December 22 – “Ezra Kelley Vaughan”

Well, we finally got the official call to arms.  Kel and Christina left in the morning yesterday to go to a regular doctor’s appointment.  On a strong hunch, though, they took along their overnight bags just in case.  I had to meet the bug guy at church, have a quick staff meeting, and then make some stuffed animal deliveries to three fire stations.  So Chris drove up to LaMarque to hang out with the other four Vaughan kids until we heard something from their Mom and Dad.  And hear something we did.  After checking out Christina and the baby, they decided that it was time for this little guy to make his appearance.  Chris got word to me, so after my deliveries, I headed up to LaMarque to see what help I could be. 

As the afternoon progressed it became evident that this little guy was not going to be easy on us.  Chris was pacing and texting, so I finally told her to get on up to Houston so she could offer whatever medical advice she could, and so she could be the Mom in the delivery room, since Christina’s Mom couldn’t make it.  I got left behind to look after the troops.  All 17 or 18 of them.  I’m pretty sure that’s how many were there.  I rarely pay a lot of attention to Mom and Dad rules.  Well, that’s not true.  I generally take their rules and adapt them to make the best of the situation.  I think they were supposed to have limited media time, so they didn’t play any video games, but it just so happened that The Santa Clause came on TV.  We watched it.  Funny stuff. 

After a FaceTime goodnight call from Mom and Dad, Noa succumbed fairly quickly to the call of the proverbial Sandman.  Jachin and Micah went to their rooms and settled in reading.  Not so much Josiah, though.  He got in his head that he wanted Mommy and Daddy and absolutely nothing would console him.  I finally had him come downstairs with me so the other boys could get some sleep.  Still crying.  I texted Chris to get some pointers, and she suggested food.  Sounded good, so I asked if he was hungry.  Instantly the tears stopped.  “Yes.”  Aha.  I followed up with, “Do you want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?”  “No,” was his abrupt reply.  And then I asked “the Question” – the one you never ask a distraught six-year-old.  “Then what do you want to eat?”  There it was.  Open-ended.  No restrictions.  His little mind raced.  And then he blurted out, “I want hot chocolate.”  Now it was ten p.m.  Well past his bedtime.  Sugary beverages were not on the approved list.  So I suggested, “How about a cheese stick?”  That’s what he ended up eating for supper, so I knew he liked them.  But not at ten p.m.  Oh, no.  At ten p.m. the food of choice is … “I pick ice cream.”  Needless to say, things weren’t going well for either of us.  He finally picked an apple, the perfect compromise food.  Then another.  He finally settled in next to me on the couch and started talking.  Non-stop talking.  After a good ten minutes the sound slowly started to fade out until he finally just sat there, looking at the Christmas tree lights.  He did get up once to grab a blanket.  A snowflake blanket.  Then he gradually eased down onto his pillow.  And then he was gone.

I tried to settle in as well, but I hadn’t anticipated not being back at home.  I didn’t have my medication for nerve pain, so it was a fitful night at best.  At least until around 1:05 a.m.  That’s when I got a text from Chris.  He was here.  And as she expanded the details I learned that the youngster had a really tough time of it getting out into the world.  Apparently his shoulder got a little stuck.  Well, a lot stuck.  They called in all sorts of support personnel, and it was a scary few moments before he finally managed to jostle free with the help from a dozen or so new found hospital friends.  The pediatrician checked hi out from head to toe, though, and he was just fine.  Just a not-so-simple case of linebacker’s shoulder. 

Later on this morning we gathered up all the siblings and took them to the hospital to meet their new baby brother.  And, as has been their family custom, the siblings were the first to hear the baby’s name.  Josiah was convinced it would be Abednigo.  But sadly, he was wrong.  They all gathered around him with obvious love in their eyes and anticipation in their hearts.  And finally, Mom and Dad introduced them to young Ezra Kelley Vaughan.  8 pounds, 3 ounces.  21 and a half inches long.  Assuming all goes well, he will head home on Christmas Eve.  Meanwhile Nana and DadDad are the proud surrogate parents of four kids for a few nights.  Guess we’ll be heading to the grocery store tomorrow.

Ephesians 6:23-24 says, “Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.”

Father, thank you for that precious little baby.  May he grow to appreciate you through the influence of his parents and brothers and sister.  Amen.

December 21 – “Santa and the Galveston Fire Department”

I took a few pictures out in the dark last night.  Now why would I do something like that?  Because Santa Claus was riding around in our neighborhood, that’s why.  Not in his sleigh, though.  I guess the reindeer were resting up for their big night on Saturday.  But this was even better.  See, Santa was up in the back of … drumroll here … none other than a fire engine.  Yep.  That’s right.  The Galveston Fire Department was enlisted by the jolly old dude to take him on one last trek around the city of Galveston to check out all the good little boys and girls.  Since Santa’s sleigh was getting last minute tune-ups and his reindeer were taking those final long naps, what better way to connect with the city than from the back of a fire truck? 

Chris and I walked around our neighborhood twice waiting for the big moment to arrive. One of the streets was relatively dark, but the one little girl we did see out with her Mom was absolutely giddy.  The other street on Santa’s route, though, was a veritable hotbed of festivity.  Many houses were lit up with Christmas lights.  Dads were out in the street tossing the football around with their children.  Moms and Grandmas were snuggled under blankets in lawn chairs.  One family had even brought their fire pit out near the street.  Apparently they were waiting for a family member to get back from the store with marshmallows for roasting. 

When Santa first pulled into the neighborhood, one exuberant youngster took off running after the truck.  I assured his Mom that the route would wind back right in front of their house if he could just be a little more patient.  She managed to call him back.  And sure enough, when the truck passed by the second time, the kiddo was racing to catch up again.  I watched as Santa gave his final, “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.”  The young one turned dejectedly back toward home, shoulders slumped.  Just as he passed me I heard him sigh, “There goes my dog.”  I think he wanted to let Santa know his hopes for Christmas morning.  His depression didn’t last but a second, though.  It’s hard to stay down in the dumps when you are a little kid and Christmas is in four days.  He was laughing as he headed back inside. 

Our neighborhood was among the last on the route of a three-night Santa excursion through the city.  The first two nights had been much colder, but Santa still made his rounds.  Thank you, Galveston Fire Department for this unique Christmas gift to the community. 

Ephesians 6:14-18 says, “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Father, thank you for creative approaches to bringing joy to children’s hearts.  Amen.

December 20 – “Still waiting”

Still waiting.  No sign of grandchild number ten, grandson number seven.  Well, that’s easy for me to say.  I suppose Christina might have something else to say about that.  In fact have you seen Christina lately?  She has officially reached the “Incredibly Pregnant” stage.  If nothing happens today we are keeping the rest of her kids tomorrow for her regular doctor’s appointment.  Maybe we’ll learn more then.  I can’t speak for Christina, but I have a hunch she’s more than ready.

I made visits to a few of the fire stations yesterday.  I delivered a bag of stuffed animals from Lifeway Christian Store to each one.  In every case the guys knew exactly what they were going do with them.  They have places on the truck, nooks and crannies, that they stuff the carefully wrapped animals in.  Don’t want them to get filthy from flying around the cab of the truck.  At one station the engine was out doing an inspection, I left the bag with one of the tower truck guys.  At another I was invited in for a cup of coffee and watched the end of a movie with the guys.  At a third I had to return after a quick trip to a nearby Dollar Store.  They were out on a call.  When they got back I enjoyed the smells of a tasty lunch being hastily prepared in hopes that they could eat before any other calls came through.  I’ll complete my rounds to the other three stations on Wednesday when I go up to the church to meet the exterminator and then stick around to meet Jim for staff meeting.  Hope I don’t get the two meetings confused.  I’d hate to have a powerpoint on roach sprays for the Christmas Eve service.

Well, we are back in the saddle with water exercise again today.  And of course it is 41 degrees outside.  Guess I’ll have to put some socks on before I strap on my sandals today.  Here goes …

Ephesians 6:13 says, “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

Father, once again I find myself asking you to keep those fire fighters safe.  I love those guys.   Amen.

December 19 – “37”

Well, I have to say … it is cold on the Island.  No, really cold.  As in 37 degrees cold.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  It is just not supposed to get that cold on a tropical island paradise.  We even discussed whether or not to wrap up our pipes last night.  We decided that the touted freeze would never make it to the Island this time.  Thankfully, we were at least correct about that much.  But as I understand it, the high for the day is supposed to be around 48.  That’s just not right. 

We had a pretty good crowd at church Sunday.  Never know about that during any holiday season.  Everyone was talking about their Christmas plans.  Numerous ones were heading out of town to be with family.  It was nice to see the joy on their faces as they talked about seeing sons and daughters and grandkids and parents.  Oh, I think there will be enough of them sticking around for our Christmas Eve service to be well-attended.  And some of them even promised to come back on Christmas morning.  It’s very different for the Seasiders to have a Christmas Day service, but we have to worship on Sunday, after all. 

Brings back memories for me, though.  Memories of being an acolyte at Grace Episcopal Church here on the Island.  We would have midnight mass on Christmas Eve, always a key service to be involved in.  Then we would wake up early, of course - sometimes really early if Dad had to go into work – and open Christmas presents.  And after an hour or two of playing with whatever toys we received, it was off to church again for the Christmas Day service.  It did help preparation time that we lived literally across the street from the church.  Never had to worry about that drive time.  Although I’m sure it was hard enough for Mom to get three youngsters all dressed up in their Sunday-go-to-meeting duds.  Not that I ever gave her a hard time.  I’m sure it was my brothers’ fault.  Whatever it was.  It wasn’t me.  I’m totally innocent.

I just found out that another of the fire fighters had a baby (well, his wife had the baby).  I’ll add this little one to my list of baby Bibles that I have to deliver.  Well, after I find out the proper spelling of his name.  with a last name like Norregaard, there are any number of ways they could be spelling Finn.  I’ll touch base with them soon.  I also have to deliver the six bags of stuffed animals that Lifeway Christian Store donated to the fire department.  The guys carry a few with them to give to children who may be involved when they go on calls, whether it be for fires or car wrecks or medical situations.  A little love from one of those stuffed buddies can go a long way toward calming a stressed out little one.  Thank you Lifeway. 

Ephesians 6:12 says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

Father, help those folks who have to be out in this cold to stay as warm as they can.  Warm their hearts from the inside out.  Amen.

December 18 – “The Last One”

So what does one do while waiting?  Waiting for what?  Well, for a baby to arrive, for one thing.  For a blustery cold front to arrive for another.  here on our tropical island paradise any news of impending cold weather is, well, just that … news.  Word has it that we might actually touch the 30’s tomorrow morning.  That is just unheard of.  I’m not even sure where my heavy coat is.

I did get one outdoor chore completed.  I picked the rest of the satsumas off of our tree.  there was a nice bag of them, and they were relatively juicy, but they really didn’t have much flavor this year.  I’ll wade through them one day at a time, though.  After all, they are our crop.  Chris spent the afternoon sewing again.  She finished another of her Christmas projects.  One more really big one on tap.  Not that she’ll get that one done by Christmas, but she at least checked off everything else on her list and got to “The Last One.”  I’m proud of her.

We did get in a little of the University of Houston football game.  They looked pretty good up until halftime.  That’s when we changed the channel.  Apparently things went South fast after that.  Oh, and we started wrapping some Christmas presents.  Not that we are finished shopping or anything.  We’ll get to it.  We still have almost a week, right?

Last night I finally found a combination of movies that convinced even Chris to sit back on the couch and relax a little.  It wasn’t exactly binge watching, but we did see some Hallmark movie (they all have the same plot, so I have no idea which one it was.  Ended happily though.  Then we watched A Christmas Carol.  The one starring George C. Scott.  We have seen just about all of the adaptations, and honestly, each one of them has its own merits.  The gripping scene in this one for me is when the Ghost of Christmas Present opens his robe and flashes Scrooge with the twin waifs.  Very powerful stuff.  I never remembered the brief scene where Scrooge (before the visions) runs into Tiny Tim, who is out on the street in the snow waiting for his Dad.  Scrooge, of course, blows him off, but the image of the little guy is haunting.  Right after Mean old Scrooge became Good Ol’ Scrooge, another holiday movie began … White Christmas.  Chris wanted to watch that one, too, only not at 9:30 on the night before we have to get up early for church.  Actually we don’t get up any earlier than any other day, but the emphasis should go on the “have to get up.”  There’s just something about that requirement that sends her back to school nights with the boys.  I taped it so we can watch it later.  I love the week before Christmas …

Ephesians 6:11 says, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.”

Father, thanks for anticipation.  It really makes culmination all the more exciting.  Amen

December 17 – “Box Lunch”

A horribly dreadful thing happened yesterday.  It was so difficult that I have a hard time thinking about it without breaking out in a cold sweat.  To start things off, we made the fateful decision to leave the Island.  That’s right.  A trek into Texas was in the books.  But that wasn’t the worst of it.  I have survived many a Texas Trip over the last 20 years.  But this one had a frightening twist to it.  We went to … The Mall.  Can you believe it?  The Mall.  I haven’t been to one of those things in … in … well, I honestly cannot remember the last time I went to one.  So why in the world would we go to a mall – any mall – and why would we do it the week before Christmas?

Well, the answer to the “why” question is a simple one.  We had to pick up the final piece to a very special thirteen-year-old birthday present for our oldest grandson Jachin.  He received part of it back on his birthday in early December.  I can’t say what it is since we haven’t presented it to him yet, but the present, taken together, represents his attaining the rite of passage into semi-manhood (Translation: He’s a teenager).  I suppose that speaks to the “when” part of the question as well.  He was born in December.  Like his baby brother will be … if he ever decides to get born.  We are still waiting. 

Once there we decided to make the circle and see what the mall had to offer these days.  One place in particular had been recommended to us.  In fact, I had to text our source (Cory) to get the name of the place.  Here’s the gist of that conversation:

Me: “What was the name of that mall store you recommended?  Yep.  I’m headed to the mall.  Aaaargh!”

Cory: “Lol.  It’s called Box Lunch.” ( I still say, what kind of name is that for a store that doesn’t sell food?)

Me: “Thanks.”

Me: “Pray for meeeeeeee”

Cory: “Lol.  I will.  I was there last weekend and it was not fun.  Good luck.”

Me: “Aaaargh.  Not helping.”

Cory: “What I meant to say was that it was the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”

Me: Ah, your poor, poor life.”

Cory: “Lol.”

And there you have it.  At least I helped him to have a chuckle out of my misery.  But you know what?  It really wasn’t all that bad.  We got there early enough that we found a parking place with no problem.  I had the love of my life at my side.  We picked up what we needed for Jachin.  And we browsed through a seasonal store called It’Sugar.  Candy of every array and size you can think of.  Even Harry Potter goodies.  Chris asked if they were related to the store of a similar name in Waco, but the clerk didn’t know.  We didn’t stay long in there.  We were both hungry.  Not a good time to be in a store that specializes in sweets. 

From the mall we went to Olive Garden for lunch.  Actually we were within walking distance to the restaurant where we were parked.  Not that we walked.  There were empty spots much closer to the building.  Much better for my aching back and sore neck, don’t you agree?  After lunch we stopped at Lifeway Christian Store.  Kel wasn’t at work, but we have hit it off with the store manager.  Matt came up to us as we browsed and asked if we had room in our car for six bags of stuffed animals.  They wanted to donate them to the fire department to use on the trucks when a child is involved in a call.  We met him around the back of the store at the loading dock and tossed them in.  Six bags.  One for each station.  I detect a fire department run in my early next week future …

Ephesians 6:11 says, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.”

Father, thank you for expressions of goodwill and for the ability to be a deliverer of those expressions.  Amen.

December 16 – “Reindeer Games”

After a long, long … long day of preparation, last night we hosted the 2016 version of Seaside’s All-Church White Elephant Party here at our house.  Somehow we managed to squeeze almost 30 people in for fabulous food and rip-roaring fun. 

We started out with the good stuff.  Food.  Well, that and the Thoroughly Random Christmas trivia challenge.  Everyone took up their pencils and worked together to try to get through this year’s version.  The questions were considerably easier than in years past.  Or so I thought.  The struggles were paramount, especially on the Visual Carol section.  Sadly, those songs were exact duplicates from last year’s challenge.  Corey remembered them.  Well, he remembered some of them.  Well, he knew that he really liked one of them, but he couldn’t remember which one.  Or why. 

Around 7:30 we launched into the evening’s festivities.  Jim and Dale brought their guitars and woke us all up with their rousing renditions of Rudolph (with a special vocal appearance by a certain white-bearded jolly guy), Jingle Bell Rock, and Jingle Bell traditional.  The we walked through the answers to the trivia challenge.  Sad.  So sad.  I may have to reprise many of the same questions next year just to get some correct answers.  Who is the mysterious Professor Hinkle, anyway?

Having worked through the difficult part of the evening, it was time for the event we all had been waiting for (but didn’t know it) … The Reindeer Games.  A brand new addition to the gathering this year, we were greatly entertained, under the direction of Games Master Comet, by the antics of several aspiring reindeer hopefuls, all wearing reindeer antlers, of course.  First was Rudolph’s Red Nose.  In this one pour three contestants had to seek out and remove only the red and brown M&M’s from one bowl to another using only suction and a straw.  Eric won that one “by a red nose” over the two Cory’s (well, one Cory and one Corey).  Next came the Marshmallow Munch. Three different contestants had to eat a bag of marshmallows, make and drink a packet of hot chocolate through a straw.  This one was a tight match all the way.  Jim’s methodical approach made him the early favorite.  Ed chose to mix the chocolate and marshmallows and try to eat them without the water.  That really didn’t work out well for him.  Dark horse Zach came through in the end for the victory, though.  The final game was called Jingle All the Way.  The younger generation put forth a challenge on this one as two students, Alyssa and Austin, faced off against Seaside Events Coordinator Lauren.  The task?  Each was given four boxes filled with jingles (bells),  They had to arrange the jingles into order from most jingle to least jingle without opening the boxes.  They could, however, shake them.  After a rapid fire series of rattles, all three were ready to be judged in less than ten seconds.  Fastest completion time in the history of the games, I might add.  Of course this was the first ever competition, so I guess a more appropriate way of saying that would be, they set the bar high for future generations of wannabe reindeer.  And who came away with the victory?  Something to be said for “experience,” I guess.  Lauren came out the clear winner.  Each contestant enjoyed a special prize selected just for their event.

Finally we were ready for the white elephant exchange.  In an abrupt departure from years past, however, we started the event with everyone holding onto a package.  Then I read a series of statements (i.e. You have dressed your pet up in Christmas clothes).  If the statement was true of you, you had to stand, open your gift, and then trade it with someone else who was also standing.  As the game continued, every time a statement referred to you, you stood again and joined in the trading.  By the end of the game everyone had owned and traded at least six or seven different gifts.  It was a little chaotic, but the perfect way to handle a game like that with such a large crowd.

So the Reindeer Games officially ended.  But were they really done?  Oh, I don’t think so.  See, Ed - the same Ed who forced himself to eat cocoa-covered marshmallows earlier – had never heard of Bertie Botts’ Every Flavor Jelly Beans.  And it just so happened that I keep a stash of those delectable goodies on hand.  The real final event of the Reindeer Games was on.  A small crowd cheered him on as he tried flavor after flavor, mastering grass clippings and ear wax with little difficulty.  But the real test was just ahead.  Finally one of those innocent-looking yellowish colored beans fell into his hand.  And he somewhat cautiously popped it into his mouth.  And the truly terrible taste sensation began.  His face contorted.  He chewed slower.  He confessed later that he threw up in his mouth just a little bit.  But he got it down.  Ed was officially inducted into the jelly bean hall of fame.  He downed and kept down a rotten egg flavored jelly bean.  Being the imminently helpful pastor that I am, I handed him another bean to help get the taste out of his mouth.  For future reference, black pepper doesn’t work particularly well in conjunction with a rotten egg.  At least not in Ed’s mouth.  Or his stomach, as we found out later in the evening when we found him sprawled out on the couch.  I offered him one more for the road, but that didn’t go over well at all.  That’s OK, Ed.  Hold on to your glory.  You accomplished something worthwhile last night.  Just remember, Jim spit his rotten egg into his cup of coke and threw the whole thing into the garbage.  But not you.  Oh, no.  You did it.  You are a Post-Reindeer Games Games winner.  Can I have your autograph?

Ephesians 6:10 says, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”

Father, thank you for fun amidst friends who trust each other enough to be just a little bit silly.  Amen.