A Different Christmas Poem

A Different Christmas Poem


The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

" So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

PLEASE, would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many
people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our
U.S service men and women for our being able to celebrate these
festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people
stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq

In Memoriam

I received this on an email today, and thought it worth posting...

Something we should ALL remember so it doesn't happen again!!

I n MEMORIAM - 60 YEARS LATER ...

Please read the little cartoon carefully: it's powerful. Then read the comments at the end.

I'm doing my small part by forwarding this message. I hope you'll consider doing the same.






It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europe ended. This e-mail is being sent as a memorial chain, in memory of the six million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests who were murdered, massacred, raped, burned, starved and humiliated with the German and Russian Peoples looking the other way!

Now, more than ever, with Iraq , Iran , and others, claiming the Holocaust to be 'a myth,' it's imperative to make sure the world never forgets, because there are others who would like to do it again.

This e-mail/post is intended to reach 40 million people worldwide! Join us and be a link in the memorial chain and help us distribute it around the world.

I have been voraciously reading Karen Kingsbury books, namely three series about "the Baxter family"--the Redemption series, the Firstborn series, and the Sunrise series. I'm waiting for the last book to become available, but wanted to share some info that Karen put in to one of her books, as noted below. I love that she uses the vehicle of fiction to pass along Biblical truth. (These are found on pages 239 & 240 of Forever, published by Tyndale in 2007.)

Ten Secrets to a Happy Marriage
From Forever, by Karen Kingsbury
(influenced by Gary Smalley)

1. God has you here to serve one another. Love acted out is serving
2. Women need respect and nurturing. Love your wife so she knows you’d lay your life down for her. Continue to date her and admire her. Share a hobby—find something you can do to have fun together.
3. Laugh often.
4. Be patient. Love crumbles quickly under the weight of unmet expectations.
5. Spend more time trying to fix yourself than your spouse.
6. Keep short accounts. The Bible says, “Do not let the sun go down while you are angry.” Make it a habit to forgive.
7. Determine up front that divorce is not an option.
8. Learn about love languages. Not all people show love or receive it the same way. You want a back rub and your spouse wants a clean kitchen. The love languages are fairly simple: acts of service; time; physical touch; gifts; and words of affirmation. Learn them. Love is better received when it’s in the language that person speaks.
9. Words of affirmation are a love language for all men.
10. Men are born to be leaders. He cannot lead unless she gives him the confidence to do so. If you love your husband, build him up. Confident men do not seek love outside the home.

Vacation=Reading

While I was in Grand Rapids, I spent a fair amount of time mothering, grandmothering, keeping house, cooking, etc., but I also got to indulge myself in a LOT of reading. I just made a list of the books I've read semi- and very-recently. I can't believe it--I read ELEVEN Karen Kingsbury books while I was gone! I'm currently working on Lords of the Earth by Don Richardson, and that was only because I didn't have another KK book to bring on the airplane.

My boss saw to it that I started back to work teaching the day after I got home, so I'll have to scale back to a more realistic reading rate.

I highly recommend Karen Kingsbury, as well as my friend, Virginia Smith, to you. Look for their links on the sidebar.

Grandma Joy!

Zeke was just shy of 4 weeks old in this picture. Doesn't he look content? He is!
His shirt says "Daddy's little wingman"--perfect for the son of a pilot!
Please pray for this missionary-pilot-family-in-training!
(p.s. I love this picture because it makes me look like
I only have one chin!)

Wow! I can't say I wasn't warned, but this instantaneous, deep-rooted love a grandma has for her grandchild is profound. I am irrevocably in love with another man...but since he 's only 21" long, my husband doesn't mind!

God blessed me with a full four weeks with Bethany, Jeffrey, and Zeke, and we ALL enjoyed the time together. One of Jeffrey's buddies, when he found out his mother-in-law would be there a whole month, pulled him aside and asked, "What do you really think of her being there for so long?" Jeffrey said it was fine by him... and it really was good!

One item that helped make our time really sweet was that I was able to give them some time to themselves (once the hospital stays were over and done with.) I listed my ESL tutoring services on the Grand Rapids craigslist.org, and a woman from Poland responded! We met six times, so it gave me time away, the kids time alone, and it provided money for groceries, gas, laundry, and some of the extra "etceteras" that the advent of a child bears on a household.

If you want to learn the nitty gritties of Zeke's health, you can visit www.thespangs.blogspot.com. I will abbreviate the experience to this:

• He spent 1 day in Pediatric ICU and 4 more in Pediatric Hematology in DeVos Children's Hospital.He received numerous transfusions of platelets, but even upon discharge, he wasn't producing his own fast enough.
• He was home for a couple of days, then went back to Hematology for another 3 days, this time because his bilirubin (jaundice) was SO high, he was on the edge of the danger zone. (For those who like numbers, it was at 23. At 24 they seriously worry about brain damage!) He got to spend some time in an incubator with bili-lights.
• 

Jeffrey really thoughts these shades were cool!

• Upon return to home, Zeke's mom and dad still had to take him in for labs 3x a week, and he continued to need more of Bethany's platelets. When he was 3+ weeks old, they decided to do another transfusion, but when Bethany went to the blood center, she wasn't permitted to give (low blood pressure and low iron), so they decided to see how Zeke did over the weekend without help, because, while his count was still low (85,000), it was rising on its own.
• On Monday the count was good. On Friday the count was up to 130,000! He's holding his own, and that's great reason to rejoice!
  

So, on Wednesday the 18th, as planned, I returned home, but a big part of my heart is still in Grand Rapids! They just got a new webcam, and I am so glad. When we wrapped up our "visit," Jeffrey (he's so thoughtful), moved the camera over to Zeke's cheek so I could "kiss" him (and Bethany, too.)

I'd like to say that Zeke is trying to give me a kiss here, but,

he was looking for something only Mommy could provide!

Bethany discovered that poor Jeffrey had a deprived childhood:
he never ate black olives off of his fingers, and thus never
developed a taste for them. As I prepared taco soup for dinner,
I couldn't resist this photo-op. Bethany ate the olive for Zeke,
just in case you were concerned.

Baby Zeke!

Our hearts will never be the same. Our world has grown to include Ezekiel Dorian Spang, and it's been an amazing ride thus far.



Our first grandchild(!) was born at home at 2pm on Tuesday, May 20th, and all went well. He weighed in at 7#2oz, and 19" long. When he had his first pediatrician's appointment Thursday morning at 10:15, the doctor sent him and his parents packing off to the hospital, post haste. Zeke had VERY, low platelets. He spent the next day and a half in Pediatric ICU, where he received 5 units of platelets--the last (and best!) of which were his mom's. The hospital staff was amazed at the miraculous jump--and WE know who the Miracle Worker is. Thanks to those who learned about this and were praying.


He's now in a Hematology unit and only has monitors on--no more antibiotics, transfusions of platelets, or anything. We're not sure when they'll discharge him, but he'll be making visits back here twice a week for a couple of weeks, and then weekly for a couple of months. He's receiving EXCELLENT care, and his parents are doing a great job absorbing information, adapting, and handling it.


Bethany is a nautral as a mommy, even as she learns the ropes. Jeffrey is incredibly loving, gentle, and involved. Zeke responds to Dad when he won't for anyone else. He's got the makings of being a Daddy's boy, and that will suit our son-in-law just fine! What a blessing! The hospital staff here is so good--not only top-notch, but caring (and indulgent) to the family. Here the nurse and Jeffrey are listening to Zeke's various rumblings, pumpings, and beatings.

God is good!

Julie Julie Julie

Do you remember the old Bobby Sherman song "Julie, Julie, Julie, do you love me?" Well, that song could be sung to the three beautiful women in this picture--because we're all Julies! The REALLY fun thing is that we have sons the same age, AND our birthdays are May 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Ever since I moved to Bountiful (and once we met each other) we have had our annual Julie Julie Julie birthday at Sizzler. (Okay, one year we went to a Mexican restaurant, but we've repented since then!) It's fun to catch up with each other and our growing families.

International Friends in Spring of 08

Here is a smattering of pictures of us with our international friends. Above is what's left of the Advanced conversational English class that Mark and I taught on Wednesdays nights this past year. I say what's left, because as the semester nears the end, attrition takes its toll on a class largely made up of PhD candidates, visiting scholars who are cranking out research, and even Master's degree students who have tests and papers looming over them.

We even celebrated our 25th anniversary with this bunch of guys. One asked, "Does this anniversary have a name?" I said yes, it's the silver anniversary. He turned to Mark and said, "Did you give her anything silver?" Without missing a beat, Mark said, "I gave her this--" and he pointed to my hair! When we related that story to another set of friends, Mark added, "If we're still around for our 50th, I wonder if her hair will turn gold?!" What a nut!


This includes a few of my students from the ELI (and a couple who aren't my students, but "belong" to Hazel, the other "mature woman" in the picture). We were having fun at the "end of session party/picnic."


I love this picture! Most of the women from my beginning conversational English class, along with spouses (if they could make it) came to our home and provided a most delectable potluck to end our semester. I had one student from Mali, one from Brazil (who is married to a German and lives in Italy!), one from Taiwan, one from China (not pictured), several from Japan, and a few students from Korea.


My dear, dear student/friend Teresa, from Taiwan has a special place in my heart. I have been blessed to be her teacher and tutor since she came to Utah about a year ago. Although her English skills are above the beginning level, she takes my class in addition to others because she loves me. Her name is spelled the same way as my sister's, and her birth date (except for the year) is also the same as my sister's. She took me out to lunch for my birthday this year.

Bethany's progress...

Above is Bethany at 8 months, and below at 8-1/2 months. Baby Zeke is growing!!!

Another NTBI graduate!

Mark and I attended our son's graduation from New Tribes Bible Institute in May. What a privilege to see 97 young (and some not-so-young) people graduate from this solid, Bible-teaching school. Bethany (and Jeffrey) graduated three years ago. We praise God that we have children who are "walking in the truth" (3rd John 4), and pray they will continue to do so for the rest of their days!

Pictured with us are Nonna (as my kids call my mom) and Kristin, Skeeter's girlfriend.

My tree in Spring

Here is my Barrett's pear tree in springtime. I caught it a a few days late--so there is some green showing instead of just a jillion white blossoms, but it's still gorgeous!

It's a boy!

Although last time I said that Jeffrey and Bethany didn't have a sonogram lined up, the next thing we knew, they did. I'll spare you the picture that defines that fact that "It's a boy," but wanted to share this precious profile of our 22 week-old grandson. This is technology at its best. God is good.

A Great Way to Start a New Year!

The Scott/Spang Family, January 2008
Skeeter was here for Christmas, but Bethany and Jeffrey came for just a few days in January. It was WONDERFUL to have everybody here! After they had come and gone, I realized this was the only family picture we had taken, but it says it all! We are so excited about the June 3rd arrival of our grandchild!

Mark and Skeeter "bonded" by going cross-country skiing--a first for Skeeter, and an activity Mark has enjoyed for years. The beard thing on Skeeter was borne out of laziness, or so says the grower of the hair. However, a month later, and he still has it. And why not?!

When at home, Bethany and Jeffrey usually make pizza on Friday nights. Well, we hated to make them break tradition, so we asked them to fix dinner for us. Nothing like hot pizza from the oven. And speaking of something "in the oven," by the evening each day, that baby really makes himself/herself known! Bethany is about 20 weeks along in this pic. No, they don't know what they're having, and a sonogram is not in sight...but several people are THINKING 'it's a girl.' Time will tell!

No longer a teenager: Skeeter celebrated his 20th birthday while home. What did he want for a birthday dinner? Indian food! Shrimp Coconut Kourma, to be exact.

On Christmas day, Mark, Skeeter and I enjoyed a leisurely morning. We ate a late breakfast, read the Christmas story, and opened gifts. In the afternoon we were blessed with the company of two Egyptian families, and together we enjoyed a very non-traditional Christmas meal. I made, let's say I attempted to make, lamb mensef (which is actually a Jordanian meal, but it's Middle Eastern, so it was close) and I also made dolma (I forget the Egyptian name), which are stuffed grape leaves. The recipe said to just put a tablespoon of rice and meat mixture, but the leaves were so big, I added more filling. I forgot that the raw rice would expand. My dolma were squatty, fat little things (instead of long, finger-shaped ones) but they tasted ok. Our friends appreciated my efforts. They also listened to the three of us sing a number of Christmas carols (accompanied, in part, by Mark on the accordion.) Mark has an Arabic hymnal, so beforehand he copied a few of the songs so they could read along. What a great opportunity.

After dinner we played Pit. What fun! This is such a noisy game, and Egyptians are not shy about hollering like you're supposed to. If you don't own this game, we highly recommend you buy it--and PLAY it!

And a final shot. This is pretty much a nightly appearance: deer in our backyard. We've counted as many as nine (sometimes including three bucks). A neighbor said she saw 14 deer in our yard one day. In the winter, they're beautiful. In the summer, when they're decimating gardens, they are not so cute.

Our Beautiful Winter Tree

The fall tree was gorgeous, but the tree in the winter is breathtaking -- especially when the temperature is in the single digits (as it often is in the mornings when I walk to the bus!) The sight of the tree, and the frigid chill in the air, literally takes my breath away and brings a tear to my eyes. (Actually, any temperature below 40 degrees makes my eyes water when I'm walking briskly!) It has snowed quite a bit this winter, and I am so ready for it to be over... still, the mountains and the reservoirs REALLY need this wet stuff, so... let it snow (I guess!)