Celebrate Good Times, Come'on

Jon & I decided to celebrate last Friday. We had a lot of really good things to celebrate. First, Jon had finished his exams on Thursday! Hooray! Only 3 semesters left! I now have him to myself until Jan 5th, 2006. Second, my good friend Lori had been clean for over 2 weeks and had just completed Detox! We invited her along to celebrate with us. Another reason to celebrate was that I have finally been at my job officially for 1 year! Which means that I can take holidays! Which brings me to my fourth (but not final) reason.... Holidays! I have almost two glorious weeks off over the holidays. I haven't had that much time off for a long time, and we are going to make good use of it! We are traveling to Saskatoon for Christmas. We will be staying at my parents place for all of you who are interested... If you don't remember the number is 477-2648, so feel free to give us a call! We will be in town from Friday, Dec 23rd to Tuesday, Dec 26th. Then we will jet over to Jon's grandma's in Norquay for a bit and finish our holiday in Brandon, MB. My sister Jennifer just bought a house there so we will be helping her family pack and move into their new home! I have not celebrated my birthday with my family for a long time either so that will be fun! Our tradition of glow bowling will be resurrected this NewYears! There is so much to celebrate. And this is how we did it!

That's Hot!

Oh, my sweet Wesley. What have I done?

Some of you might not get the connection right away. And in fact I don't know why we all decided to change our haircolor, but it sure was fun!

Jon, Lori & Crystal

Lori went from blonde to brunette. Jon went from Dark Brown to Blonde. Crystal went from reddish to RED! I think that we were sitting in Detox visiting Lori on day last week and she reminded me that I needed to do her hair again. Darker... much darker she said. I can't remember the conversation but somehow the idea for Jon to go Blonde came up and it stuck! I have a bit more work to do on him but for a first try it came out ok. I wonder what the family will say! We certainly had a lot of comments at The Ap this weekend! Trust me... we didn't do it for shock value! Jon actually said the next morning "I think we should change it back." His reason was (as he looked in the mirror with his hair down and all frizzy) that it looked "unprofessional". I gently suggested that he do his hair before we made a final decision to turn it back to brown. He did and the above is the result! Doesn't he look Hot! Yes, yes he does!

Seriously though, we have so much to celebrate this season. This is the time of year that we celebrate our Lord and Savior's birth! It doesn't mean that December 25th was Jesus' actual birthday, the purpose of this season is to take time to remember Him. Jesus Christ, The Lamb of God. There was a holy presence in the stable on the eve of His birth.

"The celebration began many years ago and at first people seemed to understand and be thankful of all that Christ had done for them, but in these times, no one seems to know the reason for the celebration. Year after year dinner tables are set with delicious foods, pastries, and decorations. There are many, many beautifully wrapped gifts, none of which are gifts that are offered to Him. He is not given thanks. Not even acknowledged in our festivities as the guest of honor!

Every year it gets easier to forget. Children only remember the food, the gifts, the parties but not Jesus, not the reason for the celebration. I would like you to recognize the fact that almost two thousand years ago God came to this world to give his life for you on the cross, to save you.

He died and lived for you, and you should lay down your lives for each other. Pursue peace with all people and be holy – without which you will not see Him. Be sanctified – set apart and totally given over to God.

You are all on a quest for security and happiness. The more knowledge you acquire, the less wisdom you seem to have. The more economic security you gain, the more boredom you generate. The more worldly pleasure you enjoy, the less satisfied and contented you are with life.

You search and search and find a little peace here and a little pleasure there – but nothing is permanent and satisfying. So, your search continues, yet his presence is always there.

The happiness you long for, which brings enduring worth to life is not the superficial happiness that is dependent on circumstances. The happiness for which your soul aches, is one undisturbed by success or failure, one which will root deeply inside of you and give you inward relaxation, peace and contentment no matter what the surface problems may be.

That kind of happiness cannot be found in worldly experiences. That kind of happiness comes through Christ. If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink." adapted from "Jesus" by David D'Silva.

Merry Christmas to you, I hope and pray that you find the reason that we celebrate. That you would find Jesus in the smiles of your family and friends. That you would know Joy, Hope and Love this Christmas Season! Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!