The Little Drummer Girl

For the past few years I've been plaguing my siblings by giving my nephews drums, percussion, and the occasional keyboard, along with other assorted loud toys. Not this year though. I turned my guns on myself. For the 3rd day of Hannakuh Hannah received her own Barbie drumset. Clam-happy was she, and we all took turns playing it (my set is at the church) and singing and dancing. It's really fun, but a wee bit loud...whoops! I guess I can't really complain. I actually love it, and it makes me smile when she pounds out a rhythm.

Chrismakkah 2005

Yeah, so The O.C. has nothing on us. Diane is Russian Jew, so we celebrate Hannakuh, and we're Christians, so we celebrate Christmas (just in case you haven't read previous posts). Our decorations are white and blue (for Hannakuh) and we have a Christmas Tree. It's fun. We of course did the family traditions too, this being the first time for our new little family. My extended family on my mom's side all lives in the general area, and we got together at my cousin Jason's house (pics of that soon to come...I forgot the camera...come on Sharon, you're all I've got!) for eating, blind gift exchange, and hang time. I'm notoriously lazy, and tend to not stay in contact with all of my cousins, aunts and uncles, and even grandma. It's too bad, 'cause Diane and I really like hanging with 'em all. Maybe this will be the year to remedy that. Anyways, it was cool, and we got a cool fuzzy blanket that my cousin Cindy made. It's really warm, and matches my orange chair...so of course the girls get it.
We picked up Michaela from the airport last night at about 11:30pm with her bag o' loot from her dad's in California. This morning we drove over to Mom and Dad's for butterhorns and immediate family exchange. Good times. Roan was a happy little camper, Cole flirted with Michaela. Hopefully the folks will start their own blog with the digital camera we got them. We packed up Hannah's unopened gifts and headed home to be there when she got home from her dad's. We did the real-close-immediate family gift exchange and soon had a very Lucy-ish Hannah clad in official Narnia garb. I was stabbed and healed several times. Diane started dinner and I put together Gluwein (hot spiced red wine), and the house began to smell of wonderfull things to come.
Diane is incredible at setting up a dinner party, and the meal was excellent. Grandma & Lad, Mom & Dad, and Kathi came to join Diane, Michaela, Hannah and I for dinner, and some late night Dradle games. Mom ended up winning in the end, but not until the rest of us broke into the bank after Hannah won every single spin in like 10 minutes. Michaela read Hannakuh prayers, and Hannah lit the first candle. 7 more days, and 7 more presents to open...it's not over yet! Much later Grandma and Lad headed home, and Mom wanted to watch The Polar Express, so we huddled down for a couple of hours and let dinner (and apple crisp) digest. Everyone headed home soon after, and the big Clean Up began, starting with setting the coffeepot for the morning (otherwise I'd never get up!). A few hours later, Hannah in bed (no sword), Michaela getting settled back in, Diane finishing the dishes, I came down and wrote this blog.

The End.

Until tomorrow.

The Girls At Christmas

This is my first Christmas with my new family...well, at least officially. Michaela has flown down to California to visit her dad and family for a couple of weeks, and will come home late Christmas Eve...in fact, I think that she's on the same flight as Santa. Hannah is home right now, no school, creating projects, and flying (I swear, no one can run that fast) through the house after the kittens. The kittens are getting fat, and can barely escape. Hannah will be with her dad on Christmas Eve, and will come home for Christmas/Hannukah dinner here. It's quite nice actually. The folks will be coming over, as well as my grandma and her husband, Lad. It should be fun, and red meat will serve us all well. again, this is basically just a post to excuse cute pictures of the girls. I do that.

STAR WARS MARATHON!!!

Yes, today was the long awaited Star Wars Episodes I-VI movie marathon for the jr. and sr. highers of Lake Grove Pres (and friends). At 9 am Jim and I were there with donuts, coffee, and popcorn and 6 Star Wars DVD's in widescreen. The best thing - we weren't alone. The pic here is of those folks there at 9 am (Jeff came 10 minutes later). Hannah came with me, quite excited to see these movies that I love so much. She made it until about 30 minutes into Return Of The Jedi before she fell asleep. We watched them in chronological order, rather than release, just to be different, and to end on a high note. Unfortunately, on the new DVD version of Jedi, they've stuck Hayden Christensen as Anakin at the end when the Jedi ghosts show up. We screamed, outraged at the sacrilege of changing the movie even more...to suit 2 less-than-par flicks at that. But the day was great. We had 8 people (Jim, Noah, Micah, Katie E, Becky, Jeff, Hannah, and myself) stay the full 13 1/2 hours, and 16 others (Kathleen, Drew, Ethan, Maggie, Paul, Kyle, Jessie, Eric/ka, Katey F, Lindsey, Ashley, Brittney, Charlie, Mike, John, and Katie H) that popped in from 20 minutes to 9 hours. Hannah had so much fun, that she drew a picture of her and myself, first with lightsabers ("lifesavers" as she calls them) and then on the couch watching the movies. Truly a successful time, with some commenting (mostly on the incredibly bad dialogue of episodes I-III) and explaining (at least 3 had never watched any of them!), but mostly an attentive group, well fed, and highly entertained.

Snow Day!

I know it's coming. And I know the reaction. It's the same everytime. 6 hours to get from one end of 217 to the other. It's snow. Less than an inch. And Diane and I made the mistake of putting off grocery shopping until today. We parked 4 stores away at WinCo. The line started at the back of the store and took more than 1/2 an hour to get through. Some people saw the line and left their cart, running out into the snow before it was too late. We waited. And the ice started to form. Chains? Yes. In the garage at home. We had the front wheel drive Toyota. And uphill everyway we tried. Almost an hour later we made it within sight of 99W. 20 minutes later we were on 1-5 Southbound. Less than 5 minutes later we were home. Whew! It's-beginning-to-look-a-lot-like/I'm-dreaming-of-a-white Christmas keeps going through my head. We'll see how the week turns out. A safe and warm few days to all!

"...who knows what Christmas is all about?"

Charlie Brown cries out, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” Linus speaks up, “Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.” He walks out to the auditorium’s center stage. “Lights please.” The house lights go down and a spotlight focuses on Linus, clutching his ever-present blanket.

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone ‘round about them; and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them ‘Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign to you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.’”

As Linus finishes he turns and walks back to Charlie Brown waiting in the wings and asserts, “That’s what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown.” Charlie Brown thinks a moment, and then a smile of comprehension shines from his face. He takes his little tree and exits the building.

O Christmas Tree...

O Christmas Tree, how lovely are your...uh, branches? Well, the house is getting all decorated for Christmas with Hannukah colors...that's right, Diane is Russian Jew, so we celebrate Hannukah and Christmas (since she's a Christian). Hannukah falls on Christmas this year, so it works out quite well. it's amazing how many white lights we've scrounged up so far. It's fun. Meanwhile, I was asked to speak to Entheos (sr. high group) tonight, and spoke on The Promise (see earlier post) and found I'm definitely not alone in getting sidetracked from the Christ in Christmas. I also showed a clip from The Bishop's Wife, where David Niven tells the story of an empty stocking. Guess Who's stocking is empty? Anyway, I just wanted an excuse to post a picture of my wife. Isn't she cute?!

The End Of An Era

A few years ago I came back to Lake Grove Presbyterian on a whim. A random invite from a volunteer with the youth. Now, I had been a volunteer from '92-'99, but had quit to spend time on a failed marriage. So I come in back in '03 and run into Ryan Caldwell. Ryan had been in Jr. High when I was last there, and was now leading music for the groups! I was invited to bring my guitar and plug back in to the worship scene. Ryan introduced me as so old that I had been doing this when he was in Fish Co. I could feel the love...actually, I could. Just as with the countless students who attend Fish Co and Entheos over the years, Ryan made me feel welcome, and helped me to re-engage in worship music, something I hadn't done in 3 years. This post is a tribute to his work in students and leaders lives.

Ryan is wacky. He's always been a little off the beaten track, and being a Christian did little to stray that. But with his new Goal, he embraced our Lord and His work. And it shows to those who meet him. We heard testimonies to how Ryan worked His Love and Gifts into our lives. We also had the "last" Ryan-led worship time, with Jim on bass, and myself on drums. It was great. We three had not ever had time to do it before...I love playing the Lord's Truth!

Ryan is in Joplin, Missouri where he is now a Youth Director himself, under the pastorship of my old youth director, Cliff Mansley, Jr. The church has about 400 members, and a youth group of a dozen. With Ryan's exhuberance, and the Lord's will, great things will happen there. Especially if Tricia is also involved. Her down to earth realism will be an asset to the church there as it was here.

I wish them both well, and God's blessing on their lives. Pray for His work in their wake, and keep in touch at rtcaldwell@gmail.com.

The Promise

As Christmas approaches like the Polar Express, I found myself becoming anxious about all that I had not done. The tree, lights, and shopping that should be at least planned by now. I had the Christmas music pulled out though. I enjoy listening, and tend to sing carols all year round. I had listened through several different albums, from Frank Sinatra, to James Brown, to Reliant K, and found a Michael Card album titled The Promise: A Celebration Of Christ's Birth. Now, I remember thinking to myself that this album was untraditional, lacking carols, instead having songs about His earthly birth. When I saw the CD I remembered that I had found a companion book for $1 at a garage sale. So I sat down with my coffee to read. It's subtitle was Prayers, Reflections and Songs. On the 3rd page I found what I was needing to prepare myself for Christmas...myself, not my house. Please indulge me and read on.“If Christmas does not mean everything in July, then it truth it means nothing in December. If I need a cooling in the weather and the sight of familiar decorations to cause my heart to leap like a lamb – if my heart cannot celebrate today as I consider the birth of our Lord Jesus, then Christmas reveals a problem in me. Maybe, ‘til now, I’ve only been touched by the carols and tinsel, the romance of Christmas, not gripped with awe and wonder at the living Gift, delivered to us all on that first Christmas night.”

So as you prepare for Christmas, don't forget to prepare yourself for the Celebration that lasts all year; "...for unto us a Son is given, unto us a Son is born!" (Isaiah 9:6) - Merry Christmas!

Away In A Manger...?

The first thing we did for decorating this year was bring out the Nativity scene. We set it up near the stairs on a low shelf. The next day when I walked by, I noticed that the Wise Men had taken to flying...badly. They were all over the floor with an Angel. I guess the angel had been the flying instructor. So I put them back. To make a boring story interesting, the next thing that happened was like something out of a B movie; 2 larger than life cats stood on either side of the stable. I waiting for what was to happen next. Similar to Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, the 2 cats pounced on one another, sending sheep, wisemen, and joseph flying over the shelf. Mystery solved. It definitely added a little something to the otherwise docile manger scene this year.