Christmas 2010

I love Christmas. I love the reason for the season. What I'm not all that crazy about is how rushed I make myself - convinced that a ton of stuff has to be done by a certain time or - what - I don't know. Or I won't be ready.

In August or September, choir practice began - not at my church but at the Baptist church that lets me hang out with them for Christmas and Easter music. So once a week I've enjoyed getting ready for Agnus Dei - the lamb of God - gorgeous music with voices and orchestra. We sang two times. It was truly wonderful both time - very uplifting! - so that's something joyous about the season, something to appreciate and be thankful for.

We also performed The Christmas Shoes at Glendale Christian. Cast and choir worked hard - and had a really really good time doing it. We've had some sadness at church, and this effort may have helped make hearts hurt less.

Okay - the year in review. Steve stayed pretty healthy, much healthier since his diet started around May. He taught second session of summer school and skipped the first session. Instead he started riding his bike to the fitness center, working out, eating smarter - and eating less. He's lost well over 20 lbs., maybe closer to 30 - looks great and feels much much better. That's not to say that he's pain-free, but he is able to do more and has fewer down days. This is something to be thankful for in a very big way.

For fun, Steve still reads lots - he's a frequent patron of the library in the kid's section. Have you read some of the children's books? Great humor, good stories (and the print is usually bigger too). He gardens - we have lots of pots with a variety of green things in them: trees, onions, lettuce, tomatoes ....

Mostly I work - either looking for properties for buyers, or looking for buyers for properties that I have listed for sellers, or looking for business period. And most of that business - not all, but most - is short sale business. Not easy, and not short, but very gratifying when a deal comes together.

Just a little travel this year - a couple of days in Sedona for vacation, a short trip to Austin for business, and another short trip to Colorado (Castle Rock) to see my friend Janice.

We did several Bible studies this year - and plan to do more in 2011.

We are with Jenny and Scott usually once or twice a week. They're well. They've managed to stay employed when so many have lost work. And they love their dogs and their home and their toys - these are big kids, with big hearts, and know how to have fun and open their home to friends.

Goals: still working on them. Unwritten, they amount to nothing but wishes. So when they firm up, I'll write them down where I can look at them daily - and who knows but what I may blog them too.