FROM DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS ...MERRY CHRISTMAS
Well…you
didn’t get a letter last year did you?…and I bet you kneeled down and thanked
the Lord that you didn’t have to read the goings on with the Elliott Family
2011…frankly I didn’t want to read that either…and remember, I lived it….at
least most of it…Keep in mind I wasn’t the one pregnant…so I didn’t have to
live that part of it… Bren got pregnant, we had a boy on Dec 22…three
days earlier my mom broke her hip in my house… and all the kids got
tattoos…ok that part was a lie. Bren got a tattoo…ok …that was lie
also. But my wife has asked for me to write a letter….and I guess you want
details…so here we go…where do I begin?
2011…Where
the heck do I begin…First…one early 5:30 morning I come in from working out and
look at my phone…there was an email from Oprah…”Congratulations Dave, You have
won tickets to a show taping.” Yep…Bren had already been to one
taping…and asked that I put in tickets to another taping…and I WON…I had never
been so disappointed that I won. The rules are that you can take
anyone...but the person who won has to go and with ID…so here I am on the hook
to go to OPRAH…I would much rather get a tattoo burned off with a torch…but I
love my honey…and off we go to Chicago in FREAKING FEBRUARY 2011. Heck…we
can’t even catch a game at Wrigley field. All in all, we laughed a lot
and had a great little trip to the Windy City.
In
May…uh…on Mother’s Day , I was scheduled to go with a group of friends to run
the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim…43 miles total…down from the South Rim…up to
the North Rim…And then turn around and come back…15 to 20 hours.
Well, 5 days before we leave, I get carted off to the ER with a bacterial
virus in the small intestine…and all the kitchen passes I got for going to
Oprah went to the ER Doctor…along with a large amount of cash.
In
April 2011 we learned that Bren was pregnant with number 4…do I need to explain
how that happened? …ok…well hear it goes…just kidding...I ain’t writing “50
Shades of Gray” or whatever…Where was I?...oh…ok…she got pregnant….To be really
frank, it was a very stressful pregnancy….It was a tough time. The baby
was due around Christmas (remember 2011…now you see why you didn’t get a
letter)…so my mother agreed to move in for a couple of months…spend Christmas
and help out with the baby. She wasn’t in our house 15 minutes before she
slipped on the marble floor in our foyer…the rain outside caused that floor to
be slick as ice…and now I have 6 paramedics and a mom with a broken hip in my
house. She had surgery the next evening…and the baby was born 2 days
later…at another hospital…uh, 45 minutes away. I remember sitting on my couch
one evening by myself…exhausted…beaten from the year…and just
thinking…Christmas…”and you shall call Him Emmanuel, ‘God With Us’ “…and how I
needed to know that right then.
We
never found out the sex of the baby till birth, and we were all pleasantly
surprised that it was a boy!…and when Luke found out he had a little brother,
we could have taken all his Christmas gifts back…he was so excited. Macy
and Hope were excited too…and now it all fell into place…two boys and two
girls.
Moving
on to 2012…
Luke
is now in 6th grade…he is doing really well…in the band…playing the
trumpet…played baseball too...catcher and centerfield. He crossed over
from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts in January 2012…and has done extremely well,
making the rank of Second Class in 9 months…and loving every bit of
it. He is active in the Junction 56 preteen program at Church…and
now I am learning he has girls that text him…and call him…and wait…I am not
ready for this.
Macy
is 9…going on 29…joking…but not really….she just finished her 5th season
playing softball for the “Speedy Hamsters” where she plays catcher…is in School
Choir…and Girl Scouts…and doing incredibly well with all her endeavors.
Sometimes we go on Daddy – Daughter dates…and I just love to hang out with
her…she is bright…funny…mature…and just sitting and talking is a great time for
both. ..AND SHE LOVES DUCK DYNASTY…heck the whole family loves that show.
Hope…of
which I call “The Edge”…because that is where she likes to live…is now 6…is in
Girl Scouts…and plays Soccer…Goalie. At this age the coach liked to
rotate the players around to the different positions…till last year…when half
way through the season…she told him, “Don’t pull me! The Goal is mine!”
She is sarcastic, funny, and competitive. She keeps us laughing…
And
NOW….INTRODUCING THE 4th PITCHER IN THE ROTATION…
Kyle
Ryan Elliott (named for Kyle Field where the Aggies play…and Ryan…for Nolan
Ryan….) And what a blessing…I have tied his right arm behind his back….to
force him to be a left handed pitcher…that’s another lie…but I wouldn’t
complain if he is left handed. He is one laid back kid…and he laughs a
lot…and his brother and sisters adore him.
Bren
somehow keeps it all together…my gosh…I don’t understand how she does
that….dinners…chauffer …homework teacher…and the love of my life…this year
things are so much better…we went to Pine Cove Family Camp in August 2012…all
of us…and things just seem to fit right into place…like someone had a master
plan all along.
As
for me…I am going on 11 years as a straight commission salesman with Timberlake
& Dickson…I am still doing the endurance athlete thing…100 miles on the
bike…miles of running…but really loving the bike…Still playing ball with the
kids…active with the Scouts….still doing Magic…kinda…writing a book…at this
rate I may finish when I am 90….
So
we close another couple of years…and time marches on….things change…but in this
Holiday Season, we bow and worship the One that does not change, the One that
remains steadfast, the One that is the Rock. Merry Christmas to you and
yours.
Love,
Dave,
Bren, Luke, Macy, Hope, and Kyle Elliott
“Do not be anxious about anything,
but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your
requests to God. And the peace
of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your
minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7
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