Merry Christmas!!!! a few days early....

Hi all,
I'm going to be out of my mind head gourd office for the next week and will not be blogging!  I hope you have a wonderful Christmas week.  Below is our annual family Christmas letter & photo that with any luck, will be in the mail tomorrow for my family and friends that DON'T read my blog.  I JUST placed the photo order and it will be picked up tonight.

Have a wonderful and blessed Christmas week!
Love McVal

Christmas 2013

Welcome to the 2013 edition of the McVal Family Christmas Letter.  God has once again showered our family with blessings. 

Leon, our grandson, (child of Ryan and Tiffany), is only one year old, but definitely rounds up to the terrible twos.  I’m not sure why it is called the terrible twos.  Ryan’s lasted until he was twenty.  Leon has Ryan’s blonde hair and blue eyes, with Tiffany’s nose and chin, a good mix of both their features.  Leon is a very happy and rambunctious boy.  He has been walking since Christmas last year, and has been running every chance he gets.  He loves to climb and get into everything.  Last year he was constantly grabbing ornaments off the Christmas tree.  This year he is more respectful and just harasses the presents underneath.  Being unable to read, he assumes they are all for him.  Being unable to tell time or read a calendar, he assumes Christmas is now.  Leon is talking up a storm, mostly referring to what he wants (water /cracker /movie),“Mommy”, “Daddy”, and “Grandma” and his aunts, but he does, on rare occasions, mention “Grandpa”.  Leon has taken on certain chores at our house, like letting the dog outside (whether we want the dog out or not), starting to rearrange the cupboards by pulling everything out, “helping” with dishes, and adjusting the color settings on the TV (I’m the only one this doesn’t bother).  Leon’s main interests include tractors, even the square dancing tractor videos on youtube, veggie tales, trains, farm animals, and anything we tell him not to touch.  One big thing he has been working on lately is potty training.  He is doing remarkable well for a 22 month old.  In fact, he has starting potty training his toys.  He was playing with one of Meri’s old baby dolls a few weeks ago, when he suddenly yelled “POTTY”, and ran the doll into the bathroom and stuck it in the potty chair.  He is a joy.

Meredith (Meri), will turn 14 in January and can’t wait.  This past summer was another moneymaking opportunity for Meri.  Her golden retrievers, Duke and Ellie, had a litter of puppies.  Meri used some of her puppy money to buy a used moped that she can’t legally ride until she is 14.  I’ve been taking her to the local cemetery for her to practice riding.  Not only is it a nice quiet place for her to ride, but also the scenery provides a good object lesson on the importance of safety.  Meri is in 8^th grade.  She plays the clarinet in band, and jazz band.  She loves singing and is in Chamber Choir.  This year at the school Christmas concert, she wore an “ugly Christmas sweater” that she had designed herself.  It was a plain red sweater, that she had sown garland and ornaments into the shape of a Christmas tree.  Meri is also active in 4H, piano, mock trial, and sewing.

Maddy turned 19 in October and has finally obtained her ultimate goal of moving away from her dad.  She graduated high school last May.  For her graduation party she only wanted to serve food she liked.  This meant that we would only serve pickles, string cheese and granola bars.  We finally convinced her to expand the menu and serve one of her other favorites, pancakes.  We hired a professional chef from our church to handle the pancake preparation and it was one of the best decisions we made all year.  We served over two hundred people.  Along with the pancakes, the main draw of the party was an inflatable bouncy house we rented for the day. It was very popular with the kids in the neighborhood.  The bouncy house was delivered the night before the party, and all the neighboring kids came to check it out.  At 7:30 the next morning, kids were knocking on the door, asking if we could turn it on.  The only problem with the day was the wind.  After the party, Val and Leon were playing in the bouncy house when the wind picked up, turning the bouncy house on its side.  Both Val and Leon were fine, but part of my front fence was broken.  The rest of the summer Maddy spent getting ready to move.  She is attending college in Minnesota, studying elementary education.  She has made the trip home three times, and we have been up twice to see her.  Compared to how busy and involved she was in high school, we probably see her more now.

Ryan is keeping very busy working two jobs at the outlet mall in the next town.  One job keeps him busy working in a shoe store, and with the other, he is working as a janitor/maintenance man in the mall itself.  Tiffany is attending college studying computers/MIS.  She keeps busy with her classes, commuting to school, and her computer work.

My mother Margaret continues to live with us and is doing well.  She is continuing to recover from her shoulder replacement surgery last year.  In October she traveled to the Chicago area to visit my brother Doug for a few weeks.  In November she had cataract surgery and is doing well.

Val continues to telecommute for her company in California.  Her activities include being newsletter editor for her sewing group, Sunday school teacher, Women’s Mission Society, and ladies guild at church.  Her hobbies seem to be laundry, dishes, and other housework.  I continue to work for the company in the next town.  My bagpipe playing continues with the nearby bagpipe band.  In November Val and I attended a Scottish dinner in Des Moines.  Along with socializing, we experienced our first taste of real haggis.  (if you don’t know what haggis is, think meatloaf made with “parts”).  It was different.  Val thought it could use ketchup.

As Christmas rapidly approaches, take time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas.  God sent his son, Jesus, to suffer and die on the cross to save us from our sins.  He has done all the work necessary to reconcile us sinners to God.  The Christian faith is not about a plan to follow to work our way to heaven, but about a Savior to know.  Keep Christ in your heart this Christmas, and throughout the rest of the year too.  Merry Christmas.

The McVals