Christmas 2007

So I find myself back at work with another Christmas having barely passed.  The last week or so has been somewhat chaotic. A little background: A couple of weeks ago the ever-thoughtful Christine suggested that since we were hosting my family for the holiday that we have a party on December 23^rd for my family and long-time friends of me and my brother’s to visit and catch up. I asked her if she really wanted to get involved in throwing a party two days before Christmas, and she said that she was game. So the past week has involved a lot of shopping, cleaning, and cooking. Christine delivered in spades of course, and a great time was had by all. In addition to my parents, my brother Kelly, his girlfriend Jenny, and my nephew Brooks, we had 5 long time friends show-up with accompanying wives and children crammed into our place Sunday afternoon for great food, football, and a lot of catching up.

Because Kelly, Jenny, and Brooks have to do Christmas 3 more times with various segments of their extended families, we had Christmas on Christmas Eve. Christine whipped up another righteous feed. Mom pitched in with her special dressing and wild turkey (the bird, not the drink). I made out pretty good with a shaving mirror for the shower, DVD box sets for the 3^rd season of Homicide: Life on the Street and The Best of Looney Toons, a wind-up flashlight, a new Swiss Army knife, and some tasty CDs: The Definitive Loretta Lynn Collection(I don’t care what anyone says, Loretta is the true queen of country; Shania Twain, Faith Hill, and the rest aren’t fit to tune Loretta’s guitar), The Essential Ike & Tina Turner (yes, I know that Ike beat Tina and there is no excuse for such behavior; however, the facts of Ike’s despicable behavior don’t change the fact they made some fantastic music together), Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, an anthology of live music from Austin, TX (courtesy of Christine’s brother Steve who lives in Austin and shares my taste in music), and This Is Somewhere by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.

Christmas Day was quiet. We had a leisurely breakfast with my folks who departed in the early afternoon, and Christine and I finally got some time to ourselves.

Christmas complaint: We attended the Christmas Eve service with our church, and it was, well, interesting. There were several vocal performances, all of which were superb. However, two of the performances made my jaw drop, and not in a good way.  The first was a glow-in-the-dark set featuring puppets lip-synching to a version of “Angels We Have Heard on High” that sounded like it was recorded by a Mighty Might Bosstones cover band. There was also an interpretive dance featuring some kids reenacting ancient Israel’s release from slavery to a Christianized version of the Survivor tune “Eye of the Tiger.” Re-read the last two sentences and try to imagine what I am describing.  Really, is this encouraging or inspiring for anybody?

Congratulations to my friends Paul Nagel and Sharon Berry on their recent engagement, and to my cousin Trista and her husband Dave who just discovered that they have a baby on the way.

My friend Dave has a thoughtful post about Christmas here.

Craig Hicks tells one of the funniest preacher stories (about Liberace, no less) I have ever read here.

Peace and joy to all.