Packin' Up

Three households inhabited by people we love will have moved by the end of 2012. In each case, Evelyn and I helped them pack. In each case, what we did to help was almost nothing compared to the huge amount of work they had to do to finish the move. And in each case, we wish we could have helped them more, and we'd help them again in a heartbeat.
But nothing about these moves inspires any desire whatsoever in me to want to move. I'm glad that's not on our horizon anytime soon.
Tonight we went to Bill and Verna Weber's  house to help them pack for their move later this month. It's a huge, huge job ahead of them. I felt like the little we did wasn't much help. I hate to say I'm glad we're not the ones with the moving van in our future.

Monday Before the Monday Before Christmas

Spent a good part of Friday writing an editorial (blog post) that may never see the light of Wordpress. It's about the similar experience of Zechariah, Mary, and the shepherds--they all saw an angel. But each of them reacted a little differently, and each of them compares to a situation or challenge or life stage people today can identify with. Each of them was afraid when confronted with God's work and God's will--and sometimes we are too.
It was going to be my big pre-Christmas editorial. But I decided instead today to write something about the tragic shooting at Newtown, Connecticut last Friday, not quite two weeks before Christmas. Ben Cachiaras wrote a good blog post Friday afternoon, and coincidentally Paul Williams's column that goes live this week is about how God identifies with us and our suffering, because he came as a frail infant. Even though I was quoting from both of them, it took me the better part of the day--in between interruptions and e-mails and a productive meeting with the marketing folks this afternoon--to get it written. I'll read it one more time before giving it to Jim to post tomorrow.

Paid bills this evening and worked with Evelyn to get some pictures framed. Now I'm writing this brief diary entry while we watch a Hallmark Christmas movie, "November Christmas," we recorded yesterday.
We realized after it started that we've seen it before, but we're probably going to finish it anyway.

Eight Days Before Christmas

Teach Ambassadors at 8:30 a Christmas-themed lesson based on the appearance of the angel to Zechariah, Mary, and the shepherds. CHECK.
Enjoy a good sermon by John Russell at the 9:30 service. CHECK.
Take Evelyn to lunch at one of her favorite places, Abuelo's, pick up a Christmas gift for the grandkids, do a drug run at Walgreen's before heading home. CHECK.
Complete some random decorating: redo wreath for sled to display on the front porch, arrange some artificial Christmas greenery for a blank spot in the living room. CHECK.
Address and stamp the Christmas cards. CHECK.
Put up the Christmas tree . . . a longer process than I'll enunciate, interrupted with wonderful leftover pizza from Dewey's and another long, sad news report about the mass murder at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut. CHECK.
A good day, but at the end of the day, I'm very tired, and my back hurts.

Getting Ready for Christmas

Today was a Christmasey day.
Finished up a Sunday school lesson I'm leading tomorrow; was given carte blanche, so decided to look at three sections from Luke 1 and 2 that I've looked at before. But it was a blessing to study it again for the discussion tomorrow morning.
Then dug into the Christmas cards and got them almost all addressed. Plan to finish up tomorrow, stamping and sealing them.
Took some breaks to help Evelyn pull out the Christ decorations, put away enough everyday dishes to get out the Christmas dinnerware and Christmas mugs. Went to the grocery and to Graeter's to get some gift cards and take advantage of their ice cream pint sale (cinnamon, peppermint stick, and egg nog ice cream for Christmas and following!).
This evening the Cincinnati Symphony and May Festival Chorus performed the first section of Handel's Messiah (plus the "Hallelujah" chorus) at our church this evening. It was a real treat to be so close to the musicians and to hear that marvelous sound fill our auditorium. I enjoyed it even more than I thought I would--a real soul-restoring event.
We came home to drink decaf homemade "lattes" and watch the hour-long Christmas special of the Annie Moses Band on public television. (THAT would be a DVD or CD worth having, by the way!)
Tomorrow--the tree!

 I snapped this picture of the platform at our church as concert-goers were arriving for tonight's performance of Messiah, and the picture before as the musicians were taking the stage.

A Nice Break from Desk Work

The unique thing today was a morning-long work day Robb Faust hosted to pack info bags for VBS previews. He had a thousand of 'em to pack, and he recruited helpers from Editorial, Marketing, and Customer Service to do the work. 

"I Help Change Kids' Lives! is the caption
on the bags we filled today.

It was the sort of mindless, rote task that is nice for a change of pace, satisfying because you can see your progress as the bags are filled, the boxes are packed, and the stacks of samplers and circulars are diminished.

Robb and I get to lunch every so often, and we went to Abuelo's today to celebrate his getting the job done several hours faster than he thought he would.

Christmas Scene, Christmas Party

This is one of those days too busy to write about. But I promised I'd post this picture of our nativity scene with the barn Becky Snyder made to house Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. It's a nice addition to the set.

Today was the annual Christmas party at CFM Religion Publishing. A nice spread of catered food preceded by Scripture readings and verses of "Joy to the World." They gave away six door prizes, but I wasn't a winner. This is the TV I did not win. I'm glad, because we don't have a place for it, even though Evelyn and I have been discussing putting a small flat screen in the living room. (We've been discussing it, because she doesn't think we need it, and I'd like to have it. No plans for buying one anytime soon, though.)  :-)

Checking in, Checking up

You could call this my check-up week. Saw my family doctor yesterday for my annual check-up. My blood pressure was lower than it has been recorded in months100+ over 60+. Very good. Talked with the doctor about a couple of minor concerns that we'll keep watching, but no dramatic action indicated at this time. So that's good.
Went to the dentist today for my 6-months check-up. I had a crown on one tooth several months ago, and it's still a little tender once in awhile when I chew something hard. But I couldn't make it hurt today, no matter what he gave me to bite down on. So we agreed that sometimes the healing is slow, and we'll keep watching it. The nurse gently urged me to be better about flossing. I think I can, I think I can.
Ran some errands at Target on the way home and stopped by Michael's to get one more red bow to put on the wreath on the front door. They were out of 'em, but I found another item, and got several of them--can't tell what I found; they'll be a surprise for some people who may read this blog! :-)
Wrote a draft of this week's editorial (goes live Thursday); I'll read it again before giving to Jim to post. Handled a bunch of correspondence about outstanding assignments, our college student subscription plan, and the June Cruise to Turkey, Italy, and Greece we're helping to host this summer. The ad appearing in the December Christian Standard has generated some interest--I think we'll add several to our group as a result of it. That's good!

None of this was particularly picture worthy, so I snapped a shot of our "gumdrop tree" lighting up the night on our deck. That's a heavy stone holding it down, in case of wind. We're going to find something to wrap around the base to make it look a little more attractive.