The Kohlmans

Justin opened his gift from us on Christmas Eve - a handmade Corn Hole set in Kansas City Royals colors/design. It turned out really well, considering our limited skill and the tough things needed (cutting a hole, rounding legs). We opened presents bright and early on Christmas... so early it wasn't even bright yet. Lincoln got some great gifts, mostly John Deere - a baler for his tractor, a stocking hat, a ball! He also received a remote control car from Aunt Leah and a personalized book.

Barb and Jeff said they wanted nothing for Christmas. So our gift to them was taking family pictures when we got there on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, it was too cold and too bright outside for many pictures, so we decided to take a few inside and try again in the spring when the weather was more cooperative.

Because of other Christmas plans and family coming, Brad, Lincoln, and I celebrated our family Christmas on Christmas Eve morning. We opened stockings, then the few presents we had under the tree. Lincoln got several books, a pair of shoes, and a tractor. He was a little disappointed that the tractor wasn't real, but he has spent most of the day playing with it. One of the books he got was Those Darn Squirrels, a library favorite from this summer. We checked it out so much that he recognized the back cover when he was unwrapping it! This yellow visor was part of Lincoln's gift to me. Last summer, when we were at the lake, my yellow visor flew off my head during a windy boat ride. I was ready to let it go, but Lincoln got really upset. When Brad took him to pick out a Christmas present for me, the first thought on his mind was a yellow visor to replace the one I lost. For Brad, Lincoln picked out a green disc because he lost a green one a while back....

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been reading through the first chapter of each of the gospels, particularly Matthew and Luke, at various times. One thing that has struck me is the message that seems to repeat itself, over and over and over again. "Do not be afraid." We live in a culture that thrives on fear. We are told to fear and even hate those who are different than us, those who look different and believe differently and come from a different background or place. We are told there are certain ways to make ourselves safer, yet it seems we read daily news of more events to fear despite so many of us taking those steps to be "safe." When we first started attending BCMC in August, our associate pastor, John Tyson, preached on the voice of fear and the voice of faith. I still have the notes from that sermon in my Bible. One of the things he said has stuck with me. "The voices of fear are loud, but the voice of faith is persistent. Are we...

Sometimes Lincoln asks great questions. And by great questions, I mean those that make my own brain hurt. Last night, in the marathon "get Lincoln to sleep" session, we had a good conversation. And by good conversation, I mean one in which I was complete stumped and kind of overwhelmed. Saturday night we went to Night in the Barn, where Joseph told his story in a barn, with animals. It was really cool, and all the high school actors did a great job. Lincoln was talking about it. He told me, "The angel came to him when he was sleeping." I had no idea the kid was soaking anything in, much less a detail like that. Then he asked, "Was that real Jesus or pretend Jesus?" of the baby doll Mary held. "Pretend Jesus," I replied, thankful for a softball question. "Where was real Jesus?" "Well, real Jesus lived a long time ago." "Oh. Where is real Jesus now?" "Jesus died." "Why?" ...

"Squish-ta-bob." "Are these the rights foots?" While putting shoes on. "Mommy tell me about your school today." On our drive home: "Mommy, I am a baby dinosaur!" "Okay. What does that make me?" "Happy!"

CHRISTMAS! One of the ways we kept busy during the ice storm was to put up Christmas decorations. Since we're living at the farm, we had to limit ourselves this year. We put up a little tree in the basement with our ornaments.