Greg Nilsen

Merry Christmas to everyone on today, the day we celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  May we remember the gift He was to us, and may you enjoy this day with the ones you love!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends out there!  May you be thankful for all that has happened in your lives, and give thanks for all that is to come.

Just a few things I'm thankful for:

• my loving wife
• my resilient family
• my supportive friends
• becoming a home owner
• having a child on the way
• having survived my gallbladder affair with no real setbacks

I really feel that God has smiled upon me this year when I stop to think about it…

May blessings fall upon you as well as we all give thanks for what we have on this day!

Well, even though our retailers have jumped straight from Halloween to Christmas, I wanted to take a few minutes to reflect on one of the most American of holidays that is coming up next week: Thanksgiving.

I've always enjoyed Thanksgiving as a day of gathering with family around some great food that we usually only make once a year, and be a little more carefree and thankful for all that we have.

There are a lot of great things about this oft overlooked holiday, and I wanted to see what your favorite part was.  Please take a second to vote in the poll below and let us know what you're looking forward to next week.

Last Thursday, my wife and I closed on our first home, and I've been spending the time since then on renovations before we move in sometime late September. So far, I've torn up all the carpets (with some pretty good looking hardwood underneath in the nearly 70-year-old structure) and gotten rid of the majority of the wallpaper, both of which were at least older than I am. It's made for a long 4-day weekend (after I took Friday off), but it's been well worth it as the place is already looking much better. Over the next few weeks, I'm sure I'll be busy with more renovation projects, but it's a very rewarding feeling knowing the place is ours.

Plus, I'd like to have everything in order before the new family member comes along in six more months. That's right, my wife is heading into her second trimester already! So I've got my work cut out to get everything in order before then…

Next step: refinishing those hardwood floors to make them shine!

May you be with friends and family as we thank God for this country where we are free to worship him.  Enjoy your long weekend as well!

Merry Christmas, everyone!  May this season bring you good times with family and friends, and may you have time to reflect upon the Lord and the blessings He has bestowed upon you.

A happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Americans out there who are hopefully taking time out to celebrate today with friends and family. Enjoy some good food, good times, and remain thankful for all that you have.

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone, and despite a few food-related setbacks (remember to leave the oven on the whole time you're cooking a turkey…however, the two hours of letting it sit after an hour of cooking left the bird extra juicy!), my family and I had a great time playing my Wii. We spent hours playing Wii Sports after creating a Mii for everyone.

While we played a little bit of everything, the bowling and boxing games seemed to draw the most interest. Bowling I understood because it's easy to pick up, but hard to master. Plus you can get four people going with just two controllers, which is all I've got right now. Boxing was popular just because it's hilarious to watch people duke it out. I've got some footage of my parents going head-to-head, and it's like they're just flailing at nothing. There's not much strategy to it either (at least none that we've been able to discern yet). Of course, the best part is seeing the winner throw their hands in the air like they just won an actual match.

I'd like to get that footage off the camera eventually (along with all the other stuff sitting on the video camera from the last year) and get it posted on here. Very entertaining!

With family fun like this, the whole Wii phenomena may just become huge!

Edit: Oh yea, if anyone else out there has a Wii and their friend code handy feel free to drop it in the comments below. Let the Miis mingle!

I'd just like to wish all my American brethren a happy Thanksgiving Day! I'm looking forward to spending the day with my family as my wife and I host them for the first time. Should keep us pretty busy!

But let's make sure to take time amongst all the food, parades and football to remember to be thankful for all that God has given to us. For that's the intent behind the first Thanksgiving. The pilgrims were thankful for surviving their trip to a land where they would worship God freely. We should feel privileged to live in a land where we can do so ourselves, especially when there are so many places where one can still not do so around the world.

Give thanks to the Lord!