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Journal Entries for December 2011
Dec 10, 2011 2:06PM
You've Got To Love
A Guy's Conversation
I was at work last Friday when my phone rang. It was Bo. "Hey Bo, how's it going?" I had not heard from him in several weeks. "Not too bad, but uh — my dad died yesterday." When you've known someone as long as I've known Bo, there is no need for small talk. Shocked and broadsided by this unexpected news, I asked him what happened. He told me briefly about the events of the past week, his dad being in the hospital with some problems with his throat and of the last time he went to visit. He told me about how the doctors all seemed quite optimistic about his recovery, he seemed to be responding to the treatment and it sounded like he would be out before too long. Although serious, from all accounts I've heard, it was never thought to be considered life threatening, and yet - Thursday morning as Bo and his wife were getting ready to leave the hospital, a nurse came running out of the room they'd just been visiting. I can't say that I've ever seen a nurse run to catch me, but I would imagine there might be something of a sinking feeling if one ever did. "You need to come back, your dad's just had a stroke and things are happening quickly. Call Lynne, get her here as soon as possible." Within the hour, Shaun was gone. He was 51.

I went over to Shaun's house that night to help Lynne unlock Shaun's computer. He'd just changed the password on it before going to the hospital and hadn't told anyone what the new password was. The hint he'd left was "Help Each Other." I wasn't able to find out what the actual password was, but getting around it only took a few moments. Some have speculated that it may have been a line from one of his favorite songs. I suppose I will never know in this lifetime why he chose that as a hint — perhaps even a "last request" — But whatever the case, his passing, especially so suddenly, has left a hole in a lot of people's lives and his absense will undoubtedly be felt by all for a long time to come.

Kristi and I went to Shaun's funeral yesterday, presided by the brother he'd only just found out existed at the beginning of this year. Small world that it is, Gregg (and Pat) have been friends of my wife's family for the last 15 years or so, and it was only revealed earlier this year that he was Shaun and Devon's brother. The two were reunited, and it was Shaun's new-found brother who performed the wedding ceremony in which he married Lynne DaCosta. And now, mere months later, his same new-found brother presided over Shaun's funeral as well.

There were many pictures of Shaun at the funeral, both during the ceremony and outside in the foyer. I don't think there is a soul alive today who could have met Shaun without having heard a story or two about him — or becoming part of a story or two about him. And as such, there were many stories told as the guests all gathered to remember the life of their friend and family member. I couldn't help but think to myself as I looked around the room, Shaun brought people together. And so it was with his funeral.

To Bo and Sarah, you have my condolances. I do not envy you the experience of this loss, especially so close to Christmas. But Kristi and I have both been praying for you, and shall continue to do so. You are welcome here any time. Do whatever you have to do to mourn your father. And if we can help in any way, we are here for you.

I spent several hours last night browsing through the last decade of pictures. Some pictures made me smile, others brought tears to my eyes. Life truly is too short.

Shaun Lincoln Hill
1960 - 2011
The Hill Family

The Hill Family

Shaun and Mike

Goodbye Shaun. I will miss you.

Dec 25, 2011 12:21 PM
Merry Christmas
A Truly Blessed Year
Having a birthday on Christmas Eve inevitably clashes birthday celebrations and Christmas celebrations. None the less, Kristi does a phenominal job of making sure the birthday girl does not feel short-changed on the occasion. This year, we held family brunch at our house, followed by a birthday party, followed by the Christmas Eve service at church, followed by evening appetizers, followed by cleanup and preparation for Christmas day, followed by a well-deserved good night sleep. Christmas, as many can attest, is always a time of year when I seem to catch up on my sleep. However, this year in particular it seems to have hit very hard.

Christmas is here, and what a welcome change of pace it is to NOT have something planned for the day. Don't get me wrong, it's been a wonderful holiday and loads of fun getting ready, taking the kids Christmas shopping, picking out and bringing home a tree (in the middle of a most festive blizzard.) Setting it up is one of the girls' favorite things to do, only just shy of opening their presents. Kristi's stocking project came to fruition this year, as did her home-made mantle project. My dad was more than happy to supply some well-weathered wood and an antique window which adds rustic charm and character to our otherwise fire-less fireplace. The stockings were stuffed with Santa-brought goodies for the entire family, and the tree's bounty has been gradually building over the past month — erupting today in the flurry of small, excited hands revealing wrapped treasures to the express joy of bright faces sporting wide eyes and gaping mouths. Hugs were handed out generously and those same, small hands are now thoroughly occupied assembling crafts and knitting various things while the adults rest. What a wonderful Christmas this has been.



Thousands of Words' Worth
Pictures, pictures, and more pictures!
Our family on a horse-drawn sleigh at Heritage Park

The Convergint Kids' Christmas Party took place at Heritage Park again this year, and despite a fairly festive falling of snow, the weather was quite conducive to taking in a bit of the park. We even managed to climb aboard a sleigh ride through the park, drawn by two horses! In engine terms, that would be 2HP.

Peeking out from under the couch

Curiosity

Our Blurry Christmas Tree

Our children will never know life without cell phones

Monkey See, Monkey Do!

Not The Nose Licker!

Mischief

Nom nom nom nom

Grin

My sneaky son

Jeff Ter Mors, my brother in law

My wife and daughter

Grateful hugs given generously to cousins

Inquisition

Festive Wife

A blurry little guy

My dad looks on over the festivities

Childlike Optimism

My mother was never one to under-exasperate a gift

Touchdown!

Touchdown!!!

Candles, one of my favorite parts of Christmas

One small bundle of child

More candles photographed



Wrapping paper, product box, what's the difference?

Our little chef checks his soup

Glee on the new slide

Santa Reader

Poised

Happy Wife

A mother looks on the joy of her children with a sense of accomplishment. Santa may have the credit, but the satisfaction is hers.

My daughter in black and white

Mesmerized

A little elf

Grandma's girl

Tiny feet



Are those not some of the cutest toes you've ever seen?

Slipping into the viewfinder for one quick picture

At the center of attention

My wife's homemade mantle

All that you see here (except the bent standing lamp) is the expressed creativity of my wonderful wife. The stockings were hand-made over a two-year period (using the grand sum of her free time during that period), the barn–board mantle was her woodworking skills accented by those of my father, the feather wreath was hand–made, with each feather pain-stakingly hot glued onto the frame. (Anyone with more than a spattering of hot gluing expereince will be able to relate to the pain part of pain-staking.) You can't really see from this picture, but the branches in the vase have tiny pink paper-mache flowers dispersed upon them, and the antique windows were also arranged by her. It was a lot of fun to see her glow as her ideas took shape and form. It is not hard to see that she has the gift of creativity.

Squatter

Fanciness

My wife's handiwork

Stare

Instead of buying gifts for each other this year, our family chose instead to spend what money would otherwise have contributed to the accumulation of more stuff, to help give (some rather unconventional) gifts to families living in developing countries. The girls looked through the catalog of possible presents and chose to give a gift of a goat, three hens and a rooster, three baby chicks, classroom essentials for one child, a girls-only latrine, and what Plan Canada calls "Endless Harvest." Looking around our house, it's not hard to come to the conclusion that we already have more than enough stuff and in fact having more stuff would not benefit us in any way, shape, or form. But what better time of year to give a truly meaningful gift to others, in a way that will bless them for months, years, and perhaps even generations to come.




The Age of Wonder
Exploring a World of Opportunity
Spike peers into a humidifier

As a father, I've often wondered what my children would grow up to be. Comparing what I remember of my own childhood, recalling the decisions I made and the choices that were made for me, thinking of all the people who influenced my life and the development of my interests and abilities — I can't help but wonder what my childrens' stories will be like. It is in moments like these that I watch with a warmed heart as my son plays most intently with a device that I myself spent many hours doing the same — in this case, an ultrasonic humidifier. When I was much younger, we came into a good quantity of such devices, part of a plentiful bounty of weekly trips to the Totem bin. Most worked out of the box, many had blown fuses or cracked tanks, but as a young boy with nothing but time on my hands, I tackled the task of tearing them apart with all vigor. Piecing together the parts that worked and repairing most of the parts that didn't, eventually I had assembled a small army of humidifiers. Naturally wondering what might happen if they were all turned on, pointed in the same direction and left for several hours, my brother and I set out to discover the answer to this age–old question one summer afternoon. Placing 6 of the units pictured in our workshop, we filled their tanks, pointed their noozles, (yes, I said noozle - It's a Simpsons' reference) placed a towel under the door and left the room. Turns out you can actually make a cloud in your bedroom with 6 ultrasonic humidifiers! No word of a lie, it was so thick Blair and I took turns walking into — and disappearing inside — our very own home-made cloud.

Spike explores the controls on a humidifier I used to play with when I was a child



Help has arrived

Many hands making light work

I'll just make one adjustment here...

Much better!

That's my boy!


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