It doesn't get any better than this!

Scribs Pizza and New Years Eve, what a combination! Happy New Year!

Oops, someone made a mistake

Sorry if this caused any confusion, someone posted the wrong tree last week. I caught the error and am fixing it. The person responisible for making the mistake has been removed from the payroll. We don't tolerate mistakes around hear.

A Real (Nice) Christmas Tree and the Christmas Walk

The Barnharts of the North celebrated Christmas this morning in high fashion with the last advent reading and a gathering around the Christmas tree. Seen here, Mom tries to convince Ella of the fun to come while Fletcher practices his pointing skills by singling out his presents. Notice the snow outside, which arrived just in time for Christmas.

Below, Northern Barnharts prepare for the Christmas Walk

We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas celebrating Christ's birth, friendship and family, and that grilled Christmas turkey (and subsequent walk).

HO HO HO! Breaking News!

This is just in from the Santa Daily Chronicle, Santa's sleigh got stuck last night in a wild snowstorm in Muskegon Mi, USA. Last word from Santa was he had to drop all the rest of his gifts there and try to fly out with his sleigh lightened by several thousand tons of less toys. According to Santa, the good folks at 1208 W. Giles Rd, where his sleigh is now lodged will keep the toys safe, if he can't make it back by midnight tonight, then they will have to either keep the toys or find some worthy charity to donate them too. It was reported that David was seen rummaging in the bag already and tossing out new Apple laptops for himself and all his siblings, and Daniel was connecting a PS3 to a new wide screen HDTV. Lisa had already found many soft blankets and had them piled to the ceiling in her room. Ben was carrying boxes of books to the basement. Andy was pulling out tools like he was robbing a Lowes store, and Janell was looking for a mini commuter system that would take her back and forth from work each day without having to drive. Mike was poking around in the bag, looking for a Triumph TR6, but the closest thing he found was a '58 Bugeye Sprite, it may have to suffice. Too bad Steve and Rachel aren't here, if the rest of the family wasn't so busy "shopping" in Santa's bag, they might have been able to pick them up something too. Someone pulled out a couple of Chia Pets, those may be for them.

See our tree?

Steve and I agreed to post our Christmas trees, since we won't get to see each other's tree. We really went big this year, and I must say, Lisa did a yoman's job decorating it. I also need to thank many other people for help with the tree this year.
First, I want to thank the State of Washington for donating their premier tree from this season's best.
Thank you to all the birds who willingly gave up thier nests, inculding 11 spotted owls.
Thank you ConRail for donating 3 flat cars and delivering the tree on time and free.
Thank you Bonners for donating all the decorations, we cleaned out the entire 2nd floor of their warehouse of stock.
Thank you Consumers Energy for adding a temporary substation for handling the extra pewer load from the lights, and also for firing up the mothballed Michigan City IN power plant to keep the grid up when we throw the switch for the lights. We hope the coal dust isn't a problem for Northern IN, but, we all make sacrifices right?
Thank you Muskegon County Road Commission for adding two new lanes to Giles Rd to handle the extra traffic.
Thank you Muskegon County Sheriff's Office for the traffic and crowd control.
Thank you Acme Lift for donating the man lift needed to string the lights and hang the ornaments. We just don't have any 50 foot step ladders here!
Thank you to all the thousands upon thousands of spectators that came to oooh and aaahh the tree every night.
And last but not least, thank you Santa, for designating our tree, as "Official Christmas Tree of the North Pole"

So Steve, when are you going to post your tree?

This means I don't have to buy anyone presents, right?

Andy's Gift List - Part Deux

Click here for Andy's new and improved gift list.

Christmas at the McCann's House

As you can see, Christmas time at the McCann house is very festive. We had the 1st annual "finding out that the attic gets too hot in the summer to store candles" party. The guests of honor were not all that excited to be there though, unfortunately. Especially since this would be their going away party, as they make their way to the trash can in the garage. Perhaps they will find a more welcoming home somewhere else...

Ella Asks for Something Special This Christmas

Ella has been very good this year and has asked for something special for Christmas. Yet, her parents may not be able to deliver until next June at the earliest.

Ella enjoys playing with Fletcher, and she decided that it would be even more fun to have another playmate around the house. Mom and Dad suggested a kitten and that seemed just right to her. But Fletcher vetoed any felines, saying "I'm cat enough for this house".

Mom and Dad decided that a new sibling should do the trick. Since the real deal won't be here until June 25 or so, Ella has been given a photo preview to tide her over.

Upon hearing the news, Fletcher became overjoyed. In his excitement, he donned a party hat and started singing Happy Birthday. Though he's a few months early, his sentiment is well appreciated.

The REAL Present Post

So this is the real post about presents. We're going to get it figured out, once and for all here. And quickly, since the ho-ho-ho-day is trampling toward us with the speed and vigor of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Before we draw names, I want to see what everyone thinks of this new idea: instead of us just drawing one name, what if we drew two? I mean, I understand why everyone doesn't buy a present for everyone (8x8=64 presents). At the same time, it seems a mite miserly to have over-reacted by cutting down the total number of present transactions to 8. What if we did 16? That would be two presents per person. That would still be less than you'd have to buy if you lived in a smaller family of only three siblings. Any surely, families of three siblings would be ashamed to institute the sort of One Child, One Present policy that has yoked our generous tendencies these four or five Christmases past.

Please leave comments debating the merit of this new suggestion. Everyone would get two presents. 2 x presents = twice the fun and twice the Christmas spirit. Anyone concerned about this idea from a financial standpoint, please see me privately. Daniel, we might be able to discuss termporary absolving you of your Mario Kart debts during the holiday season, particularly if you draw my name.

Group Thank you card

In the spirit of saving the planet, I will now post a group thank you note to all for my birthday gifts. Look at all the greenhouse gases I am saving by not buying paper, by not having the post office drive around and deliver the thank you notes (if I could only stop Daniel from emitting gases, it would really be a success).

So to the honor roll!

To Daniel, thank you for the gift of ah, a chain and string to keep me from losing my knife. And the cheese cake that you promised to pay me back for.

To Lisa, thank you for the gift of Monsters Inc.

To David, thank you for the nuts and the porcelian grate for the grille.

To Steve and Rachel and Ella, thank you for the movie Cars.

To Ben, thank you for hand made MG Midget repair book and the promised real MG Midget repair book

To Sandy, thank you for the sesame sticks and wasabi peas.

To Mom, thank you for the shirts

To Annette, thank you for the cheese cake and wallet.

To Judy, thank you for the basket of towels, sheets, underwear, and toiletries.

To Pearl, thank you for the naughty card and dollar bill in the card. Although you claim the card isn't naughty, it is my mind that is bad.

To Debbie, thank you for the cookies and the nuts that Judy thought were her's but were really mine (I ate some of them anyway).

To Janell and Andy, thank you for the....... wait a minute, thanks for nothing! oh yes, you said half of it is rolling around in your trunk, Janell. Thank you for the knowledge that half of my birthday present is rolling around in your trunk.

And to the rest of the world who sent me cards or may have given me a gift that I forgot to mention, thank you, thank you, thank you.

The air is cleaner, just sort of takes your breath away doesn't it?

The REAL presenting

alright David,

your idea for gift distribution is very...we'll say cute. However, I think some of us are wondering what really going on with gifting this year. We need to know who our person is so we have plenty of time to spend the allotted million dollars

Santa is in Muskegon now

HO!HO!HO! Santa is in Muskegon this weekend putting his Christmas list together and consulting with one of his best behaved helpers, me. I have volunteered to take a little load off the jolly old man by getting some Christmas gift ideas rounded up for him. So email me your Christmas gift ideas, please remember, Santa is trying to stay within budget this year, so around the 50 dollar range would work out well for him. Also keep in mind I have the authority to let him know who is naughty or nice, so some of you better change your ways.

Big Parties Celebrate 51st Birthday

For those of you out of the "in crowd" I'm posting pictures from my big birthday bash in Muskegon. I am just starting to recover from the excitement, hopefully I will be back in prime shape for Turkey feasting on Thursday. Put your reservations in early next year, and maybe you will be seeing yourself on the blog for the 52nd extravaganza.

Something to think about when gifting...

Some who write here may be inclined to wish there were some magical link between the # of posts started and the level of giftedness one has. I would like to point you to Matt 20:1-16. "For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who was the master of a household, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. He went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace. To them he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. About the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle. He said to them, ‘Why do you stand here all day idle?’ "They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ "He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and you will receive whatever is right.’ When evening had come, the lord of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning from the last to the first.’ "When those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came, they each received a denarius. When the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise each received a denarius. When they received it, they murmured against the master of the household, saying, ‘These last have spent one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat!’ "But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me for a denarius? Take that which is yours, and go your way. It is my desire to give to this last just as much as to you. Isn’t it lawful for me to do what I want to with what I own? Or is your eye evil, because I am good?’ So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few are chosen."

In God's eyes, we all deserve the same no matter how long we've spent posting. I know we are all striving to lead more Godly lives, so I thought I should remind us of this parable.

Merry Christmas

Let the present-ing begin

I have already discussed this year's round of sibling Christmas gifts with most of you, individually, and the recurring concern that I heard from all of you could be summed up as, "may the most gifts go to the most gifted!" Although I have my own private reservations about this greed-oriented twist on Christmas, I will concede if this is what everyone wants.

The question that is on everyone's mind, I am sure, cuts straight to the heart of the matter: "Tell me, David, who is the most gifted? I need to know in order to allocate, from at least several paychecks, the necessary funds." As time is running short (only 37 more days to go until Christmas, by my reckoning; only 37 more days and a week to go, by mom's reckoning), I feel that the time is ripe for me to resolve this matter. Determining the giftedness of myself and my siblings is a difficult task - difficult in terms of impartiality and difficult in terms of Daniel - so I have chosen what seems to me to be an objective and fitting measure. The results, in magnitude of giftedness:

David (20)
Janel (19)
Rachel (10)
Daniel (8)
Steve (6)
Ben (5)
Lisa (3)
Andy (1)

I trust that most everyone can accept my judgment. For those of you who are harder to satisfy (I'm thinking of the bottom three, here), always raising objections and challenging every inconvenience, I realize that I will likely need to substantiate those figures. Very simply, they are tallies of how many posts each sibling has made to Barnhart Central, to date. I realize that the margins were razor-thin in places. Between Ben and Steve, for instance, I confess that calling Steve more gifted than Ben is not only highly dubious, but that the difference may ultimately be based upon polling discrepancies. In another close race, Janell and I would have been tied had I not had the judiciousness to compute this very post in my tally, mercifully sparing the family from a protracted runoff.

The above numbers do not necessarily need to translate into number of gifts, although I would not object to such a system. In fact, I highly doubt anyone would object to that idea, as even a low-scorer such as Ben would be receiving 5 times the amount of sibling presents than he did last year. The only real loser is Andy, but last time I witnessed his garage, it appears that he has already taken the liberty of gifting himself all year long. Perhaps the yule-tide season will stir charitable feelings in Daniel's heart, and Andy will receive some miscellaneous Star Wars bric-brac.

Photographic Evidence of Janell's Birthday Party

Exhibit A:

Announcing New Oil Change Joint

See our ad on the web at barnhartcentral.blogspot.com. We are new, and ready to take on any oil changes, especially Buick Century's. We are overstocked on Buick Century oil and filters, and are ready to deal. See us for your Buick Century oil needs, or we'll both lose money! If you own a Buick Century then----BE THERE!!!!

Genuine gift list updated for Mike

Below is my original gift list and is still in brand new condition, except for the fact that I obtained items 1 and 10 myself, it has never been used. So I convieniently removed items 1 and 10 and resubmit it for your buying pleasure.






I think Andy's idea of a gift list is a good one. You just never know when people are wanting to shower you with gifts, and it is rude to not have gift ideas readily available. I must admit that I haven't bothered to look at Andy's list yet- just too busy, but I hope everyone studies mine closely and takes notes if necessary. Last year I put out some really wild and expensive ideas, this year I will try to be more practical. Perhaps this will prove to be a more effective list.

2 Repair Manual for my MG Midget, I think it is a 1972
3 Repair Manual for my Ski-doo, it is a 1986 Safari 377
4 Leather or cotton work gloves, not expensive ones
5 New wallet
6 Garden hose
7 Speedometer for my bike
8 Mole trap to get rid of mole in yard
9 Adapter to play CD's in my car cassette player


I will keep adding to this as I think of more things. And just to absolve my guilt I will look at Andy's list right now.

The Annual Michael L. Barnhart Gift List

Says Mike:

I don't know why I'm even putting this list up, since I still haven't receieved the items on my last two lists; I guess I'm giving my children one last chance to get back in my will.

-Socks (the festive kind, with little Santas and reindeer on them)
-Some gift certificates to Hallmark. I really like shopping there.
-A couple old cars to work on
-CD's, preferably opera
-Lots of diet soda

Well, we'll see how much you guys love me. Don't say I didn't warn you when you don't get any of my riches after I die.