The Eve

I am still working today so it feels less like Christmas Eve than in previous years. It seems that there is a mad dash to finish everything up at work prior to the end of the year. I am betting next week will be worse.

Emma is at home getting the house ready for Christmas dinner. She is amazing :o) The kidlets will arrive at 4 pm or so. They are having their "Christmas" with mom and step dad this morning. Jocelyn and Andrew are enjoying time with their dad this week as well. It will be the first time in 10 years that both their mom & dad are in the same place for Christmas.

My wife got me a new shirt and tie to wear with my suit this evening. We will be leaving at 9 to head over to church. They expect 3,000 people for the last service at 10:30 so we may have to get creative to get seats.

blessings on your day

The Countdown Continues

Only 2 more days until Christmas. The ham and turkey are thawing in the garage. All the side-dishes have been assigned out and beds are allocated. Noah went over to grandpa & grandma's house yesterday and made a gingerbread house.

I am in the office again today, but will finish up the afternoon working from home as E goes to work at 2:30.

blessings on your (crazy) day

Party Recap

The annual Arabesque Christmas Party was a smashing success this year. Most of the neighbors managed to show up at some point or other. And almost everyone got into the spirit of the season by dressing up as their favorite persona from the 80's :) Madonna was particular good. A special mention to Jack-Sean who was a very good sport about his house lights which developed a mysterious case of random flashing over the last couple of weeks.

Christmas Party, 2008

Interesting

I was rather surprised at President-To-Be Obama's choice to give the invocation at his inauguration. Don't get me wrong, I have a great deal of respect for Rick Warren. What I am questioning are the motives behind the choice. Mr. Obama has never struck me as one to put a lot of trust in God. He is by far, one of the smoothest politicians of our generation. His choice of Rick Warren has inflamed the gay community and is seemingly at odds with his stance on many of the social issues of the day.

Tell me what you think - is he genuinely reaching out to the "Christian Right" at the expense of the gay community or is this simply another political ploy designed to smooth things over?

Rude Drivers

As I was leaving the development this morning, a beat up honda came screaming around a corner forcing me to take abrupt evasive action. In the course of which, my coffee cup tipped over dumping coffee and creamer onto the passenger seat soaking the seat and everything on it. What kind of idiot drives 40-50 mph through a housing development in the rain?

Sigh...

R U Done?

'Tis the season, eh? Hopefully, the casual reader has finished his or her Christmas shopping. The malls are ugly this year and the mood seems very grim. I have noticed a lot more incidents of road (parking lot) rage and intolerance this year. The collapsing economy has everyone on edge. Even the sales clerks seem a tad desperate and less willing to be gracious and accommodating.

As Christians, we are called upon to make a difference in the world around us. I will admit that I struggle with not getting caught up in the frantic, frenetic chaos and general gloom that seems to characterize this holiday season. It is harder and harder for me to remember to be gracious, kind, loving and compassionate as I deal with the ugliness that pervades the stores and surrounding areas.

There is only a week left before Christmas. Take some time today and for the next week to remember what Christmas means. Go out of your way to spread some cheer. Make it a point to encourage someone. And above all else, don't get caught up in someone else's "grinch-ness."

Warming Up

It was only 36 this morning when I got home from the gym. This is MUCH better than the 27 degrees on my display in the car yesterday :) We are fortunate to live someplace that rarely sees a hard freeze (below 30 for several days at a time). Unfortunately, we are rarely prepared when we DO get one. Some of my pipes are wrapped and protected - some are not. It is always a crap-shoot when the temps dip down below freezing at night.

blessings on your day (and your water pipes)

A Time To Give

We finally got some rain :) Hopefully it will stay for a day or so. They got at least a foot of snow up top with another foot forecast for today.

Went to start dinner this morning and discovered that we had no "cream-O" soup in the cupboard so I improvised. Tonight we are having chicken-veggie-tomato-curry :) It smelled yummy by the time I left. E is on days today so we get to eat dinner together for the 2nd night in a row.

If you still have doubts about the economy, listen to the ads. A number of stores are already starting their "after-Christmas" sales and everyone has steep discounts. Now is the time to increase your giving to the charity of your choice. If you are working, current on your mortgage and paying all your bills, consider helping out those that are not. All the charities are reporting alarmingly low contributions - and at a time when record numbers of people are in need. If you have been blessed, pass the blessing along.

blessings on your day

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Ecclesiastes 3:1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven

Lego my Robot!

Saturday Sarah and I drove down to attend Nate's last Lego Robotics competition (click HERE for the pictures and videos). His team did better than he expected, ranking about 30 out of 90 teams.

Socked In

Wow, was it ever foggy this morning! Visibility was down to maybe a tenth of a mile during the morning commute. The sun is poking through a little bit right now, but they are calling for rain and snow (down to 5,000 feet) this weekend. It sure will be good to get some rain. Hopefully this is just the opening salvo in a long line of storms.

Bound for Clovis

Nate's last Lego Robotics competition is this Saturday. Tomorrow morning, bright and early, I am heading down to Clovis. Sarah is going to hitch a ride with me as she hasn't seen her brother for a while. We should be back around 5 p.m. with lots of pictures.

Brrrrrrr

It was chilly this morning in the car on the way to the gym. The gauge on the dash claimed a frosty 35 degrees. It seems winter is finally here. Unfortunately, the rain is not. It has been disturbingly dry this year after the opening salvo of rain. The ski resorts are using man-made snow for the most part and they are already talking about drought restrictions for next year.

The Slow Road

It has been quite a while since my last posting and longer still since any substance. The holiday times continue to be a season of struggle for me. Over the years, I have come to feel like an alien within my extended family - an outsider or visitor with little or nothing in common with most of them other than genetics. I watch bigotry be tolerated. I see verbal abuse as the standard for interaction. I see the next generation lacking basic skills like respect and politeness. I see some family members so out of control as to present physical danger to the younger children.

I struggle with the loss of cohesion and intimacy within my own family as the children grow, move on with their lives, and retreat behind a facade of small talk and pleasantry.

The meaning of Christmas seems lost amidst the chaos of shopping, preparations and marketing. Even the church is so caught up in pageantry and extravaganza to the that the message of Jesus is diluted and watered down or absent entirely.

This is the season when we are remembering the birth of a Savior, let us work harder to keep Him at the center of our Christmas.

blessings on your day

It's Official

CNN reports that "The U.S. entered a recession in December 2007, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research."

Can you say 'Duh' ?