Tis the season

This is such a special time of year for us. It has been for quite some time. It is the start of the holiday season. When Ricky and Jason were just born they both ended up in the hospital just before Christmas. They were so sick. For a while we didn't know if Ricky was going to make through Christmas. Lori and I were in the hospital around the clock. Our 1st Christmas miracle. They were both home and OK for Christmas.

The next year Jason was sick again. More days in the hospital. We thought he would be there through Christmas. Another miracle later we got to take him home on Christmas Eve.

Our 1st house we used to have lit up like Disney world. You could see it stand out from the end of the block. The outside was small - so a few lights went a long way. We had no money then but Lori made our 29.99 WalMart Christmas tree look beautiful. Our first village was made with one ceramic house. The rest of the houses were candles that looked like houses. Lori took a pack of "Charles Dickens" ornaments and cut the hanging hooks off so we could have some people in the village. I Finally retired the last of those villagers a couple of years ago. We used to take old toys that the boys forgot they had and put them, along with a few new ones, out on Christmas morning so they thought Santa brought more than he actually did. Lori always had a way of adding just the right something to make our humble decorations look like a Christmas wonderland.

Our next Christmas miracle came after living in the house a few years. I had lost my job doing AC work earlier in the year. We had already lost our van to the bank and were going through bankruptcy so we could keep the house. We thought we would have to drag out the "old toys" again - even thought the boys were too old to fall for that. Then, Christmas week, we were blessed with toys and food. An anonymous gift presented to us from Sr. Dianne. It was such an incredible feeling. That day we knew, without question, Santa did exist.

Well, many years have passed since then. Some good, some not so good. They all had one thing in common - during the Christmas season we would turn our house into that magic wonderland. It became our favorite time of the year. You could see the excitement in Lori's eyes and hear it in her voice when she would sketch out a new display or come up with a new theme. Our village acquired it's own zip code a couple of years ago. Lori's "special touches" became something straight out of a magazine. She would spend hours and hours on each display, getting every detail just perfect. A simple strand of garland could take up to eight hours to get just right. She would put on her favorite movie (Miracle on 34th street - the new version) and watch it over and over while she decorated. She was so happy when she decorated and even happier when she completed each task.

For the last 9 years or so (until last year) we would get all of this started with a Thanksgiving feast. The table setting became something that would make even a professional event planner jealous. From there the Christmas decorations would follow. One room at a time the transformation would take place. It got to the point where she started doing a couple of rooms before Thanksgiving so that shortly after thanksgiving the rest of the house would be done.

Last year we had a simpler Thanksgiving. Lori just wasn't up to the task of the huge feast and preparations. Our Christmas decorations were still fabulous though much more modest. It took every bit of energy Lori had to do what she did and she barely had them completed by Christmas. We had no idea what we would do this year. I told her she would have to just take everything out of the boxes and simply put them on the shelves and tables. You could see the disappointment and hurt in her eyes as she knew this was true. There was just no way she was going to get everything done. Right now she can't even make herself lunch or dinner without help or resting halfway through.

That leads us to this year.

Ricky & Jason came home to spend the past few days with us. On Thanksgiving I cooked the turkey while the boys did the rest. Ricky did the green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, and the cranberries. Jason did the stuffing and the gravy. Mike did the corn, the bread, and the gravy. Lori had to do nothing. We didn't have the fancy table but we had the big meal. Lori couldn't have been happier.

The next day Ricky and Jason did the Christmas decorations. Mike left that day to go to Drum Corp camp for the weekend so he wasn't able to help. (Don't worry Mike - there's always the outside lights) To decorate Lori told Ricky and Jay just what to do and they did it. She showed them how to do the bows on the trees by doing one bow and they did the other 49. She showed Jay how she liked the beads strung through the garland and he did that while Ricky worked on another display. One of their friends called to see if they wanted to go play poker and they told him they were going to stay home and help their mom decorate for Christmas. They extended their visit one more day so they could get the decorations finished before they went home.

So now . . this year we have a new kind of Christmas wonderland. One created solely by Lori's boys . . for her. I can't even begin to tell you how much this means to us. There was just no way Lori could have done this. Thank you boys.

Lori has been sleeping most of the day. She slept while Ricky and Jay finished the decorations and while they helped clean up afterward from the mess. Lori woke up for about an hour and a half to visit with Mom and Dad and to run some blankets over to Jim and Laura's house. We only stayed about 20 minutes. Once we got home I re-heated some Thanksgiving leftovers for her for dinner. By about 4:45 she was asleep for the night.

As I said this is such a special time of year for us. With Lori so sick it really is hard. Some of the things we used to take for granted can't happen - like walks down main street to the carriage rides in the park to see the "no head guys". . . taking Chatty Cathy out for dinner and then driving around for a couple of hours to see all of the Christmas lights . . . going shopping at midnight to beat the crowds . . . spending one day buying everything for everyone . . . battling the crowds by going to the mall but then just walking around and watching all the crazy people all stressed out . . . spend hours at the Christmas store. . . Mickey's Very Merry Christmas . . .and so much more. These days the best we can hope for is enough energy to get through the day. One day at a time. Some are better than others but most are not so good.

Please say a special prayer for Lori. We really could use another Christmas miracle.