Christmas arrived for Owen and he
received an assortment of gifts from around the world. He listened
carefully as I explained his gifts and letters from important people.
Owen's first letter is from
Vincent van Gogh and a gift of his painting, Bedroom
in Arles.
Christmas 2015
Dear Owen,
You have another painting of
mine, which is called The Drawbridge at Arles with a
Group of Washerwomen. I painted it in 1888. This
painting, Bedroom in Arles, I also
painted in the same year. Your papa thought that you would like this one
also.
Your papa tells me that it
reminds him of your bedroom. There is your bed and the chair in which he
sits as he reads to you before you go to sleep. However, he tells me that
you started a new tradition of sitting next to him leaning on the bed rather
than sitting on his lap while he is seated in the chair.
This was a drawing that I did and
sent it to my brother, Theo. I have brother just like you do.
After I got advice from Theo, I
used paint to finish my idea. I hope that you like my painting.
Years ago when I painted this picture, I said, "I dream of painting and
then I paint my dream."
Owen when you go to sleep each
night, dream your dreams, and they will become your life.
In the meantime, continue to
paint well my son,
Vincent van Gogh
Owen points to the chair where I
read to him before he goes to sleep.
Owen's next letter is from
Charles Darwin.
Christmas 2015
Dear Owen,
Your Papa talks and writes about
you all the time. He especially likes telling people about your favorite
that I gave you...dinosaur coprolite. He tells me that you call it, dinosaur poop. While you
enjoy your fossilized dinosaur poop, I hope you like these Christmas gifts to
you.
One of my gifts is a horse's
tooth, which was found in Florida near Disney World. This is what horses
looked like around two million years old.
The other fossil is of a clam,
which is from Madagascar and about 180-million years old. You like shinny
fossils. However, this is what the fossil looked like when I found it.
Papa cleaned it up for you, and
it is now shinny. I hope you love your clam. Just keep your fingers
away from the clam; it might nip you if you are not careful.
Take care,
Charles Darwin
Owen is holding a horse's
fossilized tooth.
Owen is explaining about how a clam opens its mouth to eat.
Owen's next letter and gift are
from Chinese elves.
Christmas 2015
Owen,
I hope that you have a very nice
Christmas. Several months ago, your papa asked me and my elves to make an
ornament for you and Jack. I asked him about the design that he wanted
for you. He suggested an owl. He has fun teasing you and thought
that you could scare everyone by saying, "Whoo, hoooooo" when your parents and
Jack come near this owl ornament.
Well, I need to get back to
working and getting ready for next Christmas. In the meantime,
Take care,
圣诞老人
Shèngdàn lǎorén
Christmas 2015
Dear Owen,
I am presenting this kata to
you. The people in Tibet give a kata when they visit a special
person. You and your brother are special. Therefore, this kata is
for you. Your papa will put it on you so you can wear it for a
while. Then, put it in your room and never forget how special you are.
Dr. Norbu, who was my brother,
gave your papa a kata when he visited Lhasa, Tibet. My brother wanted him
to present his kata to the Shakyamuni Buddha.
I wish you well during the
Christmas season and the New Year,
༄༅།།ལོ་གསར་ལ་བཀྲ་ཤིས་བདེ་ལེགས་ཞུ།,
His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama
Owen intently listens while I
tell him that he is special.
Jack and Owen present me their
gift, which says, Our Papa Rocks.
This is Jack and Owen's gift in
my home in Crown Point.
After opening their gifts, off we
went to make dessert...banana flambé.
This Christmas, Owen decided that
he didn't like kiwi seeds that he had for lunch. Jack and Owen cut the
bananas, and I showed him banana seeds. Apparently, he liked banana
seeds, because he ate all of his bananas flambé.
