Surprises for Christmas Week

Most Sunday evenings are a time for my family to relax. Dad usually finishes my afternoon cares around 4:30 and I sit upright in bed until 6:00. A week ago today, about 5:30, the three of us were in our own corners of the house doing our own entertainment options. Dad was near the front-door and thought he heard some noise outside and then the doorbell rang.

He opened the door to see a multitude of people from church that came for caroling. I vaguely heard dad talking to someone, but caught the phrase "go to Joel's room." I wasn't sure who was coming, but I closed the game I was playing and waited. Dad quickly came and promptly stuffed loose pillows in my closet and explained what was happening. We weren't sure if our attire was good for guests, but we didn't have time to change. As he directed people to my room, dad also scurried downstairs to tell mom so she could come up.

I first saw two young kids hesitantly walk down the hall and they were soon joined by a total of 35 people in my room and down the hall. My computer was still in-front of me blocking some view, so I explained to the people closest to me how to move everything. One teen told his mom he thought I had a cool setup.

For the next few minutes, the group sang a number of Christmas songs as I grinned and dad squeezed beside my bed. With the driveway full of cars, mom had a hard time getting upstairs, but she was eventually able to join us. Looking around at everyone, I recognized most of the faces, but had a few that I wasn't sure of their identity.

A few months ago, I posted how it felt like we had been forgotten by much of our church as only a small few checked in on us while we were gone for several weeks. This visit was a welcome change and one that my family won't forget for a while.

On Christmas Day, we attended church, came home for lunch, and had our own Christmas. Dad and I got a few model railroad items for each other. In order to setup a new controller, I can hear a steam engine running on the layout beneath my room as I write. I also received a much anticipated new video camera. The camera I had been using for YouTube updates died in late November, so I look forward to using it soon.

Finally, we were able to visit with grandma that afternoon. Thankfully, she is doing pretty well, but it's still hard to be living in a care facility. Dad's sister came the same time we were there, so we had an impromptu small family Christmas gathering.

It has been quite the year and I'm thankful God has brought through another change of calendars. I don't know what 2026 will bring in the quad life, but I know I can trust God's plan that will work for His glory.