(The following is the letter we sent this year to our friends at Christmastime — I figured it was as good of an update as anything I could write about where we all are and what we are doing!)
When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider:
God has made the one
as well as the other,
So that we won’t take anything for granted.
Ecclesiastes 7:14
We had something of a small Christmas “miracle” in our family this year. We managed to take a GOOD Christmas picture on the very first try! Yes, it’s true; this is the year of the one-shot wonder. Every year the kids approach our annual Christmas photo shoot with a feeling akin to dread, knowing they may have to suffer through countless re-takes, while the smiles plastered on their faces begin to make their cheeks ache and the cheesy jokes we tell to induce those smiles begin to wear thin – all in the hope of producing an image that will satisfy a rather picky photographer (that would be me). Imagine their surprise (and mine!) this year when we took one picture, reviewed it (oh, the beauty of digital photography) and heard me declare not “do-over”, but “it’s good!”
Life generally isn’t like that – often we need more than one try before we get a thing right. In talking with my Mom on the phone Thanksgiving Day, I was reminded of one of my early life lessons regarding second chances. Somehow the course of our conversation led to the topic of taking the driver’s license road test. Mom reminded me of the time I took the test — and failed – and about how distraught I became. I didn’t want to go back to school and face my friends — I thought the embarrassment was more than I could stand. Mom made me go, of course, and I survived to re-take and pass the test on my second try. For me, the experience was a memorable brush with what is now popularly called a “do-over”. Through it, I learned a lot about grace and humility. I also learned that failure isn’t equivalent to not succeeding – failure is not succeeding and then giving up.
2007 has been a year of ups and downs – mostly ups, thank goodness. But it’s somehow hard to count the downs when they serve as opportunities to look for ways to change and make things better, and remind me of just how blessed we are most of the time. We are healthy, surrounded by great friends and family members, and we even managed to pay all our bills again this year (including tuition for two college students), mostly on time! Some of the ups for me included my Mom’s 80th birthday; an anniversary trip with Art to the North Shore; my parents 60th anniversary; our annual family trip to our favorite little resort; another trip with Art to the Boundary Waters along with friends Dave, Sally, Brad, and Stephanie; spending time at our summer cabin with our “extended” family (our neighbor’s, they co-own the cabin with us and are like a part of our family); singing in the church choir and the Chorale; going with Isaac to Choirboys summer camp at Timber Bay and working in the kitchen; a “sister’s spa weekend”; attending 8 performances of the high school drama department’s fall musical “Beauty and the Beast” (Mark and Grant were both in it); and having regular visits with my two favorite college students (Kyle and Nathan)! My “do-over” story: We went out to the woods and cut down a beautiful balsam fir for our Christmas tree this year. Unfortunately, it was about 12 feet tall (funny how those things are hard to judge out in the snowy woods) and our ceiling is only 10 ft. Much to our dismay, after Art chopped off the bottom 2 feet of the trunk we were left with a very scrawny balsam fir – apparently all of the fullness came from the bottom branches. So off to the pre-cut tree lot in Isanti we went, with less than 5 minutes to spare before the lot closed for the night, where we hastily chose our “do-over” tree. It’s an 8 foot frasier & a pretty nice one too, just a little smaller than what we usually have. Oh well, at least I have all of the pictures of our excursion into the woods!
Now to let the rest of the family tell their stories—————-
Mark: As my mom already mentioned, this year had ups and downs. My biggest down was not going on the choir tour for the first time in four years. The biggest up was simply starting high school and doing all of the things that go along with it: the musical, cross country, friends, and of course wrestling, which leads to my do-over story. Early this year (late January or early February) I had the chance to wrestle at the ninth grade conference meet. At the time, I was only an eighth grader so I had a big case of the butterflies. The first match began, and I was not ready for it. I went out there and wrestled poorly and lost to someone I knew I should have beat. The rest of the day went better with me winning a close match and then losing to an extremely good wrestler. I was tired and sore, but when I found out who I was wrestling for my final match I forgot all about that. I was going to wrestle the same kid who had beaten me the first round. The match was close, but I squeezed my way to a win and a fifth place finish. Not bad for an eighth grader.
Art: I am probably the grand-master of do-overs. I attribute this to personal ineptitude, poor planning (or no planning), inexperience & gender – i.e. not seeking professional advice as “I have the ability to tackle anything”. Webster’s definition of hasty describes my approach to projects well; “made too rapid to be accurate or wise”. A summary of just a few recent projects that would qualify as requiring at least one or more do-overs would include: solving water leaks in the basement walls and windows; high school musical prop construction; furnace repairs & plumbing projects at home, cabin and office; appliance repairs and installations; hot water heater installation at the cabin; and painting ventures that require a different color or application technique. Most of the above would provide many laughs if I described them in detail or if they had been captured on videotape, and several included “help” from my good friend Dan F. Nonetheless life is good for me in spite of all the do-overs. In addition to the events Leah mentioned, I would add as highlights our neighborhood bonfire/campfire gatherings, my ice-fishing trip to Lake of the Woods, and I would also submit that reaching the half-century mark can be considered, if not a highlight, at the very least a significant milestone.
Kyle: There are so many times when I catch myself thinking, “Man, I wish I could do that again, or in a different way”, that it would fill an entire paging trying to list them. I guess (and I am a little embarrassed to be saying this) that my biggest “do-over” would have to be my Organic Chemistry II class at the U of M. I am currently in my second bout with the class after “not doing so well” the first time around. I don’t know if it was my approach, the teacher’s teaching methods, or a combination of both that led to this, but I am glad I had a chance for a “do-over” in this class. As I am sure is common with most people, this past year has been filled with ups and downs, but I am so thankful that the ups greatly outweigh the downs. Several of this last year’s highlights include: running a successful painting franchise this last summer, finishing off my time at the U of M(at the time I am writing this I have only one week left!), and spending time with my family (whenever time allows). I am hoping that this next year will be filled with even more ups and more chances for “do-overs”. Happy Holidays to everyone and God Bless.
Isaac (with help from Mom): There are two things I have to do over more than any others; my spelling words and my piano lessons. I usually have to take my spelling test twice, sometimes three times before I get all the words right, and sometimes it takes me two or three lessons before I pass my piano assignments. The thing I need to do more of to pass either one is PRACTICE. Sometimes I don’t like to practice. What I DO like to do is play with my legos, especially the Mars Mission legos, and I like to play Roller Coaster Tycoon on the computer. I also liked going to sleepover camp for the choirboys this year. I wasn’t sure I would like it at first, but it turned out to be fun! My Mom worked in the kitchen and Mark was my junior counselor, so I didn’t even get homesick. I got the award for most improved in archery. I also turned 9 years old this year and had a birthday party. I had 8 friends over and we made rockets and launched them in the field by our house. Mostly they all flew great, but a couple got stuck in a tree.
Grant: I tend to procrastinate a lot, and that is the main cause of my do over. This summer I put off my summer homework until about one week before I started my junior year of high school, and in that time I had to read three books, do three book reports, as well as a number of related projects. As you might guess, I was scrambling to finish it all in time. I really could have done a much better job if I had worked on it all summer long, but I did get it done in time. So it seems that all’s well that ends well. I do regret that I had to go through all that stress, when I could have just worked on it all summer. I guess it was just one of those learning experiences mom and dad keep talking about. If I could do it over, knowing what I do now, I would do my summer homework during the summer, instead of doing it at the last minute. In the past year along with the downs (like summer homework), there have definitely been some ups as well. My most memorable “up” would have to be being in the school musical, Beauty and the Beast. I got to do all sorts of different things this year. I was a bookseller, a townsperson, a singing & dancing knife (did you know that flatware’s entertaining?), and the Beast’s stunt double. I was very busy back stage, but considering all the work it was, it was even more fun. That’s why it is my best memory of this year.
Nate: I think, out of all my brothers, I might have inherited the most do-over genes from the self-proclaimed “grand-master of do-overs.” I often find myself having restart papers, math problems, programming homework, and other things (this is my second try at this paragraph – I tried writing it about a specific programming homework, but I realized all the non-computer scientists out there might get a little bored reading about “infinite loops as result of improper recursive calls”). Even so, being do-over jr. has taught me a lot about myself and has often led to a better result than if I had gotten it right the first time. Every time I have to repeat something that I’ve already done, I learn from my mistakes and the next time is always ten times better. My biggest do-over of the past year was probably my attempt to find a job. I applied at a few places last spring for a part time job, and I got a few interviews. I went into them totally unprepared, thinking my personality and work experience alone would get me the job. Turns out most of the people that do interviews plan questions to trip-up the unprepared and make them look less suited for the job than they actually are. Learning from these failed interviews, when it came time to look for a job again this fall, I came to all my interviews with a well thought out resume, my class schedule for the semester, and help from half a dozen articles on the internet. Needless to say, I got to pick the job I wanted after all the interviews were done, and the paragraph you are now reading was written by a well paid agent of the Best Buy Geek Squad. So, thanks Dad, your wonderful do-over traits are not being wasted.
The God I love is a God of “do-overs”. No matter how many times humanity screws up, He continues to respond with love and forgiveness. Jesus – His ultimate gift of love and grace – was given to us that first Christmas, and is still there for us today, offering us all the gift of a fresh start. Embracing that great gift is life’s biggest and best “do-over”.
Come dearest child, into our hearts, and leave your crib behind you!
Let this be where the new life starts for all who seek and find you.
To you the honor, thanks, and praise,
For all your gifts this time of grace;
Come, conquer and deliver
The world, and us, forever.
Bruce Wilkinson, author of the best-selling book The Prayer of Jabez, made a big splash nearly four years ago when he announced his ambitious plan to help children suffering from AIDS in Africa. 
. That’s the way it goes when you own your own business! 
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