Nina and I were talking last evening at dinner about the difference that one year can make. Last year at this time we were in Chandler, Arizona spending the Christmas vacation with our daughter Jaelene and her family. We were living in Colorado Springs and thought that we would be there for the rest of my working career. It’s now a year later and we’re living in Pocatello, Idaho and in a completely different job. Our wildest imaginations would not have predicted this outcome to the year.

In fact, if someone had told us we would be in Pocatello and would like living here, we would have written them off as being crazy. The truth is, we’re here and we’re quite happy to be here. We like the house, we like where we are living, we like the Ward we attend, I enjoy my job, our life is much less hectic, and in general, life is very good.

Nina is in Soda Springs today visiting with some family who have come up for the day. I need to be at work (I’ve used up all my vacation for the year cruising round rivers and oceans) so I didn’t go over. It’s supposed to start raining and then snowing as the evening progresses so I expect she won’t stay over there too late in the afternoon. The weather right now is mostly cloudy and somewhat windy. I don’t know where the bad weather is, but it isn’t very visible right now. The big news is the massive loss of life in south Asia because of the tidal waves following a massive earthquake in the Indian Ocean. The estimates currently are in excess of 60,000 people dead with thousands missing. There are no warning systems in that part of the world for people to get to higher ground or further inland. Everyone there lives by the sea since that’s the source of most of their food and livelihood and they didn’t stand a chance. The earthquake, measuring 9 on the Richter scale, is one of the largest earthquakes in modern history. It changed the orbital speed of the planet by about 3 microseconds and changed the wobble about the earth’s axis by about an inch. Other estimates are that one teutonic plate slide about 98 feet under another plate, making the earth slightly smaller around and moving stuff in the Pacific Ocean all around.

The Church has asked us to fast and pray for the victims’ families on this upcoming Fast Sunday and then to make very generous donations to the humanitarian funds. We will do that. As this year comes to an end and I look at my life and conditions, we are truly blessed. We have enough to share.

I was checking the news this morning and learned that there are only six days left in this year, counting today! There isn’t much time left to wrap up anything left over before the New Year. Some things just can’t be done in the time remaining (like losing weight). We’ll be here in Pocatello for the holidays, unlike some trips we’ve made in previous years. In fact, the most important part of the holiday is FOOTBALL! The day will start with the Rose Parade, followed by several football games. These games become more important in the following days as the Bowl Championship Series winds up another year of pratfalls.

The other important thing about a new year, at least for Nina, is that it’s time to make some New Year Resolutions. I can easily forego this masochistic behavior! However, for the past several days, Nina has been reminding me about all the things that will change with the coming of the new year. I like things that stay the same — like oatmeal for breakfast….

Happy New Year!

Heather, Ty, and family left a few minutes ago to drive back to Orem. We’ve had a very lovely Christmas Eve visit with them. Heather and Ty arrived yesterday late afternoon and spent the night. Mom and dad drove over from Soda Springs this afternoon and will stay until tomorrow. We’ve had a very nice Christmas Eve and it isn’t over, yet. Right now we’re watching a previously recorded edition of Music and the Spoken Word. Earlier we had a small Family Home Evening to read the Christmas story and sing some Christmas carols. That was followed by our traditional Christmas Eve dinner. Our practice has been to have the big dinner on Christmas Eve and then everyone fends for themselves on Christmas Day so Nina doesn’t have to do any food preparation. I think this is a nice practice.

Jared just called to let us know that he’s arrived safely to Dawnmarie’s house. He’s on a fairly far-ranging road trip and it’s good to know that he’s arrived safely at his next destination.

The world has largely discounted the idea of a Savior, even amongst the Christian world. Each year the idea of religious underpinnings to this holiday is further eroded. Some cities hold Christmas parades, and ban religious floats. The commercialization increases. The movies on TV are centered on Santa Claus with little reference to the real reason for this holiday. The newspaper recently ran a long article on the pagan origins of Christmas and how the Catholic Church incorporated them as a way to appease non-Christians.

There has never been a more urgent need to understand the real reason for celebrating this holiday. The eternal perspective has been lost. The decisions we make in this life have eternal consequences. Values have meaning and importance in our lives (which for some reason was surprising to the political pundits after the last election). But more importantly, we do have a Savior in Jesus Christ. He has prepared the way for us to be together as families and live for eternity. There is a reason for us to be here at this time in the history of the world. I’m very thankful to have this testimony and perspective on life. At this Christmas season, it is my personal prayer that my family will enjoy peace and joy in their lives as they celebrate the birth of the Savior of the World!

Nina has been in Orem since Sunday staying with the grandkids while our daughter and her husband were in England on a quick business trip. She was going to come home last night, but the weather intervened. Yesterday mid-morning it started to snow. Now, the weatherguy on TV was pretty clear yesterday morning that the clouds overhead had little, if any, moisture and there wouldn’t be any snow out of them. As usual, he was wrong. By 3 p.m. we had about three inches on the ground and the roads were pretty bad. According to the newspaper, the Pocatello Police responded to some 44 accidents between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. yesterday! So, Nina decided to spend the night last night in Orem and drive home this morning. She’s arrived home safe and sound! Welcome home!

Last night was the Ward Christmas Party. Since the party featured a free meal, meaning that I wouldn’t have to cook anything, I went down to the building and joined the festivities. The food was good and there was plenty to eat. The Gate City Singers (I think they’re from Pocatello High School) provided the entertainment. They were very good and reminded my of the show choirs in Chardon, Ohio, when the older kids were growing up. The whole event lasted about an hour and a half. It was a nice event and I’m glad I went, even if it was for the free food….

The year is ending and it seems like we just got started with 2004. I’ll be working through tomorrow of this week and then four days next week as I’ve used up all my vacation time taking cruises this year. The office is very quiet with most people using up what’s left of their vacation time over these two weeks. That gives me a lot of time to catch up on all the old e-mail and paperwork that needs to get done. It actually gives me a break as well. Mom and dad are coming over for Christmas Eve. Heather and Ty and the kids are coming up from Orem, but will drive back that evening. So we’ll do a Christmas Eve dinner in the afternoon before they drive back south. Heather and Ty should still be quite jetlagged on Friday! Meanwhile, Jared has driven out to the midwest and arrived yesterday at Jim’s house. He’ll spend Christmas with Dawnmarie and family and then drive back to Denver. It’s a lot of driving this time of the year, but he’s made half the trip with no problems! It kind of reminds me of the joke where the fellow says, “I plan to live forever. So far so good!”

We’ve also had a tragedy in our neighborhood with the suicide death of a neighbor. He had serious back problems coupled with severe pain causing a dramatic degrading of his quality of life. It’s a very difficult thing for his family, but at least for him, the pain is gone forever. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this Christmas season.