Christmas Ramblings

Christmas is one of those times of year there is a lot of controversy about. Do this, don't do that. Don't spend that, do spend that.

We get yanked between religion, tradition and commercialism... and who knows how many more "ism's".

In our family we are trying to build a healthy mix. We want to honor God and thank Him for the gift that he gave. We want to create traditions that our children keep. We want our family to have fun. We want to share blessings with others that might not have a Christmas of any kind, without a helping hand.

Most years we inundate our kids with gifts and they get spoiled by relatives as well. This year, money was tighter than usual, so we talked to them and let them know, that for us, there's a lot that happens during the year, that is good and so this year was about giving, not getting. No matter how you cut it, that's a tough pill to swallow when your a kid. Don't get me wrong, we really would have liked to have given them a lot this year, but we had made commitments to help other's and those were important.

To understand, I guess you have to know that there were many times when I was a child that we didn't know where Christmas or Thanksgiving or sometimes food or money to pay bills was going to come from. Yet, never a year did we go without. God used people in Family Services, Goodfellas, Churches and so on that helped a family with 6 kids get through. So, now that we have been blessed with all that we have, Heather and I can't help making a commitment that is an act of gratitude, of wanting to bless, of wanting to give back, even a fraction of what was given to myself and my family when I was a child.

So, this year, we may not have gotten a lot for our children, but we were able to give. And if you didn't get the living Christmas card or baked goods from us this year, it's because things were tighter than we planned and we really needed to make sure what was allocated went where need was greatest.

We were able to spend time with family and friends. We have been very blessed. Last year was a struggle beyond belief for us, yet nothing compared to men and women on a front line laying down their lives fighting for freedom, families losing everything to a hurricane still not able to put their lives together, tsunami's and earthquakes.

I never thought I'd have surgery and have to relearn to walk again, or that our home would go through it's own waterfall or 6 months of repairs and my wife struggling to keep things going while pregnant with a beautiful little girl at the same time.

But, in reality, that was nothing compared to a brother-in-law fighting cancer or my father's lovely wife who went through an amputation of her foot last year and then more cut off this year, and talk about having to relearn how to walk, she will be learning to use a prosthetic, I have my whole foot and ankle, with just a little torn ligament. Yet, when we see her, she always has a smile and kind words. So, while sometimes things may look down or lean, there's probably someone, somewhere that has it leaner.

2007 will be a new year and hopefully we will grow stronger and learn a lot from 2006.