A Different Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts,
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother.
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Well, got back from the BYU Bowl Game last night and that was just awesome. I got lucky and had front row seats in the south end zone where all of the action was at. Harlien caught a touchdown pass and almost landed in my lap. Final score was 38-8 for BYU. Good job guys.

So, I've got like 18 days before I'm gone . . . wow. Hope you all enjoy your weekend and get to spend some time with loved ones.

Goin to the Temple

After a 7 year hiatus, I'm finally going to the temple again. It's a great feeling to know that you're on track and doing what you need to do to progress in this life and become a happier and more helpful person. Smiling on the outside is great, but it's even better when combined with a smile from the inside.

There's nothing else I'd rather be doing right now than preparing to go on a mission and serve my brothers and sisters. It's going to be a great two years and I can already tell that it's going to be a fast two years. Hopefully it doesn't go too fast cause I feel like I've got a lot to do.

Oklahoma!

I'm going to be serving in the Oklahoma Tulsa Mission. I leave January 10 and there's no where else I'd rather be. I need to go to bed, but I will try to be better about actively blogging between now and when I leave.

Little Blessings

This is Alex, my nephew. He is living proof of why it is that God loves children so much. Just being in the presence of little kids lifts me up so much that I can almost instantaneously forget my problems. They're beaming smiles, glowing eyes, and curious minds just astound me.

A while ago I was up at Cheryl's house and Alex and I were sitting on the couch talking. It is amazing to me how much a 4-year-old truly understands and comprehends about the world. I just don't think we give children enough credit. They may not have the faculties necessary for expression completely at their disposal but they can see so much more than we sometimes can. Kids are just so great. If we only payed more attention we could learn so much from them.

For each of us there are different lessons we need to learn. I will continue to work on my faults as they are many. I would say to anyone that is not yet perfect, take a moment to look at the world around you and really try to appreciate something. For me it's children, for you it may be something else, but don't end the day without at least taking a peek back into the world and life of a child.

A New Uniform

Well, after serving my country for the past two years (those pictures in my last post are a little old), I've decided it's time for me to serve my brothers and sisters here on earth in a different way. Yep, I'm going on a mission! I just turned my papers in and am so so excited!

It's kind of funny because if you asked me for my plans only two months ago I would have told you that I just don't know and a mission might still be in my future but that I wasn't sure. Now I have no greater desire than to go out and help others. It is so wonderful for me to have experienced this change in my life as I seriously needed it.

I always felt like I should respect others. I always did my best to be a friend to everyone I met because that's what I believed I should do for other people. My view of other people is not quite the same any more. I now see everyone as Sons and Daughters of God. The difference is that my motivation for helping them comes from my love for them as opposed to merely my respect for humanity. Trust me, the difference is incredible and wonderful.

I have also been blessed with a sure knowledge of the gospel. I have been a member all of my life, but I am only a recent convert. There's so much more to tell, but I know I have a tough time reading all the way through some of those longer blogs so I think I might just throw out little bite-size tid-bits of my testimony from now untill I leave. After all, what better way is there to eat an elephant than one bite at a time?

Fun, let's do some more pictures.

Family Day at Basic. See if you can find me (I'm the bald one wearing a beret).

My platoon totally dominated. Look at how those 3 squad leaders are perfecly in step. What's his bucket next to me never could quite get it.

Yeah! That's a tight formation. Too bad no one else likes D&C besides me (Drill & Ceremony).

My Parents.

Back home. A little weird - probably similar to after mission readjustment. Sue met me at the airport with my Mom and my little bro Troy. Seeing Sue definitely made me melt.

My family set up some yellow streamers for me and it felt great to be home.

Basic was a nightmare, but I loved it!

All right, let's do something with this thing . . . how about some pictures:

Ummm . . . did it work?

*Edit: Nope, 2nd try:

Yay! That's my mom and me after I graduated from basic.

Well, today is my 21st 'alf birthday and as a gift to the world I am creating this blog. Thanks go out to the Henrichsen clan for their intrepid use of this system.

For my first entry, I would just like to say that this world rocks! Despite all the problems, it is still a prety cool place to be and I'm grateful for the blessing that life is.