Some of you may not know that there are really twelve days to Christmas.  The 12 days mark the time from Christmas to Epiphany.  Epiphany is the time the Wise Men came to deliver their gifts to the baby Jesus.   For more information read Matthew 2: 1-12.  Some cultures celebrate Epiphany with a King’s Cake as opposed to doing the cake during Mardi Gras.  In the Disney movie ‘Hunchback of Notre Dame’ you may remember the 6^th of January as Topsy Turvy Day and the Festival of Fools.  Add all of these celebrations together and mix in the song 12 Days of Christmas and you get the reasons I celebrate this joyous time of year.

If you are a friend of me personally on Facebook, (1) you may have seen my 12 Days of Christmas daily postings.  Thought I would reflect those highlights in this blog.

1^st Day of Christmas:  Joy to the World, the Lord Has Come.  Let Earth receive her King.  I am proud to be a Christian and if God did not send his Son Jesus to be born of the Virgin Mary then to die on the cross, where would we be?

2^nd Day of Christmas:  We went tubing.  Lyn, Josh and I went tubing while Lyn’s parents watched.  It was a lovely 2 plus hour drive to Fraser, Colorado from Monument to spend two hours sliding down a hill on a tube.  We found a Pei Wei on the ride home because Josh always wants Chinese food.

3^rd Day of Christmas:  We went to Ikea. (2)  Within the last year, the Denver area got its first Ikea so we made the trek there and spent two hours or so roaming the place and realized that if we lived closer to one like we did in SoCal, our house would be mostly furnished with Ikea items.  We left with a few things for the kitchen and a cool red desk lamp for Josh.  A future trip to the one in the Chicago area with more room in the vehicle is planned.  We followed up Ikea with dinner at White Fence Farm. (3)  Nice family style restaurant experience in suburban Denver and we all had fried chicken and Josh discovered he really likes corn fritters.

4^th Day of Christmas:  We drove back to St. Louis.  Even though we could have spent more time doing things with the in-laws, it probably was for the best that we planned the trip for this long.  Both the drive out and back from Colorado were smooth.  Lyn drove all the way home because she is better at seeing cops and it was just better that way.  Just trust me on that.

5^th Day of Christmas:  I went back to work.  Both Lyn and I went back to work on Thursday, but I worked again Friday.  Enough said, it was slow and quiet, but got quite a bit done.

6^th Day of Christmas:  My boss retired.  I have known my boss Joe for 11 years and have worked with him the past couple, so it was sad to see him go.  I planned his retirement party earlier in the month with some last minute help.  We took him out to lunch at Hodak’s and once again I had fried chicken.  It was better and cheaper than the Colorado place.  We spent the evening at our friends, the Walz’s for dinner, Christmas exchange, and spending time together.  I don’t think we spend enough time with friends.

7^th Day of Christmas:  We hosted a New Year’s Eve Party. After seeing Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (4) with Josh’s buddy John who stayed over the night, we cleaned up for a party.  It was a bit too windy to do s’mores but we shared food, games, drinks, and silly string with the Pickards, Amiris, and Jim Glauert.  More friends to spend time with is always a good thing.  Highly recommend the games Anomia (5) and Likewise. (6)

8^th Day of Christmas:  Happy New Year.  This is a time to reflect on how good you have it even though you may not realize it and to be grateful to those around you.  Love you Lyn!  We bought a new TV for our bedroom and spend the late afternoon with more friends at the Kolmer New Year’s gathering.  I did my Unique Design for Men’s Fraternity (7) when we got home and I am sure you will hear about it more in the future.

9^th Day of Christmas:  We started off the Day with another $5 AM Cinema bargain at AMC.  This time we saw Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. (8)  Then we headed out for our monthly or so jaunt to Boone’s Crossing to cavort the strip mall.  It started with lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory and ended at Panda Express for dinner and was filled by spending time walking and being together as a family.

10^th Day of Christmas:  Back to work with a new boss.  With my boss retired, my new permanent boss is located in Denver. (How convenient, huh?)  Lyn and Josh got a chance to finally meet her as we met for lunch on Christmas Eve.  I look forward to this new chapter with excitement and patience.  At least I am down to just working for two bosses now at work and one at home 🙂

11^th Day of Christmas:  Please like Born Bleeding on Facebook. (9)  Let me say that I amazed that a guy with no prior published writing experience can after four months say he has over a thousand views on his blog.  I think the Cardinals run helped me and some good advice from a fellow blogger over at www.everydayepistle.com (10) has been greatly appreciated.  I look forward to the coming year with the blog going to its own website soon and more Cardinals blogs as I am getting associated with the United Cardinals Bloggers. (11)

12^th Day of Christmas:  I am thankful for my true love, Lyn.  I am a difficult, stubborn, and confusing person and I am blessed that God has given me Lyn.  Remember the song, the 12 days of Christmas are about what your true love gave you.  It would take me more than twelve days to list all the things that Lyn has given me so I will just say again, that I love you Lyn.  Thank you for being who you are and loving me back!

I wish you all the Happiest of New Years and remember to Christmas is more than just one day!