New lights

Put up some new lights with separate dimmer switches in the master bedroom, project turned out real nice.

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I have often seen terrible things happen to people right at Christmas time.  The loss of a job or a fatal car accident, or a sick family member.  My heart has ached for them..."how hard it must be to find joy in Christmas when your world seems to be falling apart around you". I would think.  I often wondered what could possibly be done to alleviate their suffering, what could I do to replace their sorrow with some Christmas cheer?

And now here I am, with a father battling cancer right in the middle of the Christmas season.  Now I am faced with the challenge of finding some Christmas cheer while dealing with something so devastating. 

Some neighbors brought over a nice card and some perfectly made Christmas treats.  It was so nice to be thought of, yet these nice things did not contain true Christmas joy. We decorated the house and put up some lights, these too, while they were fun and brought a smile, did not contain the real Christmas spirit.  Where could I find the true Christmas spirit?

One day as I was making my way through traffic and highways to the hospital I began to think about Christmas.  I wondered if having my father in the hospital enduring so many physical pains would ruin my Christmas.  How could it not?!  How could I focus on the decorations and the lights and the wonder of the season with my heart so heavy?  Each time I tried to focus on what gifts to get my kids or how nice our neighborhood looked with all the lights and decorations, my mind would always turn back to my father, laying in a hospital bed.

Then my mind wondered to the story of Christs birth.  How hard it must have been for Mary!  Riding a donkey while 9 months pregnant!  The sorrow she must have felt as she watched Joseph get turned away at the Inn.  I wondered if she cried.  Then to be led to a barn!!  I can see the picture in my minds eye, but I can not imagine how she felt.  I thought of Christ, His birth, life and death.  Only through Him can we over come the sorrows and heartache of this life.  Wait...what....Only through Him!  Not through presents and lights and shopping and decorated trees.

How could I let my father being in the hospital ruin Christmas?  When Christmas is, in fact, in place to give hope over sorrow, pain, death, heartache, sin.  Then I realized I was celebrating the wrong things.  I had not been celebrating Christ.  I had missed the whole purpose of Christmas!

To let such a devastating thing 'ruin Christmas' would indeed smack at the very meaning and purpose of Christmas.  Because of this season there is hope for a better one.  Through this Christmas season we gain a small glimpse of a better more exalted season. 

Don't get me wrong, I've heard the cliche.  Christmas is all about Christ, or giving, or thinking of others.  While it is those things- do we let the American traditions, or even the ones of giving, take our focus of the savior?  Do we truly remember and celebrate Him at Christmas?  It is too easy to let concern over the tree and the gifts and the lights and the shopping, etc distract us from Christ.


And so its laid out before us, the challenge to truly focus on Christ.  What traditions might need to be removed in order to prevent them from distracting us from Christ?  What things need to change so that our time and our thoughts are freed up to allow Christ to fully become what Christmas really is all about?

Train

Evidently the horses are supposed to ride on top and in some cases drive the train.  Natalie had a great time arranging the different animals on the train.  Andrew and Kali also had a great time playing with the train. Love you dad.

Vic

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Dad's train

Got the train setup and running, its really freakin the dog out

Vic

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Kali & her new best friend

Kali got her dream for Christmas, a kindle.

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Rug from gma

The girls love it, thanks mom & dad.

Vic

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The calm before the storm

This is the tee on Christmas eve, we wish we could spend Christmas with all of the family.

Love and miss all you guys

Vic

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Christmas pjs for all the kids

I like your helmet Sophia - it's as big as you are.  Good to see pictures of you Amanda and KYle.  MIss you guys so much.  Can hardly wait until you move down here.  HOpe you had a fun time snowmachining. my keys stick on my laptop because grandpa spilled pop on the keys.  HOPe you are all doing good and have a wonderful Christmas.  Do you have a lot of snow?  IT was sunshining today and beautiful outside - still a little cold but not bad.

LOve all of you

mOm

Baking day

Sophia's ginger bread house!

Fun stuff

Sophia getting ready for snow machining! Kyle and Amanda ready too.

Strange people

So we went Christmas shopping today. We were all having a good time going from shop to shop. We were on our way to the fifth avenue mall, we were stopped at a light. Bob noticed a man and he nodded and smiled as if to say merry Christmas. The man flipped out!! Bob rolled down his window and the. Man yelled at him that he had bo right to look at him as an American citizen. Bob said ok and the man started to walk off. Then another man came running up to our car and nodded at bob as if mocking the other man! He was almost inside our window. Then he ran out in front of our car and would not let us drive for a few seconds. Then he went on his way!
It was really odd!! Bob kept looking for the first man of course he wanted more!!
There are some pretty strange folks wondering around the streets of anchorage this Christmas! But we are all safe and we had a food laugh!!

Jo

Cute pix of Andrew.  He is sure growing up.  Sure do love the grandkids.  Sorry you got a dog bite, Andrew.  They can be scary and painful.  Hope you will be ok.  Have you had your tetnus shot?  Vic, hope you are feeling better.  It is snowing here now - maybe we'll have a white Christmas!!!  It usually melts as soon as it snows.

Cute pix of your kids, Norm and Sarah - keep them coming.  Are you ready for Christmas?

Caleb is such a character - Tami has all the ornaments on the top third of the tree - for good reason.  Caleb loves to take them off and put them on again - so most of them are destroyed.  What would Christmas be without children.

Hope you all have a merry one and that Santa is good to you.

Mom

Yes, it was fun seeing Andria again.  She is getting pretty independent - which is good.  We are anxious to go home with Tami today.  However, he is going home with meds and oxygen and a home health care nurse is going to be coming over to Tami's - not sure how often but Cliff has to go to the dentist tomorrow and then back to the clinic so they can check him over on Thursday, so we will be busy for the next couple of days.  Maybe we can relax over Christmas and enjoy a day without being interrupted every few minutes for tests, etc.  Sure is wonderful to have family who is willing to help - you guys are all awesome.

Mom

Andrew

Andrew in front of the Christmas tree.  E went caroling tonight with some friends, good times.

Vic

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Olive garden

Here all are (minus a few) at olive garden.  Had to send andria home with a good meal in her belly!  Was so fun to have her for a couple days! 

So dad is doing great.  His collection phase is over!!  As long as he does good through the night he'll be able to leave the hospital and come to our house tomorrow!  We are all very excited about that!  Will be so good to have them here for christmas!

Chillin

Just chillin with the family by the tree listening to Christmas music waiting for Santa to get here do I can shoot his butt like dad used to do.

Vic

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Dog bite

Andrew got bit by a friends dog tonight, doesn't look  too serious mostly bruises.  Kids took our dog over to meet their dog, evidently that was not a good idea, Andrew is fine though, the bite is on his thigh.

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In the lobby

Andria waiting in the lobby for grandma to come out so we can partee hardee!

New toy table

Jeremiah playing with his new toy table that John made for the boys.  They love it!!

Wow

So I just went online to view the blog for the first time. All the pics just come up as a bunch of garbalde goop when I would check it from my phone. Then I went to check it out on my phone and all the pics are there. Not sure I will ever understand all this electronic stuf. Anyway I hope all is going well. Sounds like dad is doing better. Can't wait to see him and mom! Love you guys
Jo

Christmas shopping

We were at the mall finishing up christmas shopping and we stopped to share a bowl of iced cream at cold stone- yum!!  james looks so cute :)

Kids

The best kids in the world.

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New dew

Andrew decided that he wanted to try something different.

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Santa

The fat man in the red suit talking to Andrew.

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Kali in the school Christmas program

Here is a pic of Kali in her school Christmas program playing the violin.  She did awesome.  we were sitting in the nose bleed section cause we had gone to see the fat man in the red suit at Natalie's school prior to going and were almost late. 

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Alex, Norman and Cody

Dang phone line

So I have been trying to call mom and dad for a while now on their hospital line and I keep getting pathology. Then at night it just rings and rings. I was getting really frustrated because I cod not reach them (did not want to use up their cell minutes) so the other day I confirmed the number I had with tami and she said it was right. I kept trying and the lady in pathology was getting annoyed I think! Well today I asked tami to send me the number she had since she had been getting through. As soon as she sent it I saw the problem. I had inverted two numbers. Why sister did not catch this I do not know. But it is fixed now and I can call dad and mom!

Love ya sister!
Jo

So sweet when they're sleeping

James usually will go right to sleep when I put him down at night.  Tonight he wanted a little extra TLC.  So I got to rock him to sleep.  What a wonderful little person we have been given!  I love it when my boys let me love them!

Thanks for being the start of a great generation of wonderful people dad!  Thanks to you we are all able to have great families, that love and care for each other!  Love you!

Cute pictures of Jeremiah and Caleb - Caleb is one of a kind - his decorating the tree is very original.  Anything goes right.

News flash tonight - Federal regulations - no cell phone use, no texting, etc. when you are driving.  It's very deadly.  Hope you all listen.

Fun with clay

This is jeremiahs clay/toy concoction!  It started out as a bomb of course, and then morphed into this, whatever it is...

Merry Christmas from Jeremiah and Caleb!

Caleb's way!

Notice the branch on the bottom that has three jingle bell ornaments on it, the wipes on the floor fell out of the tree just as I was taking the picture, and if you look close and squint your right eye you can see a soccer ball in the branches on the left side!  Caleb truly has his own way of decorating the tree!  I never know what I will find amoung the branches.  Yesterday he had taken all of james's diapers and put them in the tree!  He'd probably try to put james, or maybe the cat in it too, if i'd let him!  Never a dull moment with that little guy!

Home work

Jeremiah doing his home work!  :) 

I had all three kids at the bank when I went to open jeremiahs account.  We sat and waited for a loan officer for like 20 minutes.  Well, the things I brought to entertain the kids with were all exhausted!  So we left without a bank account. :(  errands are so hard with 3 little ones!  Maybe tomorrow....

Jeremiahs first bank account!

Jeremiah did so good helping with muffins last weekend and this weekend, that I am taking him to the bank to open his first bank account!  He is very excited!  I told him if he helped and did everything we asked him to without complaining, he could have all the muffin money!  Which is a lot to a 5 year old. 

Colony Christmas

Well here we are. Selling corn yet again. I must say it has been slow so far but we are hoping it will pick up later this afternoon. It is still a bit early so we will see how it goes!

I guess norm bought his ticket an we will not have days that overlap I am sorry but please get together before I get there and fill me in when I do! Love you both so very much and I miss you too!!!!

Love Jo

Sophia - you and your doll are so darn cute.  Love the pictures.  Wish I could give you a hug.  Miss you.

James is getting prepared for his mission to China - he ate his first rice today!!!!  And he loved it!!!!

First food

James had his first mush food today.  He ate it all right up.  It was the cleanest first baby food in the history of the world!  And the most successful, I had to mix up some more he liked it so much!

Our tree!

Its only been up for 10 minutes and its been tipped over twice, and I've had to refluff the top 3 times!  Haven't even gotten around to fluffing the bottom yet!