Merry Christmas!

In an effort to save a tree (hence the green font), I’m resorting to an e-Christmas Card this year.

We must really be getting old when the year starts to pass us by as quickly as 2008 did. Even the kids agree that the year has flown by. In a nutshell:

Terry completed three triathlons this year, including a Half Ironman. He also referees all over the state now, calling NCAA and Big West women’s [basketball] games this time of year. The day job with the State of California pays the bills so he can “play” the rest of the time. He lost his last grandparent this year, Ralph Conrad, so we made an unexpected trip to Oklahoma in February for his funeral. Grandpa Ralph had a long, full life and was ready for his heavenly home.

Marlyssa, 20, has moved out and is experiencing life on her own. She continues to work at Starbucks, living and working not far from Yosemite National Park. The house isn’t the same without all four girls living here, but it is exciting to watch our first spread her wings.

Layne, 17, is enjoying her senior year of high school. She’s involved in cheer, track/pole vaulting, working out, dance, yearbook, and photography. She will attend California State University/Fresno next fall. She and Terry tinker on the ’65 Mustang and it’s still her favorite thing to drive.

Kaylie, 14, started high school by joining the cross country team and running 5~ miles daily. She now transitions into the track season. She plays the flute the school’s symphonic band and loves reading, listening to music, and hanging out with friends in her spare time.

Taylor, 14, is involved in marching, symphonic and percussion bands. She loves all things “music” and plays the clarinet, trombone and various percussion instruments. Whatever free time she has is spent listening to music, reading, or being with friends.

I am fortunate to continue to work from home with an old friend of ours, coordinating online continuing education courses for pesticide applicators. It’s a field that is new to me...but allows me to be home with the girls and adjust my days and hours as I want. Free time? I have taken up quilting and love it. There are worse addictions than fabric, I’m certain!

Terry and I were blessed to spend a week in Maui in the spring and we will take the girls there this June. My sisters and I took our mom on a Mexican cruise in November – a great trip that we are determined to do again! I’m ready for a season in life of less work and more travel!

If you’re headed to Central California, we’d love to see you!

May God bless you and yours with a Merry CHRISTmas,

and a 2009 full of grace and peace.

Love,

Terry & Cheryl

Marlyssa, Layne, Kaylie, Taylor

The Truth About Santa Claus

An oldie but a goodie...

I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma.
I was just a kid.
I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the
day my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus,"
she jeered. "Even dummies know that!"
My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to
her that day because I knew she would be straight with me.
I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth
always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of
her "world-famous" cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous,
because Grandma said so. It had to be true.
Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites,
I told her everything. She was ready for me.
"No Santa Claus?" She snorted... "Ridiculous! Don't believe it.
That rumor Has been going around for years, and it makes me mad,
plain mad! Now, put On your coat, and let's go."
"Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my
second world-famous cinnamon bun.
"Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store
in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we
walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That
was a bundle in those days. "Take this money," she said, "and
buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in
the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.
I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my
mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself.
The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to
finish their Christmas shopping. For a Few moments I just
stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill,
wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for.
I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my Friends, my
neighbors, the kids at school, and the people who went to my
church.
I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby
Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he
sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class.
Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never
went out to recess during the winter. His mother always wrote
a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we
kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough; he didn't have
a good coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing
excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat!
I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it.
It looked real warm, and he would like that.
"Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the
counter asked Kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down.
"Yes, ma'am," I replied shyly. "It's for Bobby."
The nice lady smiled at me, as I told her about how Bobby really
needed a Good winter coat. I didn't get any change, but she put
the coat in a bag, smiled again, and wished me a Merry Christmas.
That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat (a little tag
fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) in
Christmas paper and ribbons and wrote, "To Bobby, From Santa
Claus" on it. Grandma said that Santa always insisted on
secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house,
explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially,
one of Santa's Helpers. Grandma parked down the street from
Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the
bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All
right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going."
I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the
present down on his step, pounded his door and flew back to
the safety of the bushes and Grandma. Together we waited
breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open.
Finally it did, and there stood Bobby.
Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent
shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That
night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus
were just what Grandma said they were: Ridiculous.
Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team.
I still have The Bible, with the coat tag tucked inside:
$19.95.

Company Girl Coffee

Come on in!  Today we're having Hot Spiced Tea.  Grab a cup!   This week I was determined to stay caught up with Home Sanctuary.  Thankfully, Rachel Anne blessed us with some easy days.  Yesterday's involved lighting a Christmas candle.  While I often have a candle lit, yesterday I had a daughter home, not feeling well, so lit scented candles in the rooms we were in, had a nice fire going, and just enjoyed the ambiance the combination offered.  As the other girls got home from school, the first thing they said was, "The house smells so good!"  The sense of smell is so important and many of my favorite childhood memories go back to various scents.  (OK, in all honestly, most of these are food related, but that's another issue!)  I hope my daughters remember things like walking into a home that smells of cinnamon and cloves. 

Remember the reason for the season.  JESUS!

Have a very blessed and peaceful week.

Cheryl

Christmas fun

It's a goofy tradition in our home that ... if you live in our house, you must have your picture taken with Santa annually.  DD#1 no longer lives here, so she's exempt.  Actually, we WANTED her in the pic, but she lives in the mountains and was snowed in and we didn't have another weekend to do this.  So...presenting our annual Santa picture, in all its glory:

Happy 20th Birthday, DD#1! :)

While you're 20 now, this has to be one of my all-time favorite pictures of you!  You were 3 months old and so giggly, happy.  My pregnancy with you was not easy and doctors told me more than once that you may not survive.  Your dad and I cried, prayed, believed, and God brought you through.  He has a plan for you and I look forward to seeing you continue to grow in Him all the days of your life.

Happy Birthday!  I LOVE YOU!

Mommy :)