December 7 – “Cool”

 

 

Happy birthday today to my older – much older – brother Jay.  I have no idea just how old he is, but I take comfort in the fact that he will always be older. 

 

Last night Chris did something just for me to make me feel like I'm not the only one.  The only what, you may ask?  Well, it happened when we were getting ready for supper.  Our routine is to ask Mom if she wants to drink water or tea with her meal.  Last night, however, must have been the culmination of a long day for Chris.  Jachin, Micah, and Josiah had been over for most of the day.  Christina's Mom was in the hospital donating a kidney, and Kel was getting some work done at Starbuck's.  We took them over to CiCi's for lunch where we met up with the kids from Seaside Christian Academy who were on a field trip.  We joined them for the first part of the trip – an excursion to Moody Gardens to see the big poinsettia tree and hope for a glance or two of the huge river otters.  We did the requisite pictures in front of the tree (Santa wasn't home yet).  And after a lot of coaxing by Mrs. Cindy (that really did a lot of good, I'm sure), one of the otters did make an appearance.  The SCA kids finally went over to the playground for a while before they continued on to deliver a batch of toys Seaside collected for the Galveston Urban Ministries.  We headed back home to prepare for nap time.  All of that did result in quite a long day for Chris, for I can understand her momentary lapse when she went to see what Mom wanted to drink with her supper.  I know what she meant to say, but what came out of her mouth instead was, "Do you want tea or supper?"  Tough choice, Mom.  Eat or stay hydrated.  Thanks for the encouragement, Chris.  You really inspired me to work harder to hone my own "senior moment" skills for the future.

 

I did get to teach Josiah a new word.  He is eighteen months old and is constantly saying something in that exciting language of the cosmos that only little children can understand.  I was holding him during one of those expositions.  I have no idea what he said, but he looked at me with wide eyes and an expectant stare when he finished, so I did what any self-respecting yet ignorant adult raised in the 60's would do.  I said, "Cool."  And in his new-century, rapid-processing way, he hesitated only briefly before replying, "Cool."  Of course the only valid adult response to such an echo is to laugh and reward.  So I did.  And in a move that would make Pavlov proud, he said it again, "Cool."  Which elicited exactly the response he was hoping for.  I laughed and said, "That's right, Cool."  What followed was a rapid-fire exchange of "Cools" accompanied by a vast array of facial expressions and just about every variation of tonal quality imaginable.  He had me trained.  And not just me.  His Daddy was so excited that he made a video and posted it on Facebook so his mommy could be a part of the moment.  It was … what can I say but … Cool.

 

Isaiah 28:16 says, "So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: 'See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed."

 

Father, how many times can I thank you for the family you have surrounded me with?  They are awesome displays of your goodness.  Amen.

December 6 – “The Tree farm push”

 

 

Today I want to finish up the story of the trip to the Christmas Tree farm in Manvel.  Not that there is that much else that went on.  All the cool grandkid stuff has been noted.  There are just two other things that caught my attention.

 

One was the actual operation of the place as a business.  I mean beyond charging people to come in the gate and watch their kids play.  They really did sell Christmas trees, and we saw the process several times while we were there.  You jump on a trailer pulled by a tractor, which then hauls you out to far reaches of the tree farm.  That's when you pick out your tree and mark it with the tag they provide.  Then you hitchhike a ride on the tractor trailer back to the front and tell them where your tree is.  They then send someone back out with you to chop it down for you.  That would be kind of disappointing to me.  I thought the whole idea was to chop down your own tree.  I guess they save money on insurance this way.  Less chance of someone chopping off a hand or a toe.  They throw the tree on the trailer and haul it back to the work station near the front gate.  There they put it on some kind of machine that shakes it like, hmm … to borrow from a renowned literary source … like a bowl full of jelly.  That shakes off any excess needles.  Never saw WalMart do that one. 

 

The other event that I failed to mention last time has become the source of a little family tension.  One of the activities available to guests is an old fashioned burlap sack race.  Our grandkids gave it a shot and seemed to have lots of fun.  So much so that Nathan and April couldn't stand it.  I don't know which of them issued the original challenge, but both of them are so competitive that it doesn't matter.  The race was on.  It was just the two of them.  Plenty of room to run, one might say.  The cry to "go" sounded, and they were off.  They were neck and neck for a time, but word has it that the official announcer blinked and suddenly April was sprawled on the ground and Nathan was making the turn and headed for the finish line.  What could have happened?  A random hole in the track?  A simple misstep?  Or was there foul play afoot?  The initial still photos were inconclusive at best.  But after a day or two of wrangling back and forth, a bystander, who just happened to have been filming his children in innocent play nearby, stepped forward with an actual tape of the event.  It was unclear if any footage had been deleted, but the initial review of this unexpected instant replay appeared to show some unwarranted veering out of his lane by Nathan.  The angle makes it difficult to say with absolute certainty.  Sources close to track officials say that an official announcement may be forthcoming.  Rank and file viewers are demanding action, and unnamed sources have posted the video in question on FaceBook, calling for public opinion.  Check it out for yourself on Kel Vaughan's FaceBook page.

 

Isaiah 26:12 says, "Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us."

 

Father, thank you again for chances to spend time with family that is just plain fun.  Amen.

December 5 – “Grandchildren withdrawal”

 

 

We had a really good turnout for our Hanging of the Greens at church last night.  More folks than we have had since before Hurricane Ike, for sure.  With that many to help, we got the job done is much less time than usual, and we had lots of good food to boot.  Now the room looks really nice for the holidays.

 

I did have somewhat of a grandchildren withdrawal, though.  One of the little girls there was about three days older than Cailyn, so I admit I did some reminiscing.  Like the time when Cailyn found a pencil.  Now, I like to use those mechanical pencils.  Actually, is it still called a mechanical pencil if it is made of all plastic?  I usually get a package of them from WalMart.  By the time they run out of lead, the eraser is gone anyway, so the idea is for you to just throw it away.  I have put new leads in them, but it's hard to find replacement erasers.  And at least half of the eraser is wasted every time. 

 

So Cailyn is used to my plasti-chanical pencils.  But she snuck her way into Chris' desk drawer in the kitchen and found something that looked like it should have been a pencil.  It had an eraser on the end, but no matter how hard she tried, she just could not get the lead to come out.  She pushed it and shook it and even tried looking in the end.  She could see the lead, but it just would not come out.  I was all prepared with my answer should she ever ask for help.  See, it was one of those antique pencils that have to be sharpened.  She never asked, though.  After reaching her breaking point of frustration, she simply shrugged her shoulders, turned it around and used the eraser end as an applicator for pretend lipstick.  She's such a girl.

 

Now Caleb on the other hand has the "boy" thing down pretty well.  We saw a video clip of one of the televised worship services of First Baptist Church in San Antonio.  They have a children's sermon feature as part of the service, and Josh and Christi were filling in some of the children's comments that were not audible to the television audience.  Caleb was excited to be allowed to go sit on the steps with only his big brother as a guide.  The pastor began with a welcome of sorts to the children, and then told a missions story about the Rajpoot people of India.  Caleb was obviously listening to what was going on, because when he heard that, he decided if it was OK for the pastor to say, then it was good enough for him, too.  He scanned the faces of those nearest him and located a Sunday School teacher he recognized.  Just what he needed, an authority figure.  Slowly he inched his way toward her and announced, "I have to go poot."  Indeed.  Way to use your words, Caleb.

 

Isaiah 26:7 – "The path of the righteous is level; O upright One, you make the way of the righteous smooth."

 

Father, watch over those grandkids of ours when we are not around them.  We miss them.  Amen.

December 4 – “I love weddings”

 

 

I had another interesting wedding this weekend.  The rehearsal was supposed to start at 7:30 Friday night.  We scheduled it primarily because of the youngest child involved, the flower girl, who was around 4 or 5 years old.  The bride did finally arrive near 7:30, but the groom and his family didn't get there until well after 8.  The little flower girl by that time was too tired to do any rehearsing.  We went through the motions, though, and as it turned out we were able to isolate some logistical issues. 

 

It was a case of blending families, so they wanted their children involved in the service.  Instead just the bride and groom lighting a unity candle, they had three unity candles, one on the main Lord's Supper table in the center, and one on each of two side tables.  The four children involved would each pick up a candle and work together to light a center candle.  Then the bride and groom had their turn.  Kind of a different take on the tradition, but it looked like it would work well.

 

Until we got to the service on Saturday and found out that we could not use the center table.  In that church, that particular table was considered special and could only be used to hold the Lord's Supper.  So we had to rearrange the candles.  The kids did fine in making the adjustment on the fly during the service.  We made it through the service without any further ado.

 

Oh, did I mention that we didn't get started quite on time?  The groom and his entourage were not in the building when it was time to start.  He finally called about twenty minutes later and let us know he was on his way.  I began giving updates to the guests about where he was and what his approximate time of arrival would be.  They responded pretty well.

 

Then when we did get started, I asked if all was ready with the bride so the groom and I could make our entrance.  I was assured that they were standing at the ready, so we walked to the front of the church and took our places.  And nothing happened.  And nothing happened.  And nothing happened.  I whispered to the groom that the musician was probably waiting for a cue from the back of the church to start, and the people at the back of the church were probably waiting for a musical cue.  I told him we could be standing there for another 15 or 20 minutes.  He almost passed out.  I had to assure him that I was kidding, but it did take another two or three minutes before they actually began.  I love weddings.  Never a dull moment. 

 

Isaiah 26:3-4 says, "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.  Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal."

 

Father, watch over the new family that was created last night.  Amen.

December 3 – “Christmas tree farm”

 

 

I had quite a surprise yesterday morning at 6:45.  I was the only one up and everyone else was supposed to be on vacation of sorts.  Of course Chris will debate that thought, and Mom always sleeps in anyway.  I was working at my computer when I heard an unusual sound.  Not a "someone's breaking into the house" sound.  It was musical.  Sort of.  I didn't recognize the sound at all, so I went into tracking mode.  Finally narrowed it down to the hall bathroom.  Back behind Josh and Christi's personal hygiene kit, up near the wall, I finally located it.  Josh was charging his phone.  And he had set his alarm.  I didn't know how to turn it off.  I know.  I have the same phone.  But I haven't attempted to figure that one out yet.  I did figure out the snooze button, though.  Well, I turned the phone on and the only button showing was the option to snooze.   And about that time Josh walked in from their bedroom.

 

It was good he was up anyway.  Yesterday we were scheduled to go to Manvel, Texas, to a Christmas tree farm.  Kel and his family actually set it up.  They found out about it through a home school support group they are in.  Nathan and his family found out about it, and April's aunt lives on the same road, so they joined us as well.  Now how could we resist?  Every single grandchild in one place at one time and all their parents would be there.  That meant all we had to do was enjoy the kids.  We wouldn't have to worry about discipline in any shape, form or fashion. 

 

The website advertised live animals, hayrides, apple cider and more.  And the animals were first up as we entered from the parking lot.  I was carrying Josiah, and he saw them first.  "Chickie.  Chickie."  I didn't think he had just seen the toddler of his dreams, but I wasn't sure what he was referring to.  I finally did locate the source of his excitement, though.  A chicken.  One white chicken strutting around a fenced in area.  OK.  About the time I zeroed in on the chicken, Josiah started up with "Baaah.  Baaah."  I knew the game now, so I looked around for the sheep.  Hey, I was always pretty good at Old McDonald had a farm.  I wasn't prepared for what I saw, though.  There were indeed two shaggy creatures about the size of sheep.  They looked kind of sickly, though, for sheep.  The hair wasn't curly and the heads appeared to be misshapen grotesquely.  It was a sad sight, indeed, but I was happy for them.  They had found a purpose in life as pet-able creatures in a petting zoo.  Oh, wait a minute.  As we neared the pen I was able to make it out.  They weren't sheep at all.  They were little shaggy horses.  As Cailyn later said, they were the perfect size for her "when I'm a cowboy." 

 

That was the extent of the animals, if you don't count the dog that was running around.  There were a lot of Christmas trees growing all around, though.  And the kids took off in a dead run toward them.  We followed dutifully behind at a much slower pace, since we still had Josiah.  He was fascinated by the experience of nature around him.  He walked up to tree after tree, some only about as tall as he was.  Slowly he reached out to them, and gently, oh so gently, touched branch.  And in a voice of awe and wonder he said, time after time, "Tree."  Chris finally responded, "Josiah, you are one little city boy." 

 

After a trek through the trees we returned to the front part of the property where the kids played King of the Hill and follow the leader and several other make-believe games on three of those big hay bales or rolls or whatever you call them (Josiah wasn't the only city boy out there).  There was also a sliding hill.  Not a very tall one, mind you.  To watch the kids go down after time after time on the little plastic sleds, you would have thought they were in the mountains in three feet of snow.  They laughed and shared sleds and pulled each other down.  Ah the joys of being an Islander on a mountain.  Even if the mountain was just four or five feet tall. 

 

After our picnic lunch we jumped on a trailer full of hay pulled by a tractor and headed out for our hayride.  Mr. Green Jeans (AKA our driver) was great with the kids.  He stopped every so often and pointed out wild oranges and blackberries, and even did a lesson on tree rings.  I'm not sure how much Josh and Chris enjoyed that particular experience, though.  They kept sinking down into the hay as we bumped along.  

 

It was a great day at a great price.  We didn't buy a tree, and because of the special agreement with the homeschool group, adults were free.  All of us kids were pretty tired and most of us fell asleep in the car on the way home.  Glad I wasn't driving.

 

Isaiah 25:9 says, "Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us.  This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation."

 

Father, thank you for the reckless abandon of children's play we got to see and even be a part of yesterday.  Help us remember how to do that.  I figure we'll need it when see you.  Amen.

December 2 – “An excursion through the jungle”

 

 

Ah, grandchildren.  What an incredible gift to us old geezers to keep us on our toes physically and mentally.  And of course it helps when your own grandchildren are obviously the best in the entire world at being … kids.  It's just … inspirational. 

 

Like yesterday when we went to Randall's to pick up some prescriptions.  Cailyn was with us.  She dutifully took her place between us and held our hand as we crossed the parking lot.  And as expected she left her feet numerous times, assuming we would get the hint and give her a swing through the air.  Once we got inside, though, she wanted to walk by herself.  I heard Chris say, "Just follow DaDad.  He knows where we're going."  Now how could I pass up that opportunity?  Especially when we have to pass through the flower department.  I started a game of follow the leader without telling anyone.  I wound my way in and out and around all the flower displays.  Cailyn lost sight of me once before she figured out what was going on.  It took Chris a while to figure out in what way I had lost my mind this time.  Hey, excursions through the jungle are always fun, especially impromptu ones.

 

We get to see a lot of Cailyn, so Cailynisms make up a lot of what I share.  Christina is getting pretty good at posting and sharing some of her boys' unique discovery actions and words of wisdom.  Like when Josiah got his two older brothers in trouble Sunday morning.  His Mom found him playing in the school room.  The door was supposed to be closed, so she fussed at the other two for leaving it open.  Then Josiah walked in on his Daddy in the bathroom.  Again, it was the middle child who took the brunt of that one.  Micah assured them that it wasn't him, so Christina closed all the doors and watched.  Sure enough Josiah snuck up to one of those mystery doors, reached up and quite easily let himself in.  And just as easily Christina made a quick trip to the store for some of those doorknob cover.  Josiah was not a happy camper when he discovered he could no longer ply his trade as a door-cracker. 

 

Josh and Christi are getting some more stuff out there as well for us to be inspired by.  I cracked up when they posted the picture of Caleb looking at one of Josh's big Bible dictionary type books.  Apparently Josh was going to sneak some reading while he played with the boys.  But when Caleb saw the tome he frowned and twisted his head to the side and said, "Daddy, that book makes me nervous."  Indeed.  I have known many books like that, Caleb.

 

Isaiah 25:4 says, "You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat."

 

Father, keep giving me opportunities for jungle excursions.  They are priceless.  Amen.

December 1 – “Maggifwy gwass”

 

 

Cailyn has another new word to mystify and amaze her parents and grandparents with.  Maggifwy gwass.  It all started with that weird children's show she watches, Caillou.  I still don't know who would name a kid Caillou.  What language is that, anyway?  But as I have said before, Caillou is her Sesame Street, her Mr. Rogers, her Captain Kangaroo.  At least for this month. 

 

So apparently Caillou carries around a tool to help him examine very tiny things.  And Cailyn happened to discover one of those very things on my shelf the other day.  It took a while for me to understand what it was she was saying when she scrunched her nose up, cocked her head to the side just a bit, placed one foot in front of her and her hands on her hips, and very slowly, very deliberately formed the words – "Maggifwy gwass."  Well, of course that's it.  Magnifying glass. 

 

This particular magnifying glass is a carry-over from my own childhood (Although I don't remember Mr. Caboose ever using one. I'll have to ask Chris if she ever saw one on Kitirik).  It also survived Hurricane Ike, so it's kind of banged up.  It is also made of glass, so she does have to be careful with it.  It is fun to watch her look through it and see her eyes grow to grotesque sizes and shapes.  I don't know what it is she is seeing, but it must be entertaining for her as well. 

 

I set up the Netflix for Kids so she could watch an episode of Caillou, and she remembered the maggifwy gwass.  She just had to have it, or the experience of watching the show just wouldn't be the same.  I got it down for her and told her she would have to stay on the rug with it.  Dutifully she sat down and reached for the day's most significant artifact.  And she did pretty well.  I got educated about Caillou's preferred spot to carry his version, though.  It seems that the proper place to store and carry a maggifwy gwass is in your back pocket.  Makes perfect sense.  Caillou does it.  And we all want to be like Caillou, right? 

 

Isaiah 25:1 says, "O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago."

 

Father, help us want to be like you.  Amen.