. Following the similarly monumental achievement of The Blue Planet: Seas of Life, this astonishing 11-part BBC series is brilliantly narrated by Sir David Attenborough and sensibly organized so that each 50-minute episode covers a specific geographical region and/or wildlife habitat (mountains, caves, deserts, shallow seas, seasonal forests, etc.) until the entire planet has been magnificently represented by the most astonishing sights and sounds you'll ever experience from the comforts of home. The premiere episode, "From Pole to Pole," serves as a primer for things to come, placing the entire series in proper context and giving a general overview of what to expect from each individual episode. Without being overtly political, the series maintains a consistent and subtle emphasis on the urgent need for ongoing conservation, best illustrated by the plight of polar bears whose very behavior is changing (to accommodate life-threatening changes in their fast-melting habitat) in the wake of global warming--a phenomenon that this series appropriately presents as scientific fact. With this harsh reality as subtext, the series proceeds to accentuate the positive, delivering a seemingly endless variety of natural wonders, from the spectacular mating displays of New Guinea's various birds of paradise to a rare encounter with Siberia's nearly-extinct Amur Leopards, of which only 30 remain in the wild.

A fresh bag of Cinnamon Scented Pine Cones - $4.00 at Wal-mart or JoAnn's. I debated over spending 4$ on Pine Cones this year. We have a tree down the road, but last year I picked a bag and they had little spiders which hatched out after I brought them indoors. This year I got a bag of scented ones. They are so pretty in a bowl or flower pot with other items like fruit or even extra Christmas tree balls. And the house smells soooo good!

I LOVE my subscription to PAULA DEEN. I have yet to make anything from her magazine which our family didn't rave about. $19 for a one year subscription - Bi-monthly magazine.