On being Santa Claus

Since it is Christmas, Ruth and I have been talking about Santa Claus and what we were going to do with our own kids when we have them. So this is what we decided..

When we have our own kids we are going to do the traditional "Tell Santa what you want for Christmas." We'll do the pictures on his lap and milk and cookies on Christmas Eve and the whole works while they are young enough to believe. Once they get older, and start having their doubts and queries about the authenticity of Santa Claus, we are going to sit them down and tell about the historical St. Nicholas and his generosity. Then we are going to tell about the Real Santa Claus, because the truth is that Ruth and I still believe in Santa Claus. In the words of Casey Moll, "Of course I believe in Santa Claus, because sometimes I am Santa."

Santa Claus is real every Christmas when someone gives a gift without recognition or reward. Giving in the name of Santa is giving selflessly.

These are the virtues that we want to teach our children. That it is truly better to give than to receive. In this way, even they can be Santa Claus. They can and should learn to give anonymously.

Not only can children learn these virtues, but we as adults can reminisce in the gifts we give in the name of "Santa."

There and Back Again...

We have packed, loaded, moved, unloaded, unpacked, and drove back over the past week.

We had started putting things in boxes around the beginning of the week last week. By Monday the 14th everything we owned but a suitcase each was in the back of our Penske moving truck.

(Oscar liked playing in the packing supplies)

We slept in sleeping bags Monday and Tuesday night, our last nights in our first apartment. The truck was packed with every square inch full. Even our bikes were stacked on top of each other. I never realized we had so much stuff.

So with the vehicles packed, we set off on Wednesday. Ruth drove to her parents early in the morning and the left Carthage around 8:30 that morning. I had work and a final that day so I didn't leave until the afternoon. I did have a chance to eat at my favourite Muncie restaurant, Thai Smile, one last time for lunch with my friend Aaron (see Folk Tails photo in previous post). After my final I left Muncie around 2:30. Ruth and her parents were in St. Louis by the time that I left. Due to their frequent and extended pit-stops, I was able to catch up with them in Manhattan, Kansas around 12:30 Thursday morning. We started back on the road by 8am and made to Colorado Springs around 3:30 MNT.

(Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore)

We unloaded the truck that night. By the end, we were all exhausted. We set up our bed, the Zeilingas bought an air mattress and we ordered a pizza and went to bed. The next day we tried to take advantage of the sunlight and see some of the sites. We visited Garden of the Gods and Manitou Springs. We then went back home and started to empty boxes and put things away. It was a tedious task but we're glad to have it done. We have a few more things to do, such as hang up our pictures and organize our closets, but all the big stuff is done. We visited Pikes Peak the next day, Saturday. We got to to go all the way to the summit. It was awesome. Anyone who ever comes to visit has to go up there. The day we went it was frigid (40 degrees less than the springs) and the wind was extremely strong. They do have a lot to do and see when you reach the summit, including a gift shop with donuts made right there with a secret 14,110 feet altitude recipe.

We went to Mass that evening at Mount St. Francis because we knew we would be in the car on Sunday and we had a lot to give thanks for.

After Mass however, we were feeling kinda crazy and we had decided to leave that night about 7:00 pm. So we went back to our apartment, packed our things, and hit the road. Fred started us off and drove us to Kansas. From there Ruth picked it up (about midnight) and drove us all the way to Kansas City (6:30). I drove through Kansas City and Missouri until we got breakfast (10:30) outside St. Louis. Fred wanted to drive again after breakfast but lost the mood after STL so I took over again and finished out the trip. We arrived at the Zeilinga residence around 4pm.

Since we've been back we have taken life easily. We are glad to see our dogs again. Ruth's brother Freddy fed them and took care of them while we were gone. We have enjoyed cuddling them to make up for lost time. We have also spent time with family and friends. Yesterday we saw the Kimble family for a few hours, today we got lunch with Nicholas (high school friend who now studies music in UMass - Amherst) in Rushville then spent time with the Vogels and even brought Cayden back to Papa's and Nana's to stay the night. We are really grateful to have this time to spend with people who we won't have the opportunity to see much.

Starting tomorrow the Christmas festivities begin. We have a lot of places to go and people to see yet before we leave. We have been watching the weather so we can plan our trip accordingly. Right now the Blizzard of the Century is supposed to hit Eastern Colorado and Western Kansas late in the week, about the time we were planning on leaving. Hopefully St. Christopher watches over us as we make our endeavor. Prayers are encouraged.

Indiana wants to send us off with a bang, or a chill. We have experienced the same blizzard that has swept across the midwest.

Madison was excited for the snow, but even she had a hard time keeping her eyes open with the high winds.

She did enjoy herself though. She ran sprints in the yard. We think she likes to run in the snow.

Oscar wasn't as excited. He did not like the snow or wind at all. Anytime we went out he would do his business and go straight back to the door.

The wind and visibility was so bad that couldn't see across the street.

Final Weeks in IN

We have been blessed with camaraderie these past few weeks. We spend nearly every day with a friend that we don't get to see too often. We stay busy, but it is most definitely worth it. We are going to miss a lot of people who are near to our heart.

This past weekend we were surprised by almost all our best friends. Josh organized a "roast" in our honor. He had been planning it for weeks and many of our friends had spent sleepless nights writing their jokes. If you're not familiar with a roast, it is when an individual is subjected to insults, jokes, true (or not) stories, as well as praise and heartwarming gestures of kindness. It was a lot of fun. I don't think I have laughed so hard in my life, as all of my embarrassing and compromising traits were shared among our friends. Because Josh is moving to Colorado shortly after we are, he became the beneficiary of a few roasts as well. After each person took turns roasting us, Ruth and I collaborated on a roast for each of them. When it was all said and done, everyone was smiling and cheerful. We summed up the rest of the night by eating snacks prepared in advance, playing games, and just enjoying each others company.

Other than the roast and spending time with friends, Ruth and I have started the packing process. We have just over a week before we pack up the truck and drive to The Springs.

Our apartment has been invaded by boxes that we have stored in the Zeilinga's basement since the wedding and boxes that I have brought home from work.

Tonight our goal is to take things off the walls and pack up the closets and less-used kitchen appliances. We may not get to it all tonight, because in order to clean out the freezer we have made a huge pot of stew and invited some friends to come and share in it with us. We'll have to move some boxes to make room to sit at the table, but good company is worth the extra work and the excuse for procrastination.

Tomorrow night we have our weekly 'Folk Tales' dinner with friends. Tuesday nights always promise to be a good time, full of laughs and companionship; just like hobbits in the Shire.

Here is the group (clockwise): Ruth, Aaron, Becca, Steven, Janelle, Jake, Desiree, and Stephanie.

Now, on with packing and visiting friends. :)

favourite quote

"A ship at port is safe... but that is not what ships are made for." - Grace Murray Hopper

The Holidays

Ruth and I have been really busy throughout the past month and going into the Advent season. We have tried to document the past few weeks through photos. Here are just a few so you can see our apartment and what we've been up to.

Here are some pumpkins we carved for Halloween. Ruth did the two on the left and I did the two on the right. Ruth made a pumpkin for Madison and I made one for Oscar. Ruth even made her pumpkin a self portrait by adding her scar from the car accident (which happened a week before we carved the pumpkins). Unfortunately, our pumpkins started to rot quickly so they didn't last very long.

Madison and Oscar also got dressed up for Halloween. Madge was a BumbleBee and Oscar was an inmate for all the "hate crimes" he's performed towards Ruth (he pooped on her purse once). They weren't too excited about being dressed up. They don't usually wear any clothes, but lately we've taken in some hand-me-downs from cousin Wrigley (the Kimble's dog).

Ruth and I got the opportunity to host Thanksgiving with the Molls and Kimbles this year. Our apartment is small but we managed to have six adults, two kids, and a baby. It was cozy but most people were comfortable. We home-cooked everything on the menu, which included; cornbread, baked mac and cheese, asparagus, and vegetarian shepherds pie.

Here the dogs are on their very best behavior waiting for the guests to arrive.

After dinner we played an intense game of Jenga in which Jennifer, my dad, Ruth and I "beat" Jenga. We were all able to move until there were no more pieces to move before the tower fell. It was pretty wobbly and the table shaky, but we managed to move a piece round after stressful round until there were none left.

Here is a group shot before the night was over. We almost got everyone to look. :)

Now that Thanksgiving is over we have our Christmas decorations out. We didn't take the time to set up our six-foot tree since we will be moving in a few weeks, so the Zeilingas donated this table-top tree to us to use. Also, you can see our nativity that Ruth got in Africa. Each piece is about eight inches tall and it's hand carved by some people Ruth met while in Malawi last summer.

Kids (dogs)

For most of you, you are familiar with our two kids. Others aren't as familiar.

We have had Madison since April of 2008. Madison was only 4 months old when we adopted her.

The shelter said

she was a Shar pei Beagle Mix. We had he for a year and she is very well

behaved. She gets excited to meet new people, but she is very friendly with other dogs and people and she is great to walk off-leash. After

the wedding and honeymoon,

we decided to get her a companion, someone who speaks her language.

We went to the animal shelter and found Oscar.

He was the ugly dog at the shelter that no one else wanted.

His hair was patchy and he had at one time a bad problem with fleas. He was truly on "death row". We took him home and he has been great. He had to learn our style of doing things, such as no begging or getting on furniture. He also had to learn how to be a dog. He wasn't interested in sniffing or playing with others dogs. He would rather sit with people or get on furniture. He is also an avid hunter. His choice prey is squirrel and thankfully he hasn't caught one... yet. He has learned to "climb" trees to try and get them. He scurries about 8-9 feet in the air before leaping to the ground. He is known at the dog park that we frequent as "the dog who climbs trees" and is somewhat a local celebrity.

If Oscar is infamous for climbing, Madison is infamous as

the dog who will do anything for the ball.

In order to get her some exercise, we would go to a large open field and hit her ball with a baseball bat.

It will travel 60-70 yards before she catches up to it and brings it back.

Since we adopted Oscar, he and Madison have become best friends. They love to play and wrestle together. They have a chasing path from their bed in our bedroom, through the kitchen, and under the dining room table. Oscar will hide under the table until Madison lays down, then he will pounce and the race is on. We even have our good friend and neighbor, Cassie, bring her two dogs over for what we call "wrestle-fest." It usually includes Oscar, the 17 lb lightweight, trying to take on Homer, the 80+ lb cuddler. Madison and the evenly matched but much younger Colbie will

usually try chewing on the same bone and play keep away.

It is a great time and great socializing experience, for dogs and humans. Evenings like this will be what we miss in Colorado.

Apartment

We found our new home in "The Springs." We are going to stay at one of the Weidner properties (Steven's company). It's called Eagle Ridge Apartments, and is on the northwest side of town. We have a grocery store right across the street, there is a park nearby, and we have a fantastic view of Pike's Peak. We will be sitting a comfortable 6,000 feet above sea level. Back home we were around 600 feet so we are going to get fit by just breathing! If you've been to our Muncie home then get ready to be knocked off your feet by all the SPACE. 1200 square feet....the dogs and I don't know know what we are going to do!! Steven is pretty excited too. :) Here are pictures from the model apartment! Stephanie (BSU friend) has already called dibs on the second bedroom! Enjoy the pictures!

View from the community....that's Pike's Peak

Here is the pool area...very excited about this for the summer!

Our's is the third floor. No worries about moving in, there are elevators!

Walk-in closet's (that's right THERE'S TWO!) in the mater bedroom. Check out those shelves!

Looking out from the bathroom area into the master bedroom.

Looking from balcony to master bedroom/bathroom.

There's the master bedroom balcony. :)

Guest bedroom balcony access, this balcony is also for the living room.

Guest bedroom

Washer/Dryer hook-up. I'm so excited!!

Guest bathroom

Guest bathroom...it's pretty spacy

Wood fireplace in the living room

Our kitchen with real sized appliances, and cabinet space like you wouldn't believe!

First drive up Pikes Peak

This is us 16 miles up the 19 mile drive to the summit of Pikes Peak. We weren't allowed to go the whole because of icy conditions on the road, and if you notice, there are no guard rails. You wouldn't know it from looking but it was a beautiful 68 degrees in Colorado Springs but it was a frigid 30 degrees at the top with strong winds. Most of the weekend we were there we wore t-shirts and light jackets, but we were ill-equipped up there. On average it is 30 degrees cooler at the summit than at base.

On the way down we saw this fox as it was crossing a parking lot. It was amazing to see this wild animal on the side of the road, so close to our car.

There will be many more photos to come, including Garden of the Gods and our apartment.

First Blog

Hello friends and Family!

This is a blog so that we can keep in touch with you while we are in Colorado. We hope that you check back regularly and keep up as we post photos and announcements about what we are doing as we embark on our journey together in a new state. Don't hesitate to comment on the blogs, and you might even be highlighted when you come and visit, so visit often.

We welcome your comments and hope to have some good conversations about what we are doing in Colorado and what you may be doing where you are.