A Merry Christmas

2010 Polar Bear Club (predunking)- Andy, Robert, Zach, Adam

Well, the birdhouse felting and shipments of socks finally got finished and it was time for one of our favorite nights of the whole year... Christmas Eve. A tradition was born many years ago and was reborn last year of jumping into the icy lake beside my parents home. (No, I didn't participate, though I have in the far past!). Doesn't every family celebrate Christmas this way? First, the guys had to do lots of chanting loudly to get themselves psyched up. They planned their route to the water and back carefully, as there was literally just a small area that was unfrozen!

I hope you'll enjoy this short video of the event! Things were somewhat more subdued after that, and unfortunately our daughter wasn't feeling well and was very quiet for the evening.

Our son Robert had the honor of reading the story of Jesus' birth from the family Bible.

We told lots of good stories and jokes, sang some carols, ate a wonderful meal, and then even did a bit of karaoke.

(Robert was the hit there, as he ad libbed Deck the Halls and had everyone in stitches.)

Munchie was dressed up in Santa attire, and he and my brother's cat Joe got along great as always. My brother Andy read us some great poetry, we opened gifts, there was a small wrestling match, and good memories were made! Our family has so much to be thankful for, and I'm looking forward to more time with them on our upcoming ski adventure!

Sushi dressed up for Christmas this year, too, and he's very proud to have launched his very own Facebook page- check it out!

Pin It Now!

Guest Blogger- Honor Flight

I am thrilled and proud to have my Dad as my first guest blogger on this patriotic day that we celebrate as Independence Day here in the United States. Here he goes....

I have had a very great experience recently- I was honored to be included with World War II Veterans on a trip to Washington D.C, and went along with one of my five sisters, Annie.

Honor flight was started in Springfield Ohio by physician and pilot Earl Morse. Earl wanted some of his patients who were World War II Veterans to see the World War II Memorial in Washington D.C. Check out Honorflight.org . It is now a national program with 42,000 veterans taking the trip by the end of 2009. It is free to the veterans.
Hello! My name is Bob Millat and I was in the U.S. Army in Korea after World War II and my sister Annie Beall was a nurse during the war & was stationed in the Phillipine Islands. I still salute my sister since she was an officer. My brother Dave was also in the war and was also stationed in the Phillipines and then on to Japan.

Our Honor Flight trip started @ 6:00 A.M. when we boarded a commercial plane at Dayton International Airport. There were about 80 veterans with about 15 in wheel chairs. There were also about 20 volunteers that were extremely helpful.

We got a nice send off at the airport by Congressman Mike Turner. Mike was previously the Mayor of Dayton. Mike we need you back in Dayton.
All during our travels we were acknowledged as World War II veterans and received cheers and applause on the plane and in the airports. It was very heartwarming to receive cheers as we entered the main concourse in Baltimore. Cheers from all the crowds was a real thrill.

I sat next to a veteran who was a navigator on B-25 bombers. His plane was stripped of armaments and guns to be lighter and was used to get our troops by parachute into the heart of Europe. He said they always flew at night and in the worst weather and very low to the ground. They lost 100 planes and crews for every 200 flights. He was lucky.
We visited the World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War Monuments. Also Lincoln Memorial, Air Force Memorial, Iwo Jima Memorial and were able to see the changing of the guard at The Tomb of The Unknown Soldier. There are about 350,000 graves at Arlington Cemetery. It was very special to be greeted at the WW II Memorial by Elizabeth and Bob Dole.
They made a special effort to meet each group of veterans and express their respect and thanks for serving their country. My sister Annie (on the left) was really pleased to get her photo with Mrs. Dole. Her husband was overseas in the Pacific Area for 33 straight months. One of the biggest thrills was at midnight as we got home in Dayton. The Honor Flight organization arranged to have hundreds of people that cheered, waved flags and clapped as we made our way into the main terminal at Dayton Airport. There was even an honor guard and a big sign “ WELCOME HOME VETERANS.” My sister Annie said that was just what she needed. When she came home from the war, she arrived at Union Railroad Station, and there was no one to welcome her home. There was a mix up on the time she got home, so she had to take a taxi to her home all alone.
There were terrible wars in our country’s history. The following statistics of Americans killed are just awful. Civil War 600,000. World War II 400,000. Korean War 52,000. Vietnan War 55,000 and now Iraq War 4,000 and growing.

I think it’s about time that the citizens of America start a major campaign to create a big time memorial to peace. I can see it now a PEACE MEMORIAL that would be a big showplace. Remember what Rodney said?

“WHY CAN’T WE JUST GET ALONG”

Pin It Now!

Some Christmases...

Every year, or at least those since I've reached my 40's, I say "no stress this year, we'll keep the emphasis on the reason for the season and won't get caught up in lots of the other stuff." Some years we hit the mark better than others.... like the times we've served food at the homeless shelter, taken meals to a lonely neighbor, etc.This year, for whatever reason, it just seems like there were too many "have to's" to enjoy Christmas properly. We did have a lovely time with my stepson Jason and his fiancee, Crystal, and I could feel myself relaxing a bit. But, I found myself being very short-tempered with the kids and super impatient. I didn't find time to contribute in ways I would have liked. I'm sure that having our hands full with a bottle cria and other farm needs have contributed to this, which is just part of having animals and pretty unavoidable.
I wrote the above portions BEFORE heading off to Ohio for my parent's Christmas Eve celebration.... what a difference a day or two makes!My parents always find great ways to make our holiday so memorable... this year as with many we started off with a reading of the Christmas story, with our kids and neices and nephews reading from the family Bible my parents were given when they married nearly 59 years ago.
My brother Andy, always eager to contribute something creative, read a beautiful Wendell Berry poem and my brother Greg actually asked him to repeat it, he liked it so much! I didn't catch the title, but the gist of it was... "all we need is right here." We shared silly stories and memories, discussed how weird we all are (or at least some of us), the guys all wrestled, we ate tons of great food, and nobody wanted to leave. We all discussed how we feel the spirit of my brother, Mike, when we are all together (and sometimes other times as well), and of course we missed Lauren, JP, Crystal and Melody.
I'm truly looking forward to some relaxation during the rest of our holiday season, and I hope that you are able to as well. Merry Christmas! Pin It Now!

Peak Holiday Weekend

It was a full weekend, starting with Robert's play, Alice in Wonderland, Jr., on Friday night. If you're a parent, you're surely familiar with that feeling of your heart absolutely swelling with pride? It may be from the first smile, hug, a graduation, or a genuine sign of kindness. Well, I sure had it the other night as we watched Robert sing and act with such poise, confidence and humor in his role as The Mad Hatter! The entire cast did a fantastic job, very professional for a middle school production. We can't wait to see Robert in more roles, as he has always been a big ham!Add to that a farm Open House (small but still requiring work, organizing, and time), cria watch, Paul's company party, cooking, and our Huber Christmas get-together and it was a VERY full weekend. We only just tonight FINALLY got the tree up!
It seems that we always end up listening to John Denver's Rocky Mountain Christmas, I don't know why! It's kind of bad when we all know the words to, "Please, Daddy, Don't get Drunk this Christmas", closely followed by "O, Little Town of Bethlehem."

I am REALLY looking forward to a week with not so many items on the agenda (other than the looming Christmas list and cria watch). I'm loading up on podcasts and looking forward to some studio time! Hey, if you've read this far don't forget to comment by Monday night on the Wednesday, Dec. 10th post in order to be eligible to win a pair of awesome alpaca socks! So far there are only 2 comments, and someone is going to win! Pin It Now!