Christmas Traditions Part 1_The Ornaments

As the Christmas season begins each year, I am always painfully aware of how much our culture pulls us away from the true meaning of this special holiday. I think it's most important to remember our family relationships and traditions. One of the things I have always liked about Indian Guides is the opportunity that it gives us to build our relationship with our kids. A key componant are the Indian Guide traditions that we observe, such as the AIMS Walk at the Cornfest campout. Similarly, the Christmas holidays are filled with many traditions that remind us of the importance of our family relationships, and each family has their own traditions that make the Christmas season special.

When our kids were younger - 2 - 5 years old - the Christmas season was a time for lots of Christmas art projects at Weekday School. The result was that we quickly were overrun with a large assortment of decorations and ornaments that the kids had made at school! What to do with all of them? Although Pam and I appreciated and cherished these projects, we also had our own idea of how we wanted to decorate our Christmas tree, and these kid-created ornaments, several of them very large, did not quite fit into our decor scheme. The answer? Two trees!!!

Each year during the Thanksgiving weekend, we put up a 6 1/2 ft. tall artificial tree in the family room - we call it the Kid's Tree. After I put the lights on it for them, they go to town, putting all the decorations they've made over the years on the tree. Many of these date back to 2 day 2's, and are not in original condition from being crammed into boxes, but they are rich with memories! It's really neat for all of us to look at these decorations and talk about Christmas's past or the things they used to do when they were younger. Then the following weekend, we pick up our big Fraser Fir from the YMCA - our Formal Tree - and put that in the living room and decorate it.

Is it extra work? Yes. Is it worth it? You bet!!! Instead of having the things our kids made stuffed in a box that might be opened 20 or 30 years from now (we have some of those things too), we get to relive some great memories each year at Christmas!

Yatahey!

Chief Bald Eagle

Give Thanks

As Thanksgiving approaches and the Christmas holiday season begins to kick into high gear, it's easy to overlook the real reason for these holidays. As I write this message, I realize that I have been focused far too much lately on those things that I do not agree with or that otherwise concern me - the direction of our country politically, the economy, and so on. If you'll allow me, I'd like to take a moment to Give Thanks.

I Give Thanks for each of the kids in our circle that we call The Mighty Kiowa, and the families they represent. They bring joy to us all, each in a way as unique as the signs that they have created for our totem pole.

I Give Thanks for my wife and kids. When I was younger, I often wondered if I had the desire to be a husband and father. Now, I can't imagine living any other way. I love my family dearly, and am so thankful that the Lord has blessed me with Pam, Chase, and Chloe!

I Give Thanks for wonderful friends who share our values, and share their lives with us.

I Give Thanks that we have a nice home to live in and food to eat. Far more people than we care to consider have no place to live and no food to eat.

I Give Thanks for the beauty of His creation, and the privelege I have to experience it when we camp, and participate in other outdoor activities.

I Give Thanks for my work. We all know the economy is tough right now. Maybe it's good for us to have a rough stretch from time to time, so that we remember how fleeting material wealth is.

I Give Thanks for those who serve our country in the military. Their love of country, their hard work, and their personal sacrifice keep us safe and independent. I pray that the Lord keeps them safe.

I Give Thanks that I have the good fortune to live in the greatest country mankind has ever known! We are not perfect, but we're free!

I Give Thanks that I am graciously forgiven by the only One who really counts, because I surely don't deserve it.

What are you thankful for? Take a few moments and Give Thanks!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to You, Your Family, and Friends

Yatahey,

Chief Bald Eagle

A Good Time at Doe Lake

Another fun weekend of camping for the Mighty Kiowa came to a close this morning at Doe Lake. Although the weather was threatening at times, it was nothing like the storm we experienced here in February; good thing too, since the Smith's camper was not available for us to take shelter in!

The Pinewood Derby was fun, even though none of the Kiowa won. The Hadley's car made it to the finals of the Turtle category, but was just a little too fast to win! The Kranston's car started out well, winning the first two heats, but fell victim to the EFPDTG Syndrome (Eola Federation Pinewood Derby Track Gremlin) once again when one of the front axle's somehow got stuck on a track guide (as Reed Hadley explained when interviewed by ESPN, "It looked like it was pulling a brick down the track"). I think I'll hire someone to torch that track and demand that they buy a new one! Anyway it was still a lot of fun - I've never seen anyone make a car out of 15 pencils, or a bar of soap - lot's of creativity!

We also welcomed a new member, Isabelle, and her father Ed, to our tribe, and look forward to having them as part of our group!

Thanks to our Hunters for doing a great job with the food, and thanks to everyone for helping out with cooking, cleanup, etc..

Our next meeting will be Monday December 1. I look forward to seeing you then!

Yatahey!!!

Chief Bald Eagle

Get Ready, Set, Race!

The 2007-2008 Overall Winner!

Our next campout will be at Doe Lake Recreational Area November 14-16. The featured event for that campout will be the annual Eola Federation Pinewood Derby. As you can see above, I got a bit carried away last year. But, it was fun, and Chloe has a neat keepsake to remember some of our campouts. I won't be doing anything like that again this year - just simplicity and speed this time!!! I hope you will all consider participating - it's a lot of fun, and I'll be glad to help you out any way I can - short of building it for you!!! The only rules for this race are that the car can weigh no more than 5 ounces.

Christmas Trees - Tough to believe, but Christmas is just around the corner! That means it's time for the Eola Federation annual Christmas Tree fundraiser. So make sure you order a tree and get as many friends to order trees as you can. The price for a tree this year is $60, and if you like big, beautiful Fraser Fir trees, you won't find comparable trees at this price on the tree lots. If you have not received an order form in the mail already, you will find a link to the form under the Links section of this blog.

Yatahey!!!

Chief Bald Eagle