IN THE SPIRIT OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON. . .

Once again, we find ourselves - you, me, us, them - in the midst of the Holiday Season. This is the time of year when we traditionally pause to give thanks for and reflect upon the many blessings of life and family, health, friends, and the multitude of other bounties we enjoy each day. Thanksgiving is one of those special times when families gather to feast, celebrate, reminisce and - of course - in the golden afterglow of the repast, unbutton those pants and hunker down in front of the football games on wide-screen HD. Oh Yeah.

One of my personal laments at this time of year is that family has become so large and so spread-out across the hinterlands, that it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to visit all of them during the holidays. . . or have all of them visit us. I know this is a common source of frustration for many of you as well. . Bummer, huh? When you factor in parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, children, children's families, extended families, blended families, in-laws, out-laws, etc., it can become a logistical nightmare. As an illustration - we have family in such diverse and far-flung locales as Idaho Falls; Louisville; Salt Lake City; Oregon; Lehi; Baltimore; Arizona; Frankfort; Tennessee; Egypt; Florida; South Carolina and Iraq! Any way you cut it, that would be a lot of frequent-flyer miles!

As much as we would love to spend time with everyone, it's physically impossible. And as much as we'd like everyone to be here with us. . .well, that just isn't possible either. I know, stinks huh? This Thanksgiving finds us having a small (by usual standards) dinner that includes Michael, Amber, & Madi; Fernando and Penny; and at least four of the full-time missionaries (alas, no sisters just elders).

And in less time than it takes to bat-an-eye, Thanksgiving will be gone and we will be that much closer to Christmas. Ahhh. Christmas. The time of year when we traditionally celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. A time to pause and step out of the whirlwind, often mundane, sometimes robotic day-to-day mentality and actions that can conspire to keep Him in the back of our minds the other eleven months of the year. It is a season for pausing to contemplate and celebrate His birth and the personal relationship we share with the Prince of Peace. Only when we reflect upon the promise and realization of the temporal and eternal blessings and goodness, righteousness and peace that His birth ushered into the world for not only ourselves, but all children of a loving Father in Heaven, do we begin to comprehend the true meaning of the season.

Much has been espoused, written, spoken, argued and debated about the infringement and usurptation of crass commercialism into and upon the true meaning of Christmas. I won't delve deeply into that topic here, other than to say the following. . . Loving benevolence, charity, brotherhood, and the true spirit of giving has often been replaced by greed and self-absorption. Love and worship of the Savior is replaced in many instances by love and worship of the dollar. A sad commentary, but a situation in which I think each of us, at times and in varying degrees find ourselves.

Lynne and I have decided to make a change in our approach to giving each other Christmas presents this year. As always, we will send Christmas gifts to each of our children, grandchildren, etc., but we have promised NOT to buy ANYTHING for each other. Yeah, right. Sure. You bet. Uh huh. Not possible you say? We're gonna do it. . .really. We have a beautifully decorated tree this year, but there are no presents under it. What?!? There is method to our perceived madness and possible dementia. We are going to celebrate our Christmas in March of 2009. . .in China. Yes! We are saving the Christmas money we would have spent on each other and using it instead to spend two - three weeks in China. Cool. As fuel prices and airfares have continued to drop, we thought this would be a good time to lock in some decent rates, especially this far in advance.

With so many travel requirements and restrictions now in place, I finally talked Lynne into getting her passport. We can no longer return from a trip to Mexico or Canada to the States without a valid passport, so now the world is Lynne's oyster and the sky is the limit. Literally. While in China, we plan to visit the University where I taught; the Mountain Resort in Chengde; The Forbidden City and the Great Wall. We will also spend a couple of days in Hong Kong visiting some of the areas where I served my mission and attend the Hong Kong temple. A Christmas to remember, to be sure.

You may have noticed that the music on this blog has changed. I added a Christmas music player at the bottom. If you'd rather listen to the other music, pause the Christmas tunes and select one from the other player. Or, you can choose another Christmas tune. Whatever. Enjoy.

We wish our family members - as we wish each of you and yours - a happy, joyful, safe and wondrous Holiday Season. May the love and comfort of the Savior be found within the walls of your home and the folds of your heart. We are so grateful for each of you. Our prayers are with you. Happy Thanksgiving. Merry Christmas.