It is almost Christmas!
This morning I was thinking about the words of this carol...

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound the Carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said;
‘For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!’

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
‘God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail, the Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!’

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I love the last verse. Amen!

Last night I attended the Fountain Valley High School Christmas concert "Sounds of the Season". The five choirs and 40+ piece orchestra were directed by my friend Kevin Tison, who is an amazing musician. He has been working with the school program for several years. They were very good and sang both traditional, classical and contemporary pieces. His top chamber ensemble, The Troubadours will be traveling to France next June and will get to sing at the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.
Kevin, you did a great job!

Today I attended the wedding of my sweet dear friend Graciela Perez to Samuel Boruszko. It was a small, simple and very beautiful ceremony at Calvary Chapel on the Biola campus. There were several original music selections (Samuel is a musician). Also Scripture readings in Russian, Spanish and English. Emilio Nunez officiated the ceremony in both English and Spanish. The bouquet and headpiece Graciela wore was made by the Shipibo Indians using bird feathers from the Peruvian rain forest. The Perez family had the privilege of ministering in Peru for many years. It was wonderful to share this happy time with her and her family.

Wishing my dear friend Graciela best wishes and many blessings!

See the wedding shower pictures here:

http://chiarapics.spaces.live.com/

A couple of fun days with Mom. Yesterday after the cookie exchange I took off work to come back home and go with Mom to pick out my Christmas tree. We picked it out almost right away and loaded it up in the truck and brought it home. Sara and Grace came by for dinner and I finished decorating the tree around midnight. It looked so pretty! I missed not having a tree last year. Today I took a vacation day to spend time with Mom. After a slow relaxing start to the day we drove over to Fullerton to pick up Grace and then headed down to old town Orange. Ate lunch at Cafe Lucca's and then spent the afternoon browsing around the antique shops there. Got home around 4 and then it was time to decorate the cake for Graciela's wedding shower tomorrow. I really enjoyed making the cake and it turned out really pretty. Grace also baked some gingerbread cookies. It was really nice to spend time together!

A busy, busy weekend!
Saturday was bright and sunny. Woke up early, finished up cleaning and doing some laundry. I had invited some of the girls from work to come over for a "baking day". After having some lunch with Jeri we got down to baking! Jeri made Molasses cookies and an Italian cheese cake dessert. I made Peppermint Crescents and Orange Date Pecan cookies. Megan made Chocolate Waffle cookies. Mmmmm.... the kitchen smelled wonderful and we had a great time together baking, talking and listening to Christmas music. Mom arrived later that evening. We were up bright and early on Sunday setting up the refreshments at church as I normally do every Sunday. The service was great and the Christmas music was beautiful too. After church we met up with Grace and Jon for lunch and then did a little shopping. The mountains all around us were sparkling white full of snow. An amazing sight and a little unusual for us Californians! So we drove around trying to find the best place to take pictures. It was quite windy and freezing! (Well, not really freezing... I'm just a wimp for cold weather!!) In the evening, Mom and I went to the Christmas program at church. Can I have another day added to my weekend to catch up on a little rest??!!

Today we celebrated the two December birthdays in our office, Naomi and Holly.

The celebration actually began yesterday with a party in the office. Cake and goodies were enjoyed by all especially the elusive gnome who insisted on having some cake too!
We wrapped up the celebration today with lunch at Chilis. It was a beautiful, blustery, fall day!

Tonight we all went to the Biola employee Christmas party at The Grove in Anaheim. Abby, Michael, Laura, Amy, Ryan and I rode in the Clark's new car. We all had a really fun time together taking pictures before dinner. Speaking of dinner, it was pretty good... filet mignon, shrimp, asparagus and risotto...mmmm! After dinner President Corey recited a poem/song he had written for the occasion and then there was wonderful music by the group Selah. They did an amazing rendition of O Holy Night, my all time favorite Christmas song. After it was all over we took some more pics. It's always a fun time when you hang around us Registrarians! More pics here: http://chiarapics.spaces.live.com/

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..." I really like to keep my Christmas focus on spending happy memorable times with family and friends instead of stressing over all the busyness. Yes, there are lots of activities, concerts, lunches, dinners, etc. but I am learning to enjoy those moments. Today I attended the Talbot Christmas chapel and also went to the BBW (Biola Business Women) Christmas Tea Luncheon. We had a wonderful time eating, singing carols together, and hearing a dramatic monologue by Dr. Sunukjian. He interpreted the story of the shepherd who was the first to received the Good News that night in Bethlehem. Pictured here are some of the Registrar gals that went to the lunch: Ginger, Cyndi, Susan, Aida, Me, Betty Ann, Naomi, Jeri and Holly.

Deck the Halls (at the Registrar)

Deck the halls with boughs of holly
fa la la la la la la la la
Registrar folks are quite jolly
fa la la la la la la la la
Printing transcripts, grades and classes
fa la la la la la la la la
Classes closing, students groaning
fa la la la la la la la la!

Course selection, Registration
fa la la la la la la la la
Signatures and aggravation
fa la la la la la la la la
WebReg, Portal, all the websites
fa la la la la la la la la
Finals week and Graduation
fa la la la la la la la la!

Celebrating November birthdays all on the same week!

Ramin

Donna

Adam

A heart full of thanks on this Thanksgiving day!

I drove to Yuma, AZ again this year to spend Thanksgiving weekend with Donna, Greg and the kids. I stopped by El Centro first to pick up Mom and then we headed out bright and early Thursday morning. It was so fun to see the kids again. Alyssa and Joshua keep growing like weeds! Donna did all of the cooking and it was yummy good. Greg made an amazingly, delicious pumpkin dessert. Greg's mom, LaRue, joined us too. The kids and I had a fun time playing, making funny faces at the camera, and yes, even climbing up a tree! I am so thankful to have a wonderful family that I love dearly! Each one of them makes my life happier. Friday, we celebrated Donna's 43rd birthday. Alyssa, Josh and I got up early and made her some funny birthday cards then she opened up her gifts. We all helped put up the Christmas tree and decorations. It was a fun and blessed time together!

See all the Thanksgiving fun here: http://chiarapics.spaces.live.com/

Three of us from the Registrar's Office received service awards at a special luncheon today. Naomi (20 years), Me (10 years) and Jeri (5 years). Ten years... so many things have happened during these past ten years. I am a healthier and happier person and feel so blessed to have wonderful friends and a job that I truly enjoy.

Veterans Day 2007 We are forever indebted to all the countless brave men and women who have served and given so much for all of us. Thank you! I will never forget your courage, service and sacrifice. Always in my heart and prayers...come home soon...

November 4 -7 I was in Salt Lake City for the annual PACRAO conference. Most of my time was spent attending meetings and seminars. My first session Monday morning was a bit comical. It was comprised of singing and composing funny songs (to well known tunes) about the experiences of working in the Registrar's Office. John Snodgrass, Registrar at Chapman University led the group and played his guitar. Anyone one remember the song "We will, we will ROCK you"? He rewrote it to "We will, we will DROP you!". Yes, yes.... the seminars did get better and more serious! There were many schools represented at the conference. The more I listened and observed, the more thankful I am for my office and the resources we have. Betty Ann and I did have a little free time to do some sightseeing, although there is not too much to see in Salt Lake City! Monday night we took the tram to Temple Square and walked around some of the buildings there. It mostly made me sad to see so many young people dedicating their life to Mormonism. On Tuesday afternoon we had a couple hours of "free time" so we took a nice long walk to see the Church of the Madelaine. It is a Catholic church built around 1909. The interior was very colorful and there were many beautiful stained glass windows. We flew back home on Wednesday afternoon which was pretty uneventful except that they forgot to put our luggage (and that of 25 other passengers) on the plane. Eventually it all got sorted out and they delivered it safe and sound that night. I am so glad to be back home again! See all the pictures here: http://chiarapics.spaces.live.com/ click on the Salt Lake album

Sometimes if you stop and look around you even the tiniest things are beautiful blessings. I feel like there are many days when I am so busy and doing so many things that I miss some of these little gifts from an amazing creator. This morning began as a misty morning but soon the sun was shining. I stepped outside my front door and found these beautiful, fragrant, candy striped roses.

A week in the life of the Registrar's Office! This has been quite a busy week at the office. Monday was the first day of academic advising as students prepare to register for Interterm and Spring courses. Tuesday we had a "kick off" lunch sponsored by the company who's software we will be implementing in the next 18-20 months. It exciting but a little scary to think of all the changes that lie ahead! Thursday we started the day by taking our official yearbook photo for our office.

We did a serious one...

and of course a silly one!!

Later we went out to celebrate Emily, our November birthday girl! That evening I also attended a fundraiser dinner for the Whittier Pregnancy Care Clinic. Betty Ann, Chrystal and Abby were there with their significant others. Finally, today was a big day at Biola.... the presidential inauguration day with Dr. Barry Corey officially being inaugurated as our 8th president. The ceremony was very nice. All staff and faculty attended from 9:30-11:30 and then that was followed by a delicious lunch out on Metzger green. Next Sunday - Wednesday... Salt Lake City here I come!

Last night Grace and I went out to dinner with David & Kristin. It was their last night in California before heading out again back to South Dakota. Jeri & Ric joined us for a delicious dinner at Stubricks in downtown Fullerton. I wish we all lived closer together... South Dakota is TOO far away! After dinner we walked over to Cafe Veronese for coffee and hot chocolate. Good times... good friends... we're going to miss you!

A week later... some fires are still burning, but through all the devastation and destruction little shoots of hope are springing up and slowly many people will begin the long slow road back to normalcy. The sunset tonight encouraged me and gave me hope that no matter what happens God is still in control and cares for his children.

It has been incredibly sad to watch how devastating the fires have been throughout this area. I have many friends and their families that have been evacuated and some of them still don't know if they have a house to go back to. The last couple of nights as I looked out my window at home it was very sobering to actually see some of the burning hills in the distance. Early this morning as I was having breakfast around 7:30 AM I was looking out my window and saw this... the sun trying to shine through all of the smoke. It looked more like a sunset than what morning should look like. Here is the sun at 5:30 PM...

PomegranatesI really enjoy traditions...they bring back good memories and you also make new ones as you celebrate them year after year. One tradition that I have enjoyed since moving up here to the heights has been the "Pomegranate Tradition". For the past several years I have been getting together with my dear landlady, Charlotte, to squeeze the freshly picked fruit. This year I also got to help her pick them from our tree out behind the shed. It is a labor of love as we squeezed out every drop of the delicious red juice (four quarts in all) and make jars of wonderful jelly to give as gifts. This evening I finished making my jars of jelly. It's a bit of a long but gratifying process! I love cooking! You can see pictures of the whole process here:

http://chiarapics.spaces.live.com/

In celebration of National Boss Day, my staff took me out for a very yummy Italian lunch at DeLuca's. I am truly very blessed to work with such wonderful ladies. They are great at what they do and make my job a real pleasure. Pictured from left to right are Aida, Me, Megan, Emily, Jeri, Amy, Chrystal and Abby. "The Registrar Girls"... you all are awesome!

Today I went to the MCAS Miramar Air Show with Grace, Jon and some friends. We were amazed and awed at the many military and civilian aircraft. From the F/A-18 Hornet, AV-8B Harrier (from Yuma!), to the CH-53 Super Stallion and the USAF Thunderbirds each was awesome in its own way. It makes me so proud of all our men and women who are serving in the military. We got quite a few opportunities to experience some craft and equipment hands on. I felt like a kid in a candy store! I hope to get the pics from the "big" camera uploaded soon. God bless our troops and keep them safe! Of course I took a lot of pictures which you can see here:

http://chiarapics.spaces.live.com/