Buckeye Mike

Well, I woke up Sunday Morning............... Hey that sounds like a great first line of a song But Tiffany and I got up extra early because she wanted to hit the grocery store before it was packed. So we did, then went to breakfast at Frisch's, all before 8 am. When we got home we woke Tanner up, and we all got ready for church. Right around 9, my phone rang. Ugh, work. Need to dispatch a team to Buckeye Lake. Took a few minutes and got them dispatched, hung up, and it rang again. Another job, in West Virginia. I wound up being on the phone until 9:30, and we needed to get out the door as Little Red was scheduled to work the Guest Services desk at Centerpoint for both Christmas Eve services. We headed to the car. And my phone rang again. Yet another, much bigger emergency job. I had to go. No church for me. I put Tiffany and Tanner in her car and sent them off, then I headed towards the flooded day care center. I decided to take Broad street to get there. As I was in front

Eight years ago today, I wrote a post entitled "The Pocketwatch". It is a story about my mother, who was my best friend and is the inspiration for this blog.  It is my favorite Christmas story, and has become an annual tradition. Normally, I publish it on Christmas Eve and again on Christmas Day. But, as you may have heard, we experienced a Christmas miracle as my wife received her new heart on December 25th (there will be a blog on that later). So I apologize for the delay and thank you for allowing me to share it with you a couple of days late. As a kid growing up, Christmas Eve was always the most special day of the year. Aside from the Santa visit, the day was filled with so much tradition and family that is was more like an event than a holiday. Everyone would gather at my grandparents house for Christmas dinner. Cars would fill the drive way, be parked on the hill, and even in the front yard. My Uncle Ronnie would read the Christams story.  And there was always a fea