Rain, Rain, Go Away

Inspired by all the Nativity scenes, it appears as if Jingle Bell wanted to be a part of it all!  This morning we awoke to find him hovering over the Nativity set in the bonus room, dressed as a star.  "And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy!"

We added a few more decorations today - the Santafication process is nearly complete.  We have the nutcrackers up, and the photos of Madison with Santa each year are also on the shelves.  What a look back that is each year.  We have one photo for every year, of course, and each one is in a unique Christmas frame.  This year's photo is not up yet, because we have to go out and get a frame for it.  But not today - it was a yucky sort of day, and Mommy has been sick lately.  She has what Madison had essentially:  a cough that will not go away.  Therefore, Mommy did a lot of resting today.  We've been watching Christmas movies and cleaning up the place a bit:  this afternoon we watched the old "Christmas in Connecticut" movie.  The older one is the best - the new version is not all that good, really.  I think we saw it once and that was it.  The old one, however, we watch just about once a year. It's a classic!

Madison got home, and there was a bit of catching up to do with the piano practice.  That we were quietly able to do, as Mommy was sleeping on the couch.  Daddy went out to meet Madison at the bus stop, and that was about the most either parent was outside today:  it was a gloomy, cold, wet day.  Rain, rain go away.

As a reward for so much practice - and for doing her homework - we played some video games on the X-box.  The one we got for free last month is a game about Kelflings.  It's sort of a difficult game to describe, however it does let two people play at the same time.  Not only that, it lets us use our X-box avatars, which Madison likes.  We basically build kingdoms together, which is something she's been enjoying a lot.

She enjoys her homework too:  she'll frequently blurt out math statements to us left and right.  Randomly in the car, she'll announce what two numbers put together will equal.  We congratulate her on her good math, and she continues announcing other equations.  Daddy is worried about all of this, because math is no longer the thing he excels at - I'm a little rusty.  But I suppose, just like piano practice, we'll be getting back into the swing of things soon enough.  Currently, we're happy that we're only at addition and subtraction.

We did some more wrapping today.  We're actually nearly done with all of that.  It is such a stress-free feeling to be so far ahead in that regard.  It's been a great Christmas season thus far, despite the weather.  Looking back, you can see all the Christmas-related things we've done, and we're not quite done yet.  On the horizon are planned a trip to Lowe's to build a Christmas train, Santa Cow, a trip to Stone Mountain, maybe some ice skating this Friday, the Living Christmas Tree on Sunday, Lights of Life hopefully, and maybe more.  Then there's the Candlelight service and Christmas Day itself - and after Christmas, there's possibly Legoland or the Aquarium.  Oh, and maybe the Pink Pig too!  There is so much to do this time of year!

But the big day is Christmas, and Madison has been faithfully pulling off the links of her Christmas chain, and counting down the days on three different calendars.  And each night we pop in a different Christmas movie too - tonight's was a snugglefest.  We all hunkered down under the blankets on the couch and watched "A Muppet Christmas Carol."  We love Madison getting in this classic story, although it is slightly modified for muppets.  She's also seen the Barbie version this year - and no doubt we'll have cued up the Mickey Mouse version soon enough.  After that, we've also got the Jetsons version, the Flintstones version, Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol and more.  That's one story we've got a lot of different versions of!

We went to bed tonight early, after Daddy read a few more Christmas books.  The "Shaoey and Dot" book is nice, and fun to read.  Another fantastic read is the "Pirate's Night Before Christmas."  Madison made a few requests for tomorrow's reading - we have a lot of Christmas books as well.

It was a gloomy sort of day, and it didn't help that Mommy has been under the weather.  Daddy has been too, with some sort of persistent intestinal thing that started zapping him somewhere before Thanksgiving.  Tomorrow will hopefully see a little light, and maybe a little better health.  They're probably both related, aren't they?

Anyway, it'll be a good day.  Not that today wasn't!  It's just that in the grand scheme of things you can see that some days are more fun to be around than others.

Before leaving tonight, here's the latest devotional entry.  It closes with a few paragraphs written by someone else (I don't know who).  I first heard those three paragraphs at the celebration of Christmas at EPCOT Center back in 2005.  Powerful stuff!  The rest of the devotional may not be as powerful, but it does take a look at a movie we haven't seen yet, but simply must watch before the year ends.

DECEMBER 9 - "It's a Wonderful Life"

In the movie "It's a Wonderful Life," we discover something incredible: the value of one solitary life. At the beginning of this Christmas classic, we see that George Bailey has been trying to do his best for others his entire life. But to him, it doesn't seem like he's gotten anywhere.

That's the point where we all get to magically see the impact he's really had. It really is wonderful – and it is a reminder to us of how much one person can do for others, even though it doesn't seem like a lot at the time.

It doesn't matter where or when you are, your life is a wonderful gift. One life can - and will - make a difference. Consider this example from history, where one life changed everything:

He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He was raised in still yet another village, where he worked in a carpenter's shop until he was thirty. When he was thirty-three, he became an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book, he never held an office. He never had a family, he never owned a home. He never went to college, he never went off to the big city. He never traveled more than two hundred miles from the place he was born. He did none of those things one usually associates with greatness. He had no credentials but himself.

When he was thirty-three, the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. When he was dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing, the only property he had on this earth. When he was dead, his body was put in a borrowed grave, through the pity of a friend.

Twenty centuries have come and gone, and still today he is considered by many to be the central figure of the human race, and the leader of mankind's progress. All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned… have not affected the life of people on this earth as much as that one wonderful life.