For the past several years, I have made it a point to send out Christmas Cards. I LOVE Christmas cards, and this has been a joy to undertake each year. I have noticed, however, that my efforts have dwindled some as the years have gone by. From homemade cards that a friend once dubbed "a gift in an envelope," to photo cards that I didn't even have to sign.....I have simplified things.
Except this year everything just rushed up on me and here I am, less than a week before Christmas, with no letter written, no pictures taken, no great stamps and supplies for beautiful homemade cards....NOTHING! Except this wonderful world of Cyber-Space and the fact that I am behind in the world of Blogging....yet again. So, in the true spirit of Christmas........I present to you.........My.......Christmas......Letter:
Ahem.....
December 2010
Dear Family and Friends,
Greetings! It's tough to believe another year has flown by so quickly! 2010 has brought us many ups and downs, much joy and some sorrow. Here are the highlights:
Travis is now 5 years old!! He is in Young 5's at Trinity Lutheran School in Paw Paw, MI. He LOVES school, and is doing very well. His teacher, Mrs. Fechik, is a true blessing. I don't know how she does it, but I am thankful for her ability to bring out truly the best in all of the boys (the Young 5's class consists of 6 boys....no girls!). I'm looking forward to seeing more growth in him over the rest of the school year. Of course, Travis is the tallest person in his class........he may be the tallest 5 year old in the state, but I'm not sure about that. Besides school, his favorite activities are playing, cooking, and making big messes. He says funny things every single day, and has enough energy for 3 little boys his age.
Lauren is now in 7th grade at Hillside Middle School in Kalamazoo. This year, she joined choir and participated in Girls on Track. She ran the WMU Turkey Trot 5K run in under 22 minutes! Currently her favorite activities include Facebook, playing the Wii and her DS, and being an almost-teenage diva. Unfortunately......we don't get to see her as much as we would like, but she is doing well and we look forward to the time we do get to spend together.
Melanie is still working at the Van Buren ISD as a Teacher Consultant for Students with Autism. My work is never dull, and she loves it. She spends the rest of her time either trying to keep up with Travis or clean up after him!
April brought us a special treat......Disney World!! Travis, Melanie, and Grandma piled in the car and spent Spring Break in Florida. We enjoyed the warm weather, spent a couple of days at Disney, and even got to see some cousins that we hadn't been able to see in a while! Travis is asking when we can go back!
2010 has taught us to cherish our parents/grandparents. In late 2009/early 2010, Melanie's step-dad contracted a staph infection from a knee replacement surgery. He spent half of 2009 and almost half of 2010 on IV antibiotics, having more surgeries, and being homebound. Then in June 2010, Melanie's dad had a kidney removed due to a large cancerous tumor. Thankfully for both of them, they are now healthy and strong and, hopefully, past their ordeals. Unfortunately, though, we lost our Nana (Melanie's step-mom) to small cell lung cancer on October 30, 2010. Travis had the best attitude of all of us, when he celebrated her getting to see Jesus rather than focusing on the sadness. We miss Nana tremendously, and thank God for our healthy Papa, Grandma, and Grandpa.
To each of our family and friends........Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! We Love You All!!!
Melanie, Travis, and Lauren
So there it is.........does THIS count as a Christmas greeting from the Giddings'?!?!?!?!? I'll let you be the judge!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
The Faith of a Child
Wow.....it's easy to get "behind" on this blogging thing. I had thought it would be easy to pour out post after post of humorous anecdotes. Unfortunately, it's been a rather somber and draining few weeks. During this time, my beautiful and brilliant son has taught me more than I ever thought possible. But first, let me back up....
My Bonus Mom (aka step-mother) was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer in early August. Unfortunately this was not caught early (though it should have been), and everything progressed very quickly. On October 19th, doctors confirmed that the cancer had reached her brain, and on October 30, we said our earthly goodbyes. Throughout this time, I travelled back and forth as much as I could to spend time with my family and help in any way I could think of. Travis, of course, came with me. Mostly, he stayed with his Grandma.......he only saw "sick Nana" once.
On the evening of her passing, I returned home to Travis and set him on my lap, giving him a big hug. Here is a replay of our conversation:
Me: "Travis, remember how Nana has been sick?"
Travis: "Yes."
Me: "Well, today she went to see Jesus."
Travis (jumping off my lap and pumping his arm like the Spartans had just scored a game winning play): "YES!! Now she gets to be in Heaven!"
You might think that this isn't such a big deal. But after the very sad and emotional day I'd had it was just the right perspective. It continued a few minutes later when he asked me, "Mom, did you see Nana float up to Heaven? Because if you did you should have grabbed her and gone with her to see God. That's what I would have done." I could think of nothing profound to say in response to his innocent excitement over the prospect of coming face to face with Almighty God.....so I just gave him a squeeze.
And so it goes.......daily he expresses his faith in profoundly simple ways. Scripture says to "train up a child in the way he should go...." Honestly, I think that my son is teaching me at least as much as I try to teach him. Today as we were driving home from school he said, "Mom, I want to be a guy who digs up graves." My first thought? Too much Scooby Doo. I decided to humor him and ask him why. He responded, "Well, because I want to see that guy who tries to pull people away from God and tell him to shut up." Amused, I said, "Do you mean the devil?" Travis said, "Yea...that guy. I think he's just stupid. Why would anyone want to leave God?"
My Bonus Mom (aka step-mother) was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer in early August. Unfortunately this was not caught early (though it should have been), and everything progressed very quickly. On October 19th, doctors confirmed that the cancer had reached her brain, and on October 30, we said our earthly goodbyes. Throughout this time, I travelled back and forth as much as I could to spend time with my family and help in any way I could think of. Travis, of course, came with me. Mostly, he stayed with his Grandma.......he only saw "sick Nana" once.
On the evening of her passing, I returned home to Travis and set him on my lap, giving him a big hug. Here is a replay of our conversation:
Me: "Travis, remember how Nana has been sick?"
Travis: "Yes."
Me: "Well, today she went to see Jesus."
Travis (jumping off my lap and pumping his arm like the Spartans had just scored a game winning play): "YES!! Now she gets to be in Heaven!"
You might think that this isn't such a big deal. But after the very sad and emotional day I'd had it was just the right perspective. It continued a few minutes later when he asked me, "Mom, did you see Nana float up to Heaven? Because if you did you should have grabbed her and gone with her to see God. That's what I would have done." I could think of nothing profound to say in response to his innocent excitement over the prospect of coming face to face with Almighty God.....so I just gave him a squeeze.
And so it goes.......daily he expresses his faith in profoundly simple ways. Scripture says to "train up a child in the way he should go...." Honestly, I think that my son is teaching me at least as much as I try to teach him. Today as we were driving home from school he said, "Mom, I want to be a guy who digs up graves." My first thought? Too much Scooby Doo. I decided to humor him and ask him why. He responded, "Well, because I want to see that guy who tries to pull people away from God and tell him to shut up." Amused, I said, "Do you mean the devil?" Travis said, "Yea...that guy. I think he's just stupid. Why would anyone want to leave God?"
Sunday, October 10, 2010
To Blog or Not To Blog.....
So, my friend Christine suggested I start blogging.....mostly because my son, Travis (age 5) says a lot of humorous stuff that I tend to post on my Facebook Page. But I started to think about her request.......I did, after all, at one point want to be an author. Plus, I already had title of my first book picked out. So I decided, "Why not?" The chances of the book every coming to fruition are pretty minimal, and I really should record some "stories" to look back on. Life is so short....and this could be a fun adventure in recording things, right??
You may be wondering about my title: Between Oxygen and Glamour. That WAS going to be the title of my first book. I came up with it several years ago (ok....about a decade ago) while torturing myself on an eliptical at the gym. To my right was a woman in FULL makeup.....hair perfect......outfit totally trendy and form-fitting. I had the feeling that she would have worn high heels had she been allowed. Of course, her body was perfect, and as I watched her work out I couldn't help but notice that she hadn't even broken a sweat........the integrity of her pristine appearance remained intact. As I was thinking about what her life must be like, I glanced over to my left. On a recumbant bike sat an elderly man.......probably in his 70's. He had an oxygen tank sitting beside him, with tubes leading from the tank to his nostrils. So I finished my workout pondering this little arrangement........ending up with more questions than answers. Why do we value the things that we value? What is really important in our lives......the external appearance of being "together" or the will to never give up improving ourselves? And....in all of my wonderings.....this is what I came up with: that I am between Oxygen and Glamour. Not only that....some days I'm a little closer to one end of that spectrum than the other.....and then back again. But then again.....I think we all are........if we're honest with ourselves.
So there it is............my first ever blog. I have a feeling this WILL be a fun endeavor.
You may be wondering about my title: Between Oxygen and Glamour. That WAS going to be the title of my first book. I came up with it several years ago (ok....about a decade ago) while torturing myself on an eliptical at the gym. To my right was a woman in FULL makeup.....hair perfect......outfit totally trendy and form-fitting. I had the feeling that she would have worn high heels had she been allowed. Of course, her body was perfect, and as I watched her work out I couldn't help but notice that she hadn't even broken a sweat........the integrity of her pristine appearance remained intact. As I was thinking about what her life must be like, I glanced over to my left. On a recumbant bike sat an elderly man.......probably in his 70's. He had an oxygen tank sitting beside him, with tubes leading from the tank to his nostrils. So I finished my workout pondering this little arrangement........ending up with more questions than answers. Why do we value the things that we value? What is really important in our lives......the external appearance of being "together" or the will to never give up improving ourselves? And....in all of my wonderings.....this is what I came up with: that I am between Oxygen and Glamour. Not only that....some days I'm a little closer to one end of that spectrum than the other.....and then back again. But then again.....I think we all are........if we're honest with ourselves.
So there it is............my first ever blog. I have a feeling this WILL be a fun endeavor.
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