Eric Holen

The other day, Yvette uttered the words I had been dreading.  She told me that I needed to start putting together my Christmas list.

This is something we and many in my family have been doing for the last several years. We prepare and share our own self serving Christmas lists.  The lists serve two purposes.  First, it helps the family with ideas for gifts.  Second, it helps avoid receiving something that came with a lot of thought and love, but still ends up as a future donation.

The lists are a great help for Yvette and I who don’t get to see family very often. We love being able to buy something that someone wants or needs, rather than racking our heads for a suitable gift.  If you don’t provide a list, you can expect a gift card.

The Christmas lists from my family cover the range from books to music, clothes for children, and family friendly movies and games.  Further, there are generally several items of different price ranges so that family can select what they want and can afford to give.  Once we select a give for someone, we share it with each other, excluding the recipient, to avoid duplicates.

For me, developing the list is somewhat difficult, because if I really needed or wanted it, I would have already bought it.

Interestingly, one Christmas gift that we didn’t ask for, I think it predates list, is one that we use almost every day.  Beth, my oldest sister, gave us matching Tupperware coffee canisters one year.  One holds the coffee and the other holds the filter and scoop.

So in the “spirit” of the upcoming season, here is my list.

Donate to one of the following organizations:

• American Diabetes Association – for Yvette
• Cystic Fibrosis Foundation – for Michael
• ASPCA, Humane Society or your local animal shelter – for all of the animals who need our help

STOP:  If you are going to use a credit card to purchase any gift this season, then stop.  I don’t want a gift.  Instead, send me pictures of you and your family along with a brief letter about how you are doing and an offer that Yvette and I are welcome to visit and stay in your house anytime.

Otherwise, please feel free to choose from one or more of the following.  I included items of varying costs to fit everyone’s budget.

• Logo T-Shirt, large – under $10
• Streets of Fire DVD, used ­– under $10, and look for it at Half Price Books
• Stafford Performance Dress Shirt, White Broadcloth – $19 on sale, can never have too many white dress shirts
• Sneakers, size 9 ½  – $40, my primary pair is now two years old and ready to move to gym duty
• Portable Hard Drive, 1 TB – $70, but wait for the Christmas sales
• Dell XPS 15z Laptop – $1,499, I can use it to write a blog post thanking you for the gift
• Crossroads Zinger ZT25SB Travel Trailer – $20,531 approximately, I will let you sleep in it (once)
• 2011 Silverado 1500 Crew Cab LS – $27,235 approximately, I will take you for a ride (also once)

While 1 Samuel 17 tells the story about David and Goliath, this is not that story. This is the story of David vs. Eric.

This past weekend, Marianne and Matt, my sister and brother-in-law, gave birth to a beautiful boy. I won’t bore you with all of the details. However, they gave him the middle name of David.

There are eight children in my family. I am the oldest, while David, my only brother, is the second youngest.

While I haven’t asked Marianne and Matt, I am sure they will tell me that their new son has a biblical name and wasn’t named after my little brother. Still, the newest member of our family does bear my brother’s name.

The name David appears in the Bible more times than I care to count. In fact, Wikipedia reports that 73 of the 150 Psalms in the Bible are attributed to David.

Eric doesn’t appear in the Book of Psalms or the Bible at all. I knew because I searched on YouVersion and the website timed out trying to find me.

So while Marianne and Matt brought a beautiful child into this world and gave him a strong first name, which is also biblical, in my opinion they could have tried a little harder on the middle name.

Congratulations to my sister, her husband, their new son and the entire family. I wish I was there to celebrate with them and to hold my newest nephew, David.

On Friday, April 2, my sister Beth who lives in Dallas and rarely posts to Facebook, mentioned that Sarah, one of my other six sisters, would be in Dallas.  Yvette and I haven’t been able to see our families in several months and so the thought of being able to see two of my sisters at once was exciting.

I am the oldest of the eight children followed by Beth while Sarah is the third youngest.

Unfortunately, Sarah lives in Seattle and was only going to be in Dallas for a few days for business and would be flying out on Friday.  This meant that we would only get to see each other in the evening.

So I took a half day off on Thursday, April 8, and drove from Austin to Dallas.  The traffic through Fort Worth wasn’t too bad and in just a few hours I was parked at the Grapevine Mills Mall where we were scheduled to meet.  I texted my sisters to let them know I was there and then pulled out my laptop to catch up on the work I was missing.

I hadn’t gotten through but a handful of emails when Sarah called that she was right around the corner.

Sarah and I walked all the way around the mall; it is laid out as a giant square, and talked the whole time.  Later, I would find out at dinner that Beth, Sarah and I have the same issue; we are not telephone talkers unless it is special occasion.  But Sarah and I talked and talked.

I was a little disappointed with mall from what I remember it had been like.  It was obvious that the mall was struggling and there were a lot of “no name” stores and even a glow in the dark mini golf course.

After making a complete circuit through the mall and not finding anything, Sarah and I decided to find someplace nearby to sit and wait for Beth.  After driving around the loop the circled the mall, we stumbled upon Love and War in Texas.  We sat down, me with a beer and her with some tea, and talked some more.

Beth joined us as soon as she got off work and then we decided to catch dinner at the restaurant since we were already there.  Beth and Sarah had planned to catch dinner and movie before they found out I was coming.  I had the “Presidio, TX Poblano” with sides of their sautéed spinach and grilled vegetables.  I highly recommend the meal.

Throughout dinner, we talked even more, sharing stories and recollections of past events where we got into trouble with our parents.  Unfortunately, I had a long drive back so we called it an evening.

I drove from Forth Worth and made it as far as Waco, where I spent the night at a Motel 6.  Early the next morning, I was back on the road and in Austin at my desk by 7:15 AM.

While it was a long trip, it was great to see my sisters and I had a great time.  I hope that that I will get to see my other four sisters, little brother and my mom in the near future.  Missing you all!

While I am enjoying the 3-day weekend, a moving video during services at the The Connection Church this morning got me to thinking about the reason, Memorial Day.

At one point, four of my six sisters were actively serving in the military at the same time. I can remember times when at least two of them served simultaneously in dangerous zones. I am thankful that they all made it back safely.

On Monday, I encourage all of my readers to participate in The National Moment of Remembrance at 3:00 PM local time.