The Christmas season starts

It's that time of year again, the stores get crowded, and time starts running short as the days until Christmas start flying by. Vivian and I dropped by the Eagle's Lodge for another fun Jitterbugs Night Out, and then spent most of the weekend getting in the Christmas spirit. On Saturday, we hunted down a Christmas tree in the blistering cold, hauled it home on the roof of the Taurus and started decorating with lights. I also got to show Vivian the National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation movie for the first time. I've seen it at least a dozen times, and it's still just as funny after all these years. (Got to love Aunt Bethany, played by "Betty Boop" voice actress Mae Questel).

Our other holiday preparations include doing some frantic Christmas shopping and writing up our Christmas letter for friends and family. I also want to wish my Mom and Dad a Happy Birthday this week! My dad turned the big six-oh on Monday, and my mom will be 39 again on Wednesday. I think.

One bit of sad news: my Grandma Gibbs has unfortunately taken a turn for the worse. She's been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for a number of years now, and on Monday I learned that her kidneys are starting to fail. We suspect that she had only a matters of days left, so I'd appreciate any prayers you all can muster up until that time comes.