You may not know that I am the oldest of six (now the double type A makes sense, huh?). I have four brothers and one sister. There are 10 nieces and nephews on my side. And to say those kids are the loves of my life is putting it mildly (don’t worry, Jack Bauer; you’re the love of my life in the pet form!).
I have two brothers in Colorado, a brother and my sister in Utah, and a brother in Portland, Ore. And then there’s me. In the middle of the country. Sure, I love Chicago. It’s a great city. But, come October every year, I get so homesick. Not just for my family (though they’re the major part of it), but for the mountains, the snow (though we get lots of snow here), and the fresh (and dry) mountain air. So why I ever left is yet to make sense to me. Apparently I’m the only dummy in the family.
I was raised Mormon and, in the religion, kids are baptized not when they’re born, but when they’re eight years old. The age that they’ve learned the difference between right and wrong and can make those decisions on their own. My middle brother, Jonathan, has four kids and his third child, Olivia, was baptized this past weekend. So Mr. D and I packed up, flew to Denver, and killed about 17 birds with one stone: Participating in Olivia’s baptism, making me feel a tiny bit less homesick, seeing our good friends Harry Brumleve and Erin Brumleve, spending time with my mom and step-dad (who drove in from Utah), and making a Christmas video for you.
So here they are…Kenayde, Nathaniel, Olivia, and Sophia giving you the scoop on what I really do for a living and wishing you a very Merry Christmas!
If you’re viewing this via RSS and can’t see the video, I know I’m biased, but you don’t want to miss this one. Click here and it’ll magically appear!