Christmas Email gone Blog

We in the Scott family are perfect. This is the summary as to which every Christmas “update” letter from every family known to man can be reduced to. There is usually the obligatory picture of total or partial family next to a lit tree with phrase after phrase as to the goings on of the crew. I have decided to take this tradition to the next level by not mailing the letter so as to appear as a card, but to send via email, then copy it to my blog and take something done personally and with care and reduce it to something akin to spam. Enjoy.

We celebrated our 11th anniversary this year. Our lives have gone through many stages that we never thought we would go through. We are so blessed, although we have to remind ourselves of that fact often. We struggle though the rigors of life like everyone else, but we have determined to go through it all together. Our motto is that we don’t just want a marriage, but we want a great marriage. It takes work, sure, but Holly is so full of grace that it somehow works. I could go on and on about her, but even though it is all true, the dedication and adoration I have for her would make you all sick. The crazy thing is, she feels the same way about me.

Our boys… what can I say? Jonah turned nine this September 11th. Nine! He’s brilliant, smart, and knows a lot of stuff, too. He’s good looking too. Jonah is in third grade at Eastside Primary, and owns his school. He really is a great kid. He and I butt heads a lot, but it’s not his fault. He gets a lot from his dad and I have to work to let him be his own young man. It’s my flaw, and I’m working on it. He loves to spike the front of his hair up or do others things with his hair that I think he shouldn’t, and I gave him grief for it for a while. I thought he should just kind of part it. One morning while telling him he had to fix his hair “right” before going to school I heard myself speak. I remembered that my dad didn’t like my hair as a kid. Hey, he still thinks I should comb it better. (On a side note… when is the last time someone actually used a comb?) It was one of those moments, you know, when I realized that I wasn’t sane. I said, “Jonah, do you like your hair like that?” “Yes dad, I do,” he said. “Great, it looks good” was my reply. Now if I could just back off of everything else I get worked up over, I could be a good dad. I love him, but more importantly, I like him. I want him always to know that. He’s a great kid, regardless of anything he does or doesn’t do. Oh, and he will be bigger than me very soon, so I’m being nice to him. He just started learning to play the guitar and can play like four songs already.

Jonathan turned six on June 29. It was really fun when he was learning his birthday and he would say “June two nine.” He started Kindergarten at Eastside Primary this year, and he owns the school as well. The neat thing is that it really is not because his brother paved the way for him, but he comes about his ownership by his own right. Jonathan is really the typical middle child. I know because I got on Holly’s nerves for a few weeks after reading a book on Birth Order. Holly finally had to say, “Bobby, every thing is not about birth order.” Clearly, this is because she was the middle child, but I digress. Jonathan thinks a lot. He’s smart too, but its fool’s gold to show his brain for no good reason. There’s too much GameCube to play. He’s a philosopher, along with being a really fast runner. His new hobby for the last few days has been trying to outrun the cars that go in front of our house. This years Christmas list from Jon was longer than the other boy’s because he wanted to make sure everyone was taken care of. He wanted “his” you understand, but others needed theirs as well. Our dog needed more room to run, watches and cell phones were to be had by all, and he really wants a dirt bike. To explain his ways, he said, “I want a dirt bike… Dad… do we have dirt?” This was also the year when I got in the car after a hectic trip at Wal-Mart. The boys were nuts. I said, “Boys, it wears me out to take you guys anywhere! Do you have any idea why it wears me out???” The answer was of course that they were supposed to behave proper and listen to every word I said, but it really was a rhetorical question. Not for Jonathan. “Dad, it’s probably because you don’t eat enough apples.” “Yes Jonathan, that’s probably right.”

Isaac is a miracle. I am reminded of it every day. Most of you know the details, and if you don’t just wait for the biography channel story to come 30 years from now. Isaac turned four April 26th. He represents so much life for us. Isaac goes to a Parent’s Day Out two days a week and he could own it if he thought it was worth his time. He absolutely loves his “school.” Here’s the deal about Isaac: he can dance like a crazy man. He has moves that the greats have never even thought of. His great loves include Legos, Play Doh and Star Wars. For Christmas, he is getting pants with pockets in them because he goes few places without legos in his pockets. It’s an adventure every time. He doesn’t like sports, “they’re boring, except golf.” I know that doesn’t make sense on so many different levels, but it’s what he believes. I come home this week and Isaac was coming out of the house carrying: a metal baseball bat, a Star Wars light saber, a drum stick, and a recently acquired nerf gun. He simply wanted to play “Star Wars and Indians.” Again, this one is a smart one, loves to draw and color. The other thing about him is that he is left-handed. He doesn’t have to like sports, but even mediocre leftys make billions in the Major Leagues. Isaac probably gets away with more than the other two combined. That’s pretty typical of the last born of the family, but then again, birth order doesn’t really mean that much… uh. He has a dream to collect “transformers, power rangers and sticks” when older.

Holly and I are still pastors at Gateway Church in Shelbyville. We’re learning day by day how much we truly mean to each other. There are some sayings which apply to our marriage. One is, “If she could have done better, and didn’t; then you did well!” Another is, “If God made us one body when we married, then she’s determined to make it sweat by turning up the thermostat.” We have a great marriage, because we work at it. Could it be better? Sure, but only after we earn our first million (where we have it all at one time) and we have a blanket stashed in every room so Hol can cover up. I remember right after we first were married and I came into the house to find Holly covered up with what I thought was a rug. It was a wedding gift, and seemed like it was a rug. I said, “Holly, if you’re cold I’ll turn up the heat or get you a blanket.” She said, “What do you think this is?” “A rug,” I responded. Clearly, I had a lot to learn.

This Christmas is fun because it also is the time that Holly was born. December 21st is the day, and we celebrated at Rain Forest Cafe' in Nashville. I became older this year on October 10th, and we discovered that our health insurance went up like crazy. I’m not sure when that has to stop, but it has to. We’re healthy, and I’ve really cut back on the Little Debbies and sticks of butter since the doctor told me I had to. I’m still relatively bitter about that. My latest experiment is to drink more water and cut back on the Dr. Peppers. It’s ok, though, because I can quit anytime I want to. I’ve done it hundreds of times.

2006 has been crazy, and I’m looking for something new and gracious to happen in 2007. We truly believe that God has an extreme plan for us, but it does get kind of frustrating waiting for the fulfillment of all of that to happen. Maybe it’s because it doesn’t happen overnight, but it has been happening for our entire lives and we’ll just wake up one morning and see that it’s done. It will feel like overnight then. Our task ahead is to stay sane while keeping the joy of our insanity, and continue to laugh during it all. The times we get frustrated we realize that we have forgotten to laugh. Then, we look for something funny. Funny is relative because it usually involves watching The Office, people falling down, the stray cat we named a funny name, the one guy who’s always in the audience at TBN, The Dog Whisperer or Dog the Bounty Hunter. On a side note, we can point out that one guy at TBN because he’s in every audience at every interview, and he even got on stage once. The second side note is that the last two actual shows mentioned are not both about actual dogs, and could not be more different.

Finally, and seriously, Holly and I want so much to let you know that you are loved by us. Our lives are such that our time is not spent as close to all of our family and friends as we would like. We want you to know that this is a season of greatness, and you have been designed to be great in it. We all fall so short of what God has for us, but we don’t have to. We can walk in the greatest miracle there is, and that is the miracle of a change in our nature. Our family is blessed that we love and like each other. We are blessed that God loves us and is directing our lives. We are blessed to have you in our lives. This is such a great time of year. Look at the lights and sit on Santa’s lap (I have twice). Keep the wonder and know that it is our hope for your Christmas to be one of peace and contemplation of Christ and what is possible through Him.

Bobby (for my family)