Month: December 2011

Technology is Amazing, Charlie Brown

I loved Christmas specials on television growing up.  I can still remember the excitement as the colorful “Special Presentation” (or whatever it said) words would spin in a multi-colored kaleidoscope on to the screen, announcing that a Christmas show was about to come on.  While I still enjoy many of them, my […]

The Christmas Cardinal

Growing up in a large family, one of the more exciting parts of the Christmas season was Pollyanna where we would pick each others names out of a hat and secretly leave little gifts or candy for the person we picked.  With the boys as young as they are, we […]

Bad Romans?

The other day, Ben and I were watching TV together when a commercial for the new Chipmunks movie came on.  In it, they are singing Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance”. After a moment, Ben suddenly looked very confused and then asked me, “Daddy, why were the Chipmunks singing about the guys […]

Christmas Past: Bittersweet Christmas

I wrote this seven years ago…It was just after we discovered that Andrea was pregnant with Benjamin. Christmas was bittersweet. I never thought it possible have joy clash with grief in the manner that it did.  We found out after Christmas Eve Mass that Andy’s grandmother had possibly suffered a […]

Christmas Memories

I’ve said it before…I love Christmas.  It was always magical to me as a kid, but that magic was lost for a while.  Now, as new magic is created through my children, I always think back to my own childhood (and after) memories.  I wrote the below a few years […]

Homemade Christmas Presents

Last night, Benjamin and Matthew decided to make Christmas presents for Andrea and I.  They disappeared into the office and proceeded to discuss and create the perfect gifts (with some arguing and lots of giggling). At one point, as I passed the office door, I heard papers quickly get shuffled […]

Christmas Excitement

It’s the Christmas season, obviously, and the boys are beyond excited.  They are up at least an hour earlier than normal, they run around like chickens without heads and the most popular question (it accounts for at least 50% of their questions) is “How many days until Christmas?”  They ask, […]

Thankful

Perhaps I should have written this a week and a day ago, but I don’t think it is ever a bad time to contemplate those things in your life that you are thankful. I can remember so many times in my life where I have wanted something more for my […]