Christmas 2008

Mom - busier than ever, and better at it than ever before. Constant carpool captain; (our own carpool - too hectic to try and schedule with anyone else). Loves the Computer and still thinks ziplock bags are the world's greatest inventions. They completely contain almost all awful smells and you don't feel bad when they get thrown away - with the clothes that got wet a month ago still in them. Morgan - 14 years old. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! Someone please tell us that she'll eventually turn back into a form that resembles the child we used to know. The bedroom is unspeakable and school is not a subject of which we speak, unless prayer counts as "speaking." She has found a love for "found items" art sculpture, which means that she collects all manner of junk and then arranges it into the form that most annoys her father. She is also tall, long and beautiful. We adopted to break the cycle of Godfrey legs and we succeeded there in spades. She now looks her father straight in the eye. Her art is truly fabulous and we still believe she will either prove to be tremendous force for good in the world or hell on wheels. The jury is still out and deliberations look to be very long. Anna - Twelve years old. Her mother's child in every way, but definitely a daddy's girl. Succeeding in school. The center of much social attention, and given to fits of laughing that she has no hope to control. Especially at dinner time and when accompanied by friends. She plays the piano beautifully and that pleases her dad beyond measure. She is the neighborhood babysitter and that means is also Dad's cash source all too frequently. All too frugal, she was the bank for Pyper, our new Maltese puppy. Her fronted cash is still earning interest, as Dad hasn't made good on the note yet. Somehow Dad making good for Mom's dog seems odd. Taylor - Eight years old. Still perpetual sunshine and light. Baptized in October. Dad thinks she must own more shoes than anyone in the world because there are always 4 pair in the family room, along with the dirty socks. Coats in season are also abundant. Tay's "I love you" for Dad and Mom is the highlight of every day. We needed this one so that we would feel we could handle one more, AND THAT ONE MORE IS ... Alec - 3 years old, aka Mowgli, aka, "the Beast." both fitting. Has no desire to stay in any "man village." Is very happy when there is no roof and no need for clothes. Mom and Dad still can't find the "off" switch. We beleive he sleeps, but we're so tired and worn out from him every night, we really have no clue what goes on in the room. Throws all manner of balls really well and loves to hit everything with his many bats. Inexplicably misses ball, but hits everything else, including sisters. Loves to torment the new dog (just his size) and those same sisters. Also loves the atmosphere at Aggie football games and is prone to watch, sans shirt, just like the cool guys in the student section. Dad - plugging along, trying to keep his head above water. Loves his Church job and his day work equally (that is really, really good). Still has the handicap hovering around ten, but as in almost every year, is sure he found the secret in the last two rounds of November. Still thinks the Ags can win 5 next year. In this time of economic distress, we've all scaled back on our Christmas giving and our expectations. Kids are disappointed, but seem to understand the significance of all that's going on around us. We continue our lifelong trend of perfect timing. Our house was listed for sale just about one week before the mid-august stock market "correction." Our hope is to move three doors west to the house at the bottom of our circle. We are seeing the lowest interest rates in 40 years and we can't take advantage because the housing market has completely crashed. We're planning on significantly less income next year and feeling grateful for what we have now. At the end of the day, (or the year...) despite all the turmoil around us, we feel great peace in those moments when we allow ourselves to reflect and ponder all with which we're blessed. For unto us a child is Born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. So often, at Christmas, we think of the babe of Bethlehem. May we also remember the majesty and glory of our Savior and the healing power of his life and sacrifice. May we worship not only the Child given unto us, but the healing power of the Greatest Gift our Father could give; the redemption that comes through our Lord and Savior.

December?

I can hardly believe it is December, let alone the 16th day. Grandma Kate put together an advent calendar for Taylor and Alec. It is the very first thing Taylor does when she gets out of bed. She runs downstairs, opens her door for the day, hangs an ornament on her little tree and runs to wake Alec to show him his prize. 8 year olds are delightful! We have a sad tree. For some reason this year, when we put together our fake tree and plugged in the lights we did not experience success. Only one strand of lights worked!?! When we first got the tree I had meticulously lined each branch with lights and woven the cords so they were not apparent. So this year I yanked off every strand of lights, threw on the net lights, that are not on the bushes in the front yard this year. It was pretty fast. We also do not have ornaments or decorations up inside the house. Well, not really, anything that did not get put away properly last year is out. I couldn't muster up the energy to crawl in the storage and yank out all of the boxes and mess so we are doing the minimum. We are NOT Skipping Christmas like the Krank's, rather downsizing decorations. Yes, I am missing many of the favorites of the season but think how happy we'll be next year. One benefit of not putting many ornaments on the tree ... Alec took off every glass ornament (I think 6) and smashed them into little tiny pieces. I was in the shower and I think he possibly hit them off with the new bat his dad bought at the dollar store - it's really long. He and Pyper had a great time running and jumping. Amazing enough, no blood came with the fun. Those ornaments were 21 years old (from our first year married) so they were ready to be retired.