the unlikely orange

i've been making a family christmas video set to music since 2008.  in case you want to walk down memory lane with us, or you feel like catching up, here they are: and without any further ado, here is our 2013 edition.  we hope you have a....um....peaceful Christmas.

the steelers offered their fans an early gift yesterday, by keeping the playoff hopes alive, or at least extending the streak of meaningful games for one more week.  but it wasn't exactly gift-wrapped. the game was a back and forth struggle all the way through, with several lead changes, interesting calls, and gamesmanship from both sides.  in the end, though, a matt flynn pass into the endzone, which could have tied the game, fell incomplete, and steelers fans everywhere collapsed into an eggnog-aided delirium. i really enjoyed this highly entertaining game, and loved all the good things the steelers did on special teams (fake punt, a couple of big returns, reverse on a kickoff return, blocked field goal) so much that i can now overlook them allowing that big return in the last two minutes which almost allowed those pesky packers to send the thing into overtime. big props to leveon bell, who not only had his first 100-yard rushing game, but also showed some fire b...

yay.  the steelers won on sunday. that's about all the excitement i can muster. part of that is because the steelers have made a dirty diaper out of their season by making terrible mistakes and losing to awful teams and just generally being unbearably bad. now they show up and play tough against a good team, and expect me to get all "now i believe in you, and i know we can make the playoffs, if every team in existence loses 2 games and we win three more, even though there's only two left on the schedule?" i don't think so. oh, it might also have something to do with this head-crushing cold i'm having, too; the one that makes me feel like my brain is the epicenter of a epic winter storm that is bearing down on my face through my sinus cavities.  meteorologist ken storm reporting, "we are expecting several inches of heavy mucus throughout the day today, changing over to seeping eyes and helpless banging of the head into walls by early evening. ...

we had quite the day on sunday...an amazing day of advent...a uniquely holy day for us as a family. it began with church, which, in some ways, felt anything but  holy, what with yours truly dressed up in a giant chicken costume as part of the nativity scene (i know, you forgot about the chickens in the manger, didn't you?).  and while the tone was fun and light, there was a holy joy underneath it all, as a couple dozen of us, mostly children, found a way to tell that most profound story, that hope is here, all because of a humble baby.  we told the story from the perspective of the animals, those very same animals that isaiah had predicted generations before would someday live in peace with one another...the very same animals that scripture says are still longing for the fullness of redemption, when everything will be made right.  so there was quite a but of clucking and mooing and hee-hawing as we told this story with as much creative energy as we could, with g...

this week we went out to get our christmas tree, a wonderful annual tradition that is no longer just something that shannon and i cherish, but something the boys love, too.  we argue about finding the "perfect" tree.  we take turns with the saw.  we yell "timber!" as it falls.  we go out to lunch.  then we take it home where the real work begins! we carefully get out all of the ornaments, which might just be my favorite part of the whole day, and organize them into groups.  then we begin to hang them, after i have hung the lights, of course, which is sometimes peppered with some colorful language, but is always worth it in the end, for that beautiful glow the tree gives, reminding us all of the light of the world which this is all about, anyway. after a great deal of work, it is finally finished, and it looks almost magical, at least to us, what with so many of our memories hanging there, telling the story of our lives together over the years. ...

we had a wonderful thanksgiving this year, full of amazing food and even better times with family.  as always, it was a time of realizing once again just how blessed we are, and laughter abounded, even more than mashed potatoes! we got home and immediately were into advent and preparing for Christmas.  and trying to forget the 2013 nfl season.  and getting back to the diet.  and writing christmas cards.  and making sure everything is checked off our lists.  and so the madness - the beautiful and joyous madness - begins.  here we go!