The Shepherds

They were simply doing their job when they were alerted to a most glorious miracle.  Simple men.  I learned recently that they may have been shepherding the lambs used for the temple sacrifices so very near to the Lamb born to be the sacrifice for all of us.  Christmas didn't come with a frenzy of programs, gift buying, and perfection.  It was messy, in a manger, celebrated by simple people.

As I think back on Christmas with the nieces and nephews, my heart hurts a tiny bit that Mom wasn't there chuckling over their antics, offering comfort to their hurts.  Dad was not there teasing them and enjoying watching them play.  We had an imperfect family, but it was always loving.  We've lost big, but we still have so much.


I have been burdened by the pain of five families we know-some experiencing a first Christmas without a loved one, some overcoming serious medical battles.  While not as serious as those, my sister is spending this Christmas in a state of extra stress. This morning she hit a deer while driving to pick up her son's Christmas gift.  She waits and hopes the car is not totaled because this car is more than a car to her.  It's a piece of her inheritance from my dad and holds extra sentimental value for her as she loved our Dad so much, and he loved his cars.  She was always a daddy's girl and probably the closest of all of us to him.  The estate is not yet settled, so she received this part of her inheritance early.  She's very good at managing her resources as she supports three people on very low pay, but she faces a long and labor intensive career as she enters the years where physical labor gets harder and harder, and this is a difficult setback. Please pray for her and for hurting people everywhere this morning.  Christmas did not start out tied up in a nice bow, and it is not that way for so many this year.  Even so, we have much for which we can be thankful.

May your heart be light...

Merry Christmas!

Let every heart prepare Him room!

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you.  You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests."

Luke 2:8-14

Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Eve

All my babies together in church - I am so blessed!

Ending Christmas Eve services with a church tradition - Silent Night by cell phone flashlight light.

After services we gathered at the last home my parents shared for our last Christmas there as the house is being prepared for sale.

Savannah reads Guardians of the Galaxy with Kallie.

Which one is yours, Kinsley?

Isaac

Ira asked for a remote control truck, a regular (non-remote) truck, and a Barbie he could give to Regan.  He's so thoughtful of others.  It was sad to see his disappointment that his remote control truck was broken by the end of the night.  That should not be, so it is being returned.

This guy wanted money- trying to accumulate enough for the Nintendo Switch.

Kallie loves to be the center of attention and was thrilled with her Anna and Elsa toddler dolls.

Kinsley seemed to like her gifts which included a Barbie car and Disney Princess Barbies - have you seen them?  Their heads are enormous.  However, Kinsley was struggling with an earache tonight.

Julia wanted money.  She has a cart full of things she wants for her December 26th shopping after returning whatever Santa brings as she is convinced that she and Santa have different tastes.  She's a fun one!

There may or may not have been a tantrum.

The big kids wanted gift cards for the most part.  Zach asked for CDs and Logan delivered.  Savannah wanted a variety of things including a jacket and art pens, and Austin delivered.  He's another funny one.  He received Savannah's list on Thanksgiving.  It was all on Amazon, so he ordered it during our Thanksgiving gathering then told her he ordered her whole list except for one item.  That stinker!

 A little Play Doh action.

hamming it up

"Cheese"

Our traditional birthday cake for Jesus

Wyatt and Regan split the reading of the Christmas story from Luke 2.  Regan did an amazing job even if Jesus was "circumized" (circumcised) and "convinced" (conceived).

Best quotes from Regan--

She really wanted a CraZ Art pedicure spa.  When she opened it, she said, "I am hurting with joy!"

May we all hurt with joy over our Savior!  Tonight was fun.  The kids are always a blast, and my siblings and I have such fun rehashing old memories - especially memories of driving with Dad.  However, the main thing is that we have the light of the world.  This year I have been reminded of that again and again.  In just the last two weeks; a friend has lost a parent, a friend has died leaving behind her husband and three children, friends have been traveling out of state for chemo treatments for their preschooler, and another friend had a thirteen hour emergency surgery for a life-threatening medical situation.  My oldest friend, who is a widow, posted on FB tonight that this is the loneliest night of the year for her.  She's not talking about missing out on Christmas Eve celebrations. She's talking about staying up late to give her kids a nice Christmas in the morning and doing it solo. If we lived next door to her, Andy and I would be there doing that with her, but we don't, and we have a road trip to take in the morning, but really I don't even deserve a pass given that.

Perspective.  It's not about me.  It's not about me when someone is downright hateful to me on social media even as I internalize it, and I want to defend myself.  It's not about me when I concern myself with the trappings of Christmas.  Our church always has a very nice Christmas Eve service, and do you know how I spent it today?  Worrying about whether we turned off the tree - really ridiculous! This holiday is not all joy and lights.  It's really painful for so many.  I need to be better about loving others.  I have been really convicted this season about how Jackie lived her life.  She truly lived to love others.  

I simplified a lot for Christmas this year.  I am so grateful that all my kids were together tonight, and God willing will be there tomorrow.  We aren't promised anything.

Birthday on the fly

Wyatt is fifteen!  Give me just a second to wrap my head around that one.

We returned this year to celebrating a week early so as to put some distance between Wyatt's birthday and Christmas.  There's no way to win this battle of when to celebrate. Last year we celebrated on his birthday. Most of my side of the family missed it because they all work in an industry that is busiest at this time of year and requires seven day work weeks.  However, this year Savannah missed it because she was still away at school, and she was not happy about that. It was impossible to celebrate on Wyatt's actual birthday because he had three finals the following day - including his two hardest ones.  It has been mentioned that we should celebrate when the family gets together for Christmas Eve, but that hardly seems fair to the other side of the family or to Wyatt.

All that to say that time got away from us, and we literally pulled together Wyatt's birthday celebration two days before it happened.  We keep birthdays simple, so it was not hard to do that.  He had a great time, but before the guests all left, he was studying.  I am so proud of how hard he works in school.

So what does 15 look like for Wyatt?

His only gift requests were for a Google Play card and a Nintendo Switch.  Even with a combined budget for his birthday and Christmas, the Switch is out of reach.  We are trying to figure out if we can make that happen if we stick with small gifts and then try help him save for the system with Christmas and birthday money he receives.  I still owe him $100 that was supposed to be for last year's birthday.  That's what Dad would have given him, and since he died just weeks before Wyatt's birthday, my siblings and I agreed that the two grandkids with birthdays close to Dad's death date should still get the gifts he would have given.  I just haven't had it to give him yet, so that's one very delayed gift.  Andy and I disagree on that one as he thinks Wyatt's fine, and it is unnecessary. I agree that Wyatt is fine without it, but I think it would bring honor to dad to do it, so as soon as things ease up financially, I will give it to Wyatt.  If I die before that happens, obviously Wyatt won't be getting it :)

Wyatt worked hard for his finals.  On his actual birthday, I told him to plan his studying so that he could go out to dinner for some traditional Chinese food. Even so, he was too stressed that day, so we had to postpone our plans. 

Wyatt still loves Minecraft and spends ample time doing it.  He's enjoying his high school C-group and despite himself he enjoyed cross country this fall.  Wyatt was very anxious to join the track team but now seems hesitant.  I think a friend had planned on joining and said friend may be reconsidering now because of other sports.  Track will also be interrupted by Wyatt's upcoming surgery, so there is that to consider as we don't know how long full recuperation will take for his hip.  Hopefully, that surgery hurdle is is biggest one in the coming year.  I have already warned him that he will be taking his permit test next year on Christmas break because I need another driver :)  

We are crazy about this guy!  It's so hard to believe that this is the year that he will celebrate 10 years of being a part of his forever family.  

Making Memories- a funny one

Savannah and Julia went shopping yesterday.  I needed them to pick up something while they were out, so they had my debit card.  Julia called to ask if she could buy a jacket at a discount store similar to a TJ MAXX.  I quizzed her on the need for said jacket and then told her to call her dad and ask him.  Julia needs a coat.  It was in the twenties here last weekend, and she went shopping with Zach wearing nothing more than a flannel shirt over a t-shirt.  She came home freezing. However, she does not like anything bulky, and every option we've shown her has been vetoed.  I know her well enough to know that she won't wear something just because we buy it, so we've been in this stand off about a coat. We finally bought a North Face type jacket, but it is not something that will keep you warm when the temperature dips to the twenties and below.  Anyway, the jacket she wanted was a Nike athletic jacket.  From the description on the phone, it did not sound very warm (Andy had told Julia that if we could find a thin, lined athletic jacket with a  temp rating for single digits, he would let her get that instead of a coat). Julia begged, saying it could be a Christmas gift. Andy conceded, and they used my debit card to make the purchase.  The jacket is a thin one that I can't see keeping anyone warm, but she's thrilled with it.

Last night Julia brought the jacket to me so it could be wrapped for Christmas. Then she proceeded to wrap it herself and told us she's pretty sure she can forget what that is between now and Christmas --  in 8 days? She cracks me up!

Julia went ice skating with friends last night.  We are experiencing lots of firsts with her.  She always ice skates with friends over Christmas break, but the moms always stay and chat.  This time no mom stayed. It was her first awkward middle school experience where she was approached by a stranger who said, "my friend thinks you are pretty, what do you think of him?'  Julia was at a total loss about what to do in the situation, and listening to her tell the the story is hilarious.  I am just so glad she was not mean.  No numbers were exchanged, and that attempt to meet someone new did not work out this time for this guy.

Making Memories

I have to write things down to remember them.  That means every appointment has to go on the calendar even if it's highly unlikely I would forget.  It also means that every memory has to be recorded, so for those of you visiting, these two things about which I am writing today are important to me but may not be so to others.

1.  Our church handed out advent devotional books for the Christmas season this year.  Andy works through the devotions with Wyatt and Julia on their way to school (hey, you have to squeeze these things in where you can in a busy household). Each devotional includes a Bible reading, a commentary and a task, and each week has a theme.  One day the task was to make a list of things for which you are thankful.  Andy and the kids did this out loud in the car, and Andy was touched that Wyatt's list included adoption.

2. As mentioned before on the blog Savannah changed her major to architecture this year.  God has been so good to provide her with some breadcrumbs to assure her she's on the right path.  The latest came last week after she did her project review for the semester.  Savannah ran into two of her professors who shared that the director of the college of architecture, who sat in on the reviews for Savannah's class, mentioned her specifically and stated that he's anxious to watch her and see if she lives up to the her potential. Her God-given potential - I would add.


As is typical for really good news, there's always some bittersweet in life.  We are watching our neighbors live out their faith as their four-year-old daughter fights cancer.  Some of our sweetest friends, a truly amazing couple, are grieving right now as the wife has been completely healed and is in the presence of Jesus this week.  I am so sick right now that I could not even get up to see Savannah yesterday when she got home and drug myself out of bed this morning because this is a funeral I cannot miss.  Jackie planned it herself, and she desired to leave a legacy of giving which is exactly how she lived her life. The visitation last night was precious.  They had Christmas trees filled with ornaments tagged with various ministries they supported.  Visitors were instructed to take an ornament and give in Jackie's name to the ministry on the tag.  That's how they lived. I know you can't outgive God, but Jackie and Mark sure tried!  This was truly a couple who made each other better people, and many lives will now have a huge hole in them without our sweet Jackie.

Hug your people.  Love out loud. Give generously. Merry Christmas!

Observations on trimming the tree

Trimming the tree thus far has been a three day process this year.  Other than the fact that Andy helped choose it and set it up, it has been a solo process, so here are my thoughts as I string lights, ribbon, and hang only a handful of ornaments (literally few ornaments adorn the tree, and it still awaits a tree skirt)

1. Last year was so different.  I had little to nothing to do with decorating the house.  This year we are back to normal where the majority of the effort resides on me.

2. Last year was overwhelming and different, and I was sort of braced for the holiday ahead.  This year, other than decorating and an initial impulse to shop, I can't seem to motivate myself to get to the shopping.

3. Last year the loss was fresh and raw but not all of the loss seemed permanent.  This year it's very permanent, and holidays and family celebrations are forever altered.  I've heard that it's hardest the second Christmas because you busy yourself so much for the first one.  The second one is the one where you have to determine the new normal.  Last year I did not realize I had lost twice, now I know.

4. While stringing lights, this amusing thought occurred to me.  I remember many years ago when my sister Tiffany mentioned that Dad had given her a hard time about her ribbon garland for her tree.  "Who does that?!" seemed to be his attitude.  The irony -- I had been using ribbon garland on my tree, and he never seemed to note it as an oddity.  That man never held back, so if he found it strange, he would have told me.

5. Our space has changed. The inheritance of some furniture has caused us to rearrange some rooms in our house including the one where we typically have our tree.  We had to look for a tree that was not so full as a result.  It's growing on me now, but oh how pitiful I found that tree to be when I first started trimming it!  I kept telling myself there's nothing wrong with a Charlie Brown Christmas.  After all Linus had it right when he recited the true meaning of Christmas.  The tree is still concerning as it did not drink up the water on the first day as our trees of the past have done, so hopefully it makes it to Christmas.  I usually start putting everything away on New Year's Day.  I think our tree will have to go earlier this year.  That's unfortunate since we got it up later this year.

6. It's an oddity this year that I am more concerned with outdoor decorations than indoor.  I think I enjoy them more as I come and go throughout the holidays. We've never had outdoor lights, so we added some solar lights along the sidewalk this year.  It never occurred to me before that I have a perfect place to string garland with our iron hand railing.  I tried it this year and am pleased with the result.

7. I might be allergic to the tree - lots of sneezing while stringing lights -YIKES!

That's all my random thoughts for now.  I think I have some ornaments to hang.

I added some ornaments and the tree skirt after typing this post. This is a sad tree, but we will either look back on it with endearment or laughter.  Making memories here!