Merry Christmas Loved ones!
We hope this letter finds you well J.
Bobby continues to be a Youth Pastor. Adriel is slogging through Community College
and two jobs. Seth is a Junior at West
High school. I want to share highlights
from this year that will make us both laugh.
I read through my diary and picked out the best of:
Bobby gleefully told me he watched the cat
walk on my face while I was sleeping. I
slept right through it. Cats bring joy
to everyone don’t they?
Sometimes I love helping at youth group
because I know I did well. Sometimes I
enjoy that Bobby thanks me. Sometimes I simply
enjoy the comedy gold. One week Bobby
was telling the youth to, “Be kind to your parents even though they make
mistakes. You also make mistakes.” Someone from the crowd shouted, “I’m a
mistake.”
Teaching Seth to drive is good. He is a sweetheart. I was trying to make conversation. I wanted to know if he found anything funny
that day. I asked, “Anything funny
happen at school?” No. “Was anyone funny
at your school? Even just looking at
them?” Seth violently reacted and asked
if I was a bully. Oh dear – I didn’t
mean it that way. Good for Seth to tell
me to be a better person.
I told Bobby he was the best. He announced to Seth, “Did you hear that
Seth? I am the best!” Bobby wanted to share the glorious
feeling. Seth said, “Title has been
revoked due to bragging.”
Bobby made several wonderful meals this week
(including Valentine's dinner). We
talked about the imperfect fruit delivery service. We decided not to try it because our family
does not eat large amount of fresh fruit or veggies. If only they had a service for imperfect
cookies . . .
Entertainment is looking at what is free on
Craigslist. My favorite so far has been
“Stinky the Goat.” I mentioned to Seth, “There
is a free Emu on Craigslist! We ‘need’
an Emu!” Seth said, “Wasn’t there a war
against Emu’s?” What??? I had to look this up. In 1932 Australia declared war on Emu’s and
lost. “They can face machine guns with
the invulnerability of tanks. They are like Zulus.” ("New Strategy In A War On The
Emu". Sunday Herald. 5 July 1953.
p. 13.). I asked Seth how in the
world he knew about this. YouTube has
videos. Seth enjoys YouTube videos. I looked it up on Wikipedia. It’s true – it’s online! Sooooo, no free Emu for us.
Adriel did attack hug me the other day. She ran away saying, “That’s my hug for the
day – you can’t have anymore.” It was
playful and adorable. I never imagined
that I would miss my kids while they still lived with me. A mother of teens told me she missed her kids
when I had little ones. I thought that
was ridiculous – she could just go hug them if they still lived with her. Sigh – nope, now I understand her feelings.. Teens have a habit of fleeing.
Bobby and I were eating together at the
dining table alone. I said, “Well, here
it is, our future. We are eating alone
together. Just us.” Bobby had to interject, “And Seth.” At this, I did have to laugh. Yes, Seth was five feet away from us – on his
computer. He was doing homework
quietly. We probably will have our quiet
son for a while.
I enjoyed some drama one weekend. Bobby and I were taking a walk in the park
when we saw the Kravitz family. They are
so full of life and fun! The kids are
pre-school and grade school age. Bobby
was teasing Elsie by taking her scooter.
Her dad yelled out, “Hey, that man is stealing your scooter!” Bobby began to ride away on the ‘stolen’
goods. He got about 15 feet away when a
small boy Kindergarten age ran up and attacked him. Bobby thought it was big brother so he hammed
it up and fell with exaggerated moans.
Meanwhile, the stranger’s parents were alarmed. They had no clue why their little boy
attacked. The boy gave Elsie her scooter back and several of us clapped for the
little one. He raised his arms in the sky, victor over evil. He was so brave.
Bobby
brought home one doughnut that had been sitting in the hot car for a
while. I tried to eat it but the
frosting came off so I left the naked item in the doughnut box. Seth came over with, “So there is no frosting
on it?” He seemed willing to eat
anything in a doughnut box. Then he saw
and said, “It’s not even a doughnut any more.
It is just a sad bagel.” He left
it.
Bobby volunteered at Adriel’s graduation
party. After an all-night extravaganza,
he plopped into bed at 5 A.M. excited and chatty. “I could have gone on all night. It was great.” I believe he is either crazy or amazingly
gifted. It probably takes both to work
with youth. Bobby is a true extrovert.
When I asked why the bag of sugar was on the
counter Adriel mentioned, “Did you know that 2 cups of sugar a day is good for
you?” I told her I have never heard that
and I did not believe it. Her
response. “Well, this is awkward.”
Seth put a sticky note on his computer
screen. It said, “HDMI cable.” I thought I would be helpful and put a cable
on his desk. His response, “The cable
you put on my desk is so retro I don’t even know what kind it was.” Apparently, I need to learn my coaxial cables
from my HDMI.
Seth
enjoys it when Bobby and I go out because we bring home food. He began to dig into soup but it was too
spicy. I told him milk would help and he
said, “I’ll never drink milk.” A couple
of seconds later, “We don’t even have any milk do we?” Then it was, “OK, I’ll drink some.”
And so, life goes on. As the children grow into adults we find
their hugs to be precious and their presence to be a cameo appearance. Living and loving continues.
OH, I was able to publish several books this
year! I am excited to announce they are
for sale on eBay or Amazon.com; Star’s ‘First Kiss’, Star in Space and Star’s
Big Fight. How fun to obey God and find
joy in spreading His love through the written word.
May this season bring you joy. May you find love in year heart for all you
encounter. May God’s peace abound and
His light shine bright. Much Love,
Cristy for the VanKleeks
PS, thanks to Chris for taking the picture :-)
I enjoyed walking several times with Bobby and going to Jame Nagels’
wedding. Our youth are growing up. I love seeing them marry and multiply. 
