Christmas Message

I have always loved Christmas. I think it is because of all of the holidays it is one that is a total sensory experience. The smell of pine from the Christmas Tree; Christmas hymns in church and Christmas music at home; Lights covering the houses and the Taste of seasonal foods.

One of the traditions that has arisen since Kristina and I have been married is that when visiting her home town we go over to "Deacon Daves." A local Bay Area Catholic Deacon puts up an unrivaled home Christmas display. This year he used close to 300,000 lights. The setup includes a water feature, half a dozen decorated Christmas trees, a number of window displays, live doves, and even specially built "mini houses" with displays inside. What is so amazing is that his super powered display is designed around a 2000sf house on a residential avenue.






The kids loved the displays. Ethan wanted to go through over and over again. He was entranced by a display of miniature penguins in a mini city that were a buzz with activity, sledding, skiing and dancing.

It is amazing. Speaking of amazing. Paul won first place for his Christmas display in my home town. Go Paul!



Hey Paul, now that you have claimed number one you won't have to keep nominating yourself! :)


Another Christmas tradition that my family has shared but Kristina and I will not be participating in this year has to do with Christmas Eve. For a number of years my Dad has led the family in a type of Christmas devotional that includes carols and a reading of Luke 2. Part of the festivities include all of us sharing a story that exemplifies the Christmas season. This task often had each of us hunting the internet for great Christmas stories, or if we were brave, we would share personal stories. Since Kristina and I won't be with my family for Christmas Eve this year I thought I would make a blog contribution and provide a story that just hit the wires and is a great example of the Christmas spirit of giving.

MAUSTON, Wis. (AP) — Capt. Scott Southworth knew he'd face violence, political strife and blistering heat when he was deployed to one of Baghdad's most dangerous areas. But he didn't expect Ala'a Eddeen.

Ala'a was 9 years old, strong of will but weak of body — he suffered from cerebral palsy and weighed just 55 pounds. He lived among about 20 kids with physical or mental disabilities at the Mother Teresa orphanage, under the care of nuns who preserved this small oasis in a dangerous place.

On Sept. 6, 2003, halfway through his 13-month deployment, Southworth and his military police unit paid a visit to the orphanage. They played and chatted with the children; Southworth was talking with one little girl when Ala'a dragged his body to the soldier's side.

Black haired and brown eyed, Ala'a spoke to the 31-year-old American in the limited English he had learned from the sisters. He recalled the bombs that struck government buildings across the Tigris River.

"Bomb-Bing! Bomb-Bing!" Ala'a said, raising and lowering his fist.

"I'm here now. You're fine," the captain said.

Over the next 10 months, the unit returned to the orphanage again and again. The soldiers would race kids in their wheelchairs, sit them in Humvees and help the sisters feed them.

To Southworth, Ala'a was like a little brother. But Ala'a — who had longed for a soldier to rescue him — secretly began referring to Southworth as "Baba," Arabic for "Daddy."

Then, around Christmas, a sister told Southworth that Ala'a was getting too big. He would have to move to a government-run facility within a year.
"Best case scenario was that he would stare at a blank wall for the rest of his life," Southworth said.

To this day, he recalls the moment when he resolved that that would not happen.
"I'll adopt him," he said.

Continued here...

Merry Christmas Everyone!