Tag / Special Days

by Greg

Christmas Report II

When I was trying to think of what I needed to do today, I also remembered the past few days that have been. It seemed like today might be the first kinda normal day in a while. (Which, strangely makes it feel like Monday, maybe Tuesday…)

It’s been quite a week! I’m sure it was for you as well. I think maybe we have an extra piece with Ian’s birthday being on Christmas day. Because of that there are a few more celebration days for Ian in there. Like, we did our annual Birthday Burger at Red Robin sometime last week for his birthday. Balloons, singing, and all. It was awesome! Then the fun started again this past week… maybe on Saturday.

Saturday was the day we were singing at Wal-Mart. That shouldn’t have been as eventful as it was, but after getting there and getting everything set up, I realized I had no guitar picks. And then we found out that Wal-Mart did not either! So, we went on a bit of a scavenger hunt, finally picking some up (pun intended) at a local music store. Then, to top it all off, after about an hour of singing – which was super fun! – I broke a guitar string. While that used to be commonplace, I am pretty sure that’s the first time I have done that in most of TWO YEARS! Crazy!

After the string broke, we packed up and did a little last minute Christmas & birthday shopping there at Wal-Mart and a couple other stores. It was nice, just me and Jen. 🙂

When we got back home, we did a few more things then packed up the troops for a trip to Victor. We actually went to the mall area on the Saturday before Christmas!! (We really needed an ink cartridge, and that’s the closest office store…) After we picked that up, we stopped by our friends’ house and hung out for a little while with them. Had some hot cocoa and fresh-baked Christmas cookies! 🙂

Sunday morning brought a visit from some other friends. They were dropping their girls off so that they could go to the Bills/Giants game over in Buffalo! (They bought our tickets from us, a nice Christmas present for our friend the Giants fan. Unfortunately, turned out to be a little TOO nice!!) We kept their girls all day, and had a blast! The evening ended with a visit from John Dupra for a recording of the Buffalo Bills Review, and then some good Christmas cookies from our friends. 🙂

Christmas Eve started later than I thought it would. We slept in a bit, then tried to decide what to do. We were going to make some Christmas gifts (food) for friends and drop them off, but then after talking with them, decided to wait on that. But then in talking with our football ticket friends, ended up deciding to bring Christmas dinner over to their house to share with them the next day. So, in between making Christmas cookies for Santa, Christmas Eve also involved baking bread and making a lasagna to bake the next day!

That evening we went to Willowbrook to see friends (and family!) we haven’t seen for a while – some of them a LONG while! That was nice, and was followed by a stop at another family’s house for a late night Christmas Eve party! Was nice to hang out with them for a couple hours. We stayed longer than we wanted to, but that was due to caring for one of our friends’ sick kids. Long story. Long night. 🙂 We didn’t get home, and get the kids in bed, until midnight!

We weren’t totally done with Christmas and Birthday preparations by Midnight, so… we were both up till 2am. For me, that’s fine… for Jen? Not so fine. Christmas morning came a little too soon for her. Even though it wasn’t till 9am. 🙂

Christmas Day was no less crazy. Once we got up, I took a quick shower, and then we all headed downstairs to find some presents left by Santa (alongside the ones we had already put under the tree) and our stockings full of goodies! The kids were fun to watch. 🙂 After unwrapping all the fun presents, we headed into the kitchen to make a big French Toast breakfast for Ian’s birthday! (His request.)

After breakfast, we headed back to the family room for Ian to open his birthday presents. (Yes, he gets LOTS of presents on Dec 25th, and the week before and after that!) We didn’t have a cake, so I stuck a candle in a giant navel orange, and we sang for Ian using that. Fun stuff. 🙂

After Ian’s birthday celebrating, we packed up pretty quickly, and took our big Christmas lunch over to our friends’ house to celebrate and eat with them. Spent about two hours or so there. They may be moving soon, so we’re enjoying all the time we can get with them. Will be strange if we are not living in the same town…

We packed up after lunch with our friends and headed out to Buffalo to visit with Jen’s family. Got there around 4:30 or so and got right to eating! (Yes, you’re right… that IS a lot of eating…) It was a great meal, and a fun time with Jen’s family. Her oldest brother and family were not there, but there were plenty of people to go around and we had a great time giving and receiving gifts… and eating taco dip! (One of my favorites…) 🙂

We left around 8:30 or so, putting us back home at 10pm. We were BEAT from the past three days. Jen was exhausted for sure. The kids were pooped. Most slept the whole way home. But not Kirsten. She sang Christmas songs with Dad most of the time. 🙂 SO CUTE!!!

But we weren’t done.

Wednesday morning was very busy for me! I did sleep in, but once I got up I was on the phone, IM, and e-mailing. Plenty of Boxing Day business I guess! I was also making bread because some other friends were coming over for a late lunch/early dinner. And the best part? They were bringing lasagna! Funny. I made/brought lasagna for some other friends, and then we had different friends do the same for us! Give and you shall receive. Or something like that. 🙂

We had a great time with them, and enjoyed all the good food. The really funny part was they came at around 3:30, and with the short days and all, when our friends left at 6pm, it felt like bedtime. BUT IT CERTAINLY WAS NOT! So, we didn’t know what to do with ourselves 🙂 The kids helped clean up, then watched some movies with Mom while Dad spent about TWO HOURS catching up on our finances! Crazy!

That brings us to today. And actually… it has been a pretty normal day so far. 🙂

A great, fun, fabulous Christmas and Ian’s birthday in 2007. Hope yours was as well!

by Greg

Christmas Report

Do you remember Christmas days gone by when, as a youngster, you couldn’t wait to see your friends or maybe your cousins – whoever would listen! – so you could tell them what you got for Christmas? Well, I do. But I don’t think that I really got to tell anyone that yesterday, so I’m going to write it down here!

I am drinking some tea this morning from a nice new mug I got from Santa. My wife got me a Buffalo Bills book that so far is quite good, and we also have mountains of great Christmas candy! (Mostly chocolate!) I also got some nice winter gloves (mine have holes … no… they ARE holes!) and a few cans of tomato soup! 🙂 (Yes… I’ve been wanting some of that…) 🙂

It was a fun day. Lots of smiles, and even a bunch of useful stuff. Fun to give, and to receive. And the best part is that Jen actually bought almost everything using money from sales of other stuff on CraigsList, ebay, and Amazon.com. 🙂 Nice!

Oh! Maybe the best present of all was one that was hand-crafted by Ian! He worked long and hard to build an iMac for me! it’s awesome! I’ll have to post a photo 🙂 Even came with a wireless keyboard AND an iPod! 🙂 He spent many days building it for me at my workbench in the basement. (I think that Ian has now worked there more than I have….) 😉

Hope you had a fun day as well. Feel free to share your favorite gifts in the comments below. 🙂

by Greg

Hear The Angels Sing

We have heard a LOT of Christmas music lately. I’m sure you are feeling the same way. I do still love it, but it’s definitely getting close to time to shelve it for another eleven months or so.

It’s not all bad, though. One song off of Steven Curtis Chapman’s second Christmas album, All I Want For Christmas, caught my attention this week.

It wasn’t so much a lyric, as the way it was sung.

I believe the song was It Came Upon a Midnight Clear. It was sung with a nice gentle feel to it. And, at one point, Steven sings just lightly, “Hear the angels sing Hallelujah, Christ the Savior is born.” Those are words you usually associate with giant booming voices and big, majestic fanfare. But in this song, the words were sung almost at a whisper, almost as a lullaby for the newborn baby.

It got me thinking. Maybe that’s how it was? We think it should be fanfare and trumpets and “kingly”. But if you’ll recall, the King of the universe stepped into our lives as a baby, born to ordinary folk, in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. He was born in a stable. He was… born, period. He didn’t have to go through that, either.

But he did.

The simplicity of the first Christmas is a clue that God does not do things the way we think he should. And we’re (way) better off for it.

Enjoy your gifts today, giving and receiving. Enjoy time with family and friends. Enjoy the great food. Enjoy the Christmas cookies! But most of all, enjoy knowing that you are so completely loved by the One who has everything. He didn’t just become a man so he could die the death of a criminal… he wanted to live like us, so he could know us even better. All the way from birth. As a commoner.

That’s what you mean to him. That first Christmas day, and this one.

Merry Christmas. 🙂

by Greg

Love

The other night we got to spend the evening with our good friends. We don’t usually get to hang out with all of them together, so we decided to make a late night of it – and were welcomed to do so – and had a fantastic time. The kids played great together, and that allowed us adults to grab some drinks, and a little dessert and just talk about life together at the dining room table.

Earlier in the night, since my birthday was coming up, there was also a bit of a surprise birthday party! Another family was invited to join us (our friends’ neighbor) and then after dinner together, I was told to go in the other room and stay there. I knew something was up… 🙂 After a few minutes, a plate of chocolate chocolate chip cookies was brought in … with candles in it! 🙂 I found out later that was the plan all the time, disguised as a regular evening together as friends. It was fun. Really nice surprise. Even got presents! 🙂

Well, as the adults hung out after all of the other festivities, we got to talking about the people that God has put around us. We’d been sharing stories of what was in front of us at the moment, and a couple stories reminded me of something God seems to keep weaving through many different areas of my life.

We all have heard the verse of Scripture, “Now these three remain: Faith, Hope & Love. But the greatest of these is love.” It’s used many times at weddings, and of course, it’s true. But, at least for me, the fullness (and yet, simplicity) of that has escaped me.

Our friend was telling us how one of the people he works with told him that she feels comfortable talking with him. Different than other people. What God has been teaching me lately is just how life-changing love can be, and it sounded like this was an example of it. I don’t know for sure in this example, but I am pretty sure that this is the core of the gospel – the “Good News”.

“For God so loved the world…” is another famous quote, that just gets glossed over many times. But really, I think it’s the core of the gospel. It’s not the theological discussions, the Mosaic law, transubstantiation, or propitiation. It’s not the way that Jesus was the perfect sacrifice as well as our High Priest. There are certainly things that can be learned from all of these things, but really, life change only happens when we realize we are loved.

After all, God is love. It’s the core of who he is. And when we really get who we are to him, how he feels about us… we begin to be able to love as we have been loved. There is freedom that comes from knowing how much we are loved by our Father, and in that freedom – as opposed to obligation – we can truly love other people (out of the overflow of how we are loved by God) without agenda or any other “strings attached”.

We try so hard as Christians to plan and create opportunities to share the “good news” with people, but really, the intellectual arguments while they may be true, will not change lives. At least, not as much as real love will. It’s so simple, but so infrequently employed – mostly because most of us have still not really experienced the reality of God’s love. We may know it intellectually… academically. But until we really know it, the best we can do is to share our academic understanding of God and his love with people. Which usually just doesn’t cut it.

My point? I don’t really have one. Just sharing what God has been showing me. It’s not something you can just “fix” or “put into action”. You can’t just “feel more loved”. But when we do, freedom abounds. And in that freedom, we can love other people – which can begin to produce a changed life in them.

Pretty cool stuff.

It really is all about love.

(Just a fun link to a great album.) 🙂

by Greg

33

Well, yes, today is my birthday, but it has already begun to be celebrated. My sister made me a cake while we were down there with them at my Mom & Dad’s… they sang and everything. I got presents from the extended family. Many have been wishing me a happy birthday, including calls/IMs from Dad & Sister who have started this interesting tradition of wishing me a happy birthday on November 29th, so they can be the first one or something… 🙂

Last night we all went out as a family to celebrate. Red Robin gives you a free burger on your birthday, so we like to take advantage of that! We went there for dinner, they sang me a song. It was tons of fun!

During dinner, Kirstie (our awesome 3-year-old) says something about how we need to go to Chuck-E-Cheese for my birthday! I just smiled (as I am now!) and realized that to her, THAT is a birthday! We have done the Red-Robin-Chuck-E-Cheese birthday circuit for several birthdays running now! 🙂

So after dinner, we piled in the van and headed over to Chuck-E-Cheese!!

We got inside and the guy at the entrance said, “Is there a special occasion today?” I answered, “Yes……” He probed further, “Is it a birthday?” We all said, “Yes…….” He said, “Whose birthday is it???”

Everyone pointed to me and said, “Dad’s birthday!” He looked a little surprised, but handed me the birthday balloon!

We got a few dollars worth of tokens and headed out to have some fun. Strangely, most of the stuff we tried to do was broken, but the one thing I wanted to do – that cool little sketch/photo machine – did work and we got a funny photo memory from the night. I did get to play one game of skee ball with the boys, too. 🙂

So, for my 33rd birthday, I went to Red Robin & Chuck E Cheese! 🙂

But, there’s more. So far today I have received some awesome steak “plates” (they are boards!) hand-crafted by my almost-9 year old son and his crafty Grandpa Tom, and a BUNCH of e-mails, IMs, and other electronic birthday greetings. Jen has some plans for tonight too, but won’t divulge them just yet. 🙂

More later… unfortunately today is still a busy work day! Just wanted to tell the stories of how everyone has been celebrating my birthday. It’s been really fun so far, and much appreciated.

Thanks! 🙂

by Greg

10.18.97

Wedding Smiles
I don’t have time today to write what I wish I could write about this day. Maybe I will have more time when we are on vacation at the end of the month? Regardless, I did not want to let the day pass without mentioning it here at GregsHead.net.

I am a lot of things… writer, musician, web designer, tech support, computer sales, sports writer/podcaster, and a few more. But there is nothing that means more to me than being Jen’s husband. (OK, you can throw in being my kids’ dad… and some other close relationships…)

POINT IS… 🙂

I only have one wife, and my one and only choice was and is Jen. I have a lot of stuff, do a lot of things, and even have lots of great relationships… but there is only one Jen. And I love her more than I can ever say. I am so, SO thankful that God has given me 10 years so far as her husband, and I’m looking forward to the next 10 even more. 🙂

I love you, Jen! Happy anniversary.

[PS… posted some old photos from 1997 on Facebook. Thought I’d share here, too.] (You don’t need an account to see the photos.)

by Greg

Under Two Weeks!

Vacation!
I can’t believe it’s really here, but we are under two weeks from leaving for eight days—without our children!!! Seriously. It’s true! We leave a week from Friday, and will return the following Saturday night. Jen’s folks are keeping our kiddos for the week, and my folks gave us a week of their time share… all for our 10th anniversary celebration! What a celebration!

We’re so looking forward to it. The problem is the major cramming I am doing now to complete several projects before we leave! Still going nuts!

Besides relaxing for a week with no children, just enjoying each other’s company (celebrating TEN YEARS of marriage!) we’ll get to see some friends from college who live out “near” there. (At least closer there than they are to our home here in New York…) 🙂

So, fun all around! We’re 11 days away!! Holy cow!! 🙂