Sunday, December 23, 2007

Let's get this show on the road!

It's the day before Christmas Eve. It's the day that I start getting revved up for the holiday. The day that I realize I'm running out of time to get an early start on my shopping. 

It is also the cusp of a year that should be trying. Amy and I are well into the process of starting a whole house remodel. Essentially we will be jacking up the doorknob of our little place and attaching a new house to it. Sometime, six months following the start of construction, we'll have a new place to live. That project will certainly provide some of the material for this exercise. So far the plans are finished and survived the city's plan check with the need for some minor changes. We've selected a contractor, and once we've hammered out the agreement and found temporary living quarters, we'll put the hammer down (so to speak).

While I don't intend to turn this into a family photo album, I thought I'd throw in this image from last Sunday's trip to the "Photos with Santa" shop that my friend Ben Stuart is running this season. 

First up were the grandkids, Jamie and Finn. Finn was no problem, he just snuggled up on Santa's lap and some good pictures were captured immediately. Next, Jamie was asked to join his brother. He was asked again. And again. And again after that. By this point Mom (my daughter Melissa) had put on her frownie face and started speaking in a voice that began raising dark memories from my nearly forgotten past. In their formative years, both Melissa and Jennie learned early on that if they could crack Dad up, they were pretty much off the hook. It's a tradition that seems to have been passed along to the next generation. This is the last shot that I got off before I collapsed in laughter. Mom, who deserves such a son, thought it was pretty funny too. Jamie, having made his point, climbed up on Santa's lap and Ben fired off some good shots. But I like this one better.

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