The True Meaning of Christmas

Earlier this month Laura and I had a rare evening out without the kids. (This is not to say we don't like the kids, it's just that we don't get out enough.) Often on these occasions we have no plan and so we end up driving aimlessly through town trying to decide what restaurant to go to, what movie to see, etc. During medical school we also had to decide if we had any money to do any of these things - but I digress. On this particular evening, however, we had a plan: Dinner with Darren and Emily (Laura's sister and brother-in-law) followed by the Glenn Beck Christmas show in Salt Lake City. Everything was planned down to the minute, including a relaxing, conversation-filled ride on Trax (note to self - must be on trax by 6:30pm) so we could avoid the hustle and bustle of the "Big City." I was even hoping to be able to meet Glenn Beck after the show and shake his hand.

Well, life has a way of throwing out a few curve balls from time to time and this night was no exception. Somehow we got behind schedule and dinner turned into take-out from Magelby's - eaten while driving to Sandy where we were to catch Trax. But before we could have that "quiet, romantic dinner" we made a quick stop to the office to check Emily's sore throat for strep - yep, it was positive - followed by a search through the drug closet for antiobiotics.

So now imagine driving in the car, trying to eat take-out that is now cold (I could have had hot pizza with the kids before we left!) while also realizing that we had better not run into too much traffic or else we won't make it to Trax in time, all the while holding your breath so you won't get strep throat. Fortunately for us, traffic wasn't too bad - an omen that told me the rest of the evening would go just fine. Well, in the immortal words of Glenn Beck, "not so much."

We arrived at the Sandy trax station, much to my relief, at 6:20pm; plenty of time for me to wolf down a few more bites of cold chicken alfredo and a few swigs of water. By 6:23pm we were on our way to buy tickets. As we approached the ticket machine I became a little worried - there was a line and it didn't seem to be moving. We quickly realized that the ticket machine was out-of-order. Not to worry - there were 3 or 4 other ticket machines to choose from. Machine #2 - out-of-order. OK, 2 or 3. Machine #3 - out-of-order. It's now 6:26pm and I'm beginning to panic. Machine #4 - working, YES! I quickly punched in the ticket information and was about to put in my money when the thought came to me, what if we get the tickets and then trax leaves before we get on? How could that happen - it's only 6:27pm now and trax doesn't leave until 6:30pm. Laura nudged me in the arm, "Hurry and buy the tickets or we'll miss the train." (For those of you who are Glenn Beck fans, just imagine Laura saying that in the voice that Glenn uses when he is quoting his wife; and if you're not a Glenn Beck fan, well, then, never mind.) Following Laura's strict orders I placed the crisp new twenty dollar bill into the machine and then watched in horror as the train began to move slowly down the tracks. My watch said it was 6:28pm. How could the train be leaving? I know the trains run on time but that means they shouldn't be leaving for 2 more minutes, right? Ugh!

Now I'm a little bit perturbed. I'm holding in my hand 4 tickets for Trax, and the last train that would get us to Kingsbury Hall in time for the show has just left. Fortunately, I had a backup plan. I figured if we missed Trax we could just drive the rest of the way, park, and still make it to the show in time. What I didn't figure on was extra traffic on the roads because of the Utah Jazz basketball game at the Delta Center . . . I mean the newly renamed Energy Solutions Arena (named after a company that wants to bring everybody's nuclear waste to Utah - good grief!@#?). So let's just say traffic was a bit on the congested side of things. As I think back on that night I am reminded that one of the only regrets Laura and I have about our 3 years in Indiana was missing the Olympics when it came to Utah. Well, I think we made up for it as we "slalomed" our way through traffic.

So why the long story about our night out? As I was reflecting on what Christmas means to me I realized that I often get so busy with all of the adventures of life that I don't take enough time to really contemplate what Christmas really means. There are so many things to do, so many plans that have been made, and so many places I want to go to that it is easy to forget where I am really trying to go, what kind of person I really want to be when I arrive, and who I really want to meet when I get there. I am so greatful that Christmas is a time of the year that helps pull me back to all of those real purposes of life.

Laura and I, as well as the kids (James, Matthew, Adaline, Isaac, and Jacob) wish you all a

Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We hope to hear from you very soon!

--The Harkness Family

P.S. Please leave a comment and let us know how you and your family are doing!

P.S.S. Some of you may be wondering how the show turned out: We arrived safe and sound with a few minutes to spare. The show was very fun, entertaining and thought provoking. After the show I did get to briefly meet Glenn Beck. I wanted to offer him some medical advice on how to treat the sorethroat he might get after he shook Emily's hand . . . but I didn't.

The 2006 Travel Guide

This year saw many trips for the Harkness family.

• Goblin Valley State Park, Utah: Goblin valley was this years camping trip. It was the first time (and quit possibly the last time) all 7 of us tried to sleep in a tent. Besides the cold night temperatures (around 40 F) the trip was a success.
  
• Key West, Florida: This was Laura and Gordon's trip away from the kids (Somehow, though, Jacob found his way onto the plane with us.) The weather was hot and humid, the water was warm, and the drive along the highway from Key West to Miami was a little longer than we expected. Overall the trip was a lot of fun!
  
• Cooke City, Montana: The annual DeBry Family Reunion was a great success. This year's highlight was a grizzly bear that wandered around the cabin one morning looking for food.
• Disneyland: We finally made it. After years of promises and begging from the kids we finally made the trip. We spent three days at Disneyland, a half day at the beach, and took a trip to Van Nuys where Gordon lived before his family moved to Utah.
  
  

The Princess Has Arrived

Adaline is the house princess. She is all "girl", which is amazing given that she has to deal with two older brothers and two younger brothers. She loves to play with her dolls and is taking ballet lessons. Adaline is the youngest in her 1st grade class. She has become pretty good at riding her scooter home from school, a talent she was forced to learn to keep up with James and Matthew.

2006 Health Report

During the last year we have had a few trips to the hospital. Below is a list of some of our memorable "Healthcare" moments.

• Gordon finally recovered from his fractured clavicle

• Laura had baby number 5!

• James broke his arm

• Matthew had stitches in the back of his head

• Adaline lost a few teeth (ones that were supposed to come out!)
• Isaac almost lost a few teeth falling off the kitchen counter


• Jacob survived his first year of life.

Athletic Matthew

Matthew is both very determined and very fun to be around. His favorite game with the family is Twister, and when there is snow on the ground he loves to have a snowball fight.

He is proud of the fact that this year he learned how to swim on his back. He also earned his Wolf badge in cub scouts. In the 2006 Lamb Scram in Fountain Green, Utah Matthew finished 1st in his age group and 4th overall.

When Matthew grows up he says he wants to be a Doctor - unless he has to "do charts" - or else a river guide.

It's Not Every Day That A Boy Turns Eleven

James turned 11 on December 14th, and as Hagrid once said to Harry Potter, "It's not every day that a boy turns eleven." We are very suprised he has not received an invitation to Hogwarts with his wonderful grades as a 5th grader. Oh well, there is always next year.

James is the avid reader in the family. In his 11 years he has read all of the currently published books in the Harry Potter series, all the Chronicles of Narnia, several of the books in the Eragon series, as well as numerous other books the list of which would be too long for me to read. He is also becoming an quite the violinist.

When asked about his favorite things that he did in 2006 he responded, "I liked going to Disneyland and riding on a roller coaster for the first time." He also liked hiking with Gordon and Matthew to the top of Maple Mountain (click on the satellite link).

Last winter he played on a city league basketball team. He was one of the better defenders on the team. James is also proud of his 2nd place finish in the semi-finals of the Hershey Track Meet in Springville.

This picture is a little different from the one we sent out for Christmas. Gordon had fun learning how to manipulate the picture using GIMP (kind of like photoshop).