Merry Christmas: Powell Update 2009

Hark the Herald Angels Sing, by Jack




In a year marked by the overwhelming use of the words: “no,” “don’t,” “stop-it,” and “Hey, Kristen…go on the internet and look up the world record for most pancakes eaten in one sitting by a 7 month old,” we have had used our fair share of the words: “nice job,” “you did it,” “awesome buddy,” “I love you,” and “Amen.” (the last one used after prayers by Kristen and Jim sounding something like “God, please help us to survive this day with our children,” but also prayers sounding like (Jack’s voice) “Dear God, thank you for Tommy, and mommy and daddy, and macaroni and cheese, and the shelves, and Emily and Jenna, and Jesus.)

Ah, yes. Ups and downs. The downs come with the territory of two boys under the age of three. If you have been there, you know. If you haven’t…well…

The highs this year have been so heartening, there have been times when Kristen and I have felt like exploding with the affection we have towards our boys. Sometimes you hear about one having a “smile that lights up the room.” I meet a lot of happy people in my experiences, but a very limited amount who I could make this claim about. Tom has this smile and this effect. My heart goes boom for this little guy with the pleasant disposition. And adding to the smile is that he now toddles around the house saying “Da-da, da-da, da-da.” Also, Tom just began using Jack’s drumsticks and drum chair for his own little recitals (this only happens when Jack is out of the room and thus ignorant of the fact, or when Jack has decided that he is going to be “Mr. Cael”** for the day and content to play electric guitar).

**Mr. Cael is actually a high school student who plays electric guitar on Jim's worship team. He's Jack's hero. Jack spends a lot of time pretending to be Mr. Cael. This involves wearing dark wash blue jeans and a zip hoody sweatshirt. During these times he will only respond when called "Mr. Cael" and practices non stop on his "electric" guitar (ukulele).

To define Jack in 2009, three things can be said: LOVES drums, LOVES Tom (we call him “Tommer”), LOVES to rough up Tom (Tom should be a very tough guy later in life). Jack’s daily routine includes at least 3 hours of drumming and/or singing. He has memorized numerous songs and is remarkably close to singing them in key. Along with that, he is incredibly close to being able to drum (legitimate beats) several of these songs. My top 2 favorite music moments this year, though, were: 1. During a music practice in October (for the worship team I work with) we let Jack play the electric drum kit (mic’d very low). We had our regular drummer on a different set, and there was the electric, bass, keys, vocalists, etc. Jack drummed ALL OUT for our ENTIRE two hour practice set. He was never so exhausted, and never so happy. 2. Just the other night (early Dec) after we thought Jack was fast asleep in his room, Kristen and I were singing and playing guitar in our room down the hall. We hear a knock at our door, and there is Jack standing there (fully dressed including shoes), with his guitar in hand, and with the softest eyes and the most endearing voice says “I want to sing with you…” We said (with NO hesitation) “come on in, Buddy,” and we had an amazing 15 minutes of family music time after that.

This blog ends up being mostly about our kids, so in case you are interested in Jim and Kristen, here's a little about us:

Jim loves his job at CenterPoint Church in Orem, UT (previously known as Christ Evangelical Church...same place, new name). He's the Pastor of Student Ministries (4th year in this position) and also loves leading worship for the entire congregation once every 4 weeks, backed by the rockin' student worship team (yes, with Mr. Cael). He still follows the Orioles and Ravens, but is grateful to have the Jazz (NBA) right here in Utah. In his free time he watches a lot of Hillsong DVDs with his boys, wrestles with the boys, and cooks up some fabulous Jamie Oliver inspired meals and bakes some rockin' bread. Highlight of the year could be the birthday trip to TX to see U2 in the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

Kristen still mainly stays at home with the boys and is glad she does, although after some challenging days she daydreams about desk jobs and coffee breaks. Still, though work sounds like it might be easier than being a stay at home mom, she chooses to spend this precious time with the boys, working on "leadership development" and letting God use two tiny kids to teach her quite a few things about patience, self-control, forgiveness, and JOY.

To sum up our year, we'd like to point you back to some of the highlights from our blog pages:
Thomas 1 Month What a Difference a Year Makes!)
Jack Quotables 2.5 years
Thomas Cracks Up Video (2nd one)
2.5 Years and 6 Month Portraits
Tommy Walking
Jack's Bible Verses
Halloween

Christmas 2009 will be bittersweet. Bitter because we will not be traveling to celebrate with any extended family this year. Being with family that you love on the holidays is such a blessing, and will be missed deeply this year. But, sweet too, because a I am confident that a treasure will be found in the memories made by our little four-some of a family with only each other to share.

Lastly, we want to acknowledge the losses of our final two grandfathers this year. Kristen’s “Grandfather” passed away in June and Jim’s “Grandpa” in November. Both outstanding men, with whom we have had the privilege of sharing many Christmas’ over the years. Both will be missed!

Love to all reading this. Watch out for the “Jackster” and “Tommer” in 2010. They are full of energy!