Merry Christmas to All!

Since our camera is still on the fritz, we were able to get a few Christmas shots with Patrick's iPhone. Enjoy!

We were at a Christmas Ever party when Daniel emerged from the basement wearing safety goggles and weilding a sword. Hmmm....

Santa brought Daniel and Caleb Radio Flyer scooters!

Eli got a Ball Popper, which all the boys loved!

Patrick and I agreed this was one of the prettiest trees we've ever had.

Eli was a little amused by Mr. Funny. Does anyone else remember the Mr. Men books? I grew up on them and Patrick has never heard of them!

I have to point out the gift directly behind and to the left of Daniel. This is a book of the Rocky Mountains that Howard gave to Patrick and I, however, it had the most ingenius wrapping paper I've ever seen. He covered it with "hotties," little packets of warmth you put in your gloves when you ski. We tend to buy them in bulk...

Eli's present from Mommy and Daddy.

We spent a very lazy day at home, playing with all our new toys. Patrick got me a new "puter" that Daniel kept referring for the last week. (Apparently, Daddy let Daniel help wrap my present with strict orders not to say anything to me. But everytime I sat down at my old, slooooooooooooooow laptop, Daniel would say, "Are you going to be so happy with your new puter?" I'd stick my fingers in the ear, singing la-la-la-la-la and trying not to hear what he was saying.) Anyway, my day was spent downloading programs and playing with my new HP TouchSmart PC. I LOVE it!! The monitor is a touchscreen. There is a program where you use your finger on the monitor to draw. The boys are already in love with that!

Uncle Howard came over to help open presents and hung out for the morning and early afternoon. Then we headed over to our friends, the Franks for Christmas dinner -- prime rib, turkey, ham and all the trimin's!! Yummers!! And the best part is that Hollie insisted I not help clean up!

After we got home and put the boys to bed, I watched a short DVD my sister-in-law made a couple years ago of our family. That's when I really started missing everyone!!

We have so much to be thankful for this Christmas, especially the love and grace of Jesus Christ!

4-yr-old Makes Mommy's Heart Pitter-Patter

I got home last night from grocery shopping shortly after Patrick had put Daniel to bed so I dashed upstairs to wish my sweet dreams and happy sleeps. Before I could even lay down next to Daniel he has thrown his arms around my neck and was hanging on for dear life with a huge grin on his face. So we laid in the quiet for a few moments, him choking me, me rubbing his little back when the following conversation took place.

Me: I love you, Daniel.

D: I love YOU, Mommy.

Me: Why do you love me? (I've never asked this before since he still struggles with the understanding of "why" we do things.)

D: Because I like you.

Me: And why do you like me?

D: *very sheepishly* Because you're ssssooooooo pretty...

Ahhhhh.

Christmas Stinks!

I knew the title of this entry would get your attention.

This entry started out as a quick note to say we're still here! Our camera seems to be on the fritz so that's why I'm not posting much. And, what fun is a blog if it's just words? And while I had you here I wanted to direct you toward a blog I have been following for a while. http://www.ellieskees.blogspot.com/. In it, Sarah Skees, chronicled the battle her little girl fought against a terminal brain tumor. Now she continues her story with how she, her husband and son are coping. Ellie passed away on December 19, 2007 so today marks the one year anniversary of her "home going" as Sarah calls it. I have been amazed at Sarah's ability to embrace her pain and grief, be honest about it, be real. It's made me realize that we somehow think that being angry and raging against things that are unfair cannot go hand-in-hand with honoring the Lord. And this thought got me to thinking... hence, a longer than anticipated blog entry entitled, "Christmas Stinks!"

My life has been far from difficult when I compare it to Sarah's, or to my friend Colleen who lost her teenage daughter three years ago in a car crash or to my mother-in-law's who watched her "baby" die of cancer, even though her "baby" was in his forties. I remember a conversation I had with my mother-in-law shortly after Jeff passed away. I was talking about how much love I felt for Daniel, who was born just eight weeks before Jeff's death. I said to her, "I think I can't possibly love him more and then the next day I do love him more. It just keeps growing." I remember her very quietly saying, "And that never changes..."

So while I acknowledge I have not dealt with things others have, it has been a difficult year and for some reason, during this Christmas season, it's all come to a head! At first, I was thinking, the timing of this all stinks!! What were you thinking, Lord? It's hard to be joyful and get excited about lights and turkey dinner and getting packages in the mail when you're struggling with a weight of emotions. But I am beginning to see the God's timing IS indeed perfect because I am seeing another side of the Christmas Story -- the stinky side.

As I sit at my computer I can see three nativity sets. There is the one my Grandma made for my mom in '82 that my mom passed onto me because I loved it so much growing up. There is the Willow Tree set that Patrick and the boys started for me last year because I love Willow Tree figurines. Daniel came home the day they had purchased the set and exclaimed, "We bought you some cows and sheep for Christmas!" That set is still missing some significant characters, but Baby Jesus is there, bundled sweetly, quietly in Mary's arms (and her tummy is perfectly flat!). And then there is the Little People from Fisher Price nativity set that we got for the boys to play with since the previously mentioned sets are off-limits! Their manger scene has managed to incorporate Lightning McQueen, a dinosaur and various monster trucks. But as I look at these scenes I notice that something is seriously lacking -- the stink!

Have you been in a stable? Been around sheep and cows? They stink! Somehow with our Precious Moments' Baby Jesus and Christmas programs and neighborhood lighting contests and the political correctness of the word "holiday," we turned Jesus' birth into something pretty and... not messy... We turned Christmas into being about a cute, cuddly baby wrapped in downy, soft sheets, an image as perfectly wrapped as those gifts coming from the gift wrapping table at the mall.

If that's how God really wanted us to see the coming of Christ then why not be born in a nice hotel room? There would have been room at the Inn! Mary would have packed in her bag the perfect, little "Going Home" onesie to put on Jesus. She would have had mid-wives, her mom, her aunt, somebody who had done this before to coach her as she breathed hee-hee-hoo.

But that's not how it was... Can you imagine how helpless Joseph must have felt when he realized that baby was going to come no matter what? I've sometimes wondered if Joseph got Mary settled and then ran through the streets of Bethlehem begging for somebody, anybody to come help. But did people turn their backs in judgement and disgust since Mary and Joseph were not married? How did Mary handle the gossip from the other women taking that pilgrimage with them? (Lady friends, you know there was gossip!)Did she hang her head in shame? Did she lift her head in pride? Why did the angels first appear to stinky, un-showered, sheep-dung covered shepherds who would have been ceremonially unclean to even offer their traditional, Jewish sacrifices? Yet, they were the first invited to worship before the long-awaited Messiah! Why a stable? Why the stink?

Because that is Emmanuel! That is God with us! He never told us to get our act together before He showed up. He didn't ask the world that He created to arrange an attractive, fragrant place for his birth. No, he entered our world, our messy, stinky-stinky, crappy world. Christmas is Jesus showing up in the midst of our mess.
So, this is what I am thinking. If things are going great for you right now, embrace the JOY of the season! Jesus came to give us life and to give us life abundantly, so trim the tree, eat candy canes, fill your home with spicy smells and turkey dinner, revel in the rush of last minute shopping and listen to your favorite Christmas carols and hymns over and over and over.

But if things aren't going so well right now, I challenge you to not put on a happy face for the sake of the holiday. I challenge you to not feel guilty because you're "just not in the Christmas spirit." I challenge you to tell God how your really feel and don't think you are being ungrateful or that he somehow can't handle it. Is he really going to be disappointed in you because you don't think that 2-yr-old at the mall in the miniature Santa outfit is just the cutest think you've ever seen? In fact, you really can't see past his snotty nose right now! No! Invite JESUS, to come into your world, your mess, your stable. I think praising Him for being born in the middle of the stink is one way to honor Him best!

C'mon. Let's admit it. Christmas stinks.

Here is a sampling of things our children have said to us recently:

Daniel upon returning home from the grocery store with Patrick - "Mommy, we bought some Stickernoodle Cookies."

Caleb was fussing quite a bit after sitting in his car seat for several hours on our drive from Nashville to Denver after Thanksgiving. Patrick asked him what was wrong. His response - "Oh... I'm stuck."

We recently drove straight through to Nashville. The boys slept all night in the car and we pulled over to eat breakfast at Bob Evans around 6 am. Daniel woke up and looked around - "Wow, what happened to the dark?"

Patrick came home last night with a ski helmet and goggles for Daniel. Daniel will be taking ski lessons for the first time next week. I admit, I'm a little apprehensive about him starting to ski. #1 - It means he's growing up, which is never easy for Mommy. It seems like we've been counting down the years to when he would ski ever since I found out I was pregnant with him. We would always say, "Winter 2009. He's going on the slopes whether he's ready or not!" Now it's actually arrived. Kind of snuck up on us. #2 - How does one keep track of a tiny four year old on the ski slopes? One who is likely to ski faster than you, which brings me to apprehension #3 - My ski days are going to stink from here on out for a little while because either, he's terrible and we spend the entire day on the slopes trying to get him down the mountain or, he's terrific and really shows Patrick and I up and we head back for lessons ourselves.

In all seriousness, I'm actually excited to be taking this step together as a family. Skiing is such a love for Patrick and me. We believe that in heaven we'll be able to ski at 65 degrees (the snow won't be melting at that temp). I think we are going to create a lot of fun memories in the mountains.

Oh, back to the above picture... I found an old bike helmet in the garage for Caleb, who must do everything his big brother does. Therefore, Daniel wearing a helmet equals Caleb wearing a helmet.