Advent of christmas 2017: parties and gatherings

I guess it's been about ten days since last posting. I suppose there's been a few things happen.

BENNETT'S PROGRAM
Grandson Bennett had his first Christmas program at this particular preschool (the same school Anna attends). It was just for his class, so it was short and sweet. I think it only lasted about 10 minutes, then we all shared cupcakes and punch in the cafeteria. It was just about right, and he was a hoot.

Bennett is apparently kind of the leader in his class - at least among the boys. He did super well, and managed to stay tuned in for most of the singing of songs. He's a good kid.

Y PARTY
Jane's party for the Y (for full-time employees) was on Saturday the 16th. It was once again held at her boss's house (the main boss). He and his wife throw an excellent party every year. They have food catered and an open bar. There is also karaoke and plenty of room to chat.

Jane and I both partook of too much drink, and she spent much of the night with a mic in her hand, singing up a storm with some of her co-workers. We were among the last group to leave, and Jane paid for it dearly all that night and the next day. It was a good time while it lasted.

PARTY AT OUR HOUSE
On Wednesday, Dec. 20th we hosted a party for our church group that feeds the under-served of downtown. We had a potato bar and we supplied the potatoes while everyone just brought a topping to share. I believe there were 16 of us present, and it was a good time.

I prayed before we ate - which was kind of a step for me. Several of the people in this group had no idea I was a pastor so there were a number of questions throughout the night. Another interesting thing about being among Lutherans is - drink flowed fairly well. Most everyone drank wine or the sangria punch Jane made. It was over fairly early so no one got too tipsy, but still much different than how we grew up. It was a nice party and we enjoyed hosting it.

FAMILY TIME
The Atlanta Horwedel's arrived Thursday evening. Isaac and Ricci had originally planned to fly but opted for driving instead. They also brought their two "kids" - Crosby and Tig. The Feipel five joined us and we spent most of the rest of time together until Isaac and Ricci left Christmas Day early-afternoon.

The women went shopping one day, and other than that not a lot happened. I guess we ate out one night (minus Drew). We went to Ceballos for Mexican. Saturday night we all went to the Feipel's and Scobbie joined us.

MIKE'S PARTY
Our friend Mike had his annual Christmas Party Saturday the 23rd. We normally look forward to this event but were torn this year with all the family in town. We made a brief appearance and Jane made some of her famous bacon-covered dates. We had to leave before the games began though but it was still nice to see everyone.

CHRISTMAS EVE
We all went to church Sunday morning at C2G. Drew was helping lead worship, and it was Isaac and Ricci's first time there for church (Isaac had attended some concerts there years ago). It was a somewhat rowdy crowd with at least one person having to be "escorted" into the prayer room. Poor Anna had a terrible cough too and Carrie had to take her to get some medicine. Otherwise it was nice having everyone in church together for a change. That doesn't happen very often.

We opened presents at our house after having Jane's delicious lasagna for lunch. Anna was too sick to participate in the Christmas program with her classmates, so Jane, Carrie and I went to C2G's Christmas Eve service at 5 pm. It was a really nice service with mostly just Christmas Carol's, Scripture, and Communion.

SNOW
It started snowing Christmas Eve day and snowed 3-4 inches total. I suppose a lot of people got their wish for a white Christmas. The roads were briefly a little hairy Christmas Eve - which probably kept some people from attending church services - but otherwise it was an almost perfect holiday snowfall.

Isaac and Ricci, being southerners, are at least prepared with a Subaru. However, the one thing Isaac forgot to bring was his winter coat. It wouldn't have been so bad if they didn't have the dogs to take outside for potty time, so I gave him my "work coat" I bought for outside work at the storage place. I did wear it still, but don't need it like I used to now that I am working strictly indoors. It matches the work boots I gave him last year. :)

I was able to get the snowblower out for the first time this year. I filled it with gas and started it up on the 23rd, then used it on the 24th and 25th. Christmas day I took it over and let Drew use it in front of their house too. Still one of the best purchases I've ever made!

CHRISTMAS DAY
It was a beautiful morning on the 25th. There were still a few snow flurries, but it was mostly clear and sunny (but pretty cold - like 17f). The four of us went over to the Feipel's around 9:30 to see what Santa brought the little ones. Carrie also makes her famous cinnamon rolls on Christmas morn. So we hung out there until around noon, then made our way back home.

Isaac and Ricci packed up their belongings and took of for her mom's side of the family in Indianapolis. So we went from having them, the dogs, and the Feipel's filling the house with energy and excitement, to just the two of us again. Oh, and the cat did finally reappear. She had kept herself hidden from Thursday afternoon to Monday afternoon. She would have done so even without the dogs (world's most shy cat).

AND SO...
Now it is back to work (which is where I am typing from). I opened at 5 am and Jane just got here to work out at 6:13. She's the third person here.

All in all it was a really nice holiday season. Though, technically, most of it has simply been the Advent. The true Christmas season is just now begun. Tonight we are hosting some friends at our house for pizza (our pastor and his wife, along with Dalen and "the other Jane").

Not sure how much I will be blogging for awhile yet. It seems weird not to, but I can't say that I miss it all that much. It's been kind of nice to give my brain a break.

Anyhew... hopefully everyone has survived and your year will end well. Until the next time...

Programs and parties

This weekend we attended the middle grandchild's first ever pre-school Christmas program, as well as our annual Christmas party at Mike's house. This is the three amigos after the program was over. A couple photos very indicative of their personalities.

Bennett started preschool this year at Avalon. He seems to like it quite well. Their Christmas program was Friday night and this was the first time we've seen him "up front." He was pretty darn cute. He's not near as shy as Anna, but he can maybe be distracted a little easier. He was quite the trouper and made us very proud.

Saturday there was rain, snow, sleet, and ice, but we managed to make it to Mike's annual Christmas party nonetheless. There were 13 of us - remnants of his earlier group of internet friends as well as what's left of the Applebees gang. It was once again a splendid time of eating, drinking, chatting, and laughing all the way through a rousing game of Catchphrase. Mike always manages to get a pretty decent picture of the group every year too.

All in all it was a pretty good weekend despite some nasty weather. Today we took A & B to church with us, we went to lunch with the Feipel 5 for Drew's birthday (tomorrow). Now we're getting ready to go to the "Blue Christmas" service at our church, and then stop at Drew Carrie's for birthday cake afterward.

Carols and cocktails

Last night we hosted our first-ever 'Carols & Cocktails' party. I don't know that it worked out necessarily like we were thinking, but it was a good time nonetheless.

We have been trying to think of something to host in our home for some time that wasn't "church-y" at all, but had somewhat of a spiritual flavor to it. We've talked about 'beer & hymns' or 'bible tasting and beer study' or something along those lines. You know, to try to get some people who have an interest in the things of Jesus together without it being overly religious in nature. I don't know, I guess maybe we're just too wildly idealistic and it's probably a stupid idea. On the other hand, I kind of miss things like singing old hymns and such. Not to the point that I want to go to a church that does it, but I thought a 'Carols & Cocktails' event would be a nice compromise.

So I created a public "event" on Facebook and sent direct invitations to maybe 30-40 people, but also invited anyone and everyone on my friends list as well. We ended up with daughter Carrie, our friend Mike, a friend from my work, and a couple we sometimes go out to eat with. Again, it was a fun time, and probably worked out better with a smaller group anyway, but it didn't really pan out the way I envisioned it. I was hoping for a few more people, and we didn't sing any carols. Mostly we just hung out, ate, talked, and listened to Christmas music on Pandora.

One thing I actually thought of this morning is that, unlike in the past when something like this would have happened (unmet expectations), I didn't really even think about it last night. I enjoyed the time we had and was very satisfied. It was a nice small party, and we all lived to tell about it.

The only real negative now is that we've got a ton of unhealthy food and drinks left over for Jane and I to have to feed on. Ugh. Well if I have to....

Super bowl 50 thoughts

This past Sunday was Super Bowl #50. The Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers 24-10. This probably seems a bit hypocritical to follow up yesterdays post with. I guess it is what it is. Below are some random facts and thoughts of mine.

• We watched with a small group of our friends at Mike's house. It included: Mike, Dave and Joni, Kenny, Greg, and Jane and me. Jane and Joni provided the fixin's for a fabulous baked potato bar. 
• Oddly enough, Jane and Joni seemed to be much more "into" the game than any of the guys. 
• It always strikes me as strange how, for as important as this game is, no one ever seems to remember who played in or won even the previous year's Super Bowl. 
• I can't recall all the commercials, but some that stood out to me: the Doritos sonogram, the Bud Lite "big caucus", and even though it was creepy and few will say they liked it, the Puppy-baby-monkey was among the most memorable.
• I didn't think it was a very well played game from an offensive standpoint, but man does Denver have a good defense.
• Speaking of which, I was happy for Wade Phillips. I have always liked Wade. Felt bad for him when he tried to be a head coach, but is there a better coordinator in the game? I imagine his dad is mighty proud of his son.
• This won't be very popular, but if I'm honest, I'm not a big fan of Peyton Manning. Sure, he is gracious and well versed in dealing with popularity, but I'm thinking he could also be a pretty difficult person to get along with. I think he does what he does to market himself so he can make oodles of money. I didn't care for the Papa Johns and Budweiser plugs after the game (both of which made him more money, even if Budweiser didn't pay him to do it). However, I don't blame him or dislike him either. 
• I probably have a bigger issue with all the supposed Indianapolis fans who switched their allegiance to the Broncos when he signed there. He does not belong to Colts fans, and seriously doubt he shares the same sense of loyalty. 
• Along with this - and I'm really not intending to bash Peyton - but my guess is he will be playing next year. I don't think it will be in Denver, but he just doesn't seem the type that can walk away on his own. I could be wrong, but that's what I think. 
• As for Cam Newton, I feel sorry for him. He is a great talent, but very immature. I thought he looked freaked out from the very beginning. And, please, spare me any racist crap. HE brought that up before the game, and his pouty fit afterward was uncalled for regardless of color, age or gender. He is arrogant and a poor sport. Why is it being racist to say that? Hopefully he will learn from this, though, because I would hate for this to harm what could be a great career and life otherwise.
• I thought the two star players of the game were Von Miller and Demarcus Ware. Von definitely deserved the game MVP, and I was happy to see DW have a great game (as a former Cowboy).
• As for the music... I thought Lady Gaga did a superb National Anthem before the game. Even as a not-overly-patriotic pacifist, it really moved me. The halftime show was fine by me too. I'm not very familiar with Coldplay, and I don't care for Beyonce at all, but Bruno Mars was good (though not very familiar with him either).
• All in all, it was an entertaining game, nice commercials, good food and friends, and I have no complaints. Is there any one event that brings people in America together better than the Super Bowl? I think it's about so much more than sports. 

Party weekend

We had a couple parties this past weekend. First up was 'Little Dewie's 30th Birthday Bash.' Little Dewie is the son-in-law, and Carrie threw him a nice party for about 50 folks at Wings, Etc. by our house(s). His birthday isn't actually until this coming Saturday, but this is when the party worked best.

They have a party room at Wings that works really well, and it's extra nice because kids can be there. So there were lots of family, children, and many friends as well. Carrie bought 100 wings and we bought 100, and she supplied some splendid cupcakes for the occasion.

We had a really nice time at the party, but after a couple hours it was then our job to take the grandkids home with us so DC could continue partying with their friends. I believe they cycled over to Trubble and then Curly's before the night was over. We had 3 very excited wee ones who watched a little bit of Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer with us before falling asleep. They all slept very well.

Then, on Sunday night, we had our annual supper for some friends. For the past few years Jane has made a nice meal for a few of our "bachelor" friends. Last night it was just us and Mike and Kenny. We had pulled pork, baked beans, cheesy potatoes, cornbread, and wine. Afterward we headed to the basement and showed our lack of skill on the billiard table. The only issue with the night was that I did not fulfill my one responsibility for the party. I forgot to buy some beer until Sunday. I always forget that Indiana has this stupid law prohibiting the purchase of packaged alcohol on Sunday's. I briefly considered driving to Ohio, but we managed to survive, and I think had a nice time.

The next party is now coming up this Saturday - Mike's Annual Awesome Christmas Party. 'Tis the season...

Safehaven, sleepover, snowstorm, superbowl

My it was a busy weekend. Quite a lot going on. Jane has a cold, but we survived. Here is the rundown of the transition from January to February...

SAFE HAVEN
We served and ate lunch with the veterans of the Safe Haven home on Saturday. This was the 2nd time I have helped out with this group, and Jane's 3rd. It is a 25-bed facility for homeless veterans on Fairfield. Our involvement started when Jane's branch office did a lunch for them. She told a friend, and her office started doing monthly lunches. Apparently we are involved in it with them. They actually get very little help here, so it seems like a good place to pitch in. Jane made 10 lbs of mashed potatoes. I kind of just hung around and chatted and ate with the veterans. It was a little odd in that I actually knew one of them. He didn't remember us though.

SLEEPOVER
We had all 3 grandkids for a sleepover on Saturday night. Drew Carrie had a date night (Komets game), so we watched the kids from around 5 pm Saturday until church Sunday morning. They had all been sick last week and still had sniffles, but they were all really good. Caleb didn't sleep so well, but A & B did. Caleb now likes to pull himself up on things, he just can't get down so well. Anna was a big help, and big eater. Bennett was a little grumpier than usual. I think he is still sickest of all three. It was fun, but boy does it wear us out. :)

SNOWSTORM
We had quite a lot of snow this weekend. I don't know yet officially, but I'd say from Saturday night through Sunday night we probably have around a foot of snow. It was really wet and heavy too. I used the snowblower on the driveway Sunday morning, again Sunday evening, and I need to go do it again this morning before leaving for work. Everything looks very pretty outside. I believe there is just a travel warning though - meaning you shouldn't travel unless going to work or for an emergency.

SUPER BOWL
Super Bowl 49 was last night. With all the snow we did not make it to Mike's party. Jane made pulled pork and we bought a veggie tray and cheese assortment. So we had our own party in the basement. It was a good game, but the Patriots beat the Seahawks 28-24 with a last second interception at the goal line. I was rooting for the Seahawks, but was satisfied that it was a great game.

Now it's Monday, so back to the old grind. I am not looking forward to going to work and dealing with all this snow. Life goes on...

Jane's x-mas party

We had the Christmas Party for Jane's branch office last night. It was at Cebollas Mexican Grill on W. Jefferson. Yes, I know they had that one food poisoning incident, but we still like it. There were 10 of us: Me & Jane, Steve & Pam, Ashley & Wes, Amy & her husband, and Brad & his wife (sorry, can't remember everyone's name). I had the Cebollas Burrito (with no cheese). It was an okay time, but it was hard to have a conversation with too many people because it's kind of noisy in there. It was fun though.

Afterward we stopped at the Feipel house to babysit the grandkids for a bit. A and B were awake on the couch when we got there, but they soon dozed off and we put them to bed. C woke up once, but Jane changed his pants and gave him a bottle and then he passed back out. Pretty easy work.

Dinner party

We had some friends over for dinner last night. Jane made this superb Guinness Beef Stew and Beer Bread (you pour the stew over the bread), and we invited Mike, Kenny and Dr. John over to help put it away. She also made an incredible chocolate cheesecake dessert. It was pretty good if I do say so myself. Afterward we all ventured downstairs and played pool and chatted into the night.

Mike actually paid for all the food, Dr. John brought some beer, Kenny brought a centerpiece for the table and a giant bottle of Merlot, and I supplied some Guinness for drinking. It's always nice having a good home-cooked meal with good friends.