You are currently browsing the monthly archive for December 2007.
My father, Eugene Vaughn, loved Christmas tradition. He instilled in his children, and eventually his children’s children, the blessings of family gatherings over the Christmas and New Year holidays. These times were always filled with one-on-one activities we just didn’t seem to take time for any other time of the year . . . card playing, piecing puzzles, playing Battleship, and, of course, on Christmas eve, reading of the Christmas Story from the bible.
In later years, Lea added a Birthday Party for Jesus to our Christmas eve traditions, with an elaborately decorated table filled with festive foods and snacks. It was also a time of wonderful, heartwarming, conversations, and building excitement for the youngsters present that year. Our granddaughters will never forget the excitement of receiving “Reindeer Food” that they could sprinkle in the lawn around the house, to attract Santa’s reindeer.
These traditions have great impact in the life of a youngster, and live on to bless future generations. This was never made clearer to our family than when our youngest son went off to college, and found himself yearning for those traditions. He expressed these things very eloquently in a short story he wrote and a subsequent Christmas Carol he composed to celebrate the importance of family during the holidays. Here is what he recently wrote:
“It was 1991, and I was a sophomore at Purdue University. When Christmas rolled around, I was painfully low on cash. I wasn’t sure what to do for my family for Christmas that year. I had been toying around with a bit of writing over the last few years, so I came up with the idea of writing a short Christmas story. Little was I to know that so many feelings… so much of me… would find its way into the story. When I read the story to my family Christmas night, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. It was a beautiful moment — one that I will remember forever!
Now, fast forward nine years…
It was the year 2000. I had spent almost every waking moment that year writing music for a studio band that I was in, so I decided to attempt writing a Christmas carol for my family’s traditional talent show that we do every year on Christmas night. Easy stuff, right? Ha! I was only able to write a couple of verses in the one or two hours that I had, but it went over really well. It was fun when I asked my family to sing along after having only heard the song for the first time just a few moments before! I wasn’t even sure what key the song was in!
Well, the next year, I had a little surprise up my sleeve. Starting in late July, I began collaborating with Brian Hazard of Color Theory to finish the song. It wasn’t easy writing a traditional-style Christmas carol — trying to capture the true warmth and magic of the season without being too cheesy — but it was incredibly rewarding when we finally wrapped it up! And what a wonderful surprise for my family that year! I couldn’t even wait until Christmas night. Christmas Eve hit and I was all aglow!
I had really started getting into the spirit of Christmas early that year and it was a long wait until December 25th! Since I had a bare bones recording studio in my home, I had also decided to create an audio version of my Christmas story that year. It had gone through a lot of small revisions over the last ten years, but it was time to finally put it in stone. So, while I was working with Brian on the Christmas carol, I decided to ask him to write a short instrumental to include in the audio version of my story. It was designed as a companion song to the carol, but was meant to capture the deeper, more personal side of Christmas. I swear there was such an amazing degree of divine intervention involved, because Brian created the song with very little direction from me; yet, as I began to piece everything together — layering his music in with my reading — I must have cried a dozen times out of sheer joy! The timing and overall feeling of the music matched the storyline perfectly! Bravo!
Please visit Brian’s site at colortheory.com — beautiful music from an incredibly talented individual!
I am sharing these two productions with you simply because I love Christmas and I hope they will somehow touch you the way they have me all these years. Please feel free to share this site with anyone and everyone — it’s a great way to help your loved ones find their spirit! Christmas is such a beautiful season! It brings out the best in us… reminds us of everything we take for granted.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
Listen to the original Christmas carol and read the lyrics here: The Magic of Christmas
Read the original Christmas short story and listen to the audio version here: The Warmth of My Santa’s Beard.”
This (edited) note comes from Anna’s Aunt Rene via email:
Anna is doing well and the medical team is working their way toward being able to do surgery.
She’s a pretty little thing and we can’t wait to hold her — she’s got “White-family toes” (long and skinny) that are just waiting to be fiddled with — too cute for words.
What a wonderful hospital with fabulous staff — they are truly exceptional and make everything as easy as they can. The family is all holding up really well and taking everything in stride.
Below is an email link that goes to a web page we were able to create at Riley Children’s Hospital for posting up to date information on Anna’s progress: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/annayutzy. The hospital web page makes it easy for Alyssa, Anna’s mom, to update everyone about what is going on. There is also a place to add a personal message, perhaps some comforting words, to Anna and the family.
Share with whomever you think might be interested — we look forward to seeing your messages!
Anna Renee Yutzy was born in Northern Indiana at 4:00 a.m. Saturday, December 29, 2007, just hours before her mother was to undergo a C section. Anna was four days overdue, and her parents were mentally preparing themselves for the upcoming surgery, when suddenly the natural birth process began, and Anna was delivered without a problem. She was, however, only five pounds five ounces upon arrival, and it was quickly discovered that she had a hole in her diaphragm.
According to http://www.babycentre.co.uk/baby/health/diaphragmatichernia/, the diaphragm is the muscular sheet that separates the chest from the abdomen. A congenital diaphragmatic hernia occurs when the diaphragm does not form properly during pregnancy. A defect or hole in the diaphragm allows the intestine to push through the muscle, squashing the lungs, and preventing the lungs from developing properly.
Holes can occur in either side of the diaphragm but they usually occur in the left-hand side. Babies with a diaphragmatic hernia can have breathing and feeding problems. Up to half of babies with a diaphragmatic hernia also have other serious problems.
Anna has been transferred to Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis for special care and diagnosis. This rare type hernia can be a life-threatening condition, particularly if the baby has other serious complications, and tests will be conducted urgently as soon as the baby is strong enough, and surgery will commence at the earliest opportunity.
Each little baby brought into the world is such a wonderful blessing; a heavenly gift that can bring such joy! We pray that the Lord’s will for Anna is that she be given miraculous healing to help her overcome this problem, and that she be granted a full and healthy life in His service.
Some members of the family have returned to their homes in Northern Indiana for much needed rest, while others remain in Indianapolis to be near her. It will, of course, be a night of troubled rest, as Anna struggles for survival. Her family and loved ones are asking that you take a moment to lift up Anna Renee for the Lord’s blessing and miraculous healing, if that is His will, and that He provision peace and comfort for her parents and family. We know the power of prayer works, and ask for your help in praying for healing for this newborn.
Lea and I shared a wonderful Christmas day with our grandson and his extended family, were able to do a webcam visit with our granddaughters and their parents in Hawaii, and had a joyous day filled with His bounty of gifts, affection, great food, reverence, and carefree light heartedness. Lea is in reasonably good health, it seems, and our quality of life just keeps getting better little by little. And, yet, there was a part of my thoughts that kept drifting to those who were so dear to us, but too far away to be together.
I had sent an email containing a link to the video I posted of Lea giving our grandson a bath a few days before Christmas to many of these loved ones, as a way to help them see how well Lea has progressed in the last two years, after miraculously surviving a deadly sudden illness. One of the persons I had sent the link to was one of the nurses who tended her during the 180 days she was in Hartford Hospital.
This particular nurse was one of the special ones to us. . . he was the first nurse who took Lea outside after four months in the hospital. It was cold in Hartford. Lea was still on life support. She wasn’t strong enough to sit up in a regular wheelchair. She had already had over two dozen surgical procedures. She was on constant tranquilizer and anti-depressent IV drips. Her vital signs had to be continuously monitored.
This nurse, Chris, and Danielle, a patient care assistant studying to become a nurse, moved Lea into a cardiac chair (at home we call these recliners), attached remote monitoring gear, portable oxygen and medications, and took her outside the hospital for her first breath of fresh air in months. The hospital has a nice garden area with a gazebo that worked perfectly for this little outing, and I snapped this photo on our way to the garden.
Needless to say, Chris’ willingness to take her outside was an additional burden for him during already difficult work days, and our appreciation for this, and many other kindnesses he bestowed upon us, knows no bounds. Chris, by the way, is also in the reserves, and has been called to active duty a number of times. Shortly after this trip outside, he was called to active duty to assist with medical support, as a flight nurse, during hurricane Katrina. When he returned to work at Hartford Hospital, he continued caring for Lea as though nothing special had happened. He even stopped in to check on her after she had been moved out of the Critical Care Unit. He, and fiance Amanda, drove us to the airport to fly home, so we wouldn’t have to take a taxi.
He will always hold a special place in our hearts. And, my thoughts were on him during this Christmas day, because I had gotten an email from him Christmas eve, stating that he was back on active duty; this time in Germany, where his medical team flew into Iraq and Afghanistan to tend injured soldiers being flown back for treatment. I was humbled by his letter, and asked for special prayer for him and his unit at the Christmas eve service at church. I was also a bit ashamed that I get so caught up in my own day to day concerns I forget what others are going through.
Pasted below is Chris’ email letter, received mid-afternoon Christmas eve:
“Merry Christmas to all from cold and foggy Ramstein, Germany. We have had over a week to get settled into our routines and get our lives as normal as you can. Much to my surprise there seems to be a regular flight schedule which allows for a day of recovery, a day of standby alert and then a mission. We fly every 3rd day and get a true day off once every 10 days or so. My crew and I have been to Balad, Iraq twice already and our flight time is quickly adding up. We obviously land in total darkness and try to minimize our ground time which I am all for.
While I haven’t been officially tested for it I think I am extremely allergic to mortars, shrapnel and anything that might have missile like characteristics. The attached picture is three of us from Westover shortly after we entered Iraq on our first mission. It’s hard to see with the lighting but you have to take what you can get.
The other picture is of me cooking up some cookies shortly before we landed back in Ramstein. I think they were pretty tasty but it is hard to mess it up when they are already made for you.
Our unit uses donations to purchase sweets for us to cook up when we get a chance and after seeing how much of a hit they were it is totally worth it. The days are extremely long and depending on mission location the duty time can easily approach 24 hours long. The crew I am with, especially the enlisted are truly awesome. On our last mission our patient load almost doubled, we had 3 vented patients added at the last minute and had to fly with equipment that I haven’t seen since flight school over 4 years ago. Without missing a beat the aircraft was totally re-configured and within 30 minutes we were ready to accept patients. Not bad considering that for most of them that was only their 2nd or 3rd live mission.
Our holiday today consisted of shopping earlier and dinner at Chili’s. We will try not to over do it. Christmas Eve and Christmas are huge over hear and there is nothing open off base. With another mission tomorrow nobody was up for a late night anyway. Our Christmas will be spent in the festive colors of tan and black, flying for over 16 hours and getting back sometime the following day. In all honesty if I have to be away for the holiday there is nothing more rewarding than flying wounded troops home on Christmas.
I hope that all of you and your families have a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year (just in case I am lazy and don’t write before then.) Remember to keep those in Afghanistan and Iraq in your prayers and world peace is one of my personal favorites when you are making your wish list. Talk to you soon, Chris”
Needless to say, Chris’ letter touched me, and reminded me how self centered we become, even when we think we are reaching out, and consciously seeking His will for our lives. So, I was already sensitized when I went to my email the morning after Christmas and found another email letter from Chris. This one brought reality crashing in, and I felt led to share this with you.
“December 25th, 2007.
Ramstein Air Base, GermanyOur mission was scheduled to leave within 90 minutes and our crew of 7 was sitting in a van waiting anxiously to get the day started and wondering what in the world we could be waiting on. Our mission was to take us to Bagram Afghanistan aboard a KC-135R, a 16 hour day and that is if everything goes according to plan. The earlier we get going the earlier we get back which will be sometime early tomorrow morning if we are lucky.
One distinct disadvantage to using this aircraft is that we need a specialized piece of equipment called a K-Loader in order to lift all of our equipment up so we can load it into the aircraft. With the lifter already 30 minutes late we sat and we waited and waited, and… Then going down the middle of the tarmac was not only one lifter but two! It was finally our turn, however the trucks never stopped, they just kept on going.
This sequence of events brought some curiosity on my part which quickly changed back into our meaningless conversations we
were having all along. I watched the loaders pull up behind a C-17 that had just landed and had parked only a few spaces from where we were. Like clockwork people prepared the aircraft after arrival, chalking the wheels, lowering the ramp, and moving vehicles.
After a few minutes I looked over again and was surprised to notice that everyone around the aircraft had suddenly stopped working. All of those people who moments earlier were hard at a work around the plane had gathered near the rear ramp and now they
were standing at attention, then they saluted. I now knew why we were waiting. Somewhere back home maybe a few hours before this, a family got the news that no family ever wants to receive; their loved one will not be coming home.
After a few more minutes, a slow moving blue truck with a blinking yellow light appeared from behind the C-17 followed by one of the
loaders we had seen earlier. On it was a single flag draped coffin, a hero heading home. As the small convoy drove the length of the tarmac other vehicles it would pass would come to a complete stop and turn off their lights, those who were working on the ground would stop what they were doing and render the time honored salute given to those on their final voyage home.
Waiting was no longer important anymore. Out of respect, the DOD and the Air Force strictly forbid taking pictures of these events and rightfully so. So, this is my experience to share with you.”
I am so ashamed of my selfishness! Oh, dear heavenly Father, forgive me my shallowness and self centeredness. Please give peace and comfort to those who are not as richly blessed as You have chosen to make me. Father, my heart goes out to those who have sick and injured loved ones on their minds, and particularly that family that received the horrible news of the loss of their loved one on Christmas Day. I pray for their comfort, Lord, and that You will hold them in the palm of Your loving hand, as they struggle to overcome their grief at this tragic loss.
Father, I pray, too, for those You have chosen to be our care givers. Bless them, Lord, as they go about tending to the needs of those sick and injured in their care. Tend to their own hearts and minds, that they might receive gratification from what they do to help others. Guide their hands that they might be steady and true. I pray for a circle of protection to be put around Chris and his team as they continue to be put in harm’s way to help those who need medical attention. I pray for all our troops, Father, wherever they might be; that You will always be present in their hearts and minds. Bring them home safely to their families to share a glorious day of celebration.
Continue to bless this Christmas season, Lord, protect it from those who would diminish its importance. Give each of us the moral strength to stand by, and fight for, the right to publicly declare our gratitude for the sacrifice made by Your son, Jesus Christ, that we might have eternal life. It is in the name of Jesus, my saviour, that I humbly lift up this prayer. Amen!
It’s amazing! Our loving heavenly father has, once again, responded to the power of our prayers, and delivered little Kora. Earlier this evening I received the following email from Lea’s sister, Kathy:
“We just got back from taking Kora to the doctor in St. Louis and it’s not cancer. They said it is a virus. That it will have to take its course. Praise God! They said that if the lymphoid in her throat would continue to grow that they would have to do a biopsy but it would have to get twice as big and they really think it will go away. What a relief. Hollaluja! Thanks everyone for all the prayers. God Bless Kathy”
Our family has been SO blessed! And, once again, every one of us was given an opportunity to realize how much we can rely on His benevolence and love. It is when matters are beyond our control that we are brought closer to Him, as we seek His help. He keeps showing us The Path, and we step on it and walk it as long as we need His help, and then begin to stray as soon as the crisis is over. This straying from the path is dangerous, and can bring His discipline down on you and those you love. Take heed! This was another chance to change our hearts and minds and submit to His will. Don’t waste it!
Blessed be His name!
Thank You, Father, for delivering Kora. Please place a shield of protection around her and give her comfort as she recovers from this illness. And, Father, please keep Your guiding hand in her daddy’s life as he struggles to help his young family. You know our hearts and our needs, Father, and we pray for Your continued blessings. Amen.
This heartbreaking email arrived Sunday evening from my dear sister in law, Kathy, requesting prayer for her granddaughter Kora, age 6.
“I’m writing to ask for everyones prayers. My grandaughter Kora (Corys daughter) hasn’t been feeling well the last 2 weeks. She has been going to the doctors alot and missing alot of school. Doctors kept thinking it was a virus. Well Monday her lymphoids in her throat started swelling, then tuesday lymphoids under her arm, and on wednesday in her pelvic area. They have done blood work of all kinds, MRI, CT scans and also a brain scan. They called us early Friday to bring her in for more test and contacted St. Louis childrens hospital as they think it might be cancer. We have to take her tomorrow Monday , Dec. 3. Please everyone pray for her that she will be okay. We need all the prayers. Thanks Kathy”
This sweet little girl is a delightfully darling child. I, too, would like to ask that you join us in lifting Kora up to our blessed Savior for miraculous intervention. I pray, Dear God, Father, that it is your will to spare Kora, that she may continue to bring joy and laughter to this family. We know, Father, that Kora has a role to play in your great plan, and we pray that it is a role of overcoming adversity to go on as a witness for You and Your gracious outpouring of blessings. Be with her family during this time of uncertainty; give them comfort in knowing that her precious soul is forever in Your care. Blessed be Your name, Father. Bless You for the gift of salvation through the cross. Thank You for Kora, and her victory over this sickness, if that be Your will. In the name of our precious Saviour, Jesus Christ, we now lift her up for Your blessings. Amen.
Lea and I have been quite busy in recent months as her stamina and overall health continue to improve, and she is able to return to being more herself. We praise God, and bless His name, for the wonderful miracles He has worked in our lives over the past few years in particular. The mere fact that He allowed her to survive those months in Hartford Hospital still overwhelm me with emotion. And, now, at this season, we are, for the first time, going to be able to open that box of ornaments we received while in Hartford.
I had hung those ornaments around her hospital room for Christmas 2005, and with the help of Austin, a maintenance worker originally from Jamacia, we hung those I thought she’d most enjoy from the trapeze and frame above her bed, and placed others on the window ledge, a bedside table, and hung them on the bulletin board, trying to make her room as festive as possible. And, as I recall all those wonderful caregivers who took such special care of us, I pray that God is working in their lives to help them be the blessing to others that they were to us.
Now, as December has rolled around two years later, we feel exceptionally blessed that she has recovered so well, and is able to enjoy family activites again. We are looking forward to a wonderful family Christmas again this year, and feel particularly blessed that we will have a new family member present; Benjamin Lucas, our grandson, born October 26th. As you can see in the photo below, he is already “in the spirit!”
