Chaldean parents are curious on how to capture their little one's creative energy when the weather gets cold.  Being cooped up in the house all day can make a toddler honery and troublesome.  Chaldean parents can help channel that energy by trying at least one of our nine fun, brain-boosting projects.

California, USA - Chaldeans are busily preparing for the holidays.  The community is getting ready for big family dinners, the traditional extended family tours, and the hectic gift giving calculations.  It arrives at the same time every year, and yet Chaldeans continue to get confused, stressed, and frustrated over the potential holiday madness. Chaldean holiday preparations can be less taxing for Chaldeans if these 7 simple steps are followed. 

Step 1 - BE PREPARED
Create a budget for your gift purchases, a list of who has been nice, and stick to it. Chaldeans have huge families and trying to buy a gift for every cousin, friend, neighbor, or employee will have you filing for bankruptcy.  Chaldeans are generous and charitable, but a line has to be drawn.  Create a gift list to fight the urge of seeing an item on clearance that you think would be perfect for someone not on your list.  Write down a few ideas for presents, based on the preferences of those on the list and hints they have given you throughout the year.

Michigan, USA – The Camp Chaldean open house brought thousands of community members out into the fresh October air.  Some Chaldeans traveled for three hours to join the tour and share in the celebration of new of the community campground. 

“We worked very hard to get the property ready for the camp open house,” says Adil Kallabat, Camp Chaldean president. “We had crews working around the clock for nearly a month making repairs, cleaning, landscaping, and decorating the buildings.”

Chaldean diocese volunteers came together to offer community tours of the camp property and answer any of their questions.  Nearly ten bus loads of people left from church parking lots to the campground. 

(Must be a registered member of www.CHALDEAN.org to view the photo albums.  Registration is free and begins by selecting the register link in the upper right-hand corner.)

Which is harder, making time for yourself or making time for Christ? As a mom of three boys under 5, the challenge to bring Christ into our souls and family is an interesting one.  While we make it church weekly as a family, more than only one hour a week is needed to build the necessary spiritual strength and prepare the family for what lies ahead. 

So what do you do?  Well, I have started collecting great tips on how the Chaldean family can bring Christ into their lives during their daily routine.  Here are some of the tips I have collected thus far. 

California, USA - Wise and thoughtful Chaldean parents continue to harp on their children to honor other people's kindness and generosity.  Most children despise having to write thank you notes.  Sadly, parents who fail to teach their children how to recognize and acknowledge the good they see in others will eventually have to contend with the consequences of a self-centered, ungrateful, and spoiled child. 

Michigan, USA - Tickets sold out in less than a few days to the highly anticipated event.  Over 300 Chaldean women gathered at Mother of God Chaldean Church Hall in Southfield, Michigan for the 2nd Annual Mother’s Day Fashion Show Dinner.  The event was held on Friday, May 4, 2007 and began at 6 p.m. in the evening.  The event organized by the Our Chaldean Ladies Social group of the Chaldean church holds a number of special activities targeting Chaldean women. 

The annual fashion show event helps to raise funds to help Chaldean causes around the world and all proceeds of the event go directly to the Chaldean community.  The highlights of the evening were two incredible fashion shows and the ability to receive or win gifts totaling close to $10,000.   However, winning rave review was the “Pure of Heart - ‘To be Admired not Desired’ Fashion Show,” hosted by fashion stylist Patrice Konja and produced by Remon Jiddou.  The performance sponsored Nahla's Place, This is Me, and Platinum Salon, of Birmingham, Michigan. 

(Access to all photos of the event are included for registered members of the community website)

Michigan, USA - Chaldean-American Janie Shina, 24, of West Bloomfield, Michigan is counting on the generosity of the Chaldean community.  Shina has been called on a mission to run a marathon to help fight cancer.  The longtime Cancer Society volunteer felt it was time to take on a fraction of the challenge that cancer victims face daily. 

Shina, describes an incident in which she felt she was “called” to help.  “Before the New Year, I wrote down the things that I wanted to accomplish during 2007, and running the marathon was one of them,” said Shina.  “And a week later, I received a letter from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Cancer Society requesting volunteers. Gods works mysteriously…this was my calling.”

For many Chaldeans the investment in their home is second to none.  The luxurious master bedrooms, marble and slate countertops, elaborately decorated living and dining rooms, and routinely remolded bathrooms and kitchens seem par for the course. 

The long hours and hard-work to eek out a small savings can disappear overnight when the decision to remodel.  Most all remodeling project fail to return your investment in improving your home but some areas fair better than others. 

If the choice to remodel is made out of vanity rather than actual improvement you are guaranteed to lose most all your investment.  However, if the choice is made to genuinely improve the function, feel, and resale of the home you can recoup over 80% of your investment and enjoy the upgrade.  Before you begin, a wise Chaldean homeowner will asking themselves:: "Where's the smartest place to put my money?"

Chaldean mothers ought to strongly consider the high risk of obesity, diabetes, and weaker immune systems for babies that are not breast fed.  In light of the ongoing research that shows synthetic chemical baby formula is riskier than breastfeeding the world trade health organization is challenging multinational companies to stop considering profit over health. 

The marketing efforts to get second and third world countries hooked on baby formula products have quadrupled.  However, some countries are not buying into the scam and putting pressure on the corporations. 

“Convenience, modernization, playing on ignorance and fear is the way they do it,” says Dr. Hannaa Bedawid, a Chaldean pediatrician.   “The companies are using marketing and trying to make it seem as if it is shameful to breastfeed your child.  I applaud countries like China, Malaysia, Israel, and the World Health Organization to standing up against corporate greed.”

Companies are being charged with illegal marketing, racketeering, vastly insufficient quantities of the essential vitamins, and suppressing studies and reports revealing the dangers of baby formula.  One of the larger corporations, Abbott Laboratories, has recalled hundreds of thousands of fake liquid ready-to-feed infant formula.

Guest reporter Molly Abraham of the Detroit News (Michigan, USA) reports:

For Enam (last name withheld due to reputable concerns for her children) the affair was unintended and regretful.  “I was stupid and selfish,” Enam says about her extramarital affair.  “I ruined my life, my children’s life; hurt my family, and all for what?”  Enam, 45 was caught cheating on her husband with a co-worker while employed at a mortgage company.  The affair ended a 25 year marriage.

Although much rarer in the Chaldean community than their western counterparts, divorce among Chaldeans is an issue the community continues to examine.  “Western liberal values, materialism, promotion of reckless behaviors, stereotypical views, and choosing a poor spouse all lead to divorce if the clues are ignored,” says Joan Hannawa, a recent psychology graduate who completed her Ph.D in relationship psychology.  “Chaldean men and women, have to learn new martial skills to cope, strengthen their marriage, and build a loving family when married in a western society.  If they don’t, they are left vulnerable to the ills of western society.  Eventually, without the proper defenses the illness will break into their marriage and destroy the family.”

Like most marriages, the Chaldean community considers marriage a special and sacred institution that binds one man to one woman for life.   Fidelity is sacred in marriage.  To lose such trust is immediate grounds for divorce in western societies.  The same is true with Chaldeans.  However, Chaldeans who divorce also face a community “Scarlet Letter” that further underscores the importance of marriage and the harm divorce brings to the couple, children, and community.

In this article www.CHALDEAN.org examines the Chaldean perspective on divorce and focuses on infidelity brought upon by work related relationships.

Michigan, USA -- Residents of Northville, Michigan are overjoyed at the new sports field and community park playground. 

Northville Township Supervisor Mark Abbo graciously thanked residents for supporting the land acquisition and development of the sports field and playground.   Residents approved the land acquisition and development mileage that paid for the park's $4 million price tag. 

Abbo had a chance to share his excitement as he kicked the first soccer ball onto the field.  "Anything worthwhile is never easy," Abbo said to reporters.  The 242-acre park used to be empty space.  Now it includes a playground, a dog park, one practice soccer field, five soccer fields and two lacrosse fields. 

Michigan, USA - Mary Magdalena and Martin de Porres, the patron saints of hairstylist have enjoyed the recent calls for help.  The dramatic changes in weather, a Chaldean party, and critical relatives can make any Chaldean conscience of their hair style. 

From feathered wisps of silken locks to soft bouncy curls, Chaldean hair textures, colors, lengths, and styles have always been entrusted to the artistic hands of Chaldean hairstylist.  The skillfulness of Chaldean hairstylists has long been sought by many outside the Chaldean community.  From Middle Eastern, Asian, European, to the Americas all seeking the hottest hairstyle eventually find their way into a Chaldean salon. 

Chaldean hairstylists have long been known as experts in art of styling hair.  Marry such talent with the free market system and you have some of the world’s most renowned stylists and entrepreneurs.  

No matter which stylist you visit these helpful hints should keep you sitting before the best.