My niece Amanda is awesome. I use that word a lot when I tell other people about her. The word just fits.

Her awesomeness began with God, but it's certainly carried out in the parents He chose to give her. My baby brother, Benny, and his wife, Stephanie, are doing a great job as parents. They are raising a wonderful child who has a sweet and kind spirit, who loves her family, is smart as a whip, is well-rounded and just too dang funny.

You never quite know what Amanda will say or do next. She comes up with some stuff. Like, at Thanksgiving, I asked her to hand me a tissue. I didn't think she heard me because she didn't even look up from what she was doing, so I repeated my request. Amanda said, "Girrrrl, I was reaching for it."

It was also at Thanksgiving I realized that I have to stop trying to put things on what I think is an age-appropriate level for her, so that she'll understand. Case in point: I was explaining to Amanda that my cat likes to stay up at night. She said, "You mean she's nocturnal? Owls and bats are nocturnal too, Gigi."

Point taken. She's a smarty-pants.

Then today, I opened an e-mail from my brother, and he said Amanda had written and sung a song for him. She wrote the words down, so that "in case he didn't remember the tune" he'd at least have the words.

And unlike 99 percent of the songwriters out there right now, Amanda's song moved me to tears. Her lyrics (spelling unchanged here) were:

I love you Lord

You are my saveyour

Yor nic kind and good

I love you

Its really hard to say how much love you

I just love you

I hope to have her sing it for me when I go to their house for Christmas. It's the only Christmas present I want this year.

If she is in the mood to sing it, I'm sure of two things…I'll cry…and I'll never hear a sweeter song, on either side of heaven.

The Twelve Days of Christmas – For Dawgs

On the first day of Christmas the Gators gave to me, a resignation under the tree.

On the second day of Christmas the Gators gave to me, sucky secondaries and a resignation under the tree.

On the third day of Christmas the Gators gave to me, a really putrid offense, sucky secondaries and a resignation under the tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas the Gators gave to me, special teams failure, a really putrid offense, sucky secondaries and a resignation under the tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas the Gators gave to me, TEEE-BOOOW IS GOOONE, special teams failure, a really putrid offense, sucky secondaries and a resignation under the tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas the Gators gave to me, three-QBs confusion, TEEE-BOOOW IS GOOONE, special teams failure, a really putrid offense, sucky secondaries and a resignation under the tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas the Gators gave to me, an unimproved defense, three-QBs confusion, TEEE-BOOOW IS GOOONE, special teams failure, a really putrid offense, sucky secondaries and a resignation under the tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas the Gators gave to me, horrid D-tackles, an unimproved defense, three-QBs confusion, TEEE-BOOOW IS GOOONE, special teams failure, a really putrid offense, sucky secondaries and a resignation under the tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas the Gators gave to me, inconsistent coaching, horrid D-tackles, an unimproved defense, three-QBs confusion, TEEE-BOOOW IS GOOONE, special teams failure, a really putrid offense, sucky secondaries and a resignation under the tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas the Gators gave to me, a loss to FSU, inconsistent coaching, horrid D-tackles, an unimproved defense, three-QBs confusion, TEEE-BOOOW IS GOOONE, special teams failure, a really putrid offense, sucky secondaries and a resignation under the tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas the Gators gave to me, in-ter-cep-tions, a loss to FSU, inconsistent coaching, horrid D-tackles, an unimproved defense, three-QBs confusion, TEEE-BOOOW IS GOOONE, special teams failure, a really putrid offense, sucky secondaries and a resignation under the tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas the Gators gave to me, Urban Meyer's nipples, in-ter-cep-tions, a loss to FSU, inconsistent coaching, horrid D-tackles, an unimproved defense, three-QBs confusion, TEEE-BOOOW IS GOOONE, special teams failure, a really putrid offense, sucky secondaries and a resignation under the tree.

(I wrote this today after hearing about Urban Meyer resigning as UF's coach. I'm all broken up about it, too.)

I saw this...

http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2010/12/07/Dog-attacked-by-deer/UPI-31131291759300/ and I had to post this story...

When I lived in Bend, I came home from a student function one night and as I rounded the corner, I saw a deer at my front door. I lived on a missionary's salary (nothing) and had a small, upstairs studio apartment. To get to it you had to go to the side of the building and up some stairs...so my apartment basically had its own entrance and I had a little porch. This deer was standing on the little porch, looking down at me.

I knew enough not to try and go up there and tell the deer calmly to exit the premises. But I wasn't sure what I should do. It was snowing HARD, and the temperature was below zero. I wanted to get inside BADLY. So I grabbed a snow shovel that was leaning against the building, and I began to poke up through the wood slats, trying not to hurt the deer, only to scare her. It was a small doe, and looked very young. But she just dug her heels in and it looked like she was going to set up camp for the night. I didn't have a cell phone in those days, so I couldn't call for help, and wasn't sure I'd even want to. It was a hilarious situation I knew I'd be teased mercilessly about.

I tried talking to her while I was poking, and I believe the word "Shoo!" was used many times. I then began to bang the shovel under the porch, but all that did was dump more snow on me. I picked up some pine cones and threw them up onto the porch, trying not to hit the deer, but I'm sure some did hit her. I didn't throw them hard though.

Finally, I resorted to prayer. It should have been my first thought, I know...

My prayer went something like this: "Lord, I don't speak deer, but I know you do, since this animal is your creation. Could you please help her understand that she could get hurt up there and if she'll just turn around, she can go back down the stairs the same way she went up them?"

As I said Amen, I looked up at the deer one more time, and she looked dead at me. We locked eyes for a minute, and I said, "I know you don't speak human, but could you just come down? I'm SO cold!"

And with that, she turned and went down the stairs as pretty as you please. At the bottom of the stairs, she turned and looked at me, and then took off across the road and up the butte.

I went up the stairs, looking carefully for any brown or yellow snow, and made my way inside my warm little apartment. I was so thankful that our Heavenly Father is concerned with the big things in our lives as well as the small things...like interpreting my words on a cold, snowy Oregon night for a very scared little doe.

Perhaps the woman in the story should have prayed...wink, wink.

As the year winds down, I find myself getting reflective. Must be some sort of genetic flaw. It happens every year, about this time.

Each year, as Christmas approaches, I find myself crying during those sappy Hallmark movies – more than usual – and I just can't stop myself. I find myself journaling more than any other time of the year. I find that I suddenly am wearing my thankful shades, and everywhere I look, I see things I'm thankful for.

Let's see...where do I begin...?

In 2010, I suppose I'm thankful for my home. I moved into a nifty condo this year. So thankful for it.

I am thankful for my new little fuzzy bundle of sweetness...my cat, Suki. She meets me at the door each day, and all she wants is for me to hold her for a while. That's it. No other expectations. It makes the cares and worries of the day fade away. I'm thankful for my little Dreamsicle...

I'm thankful for my family. I don't tell them enough...or sometimes...not at all...how much they each mean to me. I'm thankful for my Dad, who stuck around when it might have been easier to just say no. I'm thankful for my mother. See previous post.

I'm thankful for my baby brother, Benny. He's grown into such an awesome man, one who loves his family and works so hard to take care of them. He'd give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. And he's got a wicked sense of humor.

I'm thankful for my sister-in-law, Stephanie. She has brought so much joy to my brother, and she's become my sister.

I'm thankful for my sweet niece, Amanda. She's smart, funny, energetic and such a joy. There's no better sound in the world than her laugh.

I'm thankful for my brother, Greg, and his sons, Terry and Matt. I never get to see them, but I'm still thankful for them. And I miss them.

I'm thankful for my bestest friend, Autumn. She has been such an inspiration to me, and has been there for me through thick and thin. She's been a great support system, there to laugh and cry with me, as needed. She's so awesome.

I'm thankful that I've had a good year health-wise. It's no secret I have breathing problems. But this year, I've kept my lung capacity stable (still at 77 percent, so the doc says)...it hasn't decreased. I'm so thankful for that. I've had some minor things, but compared to many others, it's been a good year for me when it comes to health.

I am thankful for my church. I am learning much there and am growing...something church hasn't offered me in a while. I know that you get out of church exactly what you put in, but I also know that our church environment should stimulate and challenge us. I haven't had that in a long time. I do now, and I am grateful.

I changed jobs this year, stepping outside of my comfort zone, the newsroom. I am still writing and editing, just in a different setting now. It's taken me a while to break free of the stiff constraints a newsroom and all that goes with it puts on a body, but I'm finally getting used to it. I'm getting used to much less stress, regular hours, no publisher or upper management breathing down my neck, and no running around like a headless chicken. I now have a very low-key work environment, with great people and I'm more relaxed both on and off the job. I'm grateful for that.

I'm grateful that I've lived to see the end (well almost) of another year. It seems the older I get the more thankful I am that I get to celebrate each birthday. I think when you're young and feeling invincible, you just don't think about that. I do now. I'm thankful that I am still alive and kickin'.

I'm thankful for the people that I've come in contact with this year...those that I have met for the first time or have reconnected with after a long time. I believe you can learn and grow from each relationship, and I approach each one that way. It's also why I'm picky about who I let myself get close to.

I'm thankful for a renewed sense of discovery when it comes to God's Word. At the beginning of the year, I prayed for that...God heard me, and I have been reading the Bible voraciously, and discovering new stuff every day that I've never seen before. I have seen that God's Word is still alive and it's still relevant. I knew that – I just needed to be reminded, I suppose.

I'm thankful that God met each of my needs this year. When I had a need, what I needed was there. It's been like, "Lord, I need this or that..." and BAM!! It was there. God's like Emeril, you know. He says "BAM!" too.

I could list things that I want Santa to place under the tree this year, but with the exception of a hunky dude, there's not much I can think of that God hasn't already supplied. So I guess my letter to Santa would go a little like this...

Dear Santa,

I'm good.

Sincerely,

Me