Christmas 2007

December 2007
Dear Family & Friends,
This year’s letter seems to be tougher to write than previous years. I considered merely starting with a typical salutation (Dear Friends & Family), insert one line of text that simply says “[Insert body of Christmas Letter 2007 here.]”, and then close with a “Merry Christmas” and current contact information. However, I feared that would not actually constitute an actual Christmas Letter since it wouldn’t include the appropriate amount of see-how-great-our-kids-are text so I’m going to attempt to go forward in traditional fashion. Honestly, I’m not sure what’s causing the difficulty, but my brain is not quite in it. I’m starting this letter in the late afternoon just a few days before Christmas. That could be the problem, as I usually start crafting my words around dark-thirty in the morning over a cup of coffee. But seeing that I’ve started typing, and haven’t said anything at all yet, and I already have more than nine lines of text, maybe I’m off to an OK start.
In January we kicked off the year with a trip to Shreveport, LA for one of my uncles’ 80th birthday bash (one of my mother’s older brothers). They had a big party complete with lots of friends, family, good food, a band, and even some surprise appearances by some of his old friends. It was great to get much of the family together for some visiting. Our then 2 month old Ruby was a trooper for the trip and was generally well-behaved.
We worked in only one camping trip this year in spring. We loaded up the family, including Grandmom Templeton, and headed east to Blanchard Springs Campground in north central Arkansas. This is a family-favorite destination for us. Beth, who is certainly known for her extensive camping experience, considers Blanchard Springs one of the best campgrounds in existence. We had great springtime weather the few days we were there, waded in the crystal-clear water, skipped a few rocks, threw even more rocks dangerously close to other family members, made some new friends, “fished” (fed the fish), and had some good naps. Even 6-month old Ruby enjoyed the trip. We tried to educate the kids about some of the local wildlife including bears. The first day we were there, Georgia had obtained a snack and was heading to the camper to eat it in there. In bear country, it’s not really a good idea to have food in your tent/camper unless you want to share the space with one of the local bears in the middle of the night. When Beth told Georgia she couldn’t take the food in the camper because of the bears, Georgia looked at the camper, then back at Beth, and stated quite matter-of-factly: “There’s no bear in there.” As usual, she was quite correct. Luckily, the only bear we saw on that trip was the picture on the information board at the campground entrance. We did, however have one of the biggest raccoons I’ve ever seen pilfer through some of our campsite one of the nights. He may have been the same one from our last trip but I didn’t recognize him behind his mask.
In August we headed to Destin, FL again for what seems to have become a somewhat annual experience. The Duckett, Templeton, Hughes families again spent a week on the Emerald Coast for the second year in a row. Lawson and I once again went riding on the wave runners in the bay, this time joined by Georgia. If you received last year’s letter, you might recall’s Lawson’s affinity for full-throttle speed. He hasn’t lost one bit of it and it appears that his younger sister has it in her blood, too. Parasailing next year? Ruby liked the beach and enjoyed a few naps with wave noise in the background. Sandcastles were built, sandcastles were trampled, and more were rebuilt. We saw more wildlife on this trip including dolphins, stingrays, a few jellyfish, and even a newborn sea turtle trying to make his way across the beach from his/her birthplace to the water. The surf seemed a little rough so we’re not sure if he made it or if the survival-of-the-fittest principle kicked in. We ate too much and used plenty of SPF 99 sunscreen to ensure nobody could tell we had been at the beach when the kids started school the next day after our return.
Beth and I had our 10th wedding anniversary in October. To celebrate, we went to Atlanta for a long weekend in early November. Beth and I had a great trip sans kids, who were in good hands with friends and family for a few days. Our friends the Ducketts (see Destin trip above) came in for overnight duties while our friends, my mother, and siblings provided some of the transportation needs and general backup. NYC during Christmastime was Beth’s anniversary original plan, but I convinced her that the southern hospitality of Atlanta would be much more appealing than those silly Broadway shows, the crowds at Times Square, the security checkpoints at Statue of Liberty, standing in line at Hello Deli, and staying up late in a cramped hotel room to make a poster that says “Hi y’all back in Arkansaw” in hopes of being seen in the background on Good Morning America the next morning…so Atlanta here we came. We worked in many of the official Atlanta tourist things and enjoyed them all: the tour of CNN, Coca-Cola museum, the new aquarium, Midtown and Virginia Highlands, and of course shopping for things we really don’t need and shouldn’t try to carry back on the airplane. The last night we were there we attended a surprise party for long-time friend and former coworker, who was unwittingly having his 40th birthday party that night. I think our attendance may have ultimately been the only surprise of the event, so it was much fun. We really enjoyed seeing them and meeting several of their local friends. I’m glad he’s finally achieved the “mature” decade of 40s. I’m really glad we made the trip.
No other big travels for the year. I hope the Branson, MO Department of Tourism is not worried about us since we didn’t make it up there this year. The Christmas season will have us traveling some to Pope County and Central Arkansas for seeing family and friends.
Lawson turned 8 in October. He is in 2nd grade and seems to enjoy it. Early in the year he stated that 2nd grade was so cool he just wanted to stay there forever. If he doesn’t improve on his reading, he may just have another chance at it. Lawson continues to play soccer. He had a good year this year and a great coach. Their skills are noticeably improving each year, particularly with the good coaching. Spring season should be even better.
Lawson took a year off from baseball. I don’t know if he’ll be interested in returning. He played basketball this fall and enjoyed it. Their team went undefeated (with one tie). It’s a good thing the referees are lenient on calling traveling and double dribbles. It’s often very difficult to detect which foot is the pivot foot when it switches and move four or more times. Lawson did have a chance to shoot a couple of free throws in one of his early games. He hit them both and was absolutely thrilled. You might say we were a bit proud too. As Beth’s dad “Pooch” used to say: “You shouldn’t miss a free pitch”.
Lawson is continuing in Cub Scouts this year. He and I went on the family campout again this past fall at Camp Orr Scout Camp on the Buffalo River. It was a great weekend. There were 100+ participants of scouts and families. The nights were a little cold but the days were beautiful. Great food, as always. The highlight of scouting this year for Lawson was the cake decorating contest. He and Beth made an American Flag cake and finished it off with leftover sparklers from the 4th of July. Generally speaking, if an entry in a Cub Scout contest includes fireworks, it will win 1st Place. Lawson’s did and I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen him more surprised and happier. It was really cool.
Georgia turned 6 in July and is in kindergarten. She loves her teacher and enjoys her school. She’s made new friends in her class and continues to try to be in charge of everything. Her teacher is very good at keeping Georgia in check.
Georgia continues to be active in soccer. I did not coach her team this year, but that was OK. We made some new friends on the team and watched a few more skills continue to develop. Mostly there were less emotional outbursts from the girls than last year. It appears that soccer is the sport of choice for both Lawson and Georgia.
Georgia also continued in dance and gymnastics classes. The annual dance recital at the Walton Arts Center is always a big hit. The kids continue to watch the video of the program from time to time and enjoy Georgia’s class as well as many of the others. The gymnastics meet was not quite as formalized, but Georgia and her classmates went through their skills for the “audience”.
Georgia played baseball/tee ball this year despite Lawson’s break from the sport. About half of the games were rained out but enough were played to call it a good season. The little girls can hardly keep their head upright with the big ol’ batting helmet on. There were no bat-to-the-head injuries but plenty of near misses at the on deck circle. Of course the best part of the whole season seemed to be the end of season party at Pump It Up.
Georgia had a speaking part in the kindergarten classes’ Christmas Program “Miss. Popinger’s Toy Shop”. She was Miss. Popinger and was helping Santa Claus with his shortage of toys. We were a bit nervous each time she went to the microphone to speak but she did it all as planned. Georgia had seemingly memorized everybody’s lines and choreography. Lawson observed to her that she could have performed any of the parts since she knew them all. He was proud of his little sister and told all of his classmates that was his sister on the stage.
Ruby turned 1 in October and attends Mother’s Day Out two days a week. She is fully mobile on all fours, or threes…depending on how she’s crawling at the time. She has this funny crawl where she stays upright with one of her legs beneath her when she crawls on the wood floors. Then when she gets to the carpet, she immediately switches to a traditional hands-and-knees crawl on all fours. It’s quite entertaining to watch, particularly the instantaneous transition when the floor changes. She is not walking as of yet but it appears to be imminent. She stands on her own but goes down to fours/threes when she needs to move.
She continues to be a pretty well-behaved baby, although her sleeping habits have deteriorated in the last few months. She has been sleeping through the night since last year but she’s been out of whack lately. This is pretty tough on a couple of “older” parents, particularly Beth, who takes the bulk of the night duty.
Ruby has had a couple of minor falls this year under the supervision of both Lawson and me. Lawson was supposed to be watching her on the couch for a few minutes. Beth heard Ruby crying from the other room and came in to see Ruby on the floor with Lawson’s eyes glued to the TV. He hadn’t noticed the fall or the crying baby because of the riveting animated programming.
Ruby is Polly’s new best friend, and worst annoyance. Ruby routinely drops food for Polly (the dog) at mealtimes, even specifically dropping it over the edge of the tray where Polly is waiting. As a tradeoff, Polly must endure Ruby following her around for some heavy petting and possible tugging on the ears. Polly has been very tolerant and we’re trying to teach Ruby that tugging might not be such a great idea.
No recollection about the past year with a new baby is complete without a good poop story and this letter will not disappoint. Ruby had a week or so of some stomach problems that revealed themselves at the most inopportune times. Two Sunday’s in a row she “soiled” her Sunday best and her car seat on the way home from church. I guess she didn’t like the sermon. Her most impressive feat was at a local restaurant while Beth and I were having a nice simple lunch together when she decided she needed to relieve herself (Ruby, not Beth). Ruby was sitting in a high chair with one of those pretty, fluffy, machine washable high chair liner things that no baby should be without. After a few rude noises, we ended up scooping up Ruby and the chair liner thing all in one (for containment purposes) and scurrying off to Beth’s car for cleanup. Had the chair liner thing not been there, I’m pretty sure the EPA or Health Department would have closed down the restaurant for good and declared it a Superfund Site. If we had a portable shower, we would have hosed her down on the spot (Ruby, not Beth…well, probably Beth, too). How could such a pretty little girl do something so distasteful? All of the clothing and chair liner thing was bundled up and should have been buried beneath a desert mountain several miles underground in Nevada, but instead we took it home. As of the date of this letter, it appears the decontamination has been successfully completed. Poor little Ruby…poor Beth.
We expanded our Pump It Up business by purchasing an existing location in Bentonville and plan to open an additional location in Fayetteville. The Tulsa location continues to do well but has had a few challenges while being fun at the same time. I am no longer working with Suds Carwash due to the time requirements elsewhere, including Pump It Up. I am continuing to serve on the Finance Committee at our church and with The Elizabeth Richardson Center.
Beth worked at a local CPA firm during tax season and may do the same this year. She routinely volunteers at the kids’ school. As Chief Home Officer she continues to be in charge of meals, transportation, scheduling, and, well, everything surrounding the kids. There’s never a dull moment around here. As usual, she is in charge of the Christmas decorations at the house. No Snow Villages on display this year although Lawson requested them. He said that Beth could put them up while Ruby was at Mother’s Day Out. Instead, Beth used greenery and lights, including some lights at the front of the house. Thank goodness she didn’t try to hang them from the roofline.
We hope this letter has found you and your family enjoying the Christmas Season or the New Year, depending on when this gets in the mail. Please pray for peace, and for those who are struggling physically, emotionally, and even financially during these difficult times. Praise God for what He is, and praise God for His son and our Savior Jesus Christ.