2022 Ends, 2023 Begins

The best part of our 2022 holiday season was a visit from our oldest son, Bryce. 

(I never think to take photos - this is the only photo we got during his visit.)

Since he lives near Dallas, Texas, we don't see him as often as we'd like. He intended to fly in late on Thursday, December 22nd. As news of the impending Midwest storm intensified, we worried about his travel and our travel to pick him up from the airport (30 minute highway drive away). He thanked me for alerting him to this wrinkle early on, before the masses were scrambling to change their flights. He secured a place on a Wednesday flight and worked from our home on Thursday.

Then our concern shifted to Trevor. He had to work from 4-10:30 on Thursday and they were predicting 3-5 inches of snow, drifting from gusting winds, and sub-freezing temperatures. He travels a long stretch of country roads on his way home from work and I was terrified that he would get stranded between drifts and freeze to death (yes, my mind always goes to the worst-case scenario). I prayed fervently that they would close early. Praise God, they closed at 5. He helped shut everything down and was safely home by 7 p.m.

The storm brought wicked cold temperatures. Bryce (accustomed to Texas weather) was wearing multiple layers and kept the guest room blazing hot - ha! Poor Toby! At first, he refused to go out to do his business. Then, we remembered last year's great gift of the matching "cool dog" and "cool dog dad" socks. Once we put those on him, he went out willingly. Isn't he adorable?

Friday morning, I woke to find frozen kitchen sink pipes. John had left the cabinet doors open and the sink dripping, but had left it dripping on the cold side, not thinking about the fact that we have separate cold and hot pipes leading to the faucet. Using a blow dryer for many minutes restored our hot water. Unfortunately, I ran the dishwasher without thinking that pipe/hose might have frozen too. The machine ran with no water. Praise God, my mistake didn't damage it. Once temperatures warmed up, it functioned perfectly again.

This was, perhaps, the most expensive December we have faced. Of course, the older your children get, the more expensive the gifts seem to be. But we had additional expenses compounding this. Sean's birthday is two days after Christmas and he requested a newer X-box. Plus, Trevor graduated early from high school and we purchased him a new laptop as his graduation gift. We had promised him a car stereo system for his birthday but didn't get around to purchasing this until December. Add in several cars in the shop for repairs (does this ever end?) and we felt like we were financially hemorrhaging. Still, we count our blessings.

Notable gifts or deals: Trevor bought me a lovely Bible cover, Bryce got me a much-needed phone mount for my car (plus a requested book), and John also gifted requested books, chocolates, and an 8-quart crock pot (not sure I'll keep the crock pot - it was so thoughtful to get the larger size, but most of the recipes I follow don't have sufficient liquid ingredients to cook effectively in the larger size - will have to think long and hard).

The best deals were for Bryce. I snagged a $30 Purdue cooler in Target's clearance for only $7.50. Although there were bigger purchases (sheets, dress pants, restaurant gift card, Purdue baseball cap), my best deal was on a second hand golf set. After several Facebook Marketplace sellers fell through, I happened upon someone selling a neutral color golf bag (why do so many men choose awful colors like red for their golf bags??) with 9 clubs, some tees, and a small bag of golf balls - all that for $15. Since Bryce only golfs here once or twice a year, it seemed pointless to purchase a brand new golf set.

The worst deal was a five-year planner I purchased on Amazon for John. Isn't the cover lovely?

Alas, the inside held horrible spacing (too small to jot daily notes) and misspellings:

Thankfully, I snagged two other splendid gifts for him - this bird lamp was a big hit:

And he loved the squirrel t-shirt:

Bryce's travel plans were once again up in the air at the end of his visit. It turned out he had a Southwest flight home and Southwest was cancelling thousands of flights. He couldn't afford to wait to see if they cancelled his flight. He felt an urgency to get home, so he left a day early, rented a car, and drove the 13 hours back to Dallas. His week-long visit was a blessing.

Another unexpected blessing during the holidays happened for Trevor. I noticed someone on NextDoor needing help with moving. They offered to pay and, even though we didn't know what the pay scale would be, it was on Friday afternoon when Trevor didn't work. He agreed, and the man contacted Trevor, offering him $25 an hour for six hours of work. When the scheduled Friday arrived, rain prompted them to begin early and Trevor arrived to find they already had all the help they needed. This gracious man paid Trevor the agreed $150. What a gift! Trevor told him that wasn't necessary, but the man insisted. We later sent a small oven glove with cookie mix to thank him for his generosity.

The end of a year always brings thoughts of resolutions and focus words. For 2023, I hope to actually read less (yes, my blog may suffer) and pray more. But I wanted to be intentional about this. After reading Amy Weinland Daughters' book, Dear Dana, I yearned to connect with my Facebook friends. Thus, I have set in motion my 2023 Prayer Project. Like Amy, I placed the names of my Facebook friends in a bag. A week before the year began, I alerted my friends on Facebook, promising to give them a heads up so they can communicate specific prayer requests. I drew the first 8 names and placed their name slips (with number) on 3x5 note cards. 

My plan is to pray for 3 to 5 minutes for each individual three times a day (with my morning devotions, in the afternoon, and just before bed). Even if they don't provide specific requests, I will beg for God's blessing, guidance, and love in their lives. So, my word for 2023 is PRAY. May I stand in the gap for close and distant friends. And if my blog posts taper off, know that I'm not reading because I'm busy interceding.