The Larsen House

There are Christmas displays and then there are CHRISTMAS DISPLAYS!

One of our Christmas traditions that we have carried out since the children were quite tiny is one of going out in the car on Christmas Eve (yes Eve) and riding around looking at the Christmas lights while enjoying some home-made delicious hot chocolate and hot baked bread. Every year, my sweet and loving wife prepares both items for the annual outing on Christmas Eve.

This tradition is loosely based upon one that my family (as a child) enjoyed back in Memphis. We would drive by Harts Bakery (a bread company no longer in business as best I can tell) and for 25 cents, the attendant working the conveyer system would take a hot baked unsliced loaf of bread off the conveyer and hand it through a small window to you. My favorite part - the CRUST! It was wonderful to eat that bread and ride around looking at Christmas lights! What a great childhood memory. So, pretty much without exception, we have observed a similar tradition with our kids since they were young and now that nearly all of them are in their early twenties - we still do it!!! LOL

Well, just to show you that the wonder and joy of Christmas is still alive at any age, we did it again this year and we found a wonderful Christmas display to see as tipped off to us by my sweet niece Brooke. The house belongs to a family named Larsen and it is by any standards, a mansion. I would estimate it to be 6500+ square feet in size! Apparently they own a landscaping company and business is good! It sits on a large plot of land near the city of Elburn, IL, and looks somewhat like a castle.

Here's a picture of it by day - beautiful! Note: the driveway has embedded lights in it that provide a means to see the driveway at night (like a run-way!)

What makes this house and its Christmas display so neat though is that the house is practically festooned with lights all over the house and yard and the lights are well choreographed to music. In fact, a large sign in the yard tells you to tune your FM radio in your car to a specific channel so you can enjoy the music in full stereo sound. Then you sit in your car and watch the spectacle. That is truly the right word for it too - it is a spectacle.

I recorded the video on my little Nikon hand-held camera (not a video camera) so please pardon the camera motion and the poor sound quality but you will get the idea from the video. You can also find other videos of the Larsen home on YouTube by looking for the keyword: larsenlights

So, now without further delay, I share with you here one of the videos I captured when we visited their home on Christmas Eve, 2008. It shows the amazing and very enjoyable display the Larsen family have put together and you can hear my family expressing the joy of Christmas and incredulity that someone would go to this much trouble to make Christmas a bit more special. Very cool by any standard... Enjoy.....

Douglas Fir - sings for you

Here's a bit of silliness for you... This is our faithful Christmas mascot Douglas Fir singing one of his songs for you... I threw it up here cause I thought you would get a kick out of it. Douglas is one of our perenial Christmas decorations (he appears every year) and is beloved by the entire family except for Mark who manages to tolerate Douglas as long as his switch remains in the OFF position!
:O) HAR HAR

Douglas is motion activated so if he is ON and you walk by him, he will greet you and burst into song.

I bought this silly thing many years ago as a Christmas (joke) present for Sheila but he's become something of a traditional decoration for our house now!

Enjoy...

My Wonderful Wife

I just wanted to speak a few words of tribute about my wife. She is such a wonderful person and loving partner. With this being Christmas Day, she was up late last night wrapping gifts and has been up since early morning attending to her family. Yesterday she baked two loaves of fresh bread and made hot chocolate for us to take on our traditional trip out in the van to look at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve. This morning very early, she cleaned up the kitchen from last night and she served up eggs, bacon and a German waffle for breakfast and we had silver turtles for dinner. In between, she made a cheese ball and salsa for me to enjoy with chips. She was Santa's right hand helper in the days leading up to Christmas - so many things she did I can't even list for you here but it makes all the difference in the world in terms of providing a happy and satisfying Christmas for our kids. I feel personally that she spoiled me rotten this year in all the many extensions of her love for me. My kids too demonstrated their love toward me in so many ways this holiday.

I have been richly blessed. I have wonderful children and I married a woman who follows the example of a Biblical scriptural wife and truly has the heart of Jesus in her service to her family. She labors tirelessly for us when her own back is aching and tired and in need of a rest. I don't know how many minutes she actually sat down today but it was most certainly not the majority of her day - rather that was spent in service to her family - on her feet!

To Sheila I say a simple - thank you Honey and I love and appreciate you so much for the woman, mother and wife that you are to my children and to me. You fill our lives with much joy and give of yourself in a selfless and tireless manner that demonstrates your love vividly to us every day. I love you and I thank you for loving me.

The Bible spoke well of the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31. That is the kind of wife I have and I am so thankful and grateful to God for her!

Proverbs 31:10-31 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

Sheila my beloved, your works do indeed praise you in the gates! Your price is far above rubies!

Love always, Jerry

Things are different in California

Ok, so I always knew things were different in California but I didn't realize that you would see something like this in an elevator......

So.... I didn't push it...... I didn't want to cause an earthquake.

Hey speaking of different, they are running around with coats on here during the day with the temp in the wonderful mid 60s! LOL. I was just wearing my shirt. I thought it was great.

Of course back home there is 30F and 4" of snow!!!

Ok, I admit, at night it gets chilly here as it drops into the 40s - that's enough to make me put my jacket I brought back on - but not during the day! LOL