Christmas Wishes

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. ~Dr. Seuss

As with any year, this year has been one of joy and sadness; 2007 has been no different. There have been births; my great-nephew. There have been deaths; two uncles. There has been sickness; friends diagnosed with cancer who have battled it and are continuing in their fight. There has been happiness; my grandmother celebrated her 90th birthday. And, we have been blessed to live to celebrate another Christmas together as a family.

My next door neighbors celebrated their granddaughter's (Aspen) 2-year birthday a few days ago. They did not provide an advance invitation to us which was fine as we were home and were available. However, because of the late notice, we weren't exactly prepared to bring a gift. The problem was that my older daughter, Rachel, was determined that we would bring a gift and I was a bit in a quandry on how to come up with said gift at such a late hour. Luckily, I had an unopened box of crayons and a Disney Princess book on hand that were slated to be stocking stuffers. So, I placed them in a gift bag and off Rachel went to bring these items to Aspen. Aspen, you see, celebrated a very special 2nd birthday. She was diagnosed with Leukemia recently and as you can imagine, this day was certainly a milestone for her.

Yesterday, I spent the day baking pumpkin bread and banana nut bread and then Rachel and Anna walked with me to deliver the goodies to my neighbors. I missed baking last year; partly due to my poor health caused by the flu and bronchitis during that time of the year but mainly because I lacked a kitchen large enough to do much baking since I was in my RV at the time.

Today I visited with some relatively new friends; Long and his family. Long moved here earlier this year and he and I were both in new employee orientation together in July when we started our new jobs. At that time he had mentioned that his wife was pregnant and they were looking for an obstetrician as they had just moved here from Washington state. Long also works in the same building as I do and we live in the same neighborhood. But, as life normally goes, business has kept us from visiting very often with one another. Today I visited with him and his family at their home as their baby's due date is coming very close and I wanted to bring something for her. The due date is December 31st and with any new parents-to-be, they are anxiously awaiting the big day that their first child arrives. I just know everything will turn out just great and that this little girl is going to be born into a family that will love and treasure her. It reminded me of how nervous Jeff and I were when we were getting close to delivery. The first pregnancy and delivery is so exciting. I can't wait to meet their baby girl after she arrives.

It's hard to believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve already. It was cool enough today that Jeff built a fire in our fireplace. It didn't take long for Anna to get cozy by the fire; lawn chair and all.

We'll be busy tomorrow making a birthday cake for Jesus and cookies for Santa. And, basically, getting the girls in such a frenzy that they won't be able to sleep at night. :-)

For our friends and our family who are checking in before Christmas, we'd like to wish you a very Merry Christmas! And, one more quote to think on during the holiday time period:

Christmas Gift Suggestions:
To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect.~~~Oren Arnold

I've got to get to work on a few of these myself!