In A Place Obscure

Listening to Christmas Carols alone allows you to hear them differently.

This year I am away from my family for the greatest celebration of the year.  Normally, we celebrate Advent weekly with feasts and gifts, building up to Christmas Eve and the climax of Christmas morning. The celebration continues through the following mornings leading up to Epiphany.   Not being there is hard. There is so much I am missing out on, but I am reliving fantastic memories every day with every song I hear. Those wonderful carols singing of our blessed Lord are a balm both in what they say and in what I recall in the sounds, tastes, and smells of past Christmases.

By His life He brings us gladness … Watching Abigail place the Dickens village pieces perfectly and uniquely each year.  Moving so often means the setup will never be the same, every year bringing a new creation.    

Haste, haste to bring Him laud… Working with Isaac to bring the tree home and to move all of the Christmas boxes out of storage and into the living room.  In recent years I have taken advantage of his height, delegating the uppermost decorating to him. 

Sing Choirs of Angels… Listening to Micaiah sing carols as she attempts to place each ornament and strand of lights perfectly on the tree.  

Joy of every longing heart… Observing Bear place the trains in perfect rows and yet be unable to stop himself from playing with them. 

Joyful and Triumphant… Dancing with Belle because she insists that I dance.   She dances and I am not allowed to stop spinning.  To me it seems more like a carnival ride and I am the equipment. 

Rest beside the weary road and hear the angels sing… Sitting on the sofa holding Shelly’s hand in my left and a glass of wine in my right. Wanting to enjoy another treat she and the girls have prepared but unwilling to free either hand.  

When those Blue snowflakes start falling… Christmas 1992 was when this all got started.  This is our first one apart.     

Awake My Soul…While family is what I am missing so much, it is not the point of the season.  It is just something that we have always done together and love doing together.  The point is that the greatest event in history actually happened, and we celebrate it on this day and throughout this season.   The Child was born, and all has changed and all is being healed…Repeat the sounding joy        

This season we celebrate gives us a way to measure our year, our life. By this blessed moment.  Every year we begin Advent singing Come Thou Long Expected Jesus, and we are reminded on Christmas Day that He has come, bringing Joy to the World as far as the curse is found.

This leads us into the new year mindful that He is making all things new. This isn’t just a season that passes away; Our God is with us all year long. Christmas establishes our calendar.  It is the foundation for our year, and our entire year builds to it.  And our entire year must proclaim it.

O come thou Dayspring…cheer our spirits by thine advent here…As I am fighting sadness that I am not with my family, I am so grateful that they are able to be together.  I find myself dreaming of next year when we will do this season together again, when we can all travel to Idaho to visit the oldest two and hear a beautiful choral performance, when we will sing and dance and feast in a new home with a new twist.  I am reminded that while I dream of the future and what God has in store for our family, He has given us a King who rules now, and we are to sing praises to Him and work for His glory today.

In Bethlehem was born the Son of God by name… King forever, ceasing never.

~written by Patrick

Majestic

My Love,

Just over 22 years ago I took you to this restaurant to officially ask you to marry me. Of course, we both knew the answer beforehand so I was taking very little risk that night. It did make things official though and a few months later we married in an old stone church in Brookside. It was a beautiful fall day; I was blessed with a beautiful bride and you with a very lucky man.

Ten years later I surprised you, my charming mother of three, with a trip to Prince Edward Island and the north Atlantic. While you got to visit a childhood dream location, you also had to endure my endless stops to take photographs of every lighthouse and covered bridge along the eastern seaboard. It was a beautiful fall week and my love for you only grew.

For our twentieth anniversary I took my lovely wife to Greece, with more than a little help from the Department of Defense, as a little getaway from the duties of a family of seven. There you were able to walk on the same ground that Paul walked and see the ruins of Thessoloniki and Athens. And you also climbed up cliff and mountain so I could explore my childhood remembrance of tales of Alexander the Great and visit the Monasteries of Meteora because of a story that still tries to write itself from deep inside my head. The sun was bright, most of the week, and you were radiant.

But not every anniversary has been a dream vacation. This year, you will get a call from me as I sit on the other side of the world. We will pray that the connection is good. And after a short conversation we will go on about our days separately. You will teach Belle the alphabet, help Bear with his math and reading, instruct Abi and Isaac with their coursework. You will probably have already taken Silas for a walk. You will continue to manage our home flawlessly even while protesting that you could do better. Your humble service to our home is a wonderful example to our children and a blessing to us all. It makes me love you all the more.

This will not be our most romantic anniversary. But every year with you is better than the year before. God deepens my ability to love you far beyond what I thought was possible. I am always amazed at the depth of your love for me. Thank you for your love, your respect and your encouragement. You make me a better man. As always, you will give me the best end of this deal. 

You are my glory. Every day I thank God for you.

Happy Anniversary, My Love.

Apart of the Story

Over the course of nine months, the lopezfamilyfieldtrip has experienced three houses in three different cities on two different continents. Fieldtrip Extraordinaire.

While our adventure began in beautiful Bavaria

and then continued through desert canyons and mountains,

nothing brings you back to the beginning quite as quickly as preparing for a garage sale.  A garage sale in your childhood home.  39 years in 1 house...this is my mom's story...our keeper of stories.

Sift.   Sort.   Save.   Sell.

Yearbooks...4th grade art projects...framed evidence of the knee-high tube socks and short shorts era...Holly Hobby lunch pail with matching thermos...letters from war.  WWI.  Back beyond our beginnings.  Introductions to your people through almost-forgotten treasures draw you in and remind you of the bigger story.  

As we prepare for a stretch of time when we will celebrate the HolyDays as well as the day-to-day victories on separate continents, I am thankful for every opportunity to hear your voice, to hear your story. 

Happy Father's Day to my sweetheart.

Would love to meet you here ... soon!

4 Belle

After a wonderful time of worship with Christ the King family, 

our family jumped out of the van, 

hurried into the house to change into park-playing clothes, 

grabbed the cooler and cookie cake, 

and then piled back into the van.  

Destination:  a return trip to Biggs Park ... but this time, 

we were celebrating four years of 

Adele Cristabel Lopez.

Through the years...can't believe there have been four already!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Belle!

Southwest Surprises

Just a few days ago, 

we experienced the spinny, sunny fun of Biggs Park...

Today we experienced snow, 

blowing snow, 

measurable snow...

Now, for the test... 

Sand OR Snow??

Celebrating New Year's Day
at White Sands National Monument

Celebrating first snow in our backyard

White Sands National Monument