As I reflect on this year and look forward to Christmas, I am reminded of one of the best books that I read this year entitled "Wild at Heart" by John Eldredge. In his book, he describes the male characteristics as those that were placed there by God.
As I watch my son, Adam, grow up... in wisdom, stature and knowledge. Sometimes, I wonder if he will survive and then again, sometimes I hope that my girls (Carmen and Becca) are able to find a young man that is as "Wild at Heart" as he is.
Steven Curtis Chapman wrote a song about another boy that was "Wild at Heart" that always makes my heart leap as I listen to it near Christmas time. This baby was the baby that gave us all the joy of Christmas, and family, and purpose, and the heart to be wild.
This BabyWell, He cried when He was hungry,
Did all the things that babies do;
He rocked and He napped on His mother’s lap,
And He wiggled and giggled and cooed.
There were the cheers when He took His first step,
And the tears when He got His first teeth;
Almost everything about this little baby
Seemed as natural as it could be.
But this baby made the angels sing,
And this baby made a new star shine in the sky.
This baby had come to change the world.
This baby was God’s own son, this baby was like no other one.
This baby was God with us, this baby was Jesus.
And this baby grew into a young boy,
Who learned to read and write and
wrestle with dad;
There was the
climbin’ of trees and the scrapin’ of knees,
And all the fun that a boy’s born to have.He grew taller and some things
started changing,
Like His complexion and the sound of His voice;
There was
work to be done as a carpenter’s son
And all the neighbors said
He’s such a fine boy.
But this boy made the angels sing,
And this boy made a new star shine in the sky.
This boy had come to change the world.
This boy was God’s own son,
this boy was like no other one.
This boy was God with us. This boy became a man,
And love made Him laugh and death made Him cry.
With the life that He lived and the death that He died,
He showed us heaven with His hands and His heart,
‘Cause this man was God’s own son.
This man was like no other one,
Holy and human right from the start.
This baby was God with us, this baby, this baby was Jesus; this baby was Jesus, this baby was Jesus.
Every year for I'm guessing around 20 years, the Etsinger grandchildren have piled onto a couch for a picture near the Christmas tree. When Carmen was a baby, they all had trouble 
making her smile, and every year there has been something funny about the assembly, but this year with nearly half of the grandchildren married or engaged, it just didn't happen.
shift of the attention from the grandchildren to the grandparents.
Ruby just finished her cancer treatments, was fighting bronchitis, but still putting all of us first as she always does, just with less energy and more sacrifice. We all continue to learn a great deal from this tremendous lady.
