My wife Katie and I have been married 7 years now and have decorated our house for every one of those years except for one -- last year. Katie suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and last year it was just too hard for her to help with the normal climbing up and down ladders and all the other steps necessary to accomplish what we do in getting our house decorated for the Christmas season. So, we decided to skip last year -- this was hard on both of us as we really do enjoy doing what we do -- it's our way of 'giving back' to the community.

In the last year, due to advances in modern medicine and the grace of God, her arthritis is back under control and we have been able to resume our 'normal' lives.

As we both work, it takes us approximately a month to get everything set up and ready to 'turn on' -- we started the day after Halloween. This year, because of the unseasonably warm weather during November, we were able to finish ahead of schedule and officially 'flipped the switch' on Monday, Nov. 27.

Our greatest rewards are the looks on the faces of the children (and even some of the parents) when they drive by to see our decorated house.

Stop by and say hi, or honk, so we can wave.

Happy Holidays --