Merry Christmas from the Family!

Carve the Turkey
Turn the ball game on
Mix margaritas when the eggnog's gone
Send somebody to the Quickpak Store
We need some ice and an extension chord
A can of bean dip and some Diet Rites
A box of tampons, some Marlboro Lights
Haleluja everybody say Cheese
Merry Christmas from the family

If you don't know how Robert Earl Keen is, go buy his CD, "The Party Never Ends." It's a classic.

So what was my first Christmas like away from home? I'll give you the rundown...

Friday: White Elephant party at the Co-Op School. Laughed so hard I thought I would cry. Afterwards I made a trip to the symphony orchestra. The music was incredible, the atmosphere was not. There was a college aged girl to my left talking on her cell phone when it started, a kid standing up his chair and talking in front of me, and a grown man behind fell asleep and was snoring very loudly near the end.

Saturday: Finished Christmas shopping. Had a Whopper at Burger King. Went to the V's Christmas Party and explained the meaning of Halloween to some Turks (I do what I can). Hung out there till late and headed home.

Sunday: Went to the International Church to videotape the V kids and the Boss' kids in their Christmas play. Left there and got to my church in time to make tea. We did our Christmas program. Sat around afterwards and talked to a man from the Bahai faith that I found out later has been excommunicated from other churches in the country for trying to preach his own deranged message. Went to dinner with seven other "youth" (remember, anyone between 21 and 45, married or not) and had a sweet time of fellowship that included a lot of laughs. Went home, grabbed all my gifts, and headed to the V house. Played some X-Box (I'm on a two game winning streak against the 7th grader), some backgammon, and finally the kids went to bed.

Monday: I'm going to start Monday here, even though Sunday and Monday kind of run together. You see, I stayed up all night talking to people on the V's Vonage phone. First it was Grandma. She was missing me pretty bad. She also confessed to feeding my dog table food. My dog is going to be so fat. Then I talked to my Dad. He was going to visit one of his girlfriends (I'm not making this up). Then I called my buddy Paul, who I found out, is now engaged. We talked for a couple hours. I got to meet his fiance for the first time. By this time the sun had come up and so had the V clan. So when they all made it downstairs, we exchanged gifts. We sat around talking and laughing and playing some games. The boys put in one of their new movies and I finally got to sleep, though only for an hour. We all went to another couple's place for snacks and conversation. We stayed for a few hours before heading to the Boss' house for a big dinner with the team and some people from the Air Force base. It was so wonderful. Not only did we have some of the best fellowship I've had in a long time, but we laughed till my face hurt, and on top of all that, we had HAM and DR. PEPPER!!! We ended up sitting around and talking till 11, when Papa V gave me a ride back to my place.

All in all, it was one of the best Christmas' I've ever had. And before you go thinking that I'm just saying that to try and talk myself out of being homesick, let me tell you two little stories that still bring tears to my eyes now, as I type this. Sunday evening, Papa V got all the kids together down in the living room for their family Bible reading. He read the Christmas story from Luke and gave a little talk about it. I had little Tom Tom cuddled up on my right, Stevo on my left, and all the other kids sitting around. Everyone prayed and we all went back to what we were doing. It may not sound like much, but that is something I have never had and never been a part of. It's something that I've always dreamt about, but never thought was actually real. I didn't know there were men in this world that actually did those types of things with their families. It was precious. The other story is later that night, when it was getting close to midnight. Something was said that reminded me of a story. As I told the first story, all the kids gathered round to listen. So when I finished, they all wanted to hear another one. Well, I'm full of stories, and I love to tell them. So the two big kids pulled up chairs. Stevo sat on the arm of my chair, and little Tom Tom, as cute as can be, curled up in my lap with his head laying on my chest and started to fall asleep as I told stories. For those of you that didn't really know me before, I'll just say that me and kids never really got along so well. And to have these four kids gathered round me with little Tom Tom curled up in my lap and listening so intently to what I had to say, it was just too good to be true. It was these little times that really made this one of the best Christmas' of my life.

And for everyone who needs something to smile about this Christmas season, here's Tom Tom and the Boss' son to cheer you up a little...


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