December 28 – “Anticipation …again”

So Christmas is getting close around here.  Again.  Yesterday I worked to get my sermon for Sunday as far along as possible.  Chris spent most of the day cleaning house.  And let me tell you … it’s clean.  Well, maybe not “Granny clean,” but it’s most  certainly “Christi clean.”  I think that’s our new standard.

And speaking of “Christi Clean,” Josh and Christi and their boys (and of course their new little girl) are due in sometime today as I understand the plans.  My “understanding the plan” is an essentially meaningless statement, I know.  But I think I heard something along those lines.  One way or the other I’m pretty sure they will be here Thursday and Friday.  And of course that means Kel’s brood of now five won’t be far behind.  Oh, and I’m fairly certain Cailyn will want to be around as well.  After all, there are cousins to consider.  And two of those cousins she has never seen before.  Baby time.  No quiet time to be had around here for the next few days. 

In further anticipation of this onslaught – er, I mean this long-awaited extension of our holiday season - we made a trip to WalMart yesterday as well.  We had to get groceries for the occasion.  There are a few traditional dishes that must be made.  Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without, oh … roast and rice, or chicken enchilada pie, or breakfast bread, or frozen cheesecake, or pudding pie, or that all-time favorite … drumroll here … divinity (which, by the way, has already been made, so Kel and Josh and Nathan, if you want any of it, you’d better get here in a hurry tomorrow).  And Chris just said to me, “Oh, I forgot to buy cabbage.  I wasn’t even thinking about New Year’s Day.”  We’ll be going back soon.

We gathered up our full cart and headed to the checkout counter.  Now over the course of the last year we have been faithfully scanning our WalMart receipts to check for price matches on their savings catcher program.  I finally remembered to hit the redeem button.  After an intensive search of the WalMart website and the WalMart app on my phone, and after several miss-tries in conjunction with the checker, we finally put out an SOS call.  Fortunately, another checker knew the process (actually, the problem was that I wasn’t scrolling down far enough on the email screen of the notice they sent me.  As usual … operator error).  Anyway, we saved a whopping $90 towards the bill.  That’ll help.  I guess we’ll start scanning for next Christmas.

Philippians 1:9-11 says, “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God.”

Father, thank you for the renewed anticipation Chris and I are feeling as we wait for our little ones to get here (even our “older” little ones).  Amen.

December 27 – “Donuts and some love”

We got some feedback on the Christmas Eve donut give-away.  One man took a box into the convenience store next to the church.  The owner happened to be working, so the Seasider told him, “You always give away food to people around Thanksgiving time.  This year we would like to give you this box of donuts to say thanks for working on Christmas.”  Apparently the store owner was pretty flabbergasted, so our guy added, “It’s from the church.”  Nice job.  Especially since the store owner is Muslim. 

Another couple followed their family tradition after the service of going out to eat.  As they finished up their meal, they found themselves the only customers left in the restaurant, which was about to close.  In true Seasider fashion, one of them ran out to the car and retrieved the box of donuts.  They presented it to the restaurant staff and said, “Thank you for working on Christmas Eve.”  The staff, again floored that anyone would do such a thing, was very grateful. 

The other anecdote I heard about came from the Seasider who stopped by the Santa Fe fire station.  It took her a while to figure out how to get in (she called to ask me for suggestions.  I wasn’t much help, but she eventually figured it out).  Once she found the right door, she discovered the crew on site after all.  And to her surprise, it was the very same crew that had responded to the call at her house when she fell and broke her leg.  The reunion was a fun was, as they remembered her as well. 

I always enjoy hearing these results stories from ministry actions we undertake.  Lots of times we never know what God does with our meager efforts, so it is very encouraging when there is immediate feedback.  Keep those stories coming in.  And don’t wait until next Christmas Eve to do it again.

Philippians 1:7 says, “It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me.”

Father, thank you for letting Seasiders be a part of touching the lives of a store owner, a restaurant staff, and a fire house crew with donuts and some love.  Amen.

December 26 – “True Love’s Kiss”

The Christmas morning crowd at church was kind of small, around 20 hearty souls, several of whom had also attended the Christmas Eve service.  We abbreviated the service a bit so folks could spend more time with friends and family.  I would say overall it was a good time of worship. 

After church we were invited over to Lauren and Ed’s house for a Christmas lunch.  Apparently Cathy, Lauren’s Mom, heard what the plans were for said lunch and decided that they just weren’t “special” enough.  So she jumped in and changed things up.  Instead we had turkey and all the fixin’s.  Dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans (casserole and regular), and rolls.  Not to mention the warm apple pie and blueberry cobbler with Blue Bell ice cream on top for dessert.  It honestly felt like Thanksgiving.  They were planning an afternoon of games as well, but we took our leave early so we could spend some time with family.

And by family, I guess I mean, first of all, just Chris and I.  We exchanged presents before church, so we needed a moment or two to bask in the glory and excitement of our new stuff.  I got some underwear.  Just what I asked for.  No, really.  I’m not being sarcastic here.  I really needed some new underwear.  I also got a wallet and a movie (Sully.  It’s the one about the pilot who landed in the river.  Tom Hanks.  I like Tom Hanks).  And then there were the slippers.  Two pair of slippers, one for summer and one for winter.  The winter pair has the Superman logo blasted all over it.  I have to return them, though.  Both pair are too small.  The good thing, though, is that they came from good ol’ WalMart.  And we have to finish up some Christmas shopping anyway before Josh and Christi get here on Wednesday.  Chris got a pop up tent of her very own so we don’t have to constantly be borrowing Nathan’s.  we can also use it on our back porch on the scorcher days of August just around the corner.  She got a new cell phone charger for the car.  Our old one died.  And thanks to a combination of sales and coupons and a birthday giftcard from Palais Royal, she got a set of sheets for our bed.  We have a set or two that are about as threadbare as the underwear I have been wearing (Wait.  Too much information?).  She also got two books written by our friend Susan Feaster.  Oh, and the carving this year was … I managed to finish at the very last minute the names of our two latest additions, AnnaGrace and Ezra.  Ezra was a challenge, since he was born on the 22^nd, but with supervisory assistance from Micah and Josiah and Noa, I pulled it off with just one minor snafu.  But that snafu glued back on with no problem.  I even managed to mention the grandkids at the Christmas Eve service.  That’s kind of a tradition we have.  I somehow mention whatever I have carved at the service.  Chris has to try and figure out what the carving is.  Some years I have even written an entire children’s Christmas story to give her clues.  That didn’t happen this year, but I did get the clues in. 

After pondering our gifts (read here, collapsing for a much-needed Sunday afternoon nap), we drove up to LaMarque to check on Ezra in his new habitat.  His family seems to be holding up just fine with this new addition.  Noa regaled us with her ever-changing details in a story she was crafting on the fly concerning Anna (she got an Anna dress for Christmas, so she was wearing it, of course).  It had all the characters from the movie (which I still have not seen all the way through), and a few of her own.  As I understood it, Anna’s sister was some kind of evil super-villain with the power to freeze your heart and kill you.  Somebody named Christoph who wears “That one kind of hat like you wear, Daddy” works with the evil sister.  Take courage if you ever get frozen to death, though.  See, Anna/Noa herself had already been frozen.  But true love’s kiss from a snowman had fixed her heart and saved her.  “True love’s kiss can do that.”  Good to know. 

Philippians 1:3-6 says, “I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Father, thank you for taking it upon yourself to send us Jesus - your true love’s kiss.  Amen.

December 25 – “Homecoming”

Well, yesterday was more than just Christmas Eve to the Vaughan family in LaMarque.  It was homecoming day.  It was the day we took the four old dudes (Jachin, Micah, Josiah, and Noa) back home.  And why was that?  Because it was also the day that baby brother Ezra was making his way home from the hospital for the first time.  The release paperwork seemed to take forever, but we finally got word that they were on their way.  Since it was already afternoon, Chris took the kids home while I finished up getting ready for the Christmas Eve worship services at church.  I also had a little extra time to pull out the Christmas gifts for Chris that have been I hiding for a few months (Hope I remembered them all), and get them wrapped.  Not sure when we’ll do our Christmas together with today also being a Sunday.  Anyway, Chris and the kids were there in plenty of time to greet Ezra and his parents when they got home.  As it turned out, Chris was back here in plenty of time to go with me to the church to get the final things ready there.

Now, as to the service last night …

We had one of the best crowds ever.  Over 70 people.  We had to break out some extra chairs to fit everyone in (Thanks, Nathan, for taking care of that).  I saw some Seasiders even do the unthinkable.  They actually moved to the very front row so someone could have their seat (Nice job, Ed, in particular.  I know your Momma was proud of you as well.  Great to have her with us).  The AA group graciously moved up to the retreat center and had their regular Saturday evening meeting as well.  Christmas is not always an easy time for them, so keep them in your prayers.

Corey was back with the praise team, playing his violin.  Rebecca added her singing voice, and Jim and Dale continued with their excellent guitar (and banjo) accompaniment.  I saw Ed up there afterwards, toying with the banjo as well.  Sounded like we ought to have an extra body up there pretty soon.  Of course I also heard Jim mention something about the pastor playing his ukulele as well.  Think I’ll keep my mouth shut for the time being.

And then came the teaching segment.  Ouch.  The computer froze up and wouldn’t read the powerpoint images.  Nothing past the very first one.  We tried reloading and restarting the computer – everything.  Nothing worked.  Oh and did I mention that all of this happened during the service?  During the sermon?  Lauren did a great job trying all of the known computer tricks to get the powerpoint to come up, but nothing helped.  So I did a fake punt and an end run and just plowed on through the teaching without the cool images.  The feedback after the service was very positive, although things like, “Nice recovery” and “I sure would have liked to see that original picture of Santa Claus” were not exactly the kinds of things one wants to have to hear.  Perhaps it will inspire them to do a google search of their own. 

Otherwise, the people seemed to enjoy connecting with Jesus.  And that’s what the whole point of the evening was anyway.  It was great to see people who come every single year to the service (their only trip to Galveston every year is over Christmas).  And others we haven’t seen for a very long time.  Nathan and April and Cailyn were there.  They and Chris and I lit the Advent wreath as a family.  That was a special moment.  And of course those great current Seaside regulars were doing a super job of welcoming all the guests.  Every single box of donuts was taken (Our gift to be given away on their way home to someone they see at work on Christmas Eve).  Lots of the ornaments were gone as well (same purpose).  So my prayer is that the spiritual touch of worship last night will end up having longer-term effects well after the last car pulled out of the parking lot.  I leave this blog with what has become my favorite greeting for people I see at WalMart … Happy Christmas!

Luke 2:13-14 says, “Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.’”

Father, thank you for the many people who came to worship you last night, both at Seaside and across the world.  May you touch them in ways they never expected, long after the holiday season is done.  Amen.

December 24 – “EE-I-OH”

While the boys played boy-games involving Legos and GI Joes, Noa quietly snuck up on me as I endeavored to type in my office.  In that sweet “I love you DadDad and I have you wrapped around my little finger” voice of hers, she asked me to sing with her.  Ands as I turned to look at her I saw the little angel standing there, dragging my ukulele case behind her.  She grinned again and added, “And let’s sing wif your little guitar.  Not knowing much about her repertoire, I found some Christmas Carols that I knew the chords to.  She was great, of course.  I was … out of practice.  If nothing else, though, our singing did take her mind off of her earlier whining lament related to the boys not including her in their game of “Ee-i-oh.”  They were saying GI Joe.  Oh, and as it turned out, it also provided her an opportunity to warm up for her premier performance.  She sang the entire way back up to the hospital.  Just a few base songs with a myriad of minor adaptations.  Here are a few of the lyrics: “Oh, Christmas tree, oh, Christmas tree, my God is so big, Jesus loves me, this I know, so, joy to the world.”  Yep.  That was one song.  I am still impressed by how well it fits together, aren’t you?

At the hospital little Ezra was enjoying a snack.  That led to some pondering by big brother Josiah.  The elder one had just one question concerning this whole breastfeeding thing: “Does he drink both sides?”  To her credit, Christina managed her “yes” answer with a nod and a totally straight face.

We also learned that Micah has some pretty strong views on getting married.  In fact, check out this interchange:

Micah: “I am not getting married.”

Nana: “You don’t have to, but you may change your mind some day.”

Micah: “Nope.  I’m not getting married because that lip to lip is just gross.”

Nana: covers her mouth to hide and hold in the explosion of laughter struggling to escape.

Micah: “And if you’re married your wife will make you go to the doctor.”

Jachin and me: Thumbs up

We got home from the hospital in time to run over to the brand new fishing pier off of 61^st Street.  Jachin and Micah and Josiah went fishing with me while Nana and Noa headed over to WalMart to do some shopping.  As I mentioned the other day, we had to replenish our food supply.  Fishing was about what I expected for the area.  I have been there a few times before and had about the same result.  But from the perspective of three youngsters, it was the best fishing day ever.  They each managed to land at least one piggy.  And I’m pretty sure Micah and Jachin each had on line one of those monsters that they saw on that TV show Catching Monsters.  It grabbed hold of their hook and simply wouldn’t let go, no matter how hard they pulled.  Ended up breaking their line.  Had to be a big one.  Either that or they got hung up on some of the oysters and rocks around there.  I think we’ll stick with the monster story, though.  It tells better.

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 fishing stories and the chance to make a few of them with my grandsons.  Amen.

December 23 – “A most … educational day”

Did you know there is a new game available for play on your iPhone?  I know.  Not very alarming news, right?  But in this game, which the boys have been playing off and on ever since they have been here, and which they taught to their Dad up at the hospital yesterday, involves a radical new approach to educational gaming.  In this one, as I understand it, you create viruses which in turn cause epidemics.  Your goal, again, as I understand it, is to destroy the world.  It uses principles of epidemiology and sociology as well as evil genius strategy.  All the elements to be both educational and … frightening. 

We had lunch with Dad at the hospital yesterday.  Now this is Texas Children’s in Houston, so no bland hospital fare for us.  Oh, no.  We went to the in-hospital McDonalds.  The walk down there from the 14^th floor was quite eventful.  Noa just couldn’t believe there was a “Matt Donald’s” at the doctor office.  And it’s quite different being in a skyscraper.  Noa was gazing out one of the windows - a long way up there.  I suggested that it was a very long way down, and then I asked, “Don’t you think it’s pretty scary looking down like that?”  Without a hint of hesitation she replied, “Oh, no.  I can totally Spiderman that thing.”  Wait.  She’s how old?

The elevator rides presented yet another level of excitement.  See, Nana doesn’t particularly like enclosed spaces.  Well, Nana hates being in enclosed spaces.  And she is not all that excited about being in an enclosed space that travels up and down on a single cable.  So when the doors closed and all the boys started jumping up and down she was … less that appreciative. 

We also stopped to see the interactive train exhibit.  After all that other excitement this one was kind of anticlimactic, though.  The boys pushed all the buttons, and Chris and I located some of the more creative placements.  The ski lift.  An ice skating rink.  Spiderman.  Godzilla.  Charlie Brown.  An entire clan of Rubber Duckies.  Noa was hoping for a ride but she couldn’t get through the class wall.

When we finally made it all the way back to our house, Noa was helping unload the car.  But her load never quite made it past the front porch.  See, she deposited whatever she was carrying at the Precious Moments manger scene in our front yard.  Her shoes.  Josiah’s sleeping bag.  When asked why she wasn’t taking them into the house, she replied very simply, “Because these are gifts for the baby Jesus.”  Of course they were.  She skipped happily into the house and Chris quietly brought the gifts inside.

Ephesians 6:19 says, “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel”

Father, thank you for a three-year-old’s gifts to the Baby Jesus.  Makes me wonder at mine …  Amen.

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.