If you are here reading this, it is probably because you received a Christmas card from me. If you received a Christmas card from me, it is because you are someone VERY special to me. Maybe you are a cherished member of my family where the bonds of love run deep. Maybe you are a friend from high school, college, the military days and beyond. God brought you into my life for a time, and now we are scattered all over the country, but you are still close to my heart. Perhaps we are blessed to be working through this present day life together as friends, and I'm so thankful for you. Some of us are acquainted through work, neighborhood, bible study, or church. I love you all! You have enriched my life and I am grateful for each one of you.
I decided to come back to my blog after a long hiatus for a couple of reasons. The first was to simplify and save paper. Not everyone cares to read the "Christmas letter". I get it. We are doing a series at church titled "Behind the Christmas Card", and that card you received is the perfect example of how everything is not as picture perfect as it appears. More on that later. So I am going to keep it real. Sometimes real is pretty hysterical and sometimes it is downright boring. Sorry about the later.....there has been a lot of boring this past year. Another reason for revisiting the blog is I've grown weary of wading through a bunch of useless shared information on Facebook in order to get to the good stuff-the stuff about you and what is going on in your life. Maybe you feel the same way. You long to connect more often. You long for more depth. That is not going to happen in a once a year highlight letter, so I plan to come back at least once a month to update this blog throughout 2016. It got kind of lonely before......no comments, no discussion back and forth. I hope that you will let me know when you do stop by the blog, what you think, and what is new with you.
So here we go! Let's start with that smashing Christmas card. Looks like a family that loves each other and enjoys being together right. Well maybe not Noah, he seems a little pained....but the rest of us look like we are having fun right? Look how color coordinated they just happened to be that day; they are so in sync with one another. Look at that solitary woman surrounded by all those men. I'm pretty sure they all "rose up and called her blessed" right before picture time, because she is positively glowing. Ok enough all ready!! It took us two years to make that picture finally happen. The first year I was sidelined; recovering from what was expected to be a simple shoulder surgery that turned out to be not so simple. The next year I spent trying to coordinate schedules, only to call and find out the studio wasn't open that day. One year of pleading and waiting for someone, who shall remain nameless, to finally get to a professional barber for a haircut and a shave. "What haircut and a shave?" , you may ask....which was my response afterwards as well. I planned and shopped for clothes (the nameless one has an extensive collection of band t-shirts....but none of them were family picture worthy). I returned what I had bought, because he didn't like.....you name it. We finally found one, but didn't realize the mistake of short sleeves until after our photo shoot. The works of art are a recent addition to his forearms, and weren't there when I purchased the shirt. C'est la vie. A date was finally set, information sent to all. This was happening! Someone, who shall remain anonymous begin to drop hints that he wanted to wear something different than what we had talked about. Fine, we switched up our plans at the last minute to accommodate. Picture day has finally arrived, and the one who shall remain nameless is no where to be found. I call, I text, I wait.....nothing. An hour before we were to leave, I finally track him down through a friend on Facebook. He arrives home, doesn't shower because it makes his hair all frizzy, and says, "this place has Photoshop right?" "No....why?" Apparently someone threw a bottle hitting him in the forehead giving him a nice black & blue lump. Break out the makeup, do my best to cover it up. The anonymous one calls a half an hour before we leave to borrow an iron. He arrives to iron the shirt I thought he wanted to wear, the one we all switched it up for, complaining. It was too different, he felt like he stuck out, he only wore it because I wanted him to, that's what I get when I plan things at the last minute......it continued through the photo session, and afterwards....So here's the bottom line, a family picture has always been challenging for our family, and probably always will be. Our very first session took 2 1/2 hours to get a newborn to cooperate. We even had to buy him new clothes after a horrible diaper incident, of which I will spare you the details. Our next family picture took days.....Jim got held up in traffic, we waited in a long line only to be turned away upon reaching the front because they were closing, we went to a different photographer only to become a casualty of seagulls flying overhead. Why should I expect anything different? Letting go of expectations.....Secondly, I'm thankful my family will still agree to make the effort it takes to get a family picture. I know it is not their thing, but they do it and it pleases me. I believe someday they will understand and be thankful too. Last of all, I'm thankful for the growth in my character. Yes I was frustrated, but I kept my cool, remained flexible, and responded kindly. It is exciting when you see God working in your life! So that's the story behind our Christmas card. What is your story? What is God teaching you through it?
So now for a quick update on the family. Noah spent the first five months of the year in San Francisco. He was there to receive some additional education and returned to his office with a nice promotion. He bought some furniture and moved into a different house. He has been talking about going to grad school, but I haven't seen him do anything about that yet. No dog or special girl in Noah's life thus far. Nate is living the dream.....His band made another CD and did several tours around the country. He made a stop in Indianapolis, where Aunt Shelly and Uncle Jon came out to hear him scream....I mean sing. As mentioned earlier, he got a couple of new tattoos on his forearms; a wolf and a flower. He is still working at the same place, mostly bar tending. No nice girl in Nate's life right now either. Jim and I did a lot of camping this summer. In August we went to Kansas City and got the VIP treatment at a Little Big Town concert. In October we took a trip with friends to a cabin near Chautauqua, NY. We visited Niagara Falls, the Chautauqua Institute, and Allegheny State Park for a peak fall color tour. It was a relaxing and fun trip. In November we took in the MSU/NE football game. It was a beautiful day, full of celebration and surprises. The best surprise was finding out my cousin Dan was in town and connecting with each other on the sidelines before the game. The worst surprise was a loss for the Spartans, their only loss this season. We have another fun trip planned, so come back to the blog next month to hear all about it! Jim started his new job as supervisor of the chemistry lab about a month ago. It keeps him busy and out of trouble. He has much to learn, and it can be stressful. One thing he is learning is how to use his new smart phone. Yep, that's right, Jim traded in his flip phone! This past year I have working to reduce my toxic load. I've switched to more natural skin care products, toothpaste, cleaners, laundry soap, and even deodorant for a time......I just couldn’t make that one work for me. I recently switched up my cookware and I'm learning how to cook with stainless steel; lower and slower. My word for the year has been brave. This has led me to step out of my comfort zone, and I'm so glad I did. I have finally found a new church, established great new relationships, and grown closer to the Lord. I tried to learn the bagpipes, and failed, which I'm sure my neighbors appreciate. I painted a few pictures, of which one is perhaps garage worthy. I've even sang on stage a couple of times at church this month, and actually had fun. In fact, it was all fun! You don't have to be good at something in order to have fun with it......which leads to the other thing I have experienced this past year, and that is freedom. A wonderful liberating spirit of freedom to just be me! This decade of my life is off to a great start. What has God been doing in your life this past year? How have you changed because of it?
I want to wish each one of you a very Merry Christmas and may God bless us all in the year to come. Come back soon!
