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.