Go Dolphins!

 

For Christmas, Scott wanted the Dolphin Team.

Darlene could only come up with a team of dolphins.

Actual photo taken by Kaelan Nolf Photographer.

Marriage Isn’t For You

Thinking of a more permanent relationship,

I heard a little story worth repeating to you.

Having been married only a year and a half, I’ve recently come to the conclusion that marriage isn’t for me.

Now before you start making assumptions, keep reading.

I met my wife in high school when we were 15 years old. We were friends for ten years until…until we decided no longer wanted to be just friends. :) I strongly recommend that best friends fall in love. Good times will be had by all.

Nevertheless, falling in love with my best friend did not prevent me from having certain fears and anxieties about getting married. The nearer Kim and I approached the decision to marry, the more I was filled with a paralyzing fear. Was I ready? Was I making the right choice? Was Kim the right person to marry? Would she make me happy?

Then, one fateful night, I shared these thoughts and concerns with my dad.

Perhaps each of us have moments in our lives when it feels like time slows down or the air becomes still and everything around us seems to draw in, marking that moment as one we will never forget.

My dad giving his response to my concerns was such a moment for me. With a knowing smile he said, “Seth, you’re being totally selfish. So I’m going to make this really simple: marriage isn’t for you. You don’t marry to make yourself happy, you marry to make someone else happy. More than that, your marriage isn’t for yourself, you’re marrying for a family. Not just for the in-laws and all of that nonsense, but for your future children. Who do you want to help you raise them? Who do you want to influence them? Marriage isn’t for you. It’s not about you. Marriage is about the person you married.”

It was in that very moment that I knew that Kim was the right person to marry. I realized that I wanted to make her happy; to see hersmile every day, to make her laugh every day. I wanted to be a part of her family, and my family wanted her to be a part of ours. And thinking back on all the times I had seen her play with my nieces, I knew that she was the one with whom I wanted to build our own family.

My father’s advice was both shocking and revelatory. It went against the grain of today’s “Walmart philosophy”, which is if it doesn’t make you happy, you can take it back and get a new one.

No, a true marriage (and true love) is never about you. It’s about the person you love—their wants, their needs, their hopes, and their dreams. Selfishness demands, “What’s in it for me?”, while Love asks, “What can I give?”

Some time ago, my wife showed me what it means to love selflessly. For many months, my heart had been hardening with a mixture of fear and resentment. Then, after the pressure had built up to where neither of us could stand it, emotions erupted. I was callous. I was selfish.

But instead of matching my selfishness, Kim did something beyond wonderful—she showed an outpouring of love. Laying aside all of the pain and aguish I had caused her, she lovingly took me in her arms and soothed my soul.

Marriage is

about family.

I realized that I had forgotten my dad’s advice. While Kim’s side of the marriage had been to love me, my side of the marriage had become all about me. This awful realization brought me to tears, and I promised my wife that I would try to be better.

To all who are reading this article—married, almost married, single, or even the sworn bachelor or bachelorette—I want you to know that marriage isn’t for you. No true relationship of love is for you. Love is about the person you love.

And, paradoxically, the more you truly love that person, the more love you receive. And not just from your significant other, but from their friends and their family and thousands of others you never would have met had your love remained self-centered.

Truly, love and marriage isn’t for 

you. It’s for others.

Slopes are open

Mt Hood in Oregon has opened the slopes

and Angele has taken Lilli tubing on them. 

Hold tight Lilli.

Aren't they all?

Around Christmas time, kids all become little angels.

Sam is no exception.

She can place the star on my tree anytime.

"Hope you like it."

Making it safe for Santa

 

Santa will be on time this year thanks to,

 

 

Samantha and Irelynd.

As a reward, Mimi sank them into a luxury bath.

********

The Claus

I haven't seen much of Jordy.

Now I know why.

He's a Claus in training.

And he's showing baby Rudolph the ropes

Don't forget, Jesus' birth is the reason we celebrate.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

******

Entertaining

Got a few more funnies for you.

I hope you find them entertaining.

And to end this group, a GROANER.

...

Frog grants Three Wishes

Frog grants Three Wishes

One day in the great forest a magical frog was walking down to a water hole

. This forest was so big that the frog had never seen another animal in all his life.

By chance today a bear was chasing after a rabbit to have for dinner.

The frog called for the two to stop. The frog said, "Because you are the only two animals I have seen

, I will grant you both three wishes. Bear, you go first."

The bear thought for a minute, and being the male he was, said,

"I wish for all the bears in this forest, besides me, to be female."

      

For his wish, the rabbit asked for a crash helmet, and immediately put it on

. The bear was amazed at the stupidity of the rabbit, wasting his wish like that.

It was the bear's second turn for a wish. "Well, I wish that all the bears in the next forest were female as well."

   

The rabbit asked for a motorcycle and immediately hopped on it and gunned the engine.

The bear was shocked that the rabbit was asking for these stupid things,

after all, he could have asked for money and bought the motorcycle.

       

For the last wish the bear thought for awhile and then said,

"I wish that all the bears in the world, besides me, were female."

               

The rabbit grinned, gunned the engine, and said, "I wish that the bear was gay."

Note: this is a joke. I personally believe in live and let live.I have gay friends that will find this humorous, too.

A Mother's Joy

Some motherly advice from Kym.

Looks like you are having just that.

hang in there please

Working on an idea in between helping 

 an elderly neighbor, that was recently widowed.

She's having a huge yard sale with a lot of her husbands things.

I know this is painful for her.

I hope if I were in her position some kind soul 

would do the same for me. 

My love you my dear reader.

This is why