Happy New Year 2012 or "My Whole Life is a Party"

I'm not big on New Year's Eve. It is my least favorite holiday. I get very sad and just want to ignore it because mostly bad things have happened to me on New Year's Eve, like the year my boyfriend popped open an engagement ring box in front of friends and I had to mask my awkward feelings because I knew my answer was "no." But this is a new day. So OK, I give; here goes nothing: "Welcome 2012. Please don't break my heart."

I've got BIG plans for tonight. Rockin out the house (rocking chairs), serving drinks (bottles), jamming to the best tunes of 2011 (mobile music), raising the roof (little bit of crying at the top of our lungs), cleaning up throw up (off of my guests's necks and chins) and passing out on the couch. Of course, this happens every night of my life now. *My Whole Life is Party*

Wake Up! It's "Baby Christmas!"

• • Shhh. It's Christmas Eve morning, and the babies are sleeping. 
    
    
    But  I literally jumped out of bed this morning thinking, "IT'S BABY CHRISTMAS! Everyone wake up! Babies: It's time to receive your gifts from your Nana who LOVES you!!" 
    
    
    But I didn't because the twins and their mom didn't get much sleep last night. No one, neither Crystal nor the babes, is ready to open  gifts yet. But I can hardly wait!
    
    
    So I was biding my time with a cup of coffee, thinking about the night Jesus was born, and how God was giving this wonderful gift, but the world wasn't ready for it. They were looking for a warrior king, but they received an impoverished infant. How anticlimactic could you get.
    
    
    Like a gift no one is exactly crazy about, he was set aside so that  people could  look for bigger and better things.
    
    
    I believe God used my anticipation this morning to say to me, "This is how I love you and the world! My heart beats wild with love for you; I have so many gifts to give you, but the main one is the Prince of Peace to fill your hearts and lives. Wake up! Wake up and receive your gifts from your Father who LOVES you!"
    
    
    I am awake! I am receiving! It is a celebration that  will never get old, even throughout eternity. "Joy to the World, the Lord is Come!"
    
    
    Now I leave you with this: Peace to you all, because the Prince of Peace has pierced the darkness of the world and the darkness of our hearts. He seemed to be merely a pinpoint of life in the universe on that night but was in reality the light by which millions see things every day! May his peace fill you today and every tomorrow.
    
    
    And believe it or not--and I promise this is true--as I type this sentence, I hear a little cry in the other room! They are awake! Let the celebration begin!

The Return of the Christmas Miracle Ham

^{Proverbs 30:18-20.} “There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky; the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a young woman"


Perhaps Solomon could add this pic to his list of baffling things in the universe. Yes, it is that time of year again to re-post the miracle ham of 2006, which went into the oven a ham but came out a pig again. The only thing added to this pic is the cherry for the eye. There are four things that baffle and amaze me:  the births of my children, the chili cook off I won in spite of the fact I don't cook, the phone call I won from Amy Grant which never came, and this ham.

Christmas Letter 2011. It's Like Fruitcake, Only Slightly More Dense

I used to be a Christmas letter writer. I loved receiving others' letters; I loved writing my own. Then I began to understand that for some, Christmas letters are about as welcome as drugstore fruitcake.

To each his own fruitcake. My personal fruitcake is the perennial classic, "White Christmas," which most people can't understand my aversion to. Have I mentioned once or twice that I don't like musicals?

Anyway, here is my letter for 2011, because for our family, it was quite a year, and I'd like to record it for posterity. And because I try to publish these favorite pics whenever/wherever I can. I'm a mom; sue me.

In the beginning of 2011, my father was diagnosed with an odd cancer located in an odd place (outer thigh) with an odd diagnose: serious. Thus, my parents' lives were turned upside down as they began to deal with decisions and treatments and surgeries, complications, wounds, recoveries.

In addition, after a rush to the ER for stomach ailments a couple of weeks ago, my mother has been diagnosed with heart damage due to a small heart attack. Now we are dealing with decisions, treatments, etc., for her, as well. It has not been a good year for my parents.

However, I am happy to report that they just celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on December 16. I am so happy for them and proud of them for being such a good example to me and everyone within their sphere of influence over the years. Well done, my sweet parents!

In May, our son Jordan graduated from Anderson University with a degree in Exercise Science and Psychology. He has a steady girlfriend, Natalie, and a steady job at Dick's Sporting goods in Indianapolis. Guess which one he's more in love with, the girl who lives in Indy, or the retail job in Indy. That is a joke, of course. His life revolves around Natalie and their new dog, Bailey, a Wheaten Terrier.

Also in May, our youngest, Kristin, graduated from Delta High School with honors. She is now a freshman at Anderson University. As soon as we graduate one kid from AU, we sign up another because we love to throw suitcases full of money at AU. We are actually very grateful that we can send them there because each of our children has loved the experience. Kristin may love it even more than the other two. She is undecided about her major, but her humorous shenanigans are being well-noted by her dorm mates.

In June, our first-born, Katie, married her long-time beau, Shad, who has a really cool name, I think. They appear to be happier than any newlywed couple I've ever seen in my life, to the extent that I asked her point-blank one day, "Are you two really as happy as you appear to be?" A smile broke out on her face that I will never forget, and she said, "Yes, yes we are. We are just so happy to see each other when one comes in the door." Thank you, God, for a wonderful answer to a life-long prayer of her dad and me. She continues to work at ASon's, and Shad is completing his senior year at BSU. They are moving into a new home New Year's Eve.

George continues to work at Ontario Systems and volunteer with Kids Hope at Longfellow Elementary. His student has come a long since the beginning of his kindergarten year and is now showing signs of anticipating George's weekly visits.

I am in my 8th year at Oneighty, where I continue to type the wrong year on documents, forget to put postage on outgoing mail and explode things in the microwave. I think they'll keep me another 8 years,  no problem.

We were Empty-Nesters for about 3 months, and then our lives changed dramatically again, as George's niece, Crystal, and her two preemie twins came to live with us. They came home from the hospital on Thanksgiving Day, and I've been giving thanks for them ever since. I cannot tell you how much joy the babies bring to my life, and how I've come to love and care for Crystal. This is a new day for her and her children, and I see God all over the tiniest details. Here is one small example: When we bought our CRV, I really wanted a Honda Element, instead. Because of the crazy clam shell doors and the limited seating, we chose the CRV. Now, what's odd about this is that for all intents and purposes, long family drives are over for us; each kid has gone his/her own way. So really, that should not have been a consideration in the purchase, but it was. Now, of course, I realize that had we purchased the Element, there would not be enough room for 5 to go somewhere together. I know it's a little detail, but I see things like this all the time as I go about life with the new little family in our home.

Maybe the biggest miracle of all is that I am totally comfortable having them in our home long-term, because if you know me, you know that that is a totally foreign, uncomfortable situation. I just do not do guests well. I can't explain this, but that quirk of mine has disappeared. Poof. Miracle.

Of course, there are emotional risks involved in this situation; we are not blind or naive, but are trusting that no matter how this turns out, that for this time, our home is the perfect place for them. And so we have welcomed with our whole hearts Crystal, Josiah and Laylah. This will be a Christmas we will never forget.

What Are Your Christmas Dreams Made Of?

When I was a little girl, my favorite Christmas present was a big old baby stroller, quilted blue, a flat canopy trimmed with white fuzzy pom-poms, similar to the one in this picture. Beautiful! But the best part of the stroller was that—oh, sit down for this--was that it was a DOUBLE stroller, room for one baby facing forward, the other backward. A feature like that that could make a little pretend mommy dizzy with strolling dreams!

That memory makes me smile because I realize that my deeper desire, beyond taking two baby dolls in and out of their seats hundreds of times, was to nurture a baby. Something about those plastic dolls of my childhood filled my heart with joy, foreshadowing my life to come, when I would be filled with indescribable happiness while holding my own children, and now the twins living in my home. (Oh, the irony! TWO!)

I think that’s often how we approach Christmas, whether we look forward to family meals, giving gifts, children’s excitement, church, music, movies, etc. Something about those activities fills our hearts with joy—and maybe--they foreshadow an even fuller life and celebration to come.

So what are you looking forward to most this year? If you look deeper into that desire, what hope might be embedded in your Christmas wishes and expectations?

Maybe you haven’t thought to articulate your deepest desires because they’re so disguised (wrapped?) in the cultural trappings of Christmas, which we’ve grown to love (or not love, depending on our disappointments). But is it possible that the deepest desire of your heart might include love and peace within your family? Reconciliation with someone? A deep joy? Personal freedom from things that are destroying you? Peace? Forgiveness? Rest? God’s presence? Hope?

If those are the gifts you truly desire for Christmas, they are available to all of us, but you can’t overlook the source--remember the poignancy and significance in the Christmas story when the innkeeper had no room for the babe.

Receive the good tidings of great joy for all people: “The Savior has come; let there be peace on Earth and good will toward men from God!” Let the significance of that sink in; let it shine in dark places and replace despair with hope.

No matter how far-fetched or impossible your hopes and desires might seem, in your heart and in your life, “prepare Him room,” because “Joy to the world—the Lord is come!” Anything is possible!

©
Linda Crow 2011