December 31 – “Nailed it”

 I have been saving up my dreams and visions.  There just haven’t been many lately.  The last three have been interesting.  First there was the night of the fried chicken and coyotes (not fried).  They weren’t connected in any way, although I’m pretty sure the coyotes wouldn’t have minded a taste of the chicken.  Also I saw a lawn chair outside with a pleasantly smiling Ewok head on it that was being drenched with water.  Still trying to figure out the coyotes and the Ewok wet head.  But we did eat fried chicken for lunch to celebrate. 

Wow.  Did we ever have a big day yesterday.  All ten grandchildren.  Oh, and their parents.  After church (where we had a surprisingly large crowd for the last Sunday of the year) they all descended upon us for a big roast beast lunch.  Then there was pizza for supper.  And in between we had our family Christmas celebration.  Scooters and hover boards (No, I didn’t try it.  It looked altogether too much like the balance physical therapy things I have been doing for the past two weeks) and games of all sorts (Mine was called “What’s in Ned’s Head?”  You dig inside this guy’s big ugly head for the one treasure you seek.  That means reaching through his ears or nose of mouth.  Very strange) and Legos and even a crazy chicken that makes such a racket that his battery got switched off.  He was a personal favorite of me and Ezra.  But he was April’s gift.  Chris’ special gift was a series of framed photos of none other than … the grandkids.  There were three of them.  One of just the girls.  One of just the guys.  And one of all of them standing side by side in the order in which they were born.  Very special stuff.  I would say the youngsters nailed it this year.  Speaking of pictures … Corey came over from across the street and took some pictures of all 18 of us together.  I haven’t seen them yet, but I’m sure they will be a big hit as well.

Great day.  Pretty great year.  Let’s do another …

Psalms 119:168 says, “May my cry come before you, O Lord; give me understanding according to your word.”

Father, thank you so much for my families this year.  The one you provided for me by blood, and the one you created through connection with you.  Amen.

December 30 – “Panchos trips and eureka purchases”

I imagine the entries will be getting somewhat shorter for the rest of the year.  Not that I’m growing disinterested, or even that I fear you may be.  It’s just that there are a few tiny young beings around here right now who might require a moment or two of my time and energy.

Yesterday we enjoyed a day with the Waco grandkids (and their parents).  What made it so enjoyable?  Josh treated us to a trip into Texas for … drumroll here … lunch at Panchos.  May not sound like much to you, but our three boys fell in love with Panchos growing up.  Why?  It was the only place they could eat until they were really full (no mean feat for teenage boys).  It has been a long time.  Thanks, Josh and Christi.

We stopped at Home Depot on the way home to pick up a last minute gift.  Then we went to Academy to do the same.  That’s when the excitement began.  The boys were busy spending gift card money they had accumulated.  And as we walked around the basketball section looking for something for Luke, we saw a Little Tykes basketball goal. It had apparently been a display item, and they were selling it as is for $12.  They were going to let it pass, but I had seen the weather reports.  It was not looking good for Luke and shooting baskets at the park.  I offered to buy it and keep it at our house if we could get it home in the car.  Mom and Dad finally saw the wisdom in the move and bought it.  In fact, Christi even finagled 10% discount on top of the already clearance price.  And one other thing.  As it turned out, Josh’s eyes had fallen upon another display item that had been reduced.  A kayak.  Zak got one for Christmas, and it’s living here in Galveston until they can come back in their truck.  Why not get one for Josh as well?  He’s not going to let Zak go out by himself.  Sure enough, he dropped us all off at the house, and he went back in our truck to get it.  It now resides in our back yard.

The rest of the evening was spent listening to basketballs bouncing and the squeals and screams of impromptu games.  Luke smoked Nani in the game of the week, though.  His three pointers were just too much for her.  I think the purchase was a successful one.  We closed out the evening with a little football and a private showing of Ant Man.  Long day again.  Well worth the exertion.

Psalms 119:148 says, “My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.”

Father, thank you for Panchos trips and eureka purchases and family to experience them with.  Amen.

December 29 – “Long walk … walk … walk …”

I learned something yesterday.  Did you know you could have a garage sale on FaceBook?  Just post pictures of your stuff and tell people how much you want.  I guess you then get together later to make the big switch.  At least I think that’s how it works.  Or maybe you’re just buying the picture of the stuff …

We made our way into Texas to see the surgeon about the redness and swelling around the incision site.  And of course by the time we got there it had gotten considerable better.  She was, however, not at all happy to find out I had called three times and she was just now hearing about it.  She gave me some antibiotics for what she termed “Suture Abscesses.”  Sounds frightening.  She was not at all worried.  In fact the only reason she went to the antibiotics was because of my post-surgical history of infection.  “Take them for MY peace of mind,” she said.  I have to go back next week for her to have a look at it. 

On the way home we stopped at Target for a quick gift return and replacement.  Long walk around the store.  Then we stopped at Randall’s for some gas and to pick up the prescription.  Oh, and to get some fruit.  Long walk around the store.  Not as difficult.  Smaller store.  And then came the grand finale.  The WalMart grocery run.  Long walk around the store.  Then we arrived at the grocery section.  Up and down every aisle.  New definition of “Long walk around the store.”  My total mileage for the day?  2.2 miles.  I was beat.

Last night we headed back out to the retreat center at Seaside.  New group.  Old friends.  Mona and David from our Arlington days.  They are here for a combined family get-together.  Their son has just become engaged, and the two families are spending some time getting to know each other.  Fascinating concept.  Sounded like the format for a National Lampoon movie at first.  But it seemed like the folks actually like each other.  I think the kids are going to do just fine.

And finally … last night around 9, Josh and his family arrived for our Christmas holiday time.  Here we go …

Psalms 119:147 says, “I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word.”

Father, be with Drew and Claire as they look toward their marriage.  And be with their families as they support them.  Amen.

December 28 – “Grinches”

Nathan brought Cailyn over to ride with us to Seaside.  Sounds kind of odd to say that and it not be a Sunday and he not be working.  But he was not feeling well and we had a birthday party for Ezra to get to.  And strangely enough, that party was to be held at the Seaside Retreat Center.  Christina’s family rented it out for a family reunion of sorts so they would have a place large enough for their Christmas gathering.  The party was cute.  Grinch theme, so everything was green – including the drink.  Not sure what the drink was, but Josiah warned me that it was made from the puke of something or other.  I chose to pass.  They also played pin the heart on the Grinch.  Cute.  We also were invited to stick around for lunch with them.  They had been smoking brisket outside since around 4 a.m.  The cooks even made the acquaintance of a neighbor who smelled the aroma and came over around 5 a.m. to see what was happening.  That was some good meat and a fun family.  Oh, and Lauren brought over a gift box for Kel and his family to tell him thank you for filling in preaching for me.  He was presented with the classic T-shirt of all time.  It says, “Keep Seaside Weird.”  Perfect keepsake for his whimsical evaluation of our church body.

We dropped Cailyn off at home and thought we were about to settle in for the evening.  I called to see about a doctor’s appointment. (They were supposed to have already called me, but I wasn’t really holding my breath).  At first they told me the doc wasn’t going to be in the office, but since they were the ones who told me she would be, I insisted they double check.  Sure enough, there she was.  They got me an appointment for 9 a.m. today (It’s up in Texas, but I took it anyway) to check out the incision site from surgery.  I have had some questions about it for some time now.  Don’t want it to get infected.  That new appointment meant I had to then call physical therapy and reschedule with them, and as luck would have it, they said to come on I right then.  We packed back up and took off.

Surprisingly, I worked on climbing steps.  I had had to figure that one out at Seaside when we arrived there, so I guess I was a little ahead of the game.  He also worked me on sitting and rising out of a chair.  It didn’t last as long as usual, but it was a tough session.  I was plenty sore and tired by the time we got back home.  Chris then made some divinity and I watched some football.  Good day.  Early bedtime.  Only lasted through half of the Baylor game.  But today will be a big day.  Josh and his family are arriving, so Christmas is about to jump start around here again.  Bring it on.

Psalms 119:142 says, “Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is true.”

Father, keep Josh and his crew safe as they travel.  Amen.

December 27 – “Santa dances and family lunches”

We had a pretty simple day yesterday.  Started it out in true Galveston fashion.  We went to WalMart to check out the after-Christmas clearance racks.  Watch out before you say anything about daring to dive into the wacky world of WalMart, post-Christmas edition.  We ended up seeing four or five familiar faces doing the same thing.  We did find a few things, most notable of which are the new rope lights we bought to line the deck.  The ones we have up there are many years old and a lot of them are out. Causing serious gaps in the light effect.  I’ll get to replacing all of those next year sometime.  No rush.  Ah, but my favorite purchase?  My new Santa slippers.  He’s got a fluffy beard and he is doing one of those new dances.  Not the toothbrush one, though.  It’s the one where he has one arm pointed to the side and the other bent across his face.  Don’t know that I’ve ever heard a name for that one.  Or if it’s even a dance.  Maybe it’s just a pose or something.  Either way, how cool is it that Santa is doing it … on my feet?

We drove way up into Texas yesterday, too.  We had a Christmas lunch with my two brothers and their wives as well as my niece and nephew.  We ate at a little restaurant somewhere up there called Jax Grill.  One of those we were blessed to have Google Siri assistance in locating.  The food was pretty good, though.  I had a chicken fried steak.  Found out too late that they even offer tater tots.  That right there is enough to go back should we ever find ourselves lost in whatever part of Houston we were in.  We did some catching up and gift exchanging over the table.  I got a gift card and an Astros kuzi (or however you spell that word).  It’s one of those things you wrap around your drink so your fingers don’t get too cold.  I also received a new book about Babe Ruth (sensing a baseball leaning here?) and some fascinating old hymn books and other antique artifacts.  Can’t wait to go through them all at a leisurely pace.  Oh, and one of my brothers gave me a bandana mask that makes me look like one of the walking dead.  My nephew chimed in, “That’s a perfect Uncle Kelley gift.”  Thanks for the sentiment, Tim.  They all were pretty certain I could come up with some way to work it into a sermon.  Hmm.  Certainly something to think about …

Psalms 119:137-138 says, “Righteous are you, O Lord, and your laws are right.  The statutes you have laid down are righteous; they are fully trustworthy.”

Father, thank you for family.  Pretty amazing invention you came up with there.  Amen. 

December 26 – “What a Christmas Day”

At the Christmas Eve service Cailyn shyly approached me and told me what she asked Santa for when she saw him.  “I told him that I wanted my DadDad to get better faster.”  Nathan was standing there.  He prodded her to continue, “And what did Santa say when you told him that?”  She looked up at me with those beautiful brown eyes of hers and said, “He said he would pray for you.”  Wow.  That Santa.  He still loves Jesus.  Can you think of anyone better to have praying for your recovery?  Nathan told me that Santa had tears in his eyes as he listened to Cailyn’s request.  That’s a special memory, for sure.   

Speaking of memories, Chris and I have a special tradition at Christmas time.  I like to carve something for her.  Not a big deal, really.  It started back when we first got married and would get a live tree.  You know how they cut the bottoms off of the tree can suck up water more effectively?  I started carving something out of that remnant.  We eventually had to get an artificial tree because of allergies in the family, so I had to find wood elsewhere, but the tradition caught hold.  And it started to morph.  After we got to Seaside and I had a bit of input over the Christmas Eve worship service, I started throwing in a clue as to the existence of the carving.  Sometimes I wrote a children’s Christmas story.  Sometimes I just hid mention of the carving in the regular flow of the service.  This year was one of the latter.  I simply used the artifacts around me as illustrations of love and protection and strength.  And what better artifact this year than … my walker.  Yep.  It wasn’t easy, but I managed to carve my walker.  Even has a tiny little tooty-toot on it.  Great fun.  I love that woman.

We went over into Texas on Christmas morning.  LaMarque, to be exact.  Kel’s kiddos invited us over to watch them open presents.  Among other things, Kel got a game.  Christina was excited about a pair of boots.  Not sure if she was more excited to have the boots or that Kel actually bought the, and “got it right.”  Jachin unwrapped a baseball from Noa.  She found it around the house and knew he always carried one around with him.  Sweet.  Noa was most excited with what at first appeared to be a phone.  But closer inspection revealed it to be a phone-shaped make-up kit.  Needless to say, she was eye-shadowed and lipsticked in seconds.  Josiah was a bit bumfuzzled when he opened a large box that contained … a dog leash.  Puzzled, he said, “But we don’t have a dog.”  Christina replied, “Would you like to go get one?”  Well of course.  It took a bit of assurance as to its reality, but it finally sank in.  He was going to get to pick out a dog in the next week or so.  He was lost for the rest of the morning in SPCA and shelter websites.  Ezra was more practcal in his expression of excitement.  Never saw a little kid get so excited about … toothpaste.  He even had to try it out right then.  My favorite reveal from their house, however, came when Micah opened a box.  Before pulling out the item he exclaimed, “It’s one of those things that, you know, jumps around and around.”  OK, so is it a rabbit?  “On the screen.”  Any clue yet?  As he pulled it from the box and revealed it to us, he added, “You know.  It’s one of those Pixar things.”  Sure enough, he held up an adjustable lamp like the Pixar logo that jumps around on the screen as if it is alive before their movies begin.  Hope that Pixar thing helps with providing you some light for bedtime reading, Micah.

After we got home we did a quick FaceTime with the Waco bunch.  They were pretty excited about their gifts a swell.  I’m pretty sure AnnaGrace got some headbands.  A girl can’t have too many of those.  Luke was excited about his book on basketball.  Caleb was lost in another world.  He had a virtual reality headpiece strapped on and he was in the middle of a World War I dogfight.  Can’t distract Aces like Snoopy and Caleb from their chase of the Red Baron.  And Zakary?  Now Zak was wearing a shirt with no sleeves and pants that only had one leg in them.  I guess that means he was only good some of the time this year.  But he was most excited about another gift that he won’t actually receive until they get here this week … a kayak. 

While we talked to them we were receiving a phone call from another line.  You guessed it.  Cailyn received a new iPhone for Christmas.  Ah, the stages of a little girl’s Christmas experience.  Headbands (AnnaGrace, 2 years old) ... Makeup (Noa, 5 years old) … iPhone (Cailyn, almost 10 years old).  So sad we never had to live through those kinds of milestones before.  We went to Cailyn’s house for lunch.  Great roast and gravy and rice.  I even tried the green beans with real onion floating around in them.  Nice job on those, April.  Among a myriad of other things Cailyn also got a new bicycle.  Strictly for exercise and transportation, you know. 

We finally made our way back home and rested for a while.  I still just get tired easy.  Chris slept wrong the other day and has had muscle spasms in her back ever since.  She is moving really slowly. 

After the rest we were invited across the street for supper with the Geran’s and their families.  A huge ham with all the fixin’s greeted us over there.  Those neighbors are really spoiling us.  Corey mowed our grass the other day.  And as if that wasn’t enough, they gave us a Christmas present.  It’s a game about touring the National Parks.  Right up our alley, for sure.  I would say we have pretty great neighbors, wouldn’t you?

Psalms 119:133 says, “Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me.”

Father, thank you for our neighbors and family.  Give us the energy to keep up for the rest of the holiday experience.  And would you ease that muscle spasm in Chris’ back?  Amen.

December 25 – “Ho, Ho, Ho”

Well, our coffeepot completely crashed yesterday.  No amount of slappage or shakeage or whining had any effect.  It made plenty of noise, but no water ran through the system.  So sad.  But on the other hand, the battleground noises did wake up Chris, and as a result she walked over to the Christmas tree and insisted I open a gift.  Yup.  It was a brand new coffee maker.  In fact, it’s the kind that gives you a choice.  You can make it one cup at a time, or one fill pot at a time.  Pretty classy stuff, huh?  Makes good coffee, too. 

We had a fabulous Christmas Eve service last night.  91 people were there.  All ages, shapes and sizes.  Just like the Lord likes it, huh?

So … looks like our quite, calm Christmas Day with just the two of us will have to wait.  We did exchange our presents a few minutes ago.  More about that when I have some time.  Now we are headed to LaMarque to watch those kids celebrate.  We are pretty important there.  We are bringing the brown sugar for the breakfast bread …

Psalms 119:129-130 says, “Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them.  The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.”

Father, thank you for the amazing turnout at the Christmas Eve service.  And thank you once again for the best gift ever after you … my wife.  Amen.

December 24 – “Love it”

Hey, wait a minute.  December 24^th.  Isn’t something supposed to happen today?  Do I have physical therapy?  No (although I do have to call the surgeon’s office this morning about some redness around the suture site).  Nothing specific with the fire department.  Oh, wait. We have a church service tonight that I have to prepare for.  That’s it. But why church on a Monday?  Guess I’ll have to ask one of the grandkids.  Maybe they will know …

What an amazing expression of love yesterday at church.  It was “Love Sunday” on the Advent calendar, so the teaching was centered out of the Book of John (Lots of love there).  There was a lot of hugging and verbal encouraging and all-around loving on each other the whole morning.  Then, when we got to the announcements phase, Lauren asked to make one.  She called Chris up to the front to join us (Chris made it up there, but she was a little hobbled.  She wrenched her back a bit the other day, and it hasn’t calmed down yet).  Then Lauren, fighting back some tears, told us how much we were appreciated by the church.  She handed us an envelope with a card with a very generous love offering inside “to help us out on our Alaska trip.”  As if that wasn’t enough, there was also a present to unwrap.  It was a book from one of those photo companies.  Inside was picture after picture of Chris and me and hordes of Seasiders at different Seaside events through the years.  And between the pics were statements of love and encouragement from individual church folks.  It is honestly one of the most amazing and unexpected gifts we have ever received.  I told Lauren it felt like we ought to be retiring.  She was none too happy about that thought, though.  Not exactly what they had in mind.  I’m glad.  I haven’t heard anything from the Lord along those lines yet.  I guess they just like a little bit over there.  I know we really love those Seasiders. 

Psalms 119:125 says, “I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes.”

Father, thank you for the folks at Seaside.  Bless them mightily for their generosity and expressions of love.  Amen.

December 23 – “Latin carols and a sugar rush”

We did a FaceTime with Josh yesterday.  His family was up to their elbows in making gingerbread houses.  AnnaGrace bypassed all the building part and went straight to eating.  She left the building to her Daddy.  Luke was intense in his sculpture, however.  We watched as he was carefully adding what he explained were reindeer on the roof of his house.  Zak was squeezing the last of the “snow” (white icing) … into his mouth.  Caleb was already getting a head start on the sugar rush. 

As a result, the call was nothing less than wild and crazy.  All that sugar exploded into quite animated tales of Christmas coming and great school accomplishments and Christmas coming and performances in church events and Christmas coming.  We heard Caleb play the piano and then sing Christmas carols … in Latin.  I guess he was playing the piano in Latin, too, but it sure sounded like Jingle Bells.  Oh, and there was something about Zak and girls.  Lots of girls.  A veritable fan club. 

I went one full day and night without any pain meds.  It made for a really rough few hours in bed.  Now I’m working on finding the right balance.  Last night’s experience was just strange.  Just as I was dozing off, it felt like a tiny little alien with a laser gun was randomly shooting inside my knee.  The jolt woke me up and continued until I finally gave in and took some medicine.  After about an hour the pain part settled down.  Without that intensity in my knee, I began to notice that the little alien guy was actually driving around my nervous system in his little internal rocket ship and firing off at irregular intervals in different spots all over my body.  It was like electrical impulses causing miniature muscle cramps that lasted but a few seconds before he floated away to some other realm.  The knowledge that he was no longer targeting just my bionic knee was strangely comforting, and I managed to fall asleep for a few hours.  That was nice.  So now on to teach my first sermon in three weeks.  Hmm.  Wish I could remember those Latin carols …

Psalms 119:116 says, “Sustain me according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed.”

Father, thank you for gingerbread houses and sugar rushes and wild and crazy FaceTime calls with grandkids.  Amen.

December 22 – “The travelling barricade”

We were met with quite the unusual sight on our way to physical therapy the other day.  The traveling barricade.  We were casually driving down the seawall, minding our own business (and the speed limit laws, of course), when all of a sudden, from out of nowhere on our left (not the beach side), came flying across two lanes of traffic ... one of those traffic barricades used by construction workers.  Not off the ground, mind you.  It was gliding across the street like it had a tiny little unseen driver and retractable wheels.  Fortunately Chris spotted the approaching menace, slowed down, and changed lanes to avoid the impending crash.  And as we drove past we saw the harried construction worker, obviously in charge of the barricade, running as fast as he could trying his best to catch up with the errant barrier.  He did finally make contact, but it took every bit of his energy to get the travelling barricade back to its designated spot in the road.  Unusual things happen on our Island when the wind blows from any direction other than off of the Gulf. 

Last night Chris finished wrapping Christmas presents.  I was a big helper, though.  I handed her name tags all filled out in festive fonts of my own creation.  Once the gifts were all deposited under the tree she sighed and declared, “It finally feels like it’s Christmas around here.”  I thought the 83 or so Hallmark Christmas movies we have watched since I have been home from the hospital would have contributed to that feeling …

I had an unusual text-based counseling session yesterday.  A guy was about to perform his first ever wedding ceremony as an officiant.  He signed up online to get credentials from somewhere, and they sent him two different marriage licenses.  He wanted to know if he had to use both of them.  Kind of surprised him I think, to learn that neither of them means anything as far as the state is concerned.  He could fill those out if he wanted to, but he just needed to be sure and fill out the actual marriage license and get it sent back in. 

We had a late-night treat last night provided by our neighbors across the street.  Christmas Cupcakes.  They were hijacked from their original destination, an end-of-the-year class Christmas party at the elementary school.  And why were we enjoying them?  A water main broke near the school, so they had to cancel all classes for the day.  It was the last day of school before Christmas break, and all they had scheduled were the parties, so lots of festive treats found their way to the happy tummies of forgotten grandparents and neighbors.  No complaints from this guy …

Psalms 119:114 says, “You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.”

Father, thank you for protecting us from that wandering barricade.  And thanks as well for the treats last night.  Be with Robert and his wedding ceremony.  Amen.

December 21 – “The Coffee Pot Altercations”

Now most of you who know me know that I am generally a calm, cool, collected in-control kind of guy.  That is important to establish up front here, for the altercations of which you may have heard came not from my heart in a fit of rage.  Nay, nay.  These confrontations, rather, were simply a rational response to a bit of a crisis situation.

So … what did happen?  It all began back at our Christmas party.  Mrs. Betty wanted a cup of coffee, and whatever Mrs. Betty wants in this house, Mrs. Betty gets.  Chris pushed the brew button and went about her business.  Only “brew” never took place.  Oh, there was noise coming from the coffee maker, all right.  And the water even appeared to be heating up.  But did it ever slide through onto the waiting grounds?  No, it did not.  Now in that situation we just happened to have had our good neighbors present at the time, so Janell went across the street and brought theirs over.  Crisis averted.  Mrs. Betty got her coffee. 

Chris spent the next day running vinegar through the mechanism three or four times.  And when she was finished, the machine was working perfectly.  And so it did for the next few days.  Right up until … it didn’t.  Same issue.  All noise and no substance.  Kind of like somebody claiming to be a Christian but not living a consistent Christ-like life.  Nothing but racket.  Gets all heated up within himself, but never has anything to offer in ministry to others.  So what would you have done in that situation?  Being as I was the only one awake at the time the creature was roaring loudly and accomplishing nothing, I did what any sane human being would do in my place … I smacked it one.  Or two.  I popped its innards with a finger flick worthy of a rowdy kid’s ear in a quiet church.  I’m not sure which tactic exactly was the one that did it, but suddenly the percolator started percolating.  Ah.  Coffee for another day. 

Little did I know that one day was all it had in it.  That time.  The next morning it began again.  Lots of noise.  No coffee.  Hadn’t it learned anything?  If that’s the way you live your life, eventually you will get disciplined.  And who was I to mess with the natural order of things.  I slapped again.  I flicked again.  I shook.  And finally … there came the coffee.  That was yesterday.  I had my system all worked out now.  And when I went in this morning all prepared to once again do battle … the coffee was all made and waiting for me to pour a cup.  Of course it was.  No slappage necessary.  All that had to happen was for it to do what it was created to do.  Will it do it again tomorrow?  No idea.  Will it receive “discipline” if it does not?  Oh, yes.  And if it continues being worthless and in constant need of discipline?  Other arrangements will have to be made. 

Psalms 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”

Father, thank you for the wonderful inventions that make our days so comfortable.  Amen.

December 20 – “In the 20’s”

It’s now officially in the 20’s.  No, not temperature.  I would have been whining much louder if that were the case.  I mean that the number after that word “December” has reached the 20’s.  Chris has begun wrapping presents.  I guess this Christmas 2018 thing is starting to get real.  We probably should figure out a time to finish up that shopping.  Ten grandkids.  And all of them have parents that we vaguely remember.  Maybe a few friends here and there.  I started out my day with the other side of the Christmas coin.   I worked on sermons and services.  I have two to prepare for the upcoming Sunday as well as Christmas Eve.  And then I need to move on to the Sunday after that, because we will have a houseful of young’uns that will not be so conducive to sermon preparation.  Oh, and in my spare time I’m about to overdose on Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies. 

In the midst of it all, Chris had to take me to my haircut appointment.  My stylist informed me at our party the other night that it was time.  I love that she gives me those little reminders.  One less thing I have to think about.  After she dropped me off Chris headed to the store to pick up some supplies for her next party.  She had a Wednesday Club Christmas Party at lunchtime.  And she had to pick up Mrs. Betty on her way.  All after picking me up from the barber shop.  Did I mention I have an amazing chauffeur?

I managed to pull off both sets of my exercises yesterday.  The therapist told me I could break them up into any form I want, just so I reach the target number of repetitions every day.  Target number?  I have to do each exercise 75 times.  The hardest part?  Keeping track of the count.  Well, that and then there’s the issue I have doing the ones where I sit or lie down.  I have trouble staying awake.  But I guess that’s good, right?  It means muscle memory is kicking in, because when I realize I have dozed off and reawaken, I’m still doing the exercises.  In fact, I may be doing more than my share.  I must be doing some specific good, though.  My knee sure reminds of the effort for a long time after I’m done. 

I touched base with my medical sharing plan to see why we haven’t seen any response to the bills we have turned in.  Come to find out, the statements I sent them from UTMB didn’t have a proper address and phone number to identify them.  Now I have to upload a business card to make them valid.  I’ll get right on that.  I’m all about following proper procedure, you know. 

Psalms 119:103 says, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

Father, thank you for Christmas.  I love this season.  Amen.

December 19 – “Creepy Santa”

Yesterday was physical therapy day again.  And yes, I’m still stuck on that balancing apparatus.  I’ll probably be there until I figure out how to beat it.  She did add one thing towards the end of it all.  I got one of those big rubber band things.  Red.  She assured me it was red.  Looks pink to me, but I have learned never to trust my sense of color.  So … red.  I have to somehow loop it around the hinge of a door and use it as resistance as I move my leg back and forth.  Pretty easy one. 

On the way home we stopped by the central fire station to deliver some Christmas Friendship Bread to the chiefs and Trish and Nora.  There was absolutely no place to park, so Chris dropped me off and parked a block or so away.  While I waited outside, who should walk up but Trish.  She had been nursing an impending migraine, so she was just arriving at work.  She walked with us up to the office.  It was great seeing everybody up there again.

Later in the afternoon we made our way to WalMart to do a little more Christmas shopping.  Alas and alack.  No go carts available when we arrived.  That meant at least one trek all around the store aided only by my trusty tooty-toot, sippy cup holder adorned walker.  On our journey we saw Mr. Bob from church and chatted with him for a while.  But as feared, I arrived home very tired and very sore.  The old knee just doesn’t think much of shopping, I guess.

Last night Brennan came over, very excited.  He and his Mom had gone out to look at Christmas lights in the neighborhood, and who should be lurking around one of most decorated houses ever?  Santa Claus.  Brennan had his picture taken with the jolly old elf to commemorate his unscheduled stop in Gulf Village.  They also took a picture of another decorated house.  This one had a full-sized Santa statue stationed inside, but standing at the window looking out.  It was actually kind of creepy.  The report got us a little fired up as well, so we hopped into the car and took a quick drive.  Sure enough, old Saint Nick shouted a “Howdy” to us as we drove by.  We somehow missed seeing Creepy Santa, though.  I’ll have to keep my eye open for that one.  Gives new meaning to “He sees you when you’re sleeping; He knows when you’re awake.”

Psalms 119:90 says, “Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures.”

Father, thank you for the excitement in Brennan’s voice and eyes as he told us about his visit with Santa.  And thanks for giving me one more chance to remind him that Santa loves Jesus.  Amen.

December 18 – “Dog Day Afternoon … again”

We woke up to another “issue” with one of our dogs.  I was working at my desk, minding my own business.  Chris was sitting in a rocking chair, casually scrolling through the news on her phone.  Freddy was perched on the other rocking chair, napping off and on.  Our wonderfully idyllic scene was then suddenly and rudely interrupted. 

It started with Freddy scratching her ear.  She has done that off and on pretty much since we got her.  Sometimes it gets worse, and we have to do the whole eardrop thing.  This time, however, was different.  The scratching began.  Then the wimpering, also not unusual.  But then … she started having a full-blown seizure.  Shaking all over.  Her front paw pulled up over her face.  She looked at us as if to say, “What is going on here?”  The seizure passed after a long minute or two.  Needless to say, Chris immediately put in a call to the vet.  I told her it was probably some kind of brain damage from that one time she got hit by a car.  For some reason my attempt at humor to lighten the situation was not really appreciated.  Our appointment request was accepted for later in the afternoon. 

Meanwhile we went to Target to try to do some Christmas shopping, since we hadn’t even started.  Anybody else know that feeling?  I located their little buggy riding carts, but decided to give walking a try.  Those buggies just seem like such a … a … WalMart thing to do.  I’d feel like a traitor if I rode one at Target, too.  Besides, I hadn’t been able to get to my exercises yet, and Chris told me this would count as building stamina.  That was a trick way of saying “You will be really tired and sore by the time we get home.”  Gee, you could have just said that up front.  The trip was pretty successful, as Christmas shopping trips go.  On the way home we stopped by Whataburger for a Whataburger Jr. with bacon and mayo (That would be my order.  Chris stays traditional with hers).  We took the grand meal home to eat and crash for a few minutes before taking Freddy to the vet.

All of our regular vets were out of the office, so we saw the holiday help.  She was a doc as well, just not one who knew Freddy’s history.  That meant an exam from top to bottom.  Before she even got to the seizure questions we were dealing with a possible double ear infection and maybe some kind of tear duct blockage.  We acknowledged the ear infection.  That fit with her history.  Not so much the eye thing, though.  After a long wait we were presented with a nicely typed up possible bill depending on what procedures we decided to approve.  Felt like we were at the dentist’s office where you have to approve a “maybe root canal” before they do anything.  We checked off ear infection and blood test for root causes of seizures (finally).  After fifteen or twenty minutes of more waiting, we got the final blood test results.  Freddy is … perfectly healthy in every way (well, except for the ear infection).  The blood work was excellent.  All we do is wait and see if she starts having them all the time.  Otherwise, pick up your bill at the front desk.  Now don’t get me wrong.  We like our vets.  And we like our dogs.  Just not looking forward to another bout with seizures. 

So … our quick trip to the vet to get Freddy checked out?  An hour and a half later we were finally headed back home.  Quite the dog day afternoon.  No more shopping for us on this fine day.  Maybe tomorrow (which would now be today).  Ah, the metaphysics of it all …

Psalms 119:89 says, “Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.”

Father, thank you that Freddy’s issue wasn’t as serious as we feared.  Amen.

December 17 – “You jumped off a what?”

Well, yesterday was my oft-anticipated (by me, anyway) return to church after a two-week hiatus.  It was actually more of a soft re-opening that an actual return, though.  I handled the introductions and did a Visual Verse.  And … that was about all I had for the day.  I turned it over to Jim and Kel, and they did a fabulous job, of course.  Guess I got a little glimpse into how things went the prior two weeks without me. 

Dinner on the grounds was served after worship.  No, it wasn’t to celebrate my return or anything.  We always do dinner on the grounds on the third Sunday of the month.  And this time we had quite the Christmas feast.  Honey-baked ham and turkey and meatloaf and tamales and all sorts of other goodies spread across the table.  And for dessert I managed to score a little piece of cheesecake and a little larger piece of apple crisp pie.  Quite a few of the 73 we had in church stuck around for the meal.

After that rather long (for me) morning outing, we headed home to crash.  Little did I know, however, that we had five grandkids waiting for us when we arrived.  Seems Mom and Dad were going to do some Christmas shopping.  Not a problem.  Once the timer went off indicating that time for video games was done, I switched channels to a football game and promptly went to sleep.  I vaguely recall being awakened at least twice by tiny little hands tap-tap-tapping on my shoulder.  Something about fruit snacks.  Or was it a request to go play in the traffic.  I’m really not sure.  I’m pretty sure my answer was the same.  “We need to ask Nani.”  Hope they did. 

When I finally gave in and arose from my perch on the couch, the football game had long ended.  Now we were engrossed in an entirely different “sport.”  I guess it was a sport.  Jachin didn’t seem to think so.  There wasn’t a ball involved.  Nope.  This one was filmed in Utah.  So, for what sport is Utah uniquely created to host?  No idea what the name of it was, but we watched some young men - who seemed perfectly sane at the outset – ride bicycles down a mountain.  Not down a trail like you would expect normal people to take.  No.  These guys built their own “trails” with pickaxes and shovels and then rode right off the mountain, sometimes free-falling hundreds of feet.  The biggest excitement of the day came when one guy dislocated his shoulder and had a buddy tug on it until it popped back into place with a sound that we could all hear.  His comment?  “That’s OK.  It happens all the time.”  Well, then why are you still riding bikes off of a mountain?  I never heard mention of prize money, but I don’t care how much they offered.  I’m pretty sure I would rather aspire to a career in pro football or maybe the pro wrestling circuit. 

Psalms 119:76 says, “May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant.”

Father, protect those crazy guys when they jump off that mountain.  And grant my grandkids enough sense to never do the same.  Amen.