"Tidings of Comfort and Joy"

  Christmas time is wonderful and magical. Christmas time allows everyone, no matter how old they are, to become a child again. A child who sees the world as innocent and wonderful, reveling in the bright colors, tantalizing smells, merry songs and the smiling people you see wherever you go. However, Christmas can also bring back old wounds, bring back pain for loved ones who are no longer with us, etc. Sadly, tragedy can strike at any time of the year as evidenced in the CN elementary school shooting. As both of us find our hearts torn between excessive happiness and extreme sadness, we have tried to let these words pour over our souls and drench us in the unfailing love of our Savior who is greater and bigger than any evil or pain the world can throw at us.

Dylan and I have both found Comfort in our favorite Christmas song of the year "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." 

"God rest ye merry gentlemen let nothing ye dismay. Remember Christ our Savior was born upon this day. To SAVE US ALL from Satan's power when we were gone astray, O tidings of Comfort and Joy, Comfort and Joy. O, tidings of Comfort and Joy.

From God our heavenly Father this blessed angel came. And unto certain shepherds brought tidings of the same. How that in Bethlehem was born the Son of God by Name, O, tidings of Comfort and Joy. 

King forever! Ceasing never! Over us all to reign! Glorious now, behold Him arise. King and God and sacrifice. Hallelujah! Worship Him God most High!

O tidings of Comfort and Joy, Comfort and Joy. O tidings of Comfort and Joy!"

-version by Barenaked Ladies and Sara McLaughlin-

Dylan and I have also found much Joy this season too! God has blessed our small Carey Family very much these past few months. Dylan is privileged to work with an amazing group of dentists and associates whose hearts are all on fire for Christ and who strive to give of their time and resources to help others in need. The Christmas gathering for CMDA Council this year was uplifting, bringing courage, strength, resolve and love to all of us who work to make these goals a reality each and every day.

 Dylan surprised me the other night with tickets to the Mummy Exhibit at the Witte Museum. It was incredible! The collection was a little small, but the specimens were top notch! We saw mummies not only from Egypt, but South America, Oceania and Europe. My favorites were the ones from the Andes in Chile and Peru. The altitude preserves so much more of their skin, clothes, hair, teeth etc. than the desert. Many of these mummies had visible tattoos!! Dylan was quite impressed with the teeth. Most of the mummies all had their wisdom teeth and massive overbites or underbites. (They have a technical dental term, I just cannot remember at the moment. Something about Class 3....) My other favorite was a Hungarian family they found from the 1500s. This family had all been buried together in a basement. The clothes they were buried in were still around their bodies. More importantly, all of the family had died from tuberculosis, and they were being studied today in order to help find a cure. Absolutely AMAZING what the combination of nature, God and science can do these days! I was also impressed because they had samplings of each bone and skin type for you to feel. The bodies look like beefy jerky, but in all actuality, both the skin and bones are quite smooth. Some feel like smooth rubber while others feel like suede leather. Fascinating!!

Plus, you know your husband loves you when he buys tickets to look at dead bodies for date night! :)

Christmas movies!! There are 4 that must be watched in The Carey house over the month of December. First is Chevy Chase Christmas Vacation. This movie is beyond stupid, but Dylan just loves it. He does nothing but laugh the whole time; sometimes he laughs so hard he cries which makes me laugh too. The more I watch it, the more it grows on me. Second, Home Alone. Such a classic! Third, The Grinch. The animated one is my favorite, but we will watch Jim Carrey version if cannot find the animated one. Fourth, the claymation animated Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer with Burl Ives is my favorite Christmas movie!! I even found a dog toy in the shape of Bumble, the mean snow beast who has a toothache and needs Hermie the Elf to fix it! Too cute!!! (Goobz destroyed Bumble in a matter of minutes so alas, he is no more.)

My boys playing with each other. Or rather, Dylan is lying on Goober's blanket. Goober hides toys and bones in there to dig them out. Goobz is mad right now because Dylan won't get off the blanket. Goober cannot get his toy, so he is digging on top of Dylan. They are both so silly and stubborn!

Even more exciting, Dylan bought a used jeep! We both made a deal when he graduated a year and half ago: When we paid off all of Dylan's loans (both undergrad and grad school), he could get a jeep, which he has wanted since he started dental school. Dylan estimated it would take 2 years, so long as we both put the bulk of our paychecks each month into loans. Well, it took a year and a half! 6 months earlier than we thought!!! It is used, but runs like a dream and was for a great price! Dylan is in hog-heaven, and I am just so proud of him for paying everything off and sticking to his promise! Crazy thought to think we are debt-free at the age of 26! :)

Last, but certainly not least, THE HOBBIT. In all seriousness, we should all take a minute to just revel in how amazing, how epic, how moving this film was. If you have not seen it, get over your aversion to Sci-Fi, because this is beyond that. We are talking about a series of books written in the times of the Middle Ages. There are beasts and beings who are not human, but that is okay. They do not take away from anything! In fact, they simply enhance the idea that there is a constant battle between Good and Evil every day. Good comes in all shapes and sizes, from all manners of people. Evil can come in any form too; something God reminds us of constantly in the Bible. You do not have to have read the book to understand what is going on. Plus, the landscape of New Zealand is enough to make you drool and the score is gorgeous.

Lady Galadriel: Gandalf, why the Halfling? Why the hobbit?

Gandalf: Because I am afraid, and he gives me courage.