December 31 - “Time to de-Christmas-fy”

Tough night around here. I think Sam slept better than anybody. A power surge from the big storm caused Chris’ c-pap machine to shut off. She woke up. Hard to sleep when you have no air. She never did get fully asleep again. My back woke me up around midnight. I finally had to get up and try to get some sleep in a chair. I’m pretty sure Sam had the best night’s sleep of us all.

 

Our plan for the day was to de-Christmas-fy. All decorations down and boxed up. Tree down. Outside lights down. Just need some strong backs to disappear them into the attic. In the meantime, the boxes will reside in the garage. At least until I feel strong enough to do it myself.

 

Nathan sent us a rather scary photo. Cailyn was behind the wheel, apparently driving one of their vehicles. Oh, well. I’ve heard Farm Kids start driving really early …

 

Ezra and Josiah came by with their mom. It wasn’t just a social visit, though. They were here to get Bossk. That’s Josiah’s bearded dragon. It has been spending some vacation time with Brennan’s Guinea pigs. Unlikely friends, I know. They also had a lot of their Christmas gifts still here. The kids, not the pigs. When they left on Wednesday, the humans had to choose between taking all of the children and the dog and no presents or leaving someone behind. The kids, for their part were all in favor of trading their spot in the car. That is, until they found out the Waco Vaughan’s were leaving as well. So now the gifts are history, and Chris has her de-Christmas-fied house back.

 

Psalms 32:8 says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.”

 

Father, thanks for our “clean” house. I’ll sure miss Christmas, though. Amen.

 

December 30 - “The asphalt jungle-ization of Sycamore”

Lauren came by to take Sam to her doctor’s appointment. Sam did a really good job of getting into Lauren’s car. She seems to be moving much better. Sam, not Lauren. Not that Lauren is moving poorly. Sam is. But … never mind.

 

Chris and I had some errands to run. The UPS store to return something. Target to return something. Sensing a theme here? Randall’s to pick up a prescription. Good thing. I don’t imagine they take returns on prescriptions.

 

When we got back, the city workers were actively scraping away at our street. The hope was that ours is the next street to receive the beauty treatment, the famous tar and no feathering experience, the asphalt jungle-ization of Sycamore. They had managed quite the ditch in front of our driveway, too. Fortunately, we had made arrangements with our neighbor to use her driveway again. The road is adequately scraped now. But when cometh the asphalt? Only time will tell.

 

We left a little early for Chris’ eye physical therapy appointment. We used the extra few minutes to grab a burger from Whataburger. We sat in the car to eat it. We were pretending we were on a road trip. Guess we kinda miss it.

 

Lauren and Sam returned and got her all settled in. Sam, not Lauren. Not that Lauren isn’t settled …….

 

Psalms 42:11 says, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”

 

Father, thank you for Lauren stepping up again to care for Sam.  Bless her for that. Amen.

December 29 - “That’s when it happened …”

We started the day off right. Christmas Day tradition and all. That means breakfast bread (aka monkey bread) and cinnamon rolls on the side. I wasn’t completely satisfied with the finished product breakfast bread this time. We bought a different brand of biscuit (Only kind available), and the permeability just wasn’t the same. It could probably have been salvaged with another half stick of butter or so.  Now, it’s not that it tasted bad. On that front … it was awesome as usual. Just needed to be juicier. Hence, more butter.

 

Zak and I went to Walmart to get some distilled water for Chris’ c-pap machine. Caleb came along for the ride. They were quite impressed with the unique ambiance of the truck. As we went to check out, I chose a line (Self-serve, of course) where three workers were kind of hanging out.  One was actually pacing back and forth.  I told them we saw them all hanging out, and we wanted to come to the party.  Fortunately, they took it in the good-natured way it was intended. One of them said she still had five hours to go, and she was bored.  I asked her how she could possibly be bored while working at Walmart. Her friend added, “Yeah.  Especially THIS Walmart.” My point exactly, my new friend. By the way, Zak did great driving.

 

Here's a quote from AnnaGrace.  I completely missed the context.  Sorry.

“Como estas ocho grande pucho”

 

Our Christmas gift giving went great. Sam was amazed at the flurry of gifts flying across the room as each family shared their bounty. When all other gifts were dispersed, Nathan approached us with one other in his hand. But before he presented it. He said, “There is one other gift for you in the backyard, Dad.”  And sure enough, there in its box was a brand-new barbecue grill. And then he handed me final gift. It was a basketball. Interesting, at best. But it gets better. He also added that my final gift was in the bed of his truck … one of those full-sized basketball goals. Gotta say, I was flabbergasted. Guess they want me to stay in shape so I can cook when they all come over? More likely it gives the kids something to play. While the Dads all worked on putting the grill together, Cailyn and Zak (with moral support from Micah) actually put the whole basketball contraption together. Uncle Nathan did come in at the end and help with the power tool screwdriver, but those two can certainly claim ownership. Nice job.  Oh … and the Dad gifts for the old guys were fun as usual. It was great adding Sam to the mix.

 

Back to basketball … It wasn’t long before a game was organized.  5 on 5 basketball in the street. Uncle Josh and Uncle Kel joined in the fun.  I watched from the expensive box seats (aka: the handicap shower seat I hastily found in the garage). One of the neighbors even came over to watch for a while. No idea who the ultimate victor was.  But fun was had by all.

 

The fun didn’t exactly last, however.  At least not for Uncle Nathan.  Later, as everyone got ready to return to their respective homes, several of us went outside to move the car and place the goal up near the house. Nathan grabbed the goal pole and attempted to pull it down to the rolling position. That’s when it happened. The apparatus came apart and the entire top half fell down upon his head. I had a few flashbacks to high school when a similar thing happened to me.  I ended up with an untold number of stitches and a broken nose. Nathan, however, came out of it with just a sore rear end and maybe a crack or two in his pride armor.  What we did discover was, the pole itself seemed to be defective.  We were actually very blessed that no one else was hurt by a toppling backboard. Nathan is going to see about returning the whole thing or at least getting a replacement pole.  Whew.  Scary.

 

Everyone finally got loaded up and on the road.  Josh and his crew were on their way to Crosby for their final Christmas experience there.  Kel and his crew headed back to LaMarque.  Nathan and April and Cailyn went around the corner for a brief visit with some good friends before they headed to Santa Fe. Chris and I did a preliminary, cursory cleaning of the house before collapsing onto the couch. Long day, but a fun one. Let’s do it again in about a year …

 

Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”

 

Father, thank you for family get-togethers. I love the chaos and the conclusion.  Amen.

December 28 - “Taco Tuesday and Deck the Halls”

We enjoyed a quiet morning with The Waco crew. The boys watched Mr. Beast on TV. AnnaGrace held several summit conferences between her new horsie and nine or ten of its closest stuffed cousins. I ran over to Walmart and got the last of my Dad gifts for the year. I also picked up some sugar and Ritz crackers for the awesome cheese ball Chris was making. The crackers were for the cheese ball.  The sugar was for … well … sweet tea and other sugar stuff.  There’s gonna be some amazing food around here later today. The out-of-towners took advantage of the lull in activity to go finish up some Christmas shopping of their own.

 

Supper was the big meal of the day. Taco Tuesday, of course. Soft or hard with chips and queso and pico de gallo.

 

AnnaGrace for some reason fell in love with the pink bunny pajamas Ralphie from A Christmas Story “action figure.” It’s one of those creatures, about a foot tall, that is somewhat furry. When you press the hidden button in his hand, he dances from side to side and music plays, in this case Deck the Halls. Over and over and over again we heard Deck the Halls. I’m pretty sure we will all be involuntarily humming that song for weeks.

 

We watched a movie together right before bedtime. The Christmas Chronicles starring Kurt Russell and his wife Goldie Hawn.  If you haven’t seen it, it’s a cute Christmas movie about Santa. There’s a part two as well. Maybe tonight …

 

2 Corinthians 3:17 says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

 

Father, thank you for the chance to spend some time with the Waco Vaughan’s. Help us to have a great day today for our family Christmas. Amen.

December 27 - “The first wave of Christmas …”

Chris was awake and dressed and ready to start a busy day … by 6:30 a.m.! And it gets better. She went with me to Walmart at 6:45. It was amazing how much stuff was on the Christmas sale racks. We may or may not have scored an item or two (or seven or nine) there. All I know is, I was able to finish my Dad gifts shopping. Even found a minute or two to wrap them - the wrapping job is indicative of the time spent in the process.

 

Chris got Sam up and at ‘em as soon as we got home. She had some breakfast and did some paperwork. That was all she could muster, though. After a brief stint sitting in the sunshine spot by the tree, she went back to her room.

 

The first wave of Christmas guests arrived around 11:30. Actually, it was just Leia, the LaMarque Vaughan’s dog. They dropped her off here and the bearded dragon across the street at the Geran’s. They are having Christmas with Christina’s family the next few days before returning here for ours on Wednesday.

 

The Waco Vaughan’s arrived around 6:30. All the kids (including MaddieBelle) were pretty wired from being in the car for five hours. It normally wouldn’t have taken quite that long, but thanks to their GPS mystery voice, they managed to avoid two major wrecks on I45.  Plus they were able to take the scenic route through Kemah.  Everybody got settled in pretty quickly, and eventually all of us drifted off to sleep.  Well, Chris and I did, anyway.  The older guys and Josh and Christi were still “debating” over a movie to watch.  Sounded like it was Christi’s turn to pick.  Her viewing of choice was “Lost in Space.” Sadly, it was not available.  I have no idea what they finally decided on.

 

2 Corinthians 9:8 says, “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”

 

Father, thank you for the safe travels our Waco Vaughan’s had.  And thanks for the extra GPS info that got them around the wrecks.  Amen.

December 26 - “The visit”

The Big Guy in a red suit apparently made his way to our house, even with no children around. See?  That’s why I act like a kid as much as I can. Gotta keep Santa’s attention.

 

Chris found the one thing she simply can’t do without … a big calendar to keep track of all our doctor appointments (and any other stuff that might arise to fill in the days in between). But it was the other stuff that truly grabbed her attention and certainly tugged at her heartstrings. Like the broom. No, not just any broom. This was a Nimbus 2023. It said so right on the handle (well, it said so after I wrote it on there, anyway).  I suppose if you’re not a Harry Potter fan, you won’t understand just how wonderful a gift it really is, but trust me … it’s awesome, not to mention it is a wonderful replacement for the one I broke in half while sweeping leaves outside. And that’s not all!  She received several other gifts. The first, however, is one she cannot enjoy right away. It is one of those amazing, heated vests. Christi has one and swears by it. Sadly, the one we got was not the right size. Now we get to figure out all the proper procedures for making the return and swap. On a positive note, though, she opened a new John Grisham book. Now she has something different from the three series that she generally rotates through. Oh, and there was also this year’s carving. In the true spirit of the Christmas story I wrote for Christmas Eve services, it was … a snail. I guess it was good enough to be recognizable at least.

 

I, too, was visited by that elusive elf of Christmas. My gifts were just a little bit baseball themed. How about this list?

Astros World Series champions on-field hat.

Astros World Series champions on field t-shirt.

Astros World Series champions hoodie.

An assortment of baseball cards I still need from the 1963 set that I am working to complete. Wow! The old dude really hit the nail on the head in my direction this year.

 

And Sam was not forgotten. She got a blanket awash with a massive image of Jose Altuve (probably life-sized. He’s not that tall, you know). And I didn’t even mention the cool stuff we got from Lauren and Ed and Corey and Janell. Just one thing to say about all this giving …

HO! HO! HO!

Well, and Praise Jesus, the whole reason for my Ho! Ho’s!

 

Well, all of that was before we even left for church. We arrived a little “past our time,” to quote Bob Cratchitt. But this is Seaside. Island time and all.  It was a very small crowd, but the singing was strong and the message was biblical, so what more do you need? 

 

After some lunch Sam settled in for a nap, and Chris and I headed into Texas to say a quick Christmas “hey!” to Nathan and April and Cailyn. Gave me a chance to try out my new Astros championship hoodie. Pretty warm. Guess it still had some heat in it from when the Astros were on fire last season.

 

They had a good Christmas morning. Cailyn showed off the cool stuff she got. One of the most impressive was one of those round circle light thingies like that Mayhem guy uses on the tv commercial. The one where he stands on the side of the road and dances and distracts the driver into crashing into a trash truck. Classic commercial. Guess we’ll be seeing tik-tok mayhem from Cailyn’s house in the near future.

 

Isaiah 9:6 says, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

 

Father, thank you for the expressions of love we have felt and have been able to give. We appreciate the unbeatable gift you gave us - eternal life in Jesus. Amen.

December 25 - “Wait … it’s Christmas!”

Why sound I so verily incredulous herein? Well, it’s because our Waco kiddos don’t arrive until tomorrow (I think). And we didn’t have to do a mad rush to Kel’s house very early this morning to watch the LaMarque kids open gifts. And then we usually head over to Nathan’s to check out what Cailyn got. But today? Today we get ready for church to happen. Christmas Day on a Sunday. Can’t beat it.

 

Yesterday we actually went over to Walmart to pick up a few things. We got there shortly after 8 a.m.  Great time to be there. Well, unless you want to people-watch. There just weren’t very many of those critters around who dared get out in 28 degree weather - in Galveston, of all places. The ones there were pretty jovial, though. At least the ones who were awake.

 

Sam ventured out to the Christmas Eve service with us. It started at four this year, so the sun was still out. And by the time we left it was a balmy 39 degrees. I was a little worried because I forgot my sunscreen, but we managed without it.

 

I gotta say, I was a little perplexed at first as to how we would accomplish a candlelight service in broad daylight in a room with some pretty big windows. Fortunately, a designer in the past with creative foresight made sure we had blinds on those windows.

 

The room was packed out this year. Somewhere in the 90’s in attendance. I chatted with one couple vacationing at one of the RV parks. He said, “Of all the churches we have visited on Christmas Eve, this was by far the most fun. In fact, it was the most fun church service we have ever been to.”

 

The music was great, as usual. My favorite part was when Brennan accompanied Joy to the World on the keyboard. He did the intro all by himself, too. I was definitely proud of him. Not often a middle schooler will attempt something like that, much less nail it like he did. Way to go, Brennan.

 

Kel asked me to read one of my stories. In a bit of a coincidence, I had just completed one. All about an encounter a snail has. It stars Joseph and Mary, a snail or two, and … a bag of salt. And yes, it did have some clues in it about the carving I made for Chris this year. More about that tomorrow.

 

We were hungry on the way home, so we did a Whataburger drive-by on the chance they were still open. Nope. So we came on back to the house for yummy leftovers. Chicken and dumplings and pizza. That’s some serious comfort food there for a Christmas Eve dinner.

 

April came by to pick up Cailyn on her way home from work. She made a great suggestion about finding me a good neurosurgeon. She recommended sending a My Chart message to one of my other docs and asking who he would recommend. I sat down before bed and did just that. Now we wait. Again.

 

Matthew 1:21 says, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

 

Father, thank you for all the people who made it out to the service. It was good seeing the folks make their way over to see and talk to Sam. Amen.

December 24 - “UFO’s and Christmas elves”

Here’s one for the ages. Well, at least here’s one to compare with the Great Freeze last February. Woke up this morning to an extremely billowy 23 degrees with a wind chill of 6. Yep. That’s right. Single digits. Bring back my tropical weather, please!

 

I was at my desk finishing up the blog for yesterday when I heard yet another weird noise (remember the chimney cap that blew off?). This one, however, was quite loud and didn’t stop … for four or five minutes. It was a siren of some sort. Generally an emergency siren has more of a pulsing sound. This one was one continuous note. Kind of annoying. But it finally stopped. Guess the wind and cold set it off somewhere close. Or someone’s car alarm is frighteningly loud … or perhaps we were being visited by a UFO of sorts …

 

With it being so cold we decided to stay at home instead of doing the final Christmas shopping. I even refused to go out front and re-install the Christmas lights that had blown down. Didn’t pick up the trash cans that blew over, either. Well, what to our wondering eyes (and ears) should appear, but two of Santa’s elves (aka, Corey and Janell), dressed in their warmest gear, putting the last of our lights in place. The trash cans were standing again as well. We called them inside to warm up and receive our undying gratitude (well, mine for sure).  Great to have young neighbors like that.

 

The rest of the afternoon was rather quiet. Sam was in her room most of the time. She is really getting around better with her bum knee. It been fun wheeling her around the house. Chris made some more divinity. I watched University of Houston come back in the last 20 seconds and win their bowl game. And we all stayed warm. No power outages here - at least not yet- and no frozen pipes. We do have another night of freezing cold again, though.

 

Isaiah 40:31 says, “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

 

Father, thank you again for the great neighbors you have blessed us with. Amen.

 

December 23 - “My way is normal”

Surprisingly early doctor’s appointment concerning my back. 7:45 a.m. Really. Of course, someone stuck their head in in the middle of the appointment and told her the “huddle” was about to begin. Hmm.  Why schedule a staff meeting and appointments at the same time?  I wished them a happy staff Christmas party. They were confused.

 

A different doc was standing in for my regular guy. Guess he won the Christmas vacation sweepstakes. She checked me out, then ordered X-rays, an MRI, physical therapy, a muscle relaxer, and use of over-the-counter salan pas patches wherever there is pain. But my favorite was a recommendation off the record. Kind of a Witch doctor suggestion: Rub on my back Bengay mixed with ibuprofen gel cap contents. Apparently, the Bengay confuses your brain into thinking your body doesn’t hurt. Yup. Witch doctor. But I liked her.

 

We went right over to get the X-rays done. The folks there were really nice, but that tech sure found the spot that hurts. Since we were in the clinic anyway, we walked over to physical therapy to set up that appointment. I have the same therapist who helped with my hip. The scheduler was a lot of fun. She asked for the spelling of my last name. I told her, and she replied, “Isn’t the normal way without the last a?”  I told her, “Nope. My way is normal. Everybody else is wrong.” She did the same thing with “Kelley.”  So did I. At that point she laughed and said to Chris, “Mrs. Vaughan, I’m not gonna talk to him anymore. I’ll just talk to you.”  Ouch.

 

From there, we stopped by Walmart, where we picked up some prescriptions for Sam. And speaking of Sam, yesterday was her chemo appointment. We took her back up to Clear Lake. She had to be there four hours before her appointment to have bloodwork drawn, so after that we went to the nearby Luby’s for a leisurely lunch. We were back at the infusion clinic around 12:30, and she started the treatment at a little after one. Not bad for an appointment at 1:45. She finally finished about 2:30 or so.

 

We stopped by Kel’s house on the way home. We had to drop off a birthday gift for a certain six-year-old. Ezra was pretty excited with the big ol’ spider we managed to wrangle and present him with. It was also good, as usual, to see the other end of the spectrum. Jachin is home from college, so Chris took advantage of the chance to grab some hugs from him.

 

One last word about the weather. We had wind gusts of almost 40 miles per hour that ushered in the coldest temperatures of the year. About 9 pm we heard a crash from the backyard. Of course we immediately grabbed a flashlight and ran outside to check. What to our wondering eyes should appear? The top of our Franklin stove chimney blew off and onto the deck stairs. Could it be that a certain red-coated, large-of-girth elfling was doing some early reconnaissance?

 

John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

 

Father, please use this latest treatment to show some improvement in Sam. Amen.

December 22 - “Afternoon Excitement”

It’s starting to get cold out there. 48 yesterday morning. Lows in the 30’s coming soon.

 

Chris took off in the morning for an 11:00 physical therapy appointment. Gotta exercise those eyeballs. I ran over to Office Depot to pick up some stickers to use for the Christmas Eve service. I also stopped at the donut shop to order the giveaway donuts for the same service. While there, the clerk was acting really flustered. She was getting the job done, but it was more than just a really busy morning (which it was).  As I held the door open (from my position in line) for a lady and her daughter as they were leaving, she chuckled and whispered to me, “That man who just left gave her a $100 bill as a tip. Kind of freaked her out.”  Ho! Ho! Ho!

 

In the afternoon, Chris started making some divinity. No, she hasn’t gone over to the dark side and gotten into the graven image business. It’s the divinity that you can eat. Good stuff. Pure sugar. While she worked on that, I went to Walmart to get some stuff like bananas. Sam likes them, too, so I have to stay stocked up.

 

Whew! Now to the afternoon excitement. I was sitting at my desk. Chris was cooking supper. I heard our next-door neighbor named Candy hollering. Not that unusual an occurrence, to be honest, so I ignored it at first. Until she hollered my name. “Mister Kelley! Mr. Kelley! Come quick. Miss Corrie fell down and hurt herself bad!”

 

“Miss Corrie” is the widow who lives next door to Corey and Janell. When I realized what Candy said, I took off running. Chris followed when she saw my blue jeans rapidly disappearing around the end of the driveway. I was the first on scene. Corrie was crying and try to catch her breath, so I asked her a few questions to get her to breathe so she would calm down. She was holding her elbow, and her face was banged up pretty badly. She had been trying to cover her plants and got tangled in some string. I convinced her not to try to get up, and to keep her arm as still as she could.

 

Chris got there within seconds and came to the same conclusion I had – her arm was probably broken.  We offered to call an ambulance, but she refused. Corey and Janell, who had arrived by then, brought over some towels and ice, and we got her cleaned up. Corrie finally let me call a friend to come take her to the emergency room. She was enough in control before she left to comment, “At least I did this before Christmas. I’ll still be able to make my Christmas cookies.” 

 

Corrie called Chris later in the evening to let us know that she had broken her arm in two places.  They were also checking out her face and head “to see if I have any brain damage.”  I think she was kidding. They did keep her overnight for observation. We’ll be praying for her.

 

John 13:35 says, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

 

Father, please be with Corrie. Heal her wounds so she can get those Christmas cookies baked. Amen.

December 21 - “It’s a-coming”

We decided to use the brief break in the weather (from rain to tomorrow’s projected extreme cold.  It’s a-coming) to bring in the plants. Well, not exactly bring all of them in, although a few did make the cut to the indoor tropics. Most of them, however, were relegated to a stint in the garage or packed up close to the house, destined to be covered with a sheet and left to generate their own heat under the makeshift tent. That covering will take place a little closer to actual freeze time.

 

After a quick lunch we headed for Clear Lake to take Sam to the emergency room. Her regular orthopedic doc is out on Christmas vacation, so the office staff told her to head to the ER to get her knee checked out.

 

Just one visitor was allowed to accompany her, so Chris drew that medically significant straw. Fortunately, I brought along a book to keep me company. And we were there so long that I finished my book. Oh, and the result of the visit? They took an X-Ray. Then they came back to declare: “You have bad knees. Nothing we can do about it. Here’s a brace. Go see your orthopedist.”  Well, all righty, then.

 

Matthew 5:14 says, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.”

 

Father, thank you that Sam finally got a brace for her knee. Please help it give her stability so she can get around. Amen.

 

December 20 - “Movie Marathon”

It was a cold, rainy, miserable day. We stayed put in the house trying to stay warm and dry. Chris washed clothes. But the highlight of our day? We watched a Hallmark Christmas movie, then went back in time a bit. We found A Christmas Carol on TV. The one with George C. Scott as Scrooge. I dug out our book with the story in it to follow along. It was remarkably similar. Then we really went back in time. The Miracle on 34th Street. Original version in black and white. Kris Kringle did it again. Found just the house the little girl wanted. That was about all the movies Chris could handle back-to-back, so she went into the office to work on a Christmas letter. I found one more classic to watch, though: Scrooged with Bill Murray. Quite the movie marathon. Of course, I have to admit that there may or may not have been just a moment or two here and there where I closed my eyes - just to rest them, mind you.

 

As it turned out, my catching a few winks proved to be a good thing. We got a call from Sam asking if she could spend the night at our house. Lauren had taken her to the doctor, then the emergency clinic. We needed to pick Sam up there and bring her to our house, so she wouldn’t have to climb any stairs. Besides, she hurt her knee, so she was in a wheelchair anyway. I drove the patient home. Lauren and Chris stopped at Walmart for some things Sam needed for the night. Corey even brought over some medical equipment they were able to obtain. The Body of Christ working together in ministry for sure. We will be taking her to either the ER or to an orthopedist (if she can get an appointment) this morning.

 

Isaiah 9:2 says, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.”

 

Father, please be with Sam. Help her to work through the pain in her knee, and help the docs figure out what they can do for her. Amen

December 19 - “Carols and Cocoa”

We saw some runners braving the cold on our way to church yesterday. It was Santa Hustle day. They had a kids’ one miler, a 5k, and a half marathon course all laid out on the Seawall. The runners we saw were part of the half marathon. All different running styles, speeds, and even costumes were represented. Looked like loads of fun, except for maybe the actual running part …

 

Church was packed. Lots of our Winter Texans are back “home” and excited about being here. After church we had our December dinner on the grounds. Quite a few stayed for that as well. And as usual, the food was amazing. We even had enough deviled eggs for Jim to get a few, in spite of the fact that a whole batch of them had a bacon garnish, and it’s hard to pass up a bacon garnish on anything.

 

Last night was our annual Carols and Cocoa Christmas caroling outside under the building. Lights were strung and candy canes adorned the posts. Jim and the praise team gang led out in singing. Santa Ray even made a surprise entrance. He was dressed all in his traditional red outfit, long white beard and all. And he had a white sack thrown over his shoulder. Well, upon closer inspection it appeared to look suspiciously like a pillowcase, but that is certainly nitpicking. From his magic pillowcase appeared many rather unexpected treats. The first thing he handed out? A whole bag of charcoal to worship pastor Jim. All I can figure is … he must have been on the naughty list. That wasn’t all that was lurking in that wonderful sack, though. He walked among the crowd and handed out such amazing treats as a few bananas, a grapefruit, and a bottle of water. Oh, there was also the usual candy for the kiddos. He came by me twice. I received a small stuffed cow wearing a blanket that said “EAT MOR CHIKIN”. My favorite delectable from Santa’s bag, though was the van of beans he handed me. Totally unexpected. I would say that one and the bananas won best of show for sure. The hot cocoa and cookies were wonderful, of course, especially given how cold it was. As they say, “A great time was had by all.”  Many thanks to Shawn and Ray and Lauren and Cathy (and whoever else was involved with the setup), and to the praise team for providing some great songs in spite of the cold.

 

1 John 4:7 says, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

 

Father, thank you for all the Winter Texans who have arrived in town for the holidays. Give them a great stay. Amen.

December 18 - “Classics”

We woke to some more chilly weather yesterday. 45 with a wind chill of 41. And forecasters are throwing out a slight chance of snow for Christmas Eve. Now that hasn’t happened here on the Island since 2005.

 

Chris made some waffles for breakfast.  But not just any waffles. Oh, no. These were snowman infused waffles made on the little machine I got at the Seaside white elephant exchange.  They didn’t taste any different, but they were fun to look at.

 

We made yet another trip to Walmart. We needed a few groceries (yes, Lauren. I ran out of bananas). We also continued our Christmas shopping process. Still more to go, though. Now all you friends and family members can wonder if you were the ones who put us in such a quandary the week before Christmas.

 

We did manage to squeeze in not one, but two classic Christmas movies. We started with one of my all-time favorites, A Christmas Carol. But not just any old version. The one I remain enamored by is that old black and white one starring Alastair Sim. Made back in the early 50’s, I think. Not many special effects back then, so it was almost like watching a stage version.

 

The other one we watched while wrapping Christmas presents. You can’t get much more iconic than … Elf. Good ol’ Buddy the elf saved Christmas again. Never gets old.

 

Last night I introduced Chris to a movie she had never seen. Also a cult classic, I might add. Napoleon Dynamite. She kept asking, “Is this all it is?”  She also snuck in a few, “This is just dumb” comments. Needless to say, she wasn’t impressed. However, I don’t think she put it in the same category as Monty Python and the Holy Grail, another thoroughly awesome movie she thinks is “just dumb.”

 

Isaiah 7:14 says, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

 

Father, thank you for new experiences and old movies. Amen.

December 17 - “Medical fun?”

Chris got really brave yesterday. She decided to ignore the elements and mow the grass. She was looking ahead at the weather projections, and things are looking pretty bleak. Well, cold, anyway. I saw two or three days of below freezing on the docket. That means I have to get the outside faucets covered before then. Put that one on my list.

 

While Chris mowed, I went to the clinic to get my flu shot and some kind of Covid booster. In the waiting room I ran into one of our neighbors. We chatted for a while about the condition of neighborhood streets and when the repaving will reach us.

 

Speaking of medical stuff, Chris also talked me into calling the neurosurgeon for a check on why my back has been hurting so much. And … he has retired. So now I have to follow proper procedure again. That means I had to contact my PCP and convince him to order an MRI. Once that appointment is made, I call neuro back and schedule with a new surgeon there. Great fun.

 

Last night we attended the fire department administration Christmas party at Fisherman’s Wharf. It’s always good to see the guys having fun with their wives. We came home with a very creative white elephant gift. They put different types of dip mix into those clear Christmas ornaments. Then they arranged them, along with some of that expensive-looking chocolate candy, in a Christmas tin with Santa on top. Can’t beat Santa on top. We did run into something unexpected as we were leaving the parking lot. We had our ticket validated inside, but still had to pay seven dollars. Seems the validation only covers three hours and one minute. We were over our time by about 44 minutes, 15 seconds. Oh well.

 

Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

 

Father, I have to admit that the prospect of really cold weather leaves me with mixed emotions. On the one hand … it’s cold. Not my favorite time. But on the other hand … it does make it feel like Christmas. And I love Christmas. Amen.

December 16 - “Back to Christmas”

We got up yesterday morning and made a snowman. Yep. Oh wait. Not that kind of snowman. It has been cold down here, but not snow-cold. This was a very special Frosty the Snowman for a very special event at the Reindeer Games - the church Christmas party. More about that later.

 

Chris took off shortly after Frosty’s completion. She had an appointment. Nope. Not with the doctor this time. This one was for a haircut with Suzann. The aftermath looks great, as usual.

 

Back to the Christmas party …

I’m pretty sure all who attended (30+ people) had a good time. The food room was packed to the gills with awesome Christmas treats, from brownies and pies to hot wings, Chris’ famous cheese ball, and even a charcuterie Christmas tree. No excuse to go home hungry after this one.

 

The games were a lot of fun. All that snow imported from the North Pole (aka marshmallows) provided the perfect backdrop for our Reindeer Games winter snow theme. All the volunteers were great sports, and I think they may have even had some fun themselves. I particularly enjoyed the 4 Calling Birds game. Contestants had to call someone off their contact list and convince them to make a sound like a bird, while on speaker phone, of course. Fun for us, head-scratching for the call-ee, I’m sure. And the winner only took three seconds.

 

Game winners all received a prize somehow related to snowmen. But the losing participants didn’t go away empty-handed. They each got a lump of coal (literally a hunk of chocolate candy molded to look like a lump of coal). 

 

As per usual, the Frosty’s Melting game proved to be the most “interactive “ of them all. Everybody gathered around one of three tables and assisted Frosty in his efforts to melt away. You know the game. Unwrap the ball while the next person in line rolls dice until he gets doubles. Then Frosty is passed on to the next person, and so on. And whatever you uncover as you unwrap is yours. We learned about who among us was the most competitive, that’s for sure. My favorite part about that activity, though? Had to be the spontaneous snowball fight with parts of Frosty (rolled up hunks of Saran Wrap).

 

Everyone went home with a fun gift through the white elephant exchange. And better than that … memories of a fun night with great friends. Anybody want to do it again?

 

Daniel 12:3 says, “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.”

 

Father, thanks for the laughter and sharing and praying and caring I witnessed last night. Amen.

 

December 15 - “Baking weather”

We woke to the sound of rolling thunder. Sure enough, the rain soon made its appearance as well. It didn’t last all that long, but when the rain stopped, the winds began. Blustery, cold winds. The temperature started dropping drastically. By the time we had to leave the house, it was down to 62 degrees with north winds around 24 miles per hour. Brrr.

 

Before we had to face that madness, though, Chris was hard at work in the kitchen. She was replicating a recipe she picked up in Waco. Candied crackers. I know. Sounds weird. But with lots of caramel and chocolate involved, how can you go wrong?

 

Our excursion into the chill was a required one. We both had appointments with the physical therapists. Mine for my hip, which has pretty much bowed out of the picture in deference to the much greater pain in my lower back. Dealing with it. Chris was supposed to be playing video games at her appointment. Her eyes needed the workout.

 

As it turned out, she didn’t get to play video games. Oh, she still had to do an eye workout, but before she left, the therapist gave her a shoulder massage. I was jealous, for sure. My good news? I got cut loose. I had improved significantly in every area except my left hamstring. That’s the one that cramps up at night. But as far as the hip is concerned, I don’t have to come back in, as long as I keep doing the exercises unto eternity. Woohoo … I guess?

 

Yesterday afternoon Chris set to baking again, so the house again smelled heavenly. I had to do a little quick shopping for the party Thursday. Yikes. That’s today. But I only had one thing left to prepare. Of course, it was the most time-consuming of all. I found most everything I needed, though. Party time!

 

Philippians 4:4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

 

Father, thank you for the rain and the cooler weather. It does feel almost like Christmas. Amen.

December 14 - “Out of the can of worms”

I was up at 4:30 again. Back issues.  But it gave me a good head start on my prep for the Christmas party Thursday night. I had to get together boxes and wrapping paper and reindeer antlers, and there may or may not even be a lump of coal or two involved. How’s that for a teaser?

 

It was Chris’ day to bake Amish friendship bread. That meant, of course, that the house smelled divinely cinnamon-y. Hope she saved us one to test out and make sure the others are Christmas-worthy.

 

Chris also had another doctor appointment. This one was the follow-up to those weird ear tests she took. From the sounds of things, the doc acknowledged there was a problem, but it wasn’t anything super-serious. But she did find another can of worms to open. Apparently, the issues Chris has with balance “might be” attributable to … drumroll here … migraines. I didn’t know that “migraine“ was not necessarily just another name for a really bad headache. It can manifest in dizziness and loss of balance as well. She’s to try taking magnesium pills. If that doesn’t help, she has a list of others to add to the regimen. Here’s hoping something in there works. 

 

Psalms 126:5 says, “Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.”

 

Father, please help all these docs figure out something that works to help Chris. Amen.

 

December 13 - “Scrambling”

We were scrambling all morning, and I don’t mean eggs. We received notice yesterday that our water would be off all day as they connected some more of the new mains in our neighborhood. As it turned out, we made it through the whole morning with no shutdowns. In fact, we found out that the water was never shut off at all.  How did we find that out? The new message we got on our door last night informing us that now the water shutoff would occur today for ten hours. Not good.  Chris planned to bake all day today. Time to scramble again?

 

Back to yesterday, though. After some lunch we headed off to begin attacking our errands list. And that list consisted mainly of Christmas shopping. Well, except for returning some bread trays to the barbecue place and picking up some prescriptions for Chris. And we did splice in getting some groceries and some stuff for the big church party Thursday night. All are welcome to come, by the way.  7 p.m. at the church.  Bring a white elephant gift and wear an ugly Christmas sweater.

 

Last night we had some house guests for the evening. Ezra and Noa and Josiah came over to hang out with us while their mom and dad went to dinner. They were no problem at all. In fact, we spent virtually the entire time watching a TV marathon.  The Floor is Lava and Flinch. Great shows for kids and adults. Lots of … action? They are certainly the kind of show you need to see for yourself to believe. Especially Flinch.

 

Isaiah 55:11 says, “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

 

Father, thanks for our evening with three of our awesome grandkids.  Surround them with your love and protection.  Amen.

December 12 - “Angel in disguise”

A homeless guy was asleep on one of the picnic tables at church yesterday. That’s a pretty rare occurrence out where we are in the West End of the Island. Lauren stopped and chatted with him. He had been to 34 different states. He wanted to hit them all. Lauren invited him in, so he stayed for church. He said it had been a very long time since he darkened the door of a church. While Lauren got him some breakfast and some snacks for the road, I talked with him. His name was Ken.

 

Ken was welcomed warmly by numerous of our folks. Chris and I sat next to him during the service.  During the service, we looked up and one of our ladies was suddenly standing in front of him with a cup of coffee and a muffin. She simply whispered, “Here. I got it for you.” He was much appreciative. 

 

He was somber through most of the service, but by the last song, he was finally bouncing ever-so slightly on his toes and keeping time with his fingers on his coffee cup.

 

Ken held my hand and that of a lady on the row in front of us for our closing song, Family of God.  When the song ended, he flashed a really big grin. He then quickly and quietly hurried on his way toward his next state.

 

You know … some say he might have been one of God’s angels just checking up  on us to see if we would treat him like Jesus would. It has happened before …

 

After church we made our way to Waterman’s for lunch. Originally, we were going to eat while listening to Jim and his crew play some Christmas songs. They didn’t start right away, though, so we headed on upstairs to the restaurant and ordered our food. It was a rather swanky place, at least for our taste. I had fish and chips. Chris had a cheeseburger. Cailyn had crawfish gumbo. It was fun to hang out with friends.

 

After a brief stop at the house, we took off again to take Cailyn home. Yep … into Texas one more time.

 

Psalms 47:1  says, “Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.”

 

Father, be with Ken on his travels through the country. Keep him safe and warm. And in those places where he acts as one of your angels in disguise, may he find someone to be a Holy Spirit with skin on. Amen.