Well, here we are at the end of 2003. It seems like just last year I was watching the 24 hour New Year's celebration on TV when we ushered 2000 in, not to mention '01 and '02. Christmas has come and gone yet again and we feel very blessed to have experienced everything God has brought into our lives this past year.
I SIMPLY MUST BRAG. Last Sunday's musical went very well. Everyone involved in the production did a superb job. I was most proud of Vicki who was one of the narrators. I kept wanting to turn around to people sitting behind the sound booth and say, "That's my wife down there. I discovered her. I even get to live with her!" She delivered her lines with the confidence and expression of a pro. There were probably 700+ in attendance.
A VISIT WITH FRIENDS. Brent Freeland, for those of you who don't know him, is a childhood friend of mine. He and his two older brothers, Brian and Steve, are three very special guys who lived down the road from me. We were even roommates in college a couple of times. Brent, Sabrina, and their kids live in Virginia and they surprised Brent's parents with a visit this week. I got a couple of chances to visit with him and was really blessed by that. Isn't it neat to think about all the people God puts in your life?
CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES. Kenny and Lori Swann had their annual Christmas Party in their barn on the 23rd. It is part of our traditional activities and simply a lot of fun. We had a Christmas Eve service the following night. It is really nice to take that time to celebrate Christmas with your Christian family. On Christmas Day we went to Mrs. Connie Swann's new house for our traditional brunch (she is Kenny's mom). There was way too much good food there. After that we came home for the kids to nap and then went to Pauline's house to exchange gifts with her before all going to Aunt Mar's for some family time there. We were worn out when we got home.
CHRISTMAS GIFTS. We were all overly blessed this year. To hit the high spots, Nate got several little toys. Of his toys he likes the blocks the best, but when Ben fires up the train he got the blocks are forgotten. Ben's train is a motorized Thomas the Tank Engine set. It has a little track to run over and Harold (the helicopter) flies around above. After Nate derailed the train several times Ben just runs it across the floor now. Jenna got a Barbie laptop computer. She has been engrossed with that thing. I think it is a bigger hit than the Leap Pad she got last year (probably because she is a bit older). Mom, Aunt Mar, and Pauline went in together and got the kids a battery powered John Deere Gator. It is neat to watch them drive across the yard. They take turns driving and the passenger always has his/her arm around the driver. Vicki and I bought ourselves a digital camera. We are enjoying the ability to delete bad shots.
SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO. For those of you who don't know my Dad served as a gunner on a B-29 in WWII. He flew 32 missions against the Japanese Empire. In doing some research on his unit in the past I ran across a picture of a gunner on another plane in his group. This fellow, Sgt. Krantz, was on his 7th mission in early January '45 when his window was shot out by enemy fire. As the plane depressurized he was sucked out and dangled outside at 39,000 ft. for 15 minutes by a harness he had made himself on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day of '44. The picture shows this. He was pulled back in, survived the 6.5 hour trip back to Saipan, and made a full recovery. He was the only frostbite case in the South Pacific.
Yesterday my cousin, Jackie, came by the house and brought me an article from Clarksville's local paper, The Leaf Chronicle. Low and behold, there is Mr. Krantz in the article talking about his experiences. I had no idea he lived an hour away from me! I looked up his number and gave him a call and he said, "Why don't you come by for a visit some time?" I'm going this next week! While he didn't know my dad, I have never before had the opportunity to talk to anyone face to face about those missions (I have talked to Dad's pilot on the phone though). I am really excited to connect with Dad in this way.
I don't know how long they keep old articles posted but you can read it on their web site. Jackie, thanks for dropping that article by.
THE RETURN OF THE KING. Vicki and I watched The Lord of the Rings 3 last night. It was really well done and lives up to the expectations set in the other two films (in our opinion). It was just l_o_n_g. I am looking forward to seeing it again from the comfort of my couch and with the convenience of a pause button.
Joe
