And Thus Begins Another Christmas Season

Friday afternoon, we decided to go ahead and put up the Christmas tree. We don't usually set it up right after Thanksgiving, but with my folks being in town and turkey day coming so late in November, it seemed like a good idea. MelodyJoy was very excited, to put it mildly.

Earlier that day, Jeannette, MelodyJoy and I made a trip to the PetSmart store. For several years, Jameson has been saying that he wanted to buy a tortoise. We promised he could get one after we finished the move from Oregon and he has been saving his money. We knew he would love finding one under the tree this year.

Jeannette found a Russian tortoise at PetSmart a few weeks ago but they had only one and will keep only one in stock, so we were uncertain as to when we should try to buy it. Wait too long and it might be gone, or buy it early and then have to figure out what to do with it. My sister and her husband offered to help us buy the tortoise, so we headed out on the afternoon of Black Friday to claim a $10 off coupon and see what we should do.

Interestingly, we'd been told by several employees that this particular tortoise was "really cool." I guess there must be pet store nerds just as there are Star Wars nerds, computer nerds, math nerds and professional wrestling nerds. In any case, we decided that we might want to snag this specific reptile rather than placing an order simply to get it closer to Christmas. So we bought the tortoise, warning MelodyJoy that it was a secret and she shouldn't say anything at all to Jameson about the turtle.

We went home and started setting up the tree. Needless to say, it took Melody only a little while to spill the beans, "We got you a turtle!" After the tree was done, Jeannette let Melody open a little Christmas gift and then told Jameson that we would let him open one early present as well. But she had a plan . . . she remembered something I'd bought for Jameson several months ago: A boot cleaner in the shape of a turtle for our front porch. She wrapped it up and let Jameson open it:

When Jameson saw it, you could tell he was a little disappointed but he tried not to let on. But while he and everyone else were focused on the prickly figurine, Jeannette left the room and returned with a box behind her back. As you might imagine, he was pretty excited when he realized what she had placed in his lap:

So Christmas day will be a bit thin for Jameson but he had a great, surprising start to the holiday season. And we're accepting nominations for the tortoise's name. My own suggestion is Tolstoy Tortoise but I'm the only one who seems impressed with that idea so far.

Thanksgiving in Review

MelodyJoy wasn't quite sure about the whole Thanksgiving concept but she did arrive at the table first and was eagerly awaiting the feast . . .
MelodyJoy leading us in the blessing, as she does at almost every meal . . .

It was great having Dad and Mom with us this year . . .
A Thanksgiving tradition is that we drink juice (usually grape but it can vary) with orange sherbet in it for our meal. Here's Melody with just a hint of sherbet on her lips. Needless to say, she wanted seconds . . .

Jordan loading up his plate. Jeannette did an awesome job on dinner and the turkey . . .

Pictures from the Botanical Gardens

Blasts from the Past

Yesterday, Dad and I drove about 30 minutes north to the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum. I had been there before, with Jordan and Phillip and Jeannette's dad and step-mom. I don't really have anything to compare it with, since I think I've only been to one other car museum in my life, but this one seems pretty cool. Most of the cars are luxury models from the 1920s and '30s, along with some from even the turn of the 20th century and more recent. The cars are just so different from anything else you see at car shows or on the street. Most of the cars are just so much bigger than anything seen in many decades. Some of them are close to 30 feet long and I never realized that the reason they call it a "trunk" is because it originally was actually a big trunk strapped onto the back of the car.

I tried to take a picture of Dad and me but in my old age, I've become incapable of keeping my eyes open when the camera flashes. This was the best I could do . . .
Dad found a Duesenberg manufactured the same year that he was born . . .

I was more interested in this 1999 Plymouth Prowler . . .

. . . while Dad liked its next door neighbor, the last Duesenberg raced at Indianapolis. He said he first became aware of Duesenbergs listening to races like the Indianpolis 500 on the radio . . .

This is Frank Lloyd Wright's 1929 Cord L-29 Carbiolet . . .

Toward the end of our tour, I got interested in looking at the hood ornaments, which you really don't see nowadays except perhaps on Jaguars.

1948 Rolls Royce

1938 Packard

1937 Cord

1936 Pierce-Arrow

1929 Stearns Knight

1926 Duesenberg

1929 Lincoln

It was also interesting to consider that almost all these cars of the past, were made by dozens--no, hundreds--of companies no longer in existence. There was a map on display that showed car manufacturers located in almost every city in Indiana in the 1920s and '30s . . . there were ten different brands made in Auburn alone in the years prior to the first World War! As we face this current economic crisis, you wonder if we would be better off if we weren't so dependent on the Big Three of Detroit, and whether ten or twenty years from now we would even miss them if they were gone.

Meet the Grandparents

My mom and dad are in town. We have photos already of MelodyJoy in this particular dress with Grammie Joyce and with Grandpa Phil and Grandma Deb, so we thought we should get one with Grandma and Grandpa Muntz, too. This one was taken with their camera. Someday we'll help them get the auto date function on it working right . . .

Visitors from the West

My mom and dad arrived late last night from Oregon for a week's stay, including Thanksgiving. Today was a pretty mellow day--chatting around the dinner table, watching home videos, playing UpWords (left)--and it was good to have them around.

Milestone

This post is a week or two overdue . . . I just couldn't get the involved parties together for a photo to record the milestone. Jameson has surpassed Jeannette in altitude. He is 12 years old and in 7th grade and is about a year younger than Jordan and Phillip were when they inched past Jeannette. There's a rule in our house that when each boy gets taller than his mom, they have to take her out on a date. Jameson's date plans are still quite unsettled . . . I suspect he's hoping Jeannette will forget about it and he'll save his wallet.

After we snapped the picture of Jeannette and Jameson, MelodyJoy insisted on finding out how she matched up with Jameson. I assume this means that Jameson has to buy her dinner as well.

First Flurries of the Season

Good Things

I just thought I'd record some "good things" here from recent days . . .

• My parents are coming to visit us a week from Friday and will be here for Thanksgiving. Given all that has happened in our lives over the last month and a half, it's going to be nice to have family here for the holiday. Too bad they'll miss all the beautiful fall foliage and last week's heat wave!
• Related to their visit, Mom and Dad offered to help us get a new bed for our bedroom for our Christmas gift this year. Let the record show that they do have an ulterior motive, of course: If we buy the mattress now, they'll get to sleep on it for the ten nights that they are with us! For a few months now, I've been wanting a new mattress but, naturally, now is not the time for a big purchase of a non-necessity. The old mattress was working fine; I just wanted something a little firmer. So Saturday, I went to Denver Mattress and bought a queen-size Doctors Choice Firm mattress and foundation. One thing that caught us off guard . . . even though the mattress isn't a pillow top or anything, both it and the foundation are much thicker than our old ones, so our bed is a lot higher than before, and our quilt doesn't quite cover everything anymore! And Jeannette has to pole vault into bed.
• Five weeks ago, I thought there were likely to be some good job possibilities that were imminent. I wasn't sure if they were the right options for us but it still was comforting to think I might have choices so quickly after losing my job. Well, so far nothing has come to fruition. The good news, I suppose, is that I'm still finding jobs to apply for. It's been a real reminder, though, of how convoluted and capricious a job search can be. When you're on the other side of the equation, you don't realize how these delays--oh, let's cancel the search committee meeting for today since everyone is so busy--create havoc in the candidate's mind.
• Our parent-teacher meetings went so well last week. It's always nice to hear good things about your kids.
• MelodyJoy's minor surgery last week went very smoothly, other than the cranky aftermath resulting from the anesthesia.
  
• Last Saturday, our small group from church got together. We try to meet twice a month. After our normal standing-around-talking-for-a-long-time start, we spent 50 minutes together praying for our nation and one another and praising God. It was a very good, very cool time, and especially meaningful to us because the focus of much of the prayer was on our family's situation and needs. These four couples have become very special to us in the last nine months.
• I realized last week that one of my fears is that, as this job search stretches out and I remain out of the profession, people will start to forget about me. That's human nature . . . we're all busy and get wrapped up in daily activities and forget yesterday's news. I know I do. God is so good, though. In the last few days, I've gotten encouragement that I'm not forgotten . . . a Facebook note from a friend at Colorado State saying that he had been talking with a colleague at the College Board about me, a friend at Cedarville calling just to find out what I'm looking for and asking for my resume, a call from a school in California the same day that I submitted an application.
• The clerk at Kohl's who gave me 30% off my purchase even though I had lost my coupon and the guy at Walmart who honored a competitor's special price on oil changes even though he wasn't supposed to.
• I'm blessed to have a wife and kids who are just being patient in all this uncertainty--despite their anxieties which sometimes bubble to the surface.
• Gas prices under $2 a gallon. Last night, I had to fill up the Durango, which was on E. Six weeks ago, that tank of gas would have cost me just about a hundred bucks.
  
• Throughout the time I've been typing this, I've been interrupted repeatedly (i.e., constantly) by a 3-year-old demanding "Get me, Daddy, get me!"
  

My New Retirement Philosophy

Goodbye, Miss Beth

We were very sad to learn a couple of weeks ago that MelodyJoy's teacher, Miss Beth, is leaving Blackhawk Christian Preschool. Melody loves her! Unfortunately for us, she was presented with a great job opportunity closer to home and with a better schedule for her family. So Melody has lost her first teacher. But she likes Miss Yvonne, the assistant teacher who is taking over, too and we know it'll all work out just fine.


So today some of the parents put on a farewell luncheon for Miss Beth. While we were waiting, Melody played with her Magna-doodle. I sketched out a picture of a girl with almond-shaped eyes and as soon as she saw it, she exclaimed, "It's me!" and then drew on it some more.

Child Labor Laws Be Damned!

We're gonna get some work outta this girl!!

Next week, she's mowing the lawn and changing the oil in the Durango!

. . . Christ is all that matters . . .

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God's right hand in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth. For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires. Don't be greedy for the good things of this life, for that is idolatry. God's terrible anger will come upon those who do such things. You used to do them when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language.

Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old evil nature and all its wicked deeds. In its place you have clothed yourselves with a brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, who created this new nature within you. In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony.

And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Colossians 3:1-17

Leaves-a-palooza