There are still a few hours of Christmas Day left…let’s make the most of them!
Merry Christmas from Bismarck-Mandan Blog!
Reply
The true meaning of Christmas
Despite all the efforts to combat it, Christmas is here. What was once a celebration of Christ’s birth has become artfully hijacked. In some ways it’s been converted into a time of commercialism. In others it’s become simply a time of tradition; family, food, fun. I’m not saying the exchange of gifts is bad and, quite frankly, this world needs more tradition and family time. Whether good or bad, these things are a distraction from the true meaning of Christmas.
One thing I first realized when I became a Christian is that there’s way more to the Christmas story than I’d ever known. Jesus didn’t suddenly spring up and change the way God dealt with man forever; his birth was foretold. Around the time of his conception, you didn’t have to explain to an Israelite who the Messiah was. He was foretold by the prophets. His lineage was known and predicted, as well as his birthplace of Bethlehem. They were literally waiting for him to arrive.
Another thing I realized is that we Gentiles are not God’s chosen people; Israel is. We, however, through the faith in Jesus that his nation didn’t have, are grafted in. In both the old and new testaments, Jesus is referred to as a light to the Gentiles. As Paul points out in Romans, the grace God shows the Gentiles is intended to provoke Israel to jealousy. He made a covenant with them that he will not break, and his wish is that they’d come around.
The Christmas story as told in Luke is simply beautiful. I love to try to picture that starry night (because I’m a starry night kind of guy) and the magnitude of the events that unfolded around Jesus’ birth. People were waiting for his birth. This night was prophecy fulfilled, the opportunity for God’s chosen people to be redeemed. Later on, because he wasn’t the type of Messiah they wanted, they rejected him. When Stephen was stoned in Acts chapter 7, he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. He was ready to redeem his people, but again they rejected him and killed the messenger, Stephen. Thus we are now in the church age, the time of the Gentiles.
Christmas 2006 has been such a mix of feelings for our household. First off is our little Christmas present, the handome little PJ who was born last week. On the down side, we’re experiencing another brown Christmas. Once the snow comes to stay each year, I load the Minidisc of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” in my truck and don’t take it out till Spring. This year the snow left. It’s really hard to get in the spirit of driving around with Stacy, looking at lights, and listening to Vince Gauraldi when the roads and lawns are barren. It takes the spirit right out of it.
One other down side every Christmas is that my dad disowned me when he found out I wasn’t going to a Catholic church any more. He hasn’t spoken to me since, and it’s been two or three years now. I don’t remember the exact time it started. He didn’t attend my wedding, didn’t visit us in the hospital when our boy was born, and his only response to the news that he’s got a grandson was to hand the phone to my mom. If I come to the house, he leaves the room until I have left. I can’t really get too upset by dwelling on it, because it’s his decision. The man that told me all through my youth that it’s important not to ever leave a loved one on bad terms, because there’s no telling if something might take them from you, has thrown his own advice out the window. Hopefully little PJ will help soften his heart, along with our prayers.
There were little victories, too…Christmas displays were allowed to stand in Chicago and Seattle. Store employees wished “Merry Christmas” except for certain stores (which I boycotted). The Northern Lights showed off their colors just two weeks before Christmas. Friends and family have come back to Bismarck-Mandan to visit, and there’s plenty of time to reminisce. My friend Reed and the rest of his aviation unit are home from Bosnia in time for the holidays. Today, Christmas Eve, marks the 9th anniversary of the day I brought Scooter home from The Birdhouse, tucked in a little pet carrier box which I stuffed in my coat to keep him warm. He’s sitting on my shoulder right now, feathers fluffed, and leaning against my earlobe. He’s spent many years there while I stare at the computer screen, and sometimes I feel I should split some of my freelance money with him.
Aside from PJ and Scooter, the most treasured memory I will retain from Christmas 2006 was the time spent caroling at one of Bismarck’s nursing homes this year. As we walked the halls singing, many residents would stand in their doorways and sing along. I could barely continue through the tears when I’d see a little old lady standing at the entrance to her room, singing the fourth verse of Joy to the World (or any of our other Christmas hymns) by heart. These days most people, myself included, don’t even know how many verses the popular Christmas hymns have, and certainly don’t know the words to those verses. I was touched beyond description. If you ever have the opportunity to go caroling for these folks, don’t let it pass you by. It will leave you a changed person.
Having the baby a little ahead of our expectations has kinda cramped my style of last-minute shopping. I tend to go to Kirkwood mall once a year (not counting Scheel’s), mostly because I don’t care for having to shield my eyes from the way the girls are dressed down there. This time I cranked up my iPod, put my head down, and finished my shopping all in one day. I managed to get almost all the Snoopy keepsake ornaments from Hallmark, too. Among the random songs came a couple of Christmas songs by gospel singer Robert Robinson, whose voice will send shivers up your spine. If you saw a guy with watery eyes wearing a motorcycle jacket and an iPod, that was me.
Two events that always signal the Christmas week are: James Bond marathons and the 24-hour “Christmas Story” marathon on TBS. I own the DVD of “Christmas Story” after being introduced to the movie in 2003. How I went 20 years without discovering this masterpiece (and Christmas staple) is beyond me…but that has been rectified. And I still watch it on satellite, despite the fact that the DVD sits ready and waiting. What can I say, it’s tradition. We also watched the usual Frosty the Snowman and other Rankin-Bass features, because they’re tradition too. I’m not going to teach my kids that there’s a Santa Claus, but I do find the TV specials entertaining.
Because our plans got put back a little bit, we’re likely to spend Christmas Day opening gifts and that sort of thing. My brother made it back for the weekend, so we’ll see him briefly. It seems like all our loved ones in town are sick or have sick kids, so we’re staying home to isolate our little boy from any unwanted germs. After all, he still won’t be a week old on Christmas day. It’ll just be the four of us, counting Scooter, and it’s the stuff memories are made of. I hope your Christmas is as memorable as mine. If you’ve got anything you’d like to share about your Christmas, please enter it as a comment. Merry Christmas!
Chipper
I visit Chipper every now and then and help rub out his pinfeathers over a conversation. He tweets and peeps, scolding me when I touch a sensitive one. We’re old pals, Chipper and I…in fact, it was my experience with him that made me decide on a lovebird before I purchased Scooter!
Chipper’s getting along in years. He went through two owners before coming to The Birdhouse for his role as store mascot. I don’t know how long it was between his hatching and his becoming a store employee, but he’s at least twelve years old. A healthy lovebird can live up to 20 years, so he may have plenty of time left in him. He did, however, have an unfortunate incident this year which resulted in a nasty fall. We figure he had a minor stroke which caused him to lose balance. To this day, he’s lost his equilibrium somewhat and leans to his right. He walks sideways too. That disability hasn’t stopped him from his duties as the store ambassador, however!
If you ever find yourself at The Birdhouse, stop and say hello to Chipper. He may not be as willing to let people pick him up these days due to his balance problem, but he’s still very friendly. Maybe you’ll just see him curled up in his coconut half-shell, beak tucked away in his feathers. But hopefully he’ll be there for years to come, providing smiles to new customers and old friends alike!
Pater familias
Yes, that’s right…I’m a dad After nine months and one day ahead of schedule, Paul Joseph (“PJ”, of course) joined our family. He’s a little tank too, weighing 9 lbs 4 oz and measuring at 22.5″ long. He’s got blond hair and blue eyes, just like his proud papa!
We went into the hospital for a checkup, and ended up being admitted. My wife is so strong, such an amazing lady…she endured an endless stream of contractions that were causing an immense amount of pain, but weren’t getting us closer to delivery. Finally she agreed to an epidural, and that allowed her body to relax enough for the process to get going.
No matter how many books you read, how many videos you watch, and how closely you pay attention in Lamaze class, there is nothing to prepare a man for childbirth. There’s so much uncertainty, so much helplessness, so many feelings of inadequacy. This is the woman’s job, and all the guy can do is try to be as supportive as a husband has ever been. To watch my wife in pain and travail through labor is the most gut-wrenching thing I’ve seen as far as I can remember, but its fruition is such joy that all those things seem in the distant past.
One observation I’ve made about women, and you can disagree with me if you want, is that they are 1) more in touch with their emotions than men, and 2) far less able to handle sudden changes in emotion than men. Sure, the stereotype of women being tougher emotionally is true; but a guy can be mad one second and happy the next, with no trouble switching gears. Those roles were reversed last night.
Stacy’s travail turned to joy, although some pain lingered. Once things settled down, however, I found myself finally able to decompress and sob through the flashbacks of her pain and disorientation. She’s so amazing. For her labor we’ve been blessed with a perfect little (big) boy, exactly an answer to prayer, and to see the two of them together wells up feelings I never knew I had.
I was a loner for 35 years. I had my own room as a kid, always kept my personal space regardless of friendships and relationships, and lived alone for a long time before getting married. I wasn’t sure I would be able to change and put a wife before myself, or a child for that matter. Obviously Stacy changed my mind in respect to marriage. When little PJ reached up with both hands and grabbed my finger last night, less than five minutes after being born, I was reassured that things will be okay there, too.
I didn’t spend any time preparing emotionally for fatherhood. How can I? There’s no possible way to do so. Instead I chose to be totally blindsided, with no preconceptions and no expectations. It was the best way to approach the birth of our little (big) guy. Now the only variable is how Scooter’s going to take to him. He’s a pretty understanding bird…hopefully he’ll be as awestruck with little Paul Joseph as I am.
Now, at the risk of sounding like an Academy Award winner, there are some people we’d like to thank. First and foremost would be my employer, Candace, whose experience and guidance have brought us through this whole amazing event. She was with us through every step of the way, counseling us and providing lots of much-needed backup. I can’t even describe the degree of comfort and help she brought to us this weekend. The Muggerud family is our family, I’m just fortunate enough to work for them as well. Second would be the nurses at the hospital. They’ve gone the extra mile to insure our comfort, and every need is met. One in particulary, Jody, even stopped in to talk to us at the end of her shift, even though she’d had to stay over an hour later than her scheduled time off. When she came in the next morning to find that we’re parents, she came to greet us with congratulations.
Obviously, my head is still swimming from the whole thing, and I need to cut this word dump short and get back to my family. Thanks for your prayers throughout our pregnancy and delivery. To those of you who loved the nickname we’d given him before birth, “Klaus”, thanks. To those of you who said we’d be nuts to name our kid Klaus, your fears can be abated. And to those of you who thought it was unfair to keep his real name a secret until his birthday…well, now you know.
Christmas in the Park – one week left!
When Christmas in the Park opened this year, my wife and I were one of the early visitors. It’s neat to see the displays, especially ones from sponsors who do new ones each year, while driving through the park in the dark. It’s a display that can be seen from Mandan and the Memorial and Expressway bridges. I wonder if it can be seen from the Schaff house?
Of course, we’re biased toward the Peanuts-themed displays. They’re our favorite and, instead of listening to the Christmas music broadcast by the Sertoma folks, we were listening to A Charlie Brown Christmas in the truck.
Of course, it was much nicer when there was actual snow on the ground. I’m really bummed that we’re having a brown Christmas so far. Keep praying for snow…and if it arrives, go back through Christmas in the Park again!
On a side note, I think it’s funny that people like me will complain about spending $7.75 to sit through a two hour movie at a theater while happily spending $5 to cruise through a 15-20 minute Christmas display. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the five bucks, I just think the human nature of it is funny. While a theater like the new Grand is worth $7.75, Christmas in the Park is equally deserving of your five bucks.
Sunrise…on my tummy…
…makes me happy…oh, sorry. Didn’t mean to kick into John Denver mode there. Yes, it must be a disorder: I was lying in a field at sunrise this morning, listening to my iPod and waiting to see what the sun would do. So much for sleeping in! Before getting down on the ground to get this angle, I was on my feet for a while. So I guess you could say I was outstanding in the field. Okay, I’ll quit the puns. Here’s the pix:
There were some ups and downs to this little adventure. It seems that I can’t leave the house without something blogworthy happening, and today was no different. While I got lots of nice sunrise and pre-sunrise pictures, I also had some other trials. First, the cap for the lens I was using fell out of my pocket out in the middle of this field, and I noticed it once I’d hiked back to the truck. Being of the stubborn sort, I hoofed it back out there and actually found it within five minutes! To help, I brought the camera and lined up the picture the same way, then followed my tracks back toward the truck. Whew! Canon charges an arm and a leg for those things. Oh, one more thing:
A lot of those other dots are caused by a dirty sensor on the camera. This is a problem unique to digital cameras, since film uses a new surface for each exposure. When you own a digital camera where you change lenses a lot, there comes a time to clean it. Sensors attract dust, and dust shows up when you point the camera at bright stuff with narrow apertures (I think this was f/22). Drat.
I just ordered a couple of different sensor cleaning kits, so it’s time to try them out. It’s never fun to stick foreign objects into a $1500 camera, but I honestly don’t trust anyone else to do it for me. I’ve always been the same way with my motorcycles, mountain bikes, and other stuff. There are too many horror stories flying around out there. So I’ll be sticking a solvent swab into my computer very soon. Hopefully I’ll do it right, or it’ll be hard to come up with more photography for the ol’ Blog!
Thursday Morning Light
Thursday Night Lights – aurora borealis gallery
These are a few of my wife’s favorite things
Homes in Marina Bay don’t seem to be as decorated as they have been in the past. Down in the corner along the river, just past Dr. Scherr’s house, the houses used to have all kinds of nice displays and lights. Nowadays it’s not nearly as fun to drive through the area; only a few homes are decorated this year. That’s okay, there are other “hot spots” for Christmas lights now…maybe you’ll see some of them posted here!
Tuesday night sunset
Those little spikes are absolutely amazing! I’ve got some closeups, I’ll have to post one or two. One thing about a macro lens is that it’s got a very shallow depth of field; once I focus on a point, anything minutely closer or further away from that point are blurred. It’s neat for some things but a challenge for shots like this. I love a good challenge…