On the Twenty-first Day of Christmas

I know I won’t do this story justice. It’s much better to tell face to face. I’ll give it a try though…

For the twenty first day of Christmas we decided to head to Scottsdale to pick up some gifts on hold then to McCormick Train Park to see the beautiful lights. Before heading out I asked Jon if I should bring my purse since he was driving. He told me to leave it at home so being the obedient, submissive wife, I did.

We get to Scottsdale, drive around while until we get a parking spot outside the mall (with our empty gas tank light that just began to flash) then head towards the store. At some point, Jon grabs his back pocket to find it flat. Okay, I know he’s a male Kempiak which means there’s not a lot of “meat” there, however this time it was flatter than most. His wallet was not there and let me stress the big news…he was not held up. He forgot the wallet! We get back in the car and decide to go ahead and ride the train since we had 5 tickets. A little nervous about or empty tank, we just decided to “go for it!” About five minutes out it hit me, the train ride isn’t one ticket per person anymore, it’s two, thus us needing 10 tickets (and no money to make up the difference). Ugh! Jon pulls over and we tell our excited kids. They took the news well. I was shocked. I think I was more “put out” internally than they were. Shame on me!

Jon turns the car around to head home thirty minutes out as I repeatedly pray that we’ll have enough gas. Upon turning around, we see a Baptist church lined with luminaries hosting a live nativity scene. Maybe this is what God wants us to do tonight instead, I thought. I bring it to Jon’s attention and we decide to stop there. We walk around the grounds where the members of the church are dressed up; we pet the camel, goats, sheep, hear the story that never grows old, and see the baby Jesus with his earthly mom and dad, Mary and Joseph. It was really neat!

Worried still, a bit, about our gas tank and thinking that at some point we might have to call a friend to rescue us, we decide to head home so it’s still “early”. Jon opens the doors for us and as he’s buckling up Owen, I smell something odd. It was a familiar smell but it took me a little while to figure it out. “Something’s burning Jon!” And then we look down, it’s the luminary Jon knocked down with his door! Now imagine this…Jon jumping up and down on the grass and bag that’s in flames. Poor guy! I had a major dilemma here, do I take photos of this too? Well, I declined the thought, although tempting.

So, out of all the days of Christmas, I think the 21st will be with us for a very long time. We got to see the nativity scene and set arson at the same time, to the church that blessed us with a special night!

(P.S. We did not run out of gas on the way home. Another praise God experience!)
(P.P.S. With a full tank of gas, Jon went out the next morning when the store in Scottsdale opened to get the gifts on hold. What a guy!)