Thursday, January 03, 2008

Christmas reflections


On Christmas morning we left early for the airport and flew to Dallas, Texas to spend the holidays with my daughter, Jennifer, and her family, and my son, Jeff,and his family. Included in the deal in a son-in-law, TJ (fatal flaw is he loves the Dallas Cowboys) and daughter-in-law, Jeannette (best quality is she loves the San Francisco 49ers). The frosting on the cake is three grandchildren--JJ(8), Milla (just turned 5) and Owen (2).

Back in the office two days later I am still smiling...

*I watched the 49ers with Jeff and Jeannette, get hammered by the Browns, but in between grunts and groans of disapproval, revelled in their company.

*I played Wii, a relatively new computerized television interactive game, with various family members and was consistently "skunked" by my eight year old grandson, JJ.

*I was joined in bed several mornings by Milla, my five year old granddaughter, the one with the smile and beautiful dimples.

*I took walks every day with my wife--and assorted family members--and felt rejuvenated by the cold Dallas morning air.

*I ate out at several restuarants but especially enjoyed the home-cooked meals prepared for us, including barbecued hamburgers and Asian lettuce wraps. I also had my allotment of Blue Bell homemade vanilla ice cream, a Texas delicacy.

*I sat in church with my son and his family and was excited to see that his family is a vital part of a great church in which they serve.

*I was reminded how blessed I am to have healthy children and grandchildren who love the Lord. This gives me a huge sense of peace.

We shed a few tears when we left. We are not sure when we will see the Dallas group again. Needlss to say, I msised my daughter, Andie, and her husband, Jason, who spent some of the holidays in Cleveland, and my son, Greg, who now lives in London. I dream of the day we can all get together!

We met earlier in San Luis Obispo with Bev's sons, Tim (Susie) and Chad (Julie, seven months pregnant), and seven of our grandchildren--Sage, Kyle, Eden, Julianne, Zeke, Nate and Hakken. Opening presents with them was exciting and delightfully noisey, to say the least. We look forward to seeing them more often since they are closer-by and sharing a few days of "Cousins Camp" with all of our granchildren over the age of four--that's eight of them--though the Texas group probably can't join us.

Anyway, thanks for letting me share what keeps me smiling--wonderful memories of children and grandchildren--who we love very much!

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