Merry Christmas from the Jackson Family (2025)

It's been a very long time since we've sent out Christmas cards - probably the first decade of our marriage. Since we've been married thirty-five years, that's a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

So, rather than trying to build a Christmas card list, I decided to make a Christmas card blog post... 

Here's the ho-ho-ho-highlights of 2025 for Mark, Shari, Braeden, and Collin:

• I'm still working for the TN Department of Education - and is about to finish my 12th year with the agency. (Profoundly thankful for my supervisor and the team I work with.)
• Shari has been volunteering with NAMI (the National Alliance on Mental Illness).
• Braeden is seeking a Masters degree online from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary while working part-time at Essential Church in Huntsville, Alabama.
• Collin is halfway through his junior year at UT Chattanooga and is working part-time at Rocket Fizz in downtown Chattanooga.
• The boys & I were able to attend Gulf Games in February in Asheville, NC (just Mark & Braeden) and in July in Lexington, KY (all three of us). 
• Shari & I had an amazing two week vacation through portions of Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia in May... including a detour to make sure Shari got to see Niagara Falls. (I highly recommend hiking the Gorge Trail at Watkins Glen State Park, btw.)

Yes, I acknowledge that "ho-ho-ho-highlights" is a level of Dad joke-ness and cheese that I should not have attempted. But I did and you kept reading, so we both lose. [grin]

Top row: Lake Erie, Halloween, Gulf Games
Bottom: Grammy & all of her grandchildren & great-grandchildren (Thanksgiving)

On the more difficult side, my mom passed away in February after a long fight with Alzheimer's. My grief is a weird mixture of sadness and relief - and the certainty that she is present with the Jesus she loved and served throughout her life.

Mom playing Qwirkle with us in 2014

May your Christmas be blessed - not only merry but also meaningful. May your New Year be filled with truth, beauty, and grace - and may you be an instrument of His peace to folks around you.

Merry Christmas

Mark

Sentinels of the Multiverse: The Bloodsworn Arena

The boys & I are big fans of the cooperative superhero card game Sentinels of the Multiverse... we own all of the current physical expansions, we've sponsored the upcoming "final" Kickstarter for Oblivaeon, and we have the full digital version on our iPad. Son the Younger even has a plushy Mr. Chomps (see above).

Yes, it's a sickness. Let's not dwell on that.

When we (and when I say "we", I actually mean "I" - but it sounds better when I included my sons) pledged for the Season 2 Kickstarter of the digital version of Sentinels, one of the things we were most excited about was a Bloodsworn Arena mode. (What follows is the description from the Kickstarter page...)

How many villains can you defeat in a row with the ultimate hero team? Make your own storyline with this randomized campaign mode and last as long as you can. Fans of the game have made several versions of this idea on the tabletop.

If we can reach this goal, Handelabra Games will create an “Arena Mode” for the video game. The details and options of the new mode will be worked out when we get to the design and development stage, and we’ll be getting your input at that time. Some ideas and options include a single fixed hero team with no HP recovery; a drafting mechanic where fallen heroes are replaced; ramping up difficulty with advanced and challenge modes; and more! No matter what, this new mode will keep you on your toes.

Sadly, while the Season 2 Kickstarter was successful, it wasn't successful enough to reach this particular stretch goal.

So, after fruitlessly searching the InterWebs (Homer Simpson: "Oh, they have the internet on computers now!") for some home-brewed Arena rules, we made our own. We offer them here for you as an early Thanksgiving gift. (Homer Simpson: "And Lord, we are especially thankful for nuclear power, the cleanest, safest energy source there is—except for solar, which is just a pipe dream. Anyway, we’d like to thank you for the occasional moments of peace and love our family has experienced. Well, not today, but you saw what happened! Oh, Lord, be honest! Are we the most pathetic family in the universe or what?!")

Enjoy.

The Arena Rules

• We selected a number of the weaker villains
• Akash'buhta
• Ambuscade
• Baron Blade
• Deadline
• Omnitron
• The Ennead
• After choosing our team and environment, we shuffled the villains and put the first one into play.
• We played a normal game of SotM... and when we defeated the first villain, the following things happened:
• The current hero finished their turn.
• All defeated Villain cards were removed from the game.
• All Hero and Environment ongoing cards stayed in place.
• Heroes retained their current card hand & discard pile.
• Heroes do not refresh hit points.
• A new Villain was taken from the stack and set up as usual.
• The new Villain went first... skipping any Hero turns and/or Environment turns.
• Lather, rinse, repeat... until the team goes down in a blaze of glory.
• Possible variants we didn't try:
• giving each hero back X number of hit points when a villain is defeated (X = number of heroes in the game + number of villains successfully defeated)
• allowing each player to choose one "backup" hero that jumps in when their hero goes down - would need to decide if incapacitated heroes still get to use their power

How We Did

• Our team (in player order):
• Parse
• K.N.Y.F.E.
• Unity
• The environment:
• Madame Mittermeier’s Fantastical Festival of Conundrums & Curiosities
• The villains we defeated (in order):
• Omnitron
• Ambuscade
• Akash'bhuta
• The Ennead
• The villain who took us out:
• Deadline (but he only had 15 hit points left)
• Most impressive attack:
• Unity's team of robots managed to inflict 56 points of damage on Deadline in one turn... and then catastrophe(s) struck and destroyed them all.
• Our "review" of our own rules:
• While it runs a little long, we had a blast playing this way. Particularly with heroes that pile up ongoing cards, you can make some pretty spectacular plays - and that's always fun.
• The boys & I are concerned that this might not work as well with the tougher villains.
• We also wondered how this would work against Vengeance-style villains.
• Overall, we had a lot of fun... and are talking about trying it again soon.

Snowmageddon Gaming

So, what with all the snow - 7.5" at in our backyard - we weren't going anywhere. (Yes, I hear you, my dear non-Southern friends who deal with a 1/2 foot of snow on a regular basis - we're a bunch of wimps.)

We played a lot of games:

• DC Deckbuilding Rivals: Batman vs Joker
• Pandemic: Legacy
• Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Skull & Shackles
• The City
• Smash Up
• Carcassonne: Wheel of Fortune
• Marrakesh (HABA)
• Kaseklau (HABA)
• Too Many Cooks

...but two of them were specifically winter-y.

Braeden and I played the "Out of Kemi" Breakthough scenario from the Memoir '44 Equipment Pack... here you see an unretouched photo of Finnish ski troops attempting to stop the Germans... in our backyard. (For the record, the Germans managed to repel the Finnish offensive.)

We also played Arctic Scavengers: Recon... I really like the way the expansion lets you customize the game to suit the number of players and your particular style of play. (For the record, the Yardmaster - me - managed to attract all four gangs to join up.)

What did you play this weekend, snowbound friends?!

Yet Another Reason to Go To Germany... Besides the Games

A complete time-waster... but an awesome use of Google Maps. You can explore Minatur Wunderland to your heart's content with 360-view pictures.

Click HERE to see the Google Map amazing-ness.

Dang, I want to go see this in person. 

aka Puzzler

While the weekly Car Talk Puzzler is not my favorite part of listening to Car Talk (that would be the hilarious driver instruction advice they give), they did inspire this "welcome back to blogging" post that you are now enjoying.

So, the Jackson family just returned from vacation - let's see if you can figure out where we went from the following three pictures! (Those who already know the answer should keep mum and let other people play the game.)

Put your answer (guess) in the comments & I'll let you know the winner(s) later this week.

5 Cool Vacation Pictures

This is here so that you guys don't think I died. And so I can show off some cool pictures from our mini-vacation to Ohio.

Here's Collin emerging from a submarine at COSI... 

...and for the gamers in the crowd, pointing out Gulo Gulo to everyone. (Sadly, we did not see any gulos, baby or otherwise, at the Columbus Zoo - they were hiding.)

Dinosaur attack! Braeden is much more blase about it than Collin.

An amazing view from the top of an Indian mound outside of Cedarville, OH.

I'm still in love with this woman - so thankful for her. (Taken at Clifton Mill.)

We Remember

Stephen Ambrose, writing about the the citizen soldiers who fought in World War II:

“At the core, the American citizen soldiers knew the difference between right and wrong, and they didn't want to live in a world in which wrong prevailed. So they fought, and won, and we all of us, living and yet to be born, must be forever profoundly grateful.” 

And we are.

Happy Memorial Day...

This Is So Very, Very Wrong

As my faithful readers know, I am loath to refuse a sugar-y treat. My tastes when it comes to rich, fattening & or sweet foods are, shall we say, wide. 

But this... this is wrong on so many levels. 

I'm just thankful it's a limited edition and will go away to the Limited Edition Oreo Graveyard, along with Marshmallow Crispy Oreos, Fruit Punch Oreos, and the stomach-turning Candy Corn Oreos.

Classic: Invasion of the Peep Army

A few years back, my friend Jimbo was "inspired" by a message I preached (using Peep Science as a metaphor for eternal security - see PeepResearch.org for the original inspiration) and went out the week after Easter & bought 300 or so Peeps of various colors & types... and snuck into my office and, well, Peeped it out. Every flat surface in the place had a Peep on it.

In 2010, he outdid himself with the Invasion of the Peep Army.

The first Peep appeared on Saturday next to my bathroom sink. "Mark - We've missed you." His title was "Scout Peep" and he was an indication of things to come.



On Sunday morning while I was getting my sermon ready, Sandra delivered the second Peep to my office after I appropriated a doughnut from the adult Sunday School stash. "A good Peep is never afraid to eat with the enemy." This one claimed to be a "Secret Agent Peep."



Then, right before the worship service, I went to get my wireless microphone and found yet another advance Peep - the "Audio Surveillance Peep." The ominous message: "We are listening."



We went to the Archuleta's for Easter lunch (we're the special guest gringos to make the gringo son-in-law, T, feel less lonely!) :-) and when we returned, we spotted the first signs of the Peep invasion on our gate. Yes, that's Peeps rappelling into our backyard.



On closer examination, I found that these were "Special Forces Peeps." I wonder where they go to get their intensive training. (Maybe this explains why they're so difficult to find in the store 10 months out of the year.)



Once in the backyard, there were Peeps with parachutes hanging from a variety of places. Evidently, "Paratrooper Peeps" are not good at reaching the ground.



One Peep-a-Trooper even managed to get hung on the old garage light.



At first glance, I wasn't sure who this troop was advancing through the high grass of our side lawn.



Turns out, it was "Infantry Peeps."



There were also "Calvary Peeps" - with Peep bunnies riding Peep chicks. Their objective seemed to be the patio.



The Peeps came prepared to take losses, complete with Peep coffins & a chaplain. "Some casualties for you to enjoy." (I suspect the "dead Peeps" are actually some sort of Trojan Horse kind of trick.)



Finally, knowing the futility of attacking something many times their size (even with their imposing numbers & near-indestructibility), the Peeps positioned "Sniper Peeps" throughout the yard - on the fence, in one of the trees, on the boys' basketball goal...



...and the final holdout near the eave of the old garage.



Menacing little bugger, isn't he? (I knocked him down with a stick.)



Of course, that was so the Peep Elimination Squad (my two sons) could harvest the Peep Army for some planned experiments involving Peeps & a microwave. (See Peep Science for more ideas on how to experiment/"torture" Peeps for educational purposes.)



Or perhaps as a tasty snack.

Valentine's Day #26

This is the 26th Valentine's Day for Shari & I... and while I'm pretty sure this picture wasn't taken on our first Valentine's Day, it wasn't very far off. Set the Wayback Machine for 1989, folks.

That lovely little girl in my arms is our niece, Rebecca - who is now "all grown up" and makes more money than I do. (Of course, both of her degrees are from TCU, a vastly inferior university to Baylor.) :-)

I do miss Shari Jo's "big 80s" + "Texas girl" hair... but I'm happy to say that whatever hairstyle she has, this is the woman I've spent more than half of my life with... and the gift from God that I'm thankful for each day.

Happy Valentine's Day to my bride...

Generation Gap

I walk this hall at least once a week for work - it's the tunnel from the Charlotte St. side of Legislative Plaza under the Capitol building. 

Each time I traverse the the hallway, I can mentally hear the "Get Smart" theme playing in my head, complete with slamming doors.

My boys (age 12 & 8) saw this picture and immediately said "It looks like The Avengers."

Heroscape "Arena of Doom"

I'll try to get better pictures of this Heroscape board this next week (since Braeden & Canann & I are getting ready for an epic 1000 pt army battle on it) but I still wanted to show it off. This is my self-created "Arena of Doom" that I built for Crazy Squirrel Game Store's grand opening celebration this last Saturday.

Yes, I'm the dumpy guy with a goattee & a silly grin.

This is a better picture of the board... that's my arm coming in from the right. (Yes, my mother taught me it's not polite to point.)

We managed three games on the board... and all of them were a lot of fun!

UPDATE: Joe Aguayo (who played in the 2nd game) sent me this picture he took which gives you an even better look at the board.

D-Day: The Normandy Invasion

D-Day: The Normandy Invasion Originally uploaded by The U.S. Army

This is one of many incredible photos available on flickr.com at the U.S. Army photostream.

"We are the children of your sacrifice. We are the sons and daughters you saved from tyranny's reach. We grew up behind the shield of the strong alliances you forged in blood upon these beaches, on the shores of the Pacific, and in the skies above." (B. Clinton)

The Invasion of the Peep Army

A few years back, my friend Jimbo was "inspired" by a message I preached (using Peep Science as a metaphor for eternal security - see PeepResearch.org for the original inspiration) and went out the week after Easter & bought 300 or so Peeps of various colors & types... and snuck into my office and, well, Peeped it out. Every flat surface in the place had a Peep on it.

This year, he outdid himself with the Invasion of the Peep Army.

The first Peep appeared yesterday next to my bathroom sink. "Mark - We've missed you." His title was "Scout Peep" and he was an indication of things to come.

This morning while I was getting my sermon ready, Sandra delivered the second Peep to my office after I appropriated a doughnut from the adult Sunday School stash. "A good Peep is never afraid to eat with the enemy." This one claimed to be a "Secret Agent Peep."

Then, right before the worship service, I went to get my wireless microphone and found yet another advance Peep - the "Audio Surveillance Peep." The ominous message: "We are listening."

We went to the Archuleta's for Easter lunch (we're the special guest gringos to make the gringo son-in-law, T, feel less lonely!) :-) and when we returned, we spotted the first signs of the Peep invasion on our gate. Yes, that's Peeps rappelling into our backyard.

On closer examination, I found that these were "Special Forces Peeps." I wonder where they go to get their intensive training. (Maybe this explains why they're so difficult to find in the store 10 months out of the year.)

Once in the backyard, there were Peeps with parachutes hanging from a variety of places. Evidently, "Paratrooper Peeps" are not good at reaching the ground.

One Peep-a-Trooper even managed to get hung on the old garage light.

At first glance, I wasn't sure who this troop was advancing through the high grass of our side lawn.

Turns out, it was "Infantry Peeps."

There were also "Calvary Peeps" - with Peep bunnies riding Peep chicks. Their objective seemed to be the patio.

The Peeps came prepared to take losses, complete with Peep coffins & a chaplain. "Some casualties for you to enjoy." (I suspect the "dead Peeps" are actually some sort of Trojan Horse kind of trick.)

Finally, knowing the futility of attacking something many times their size (even with their imposing numbers & near-indestructibility), the Peeps positioned "Sniper Peeps" throughout the yard - on the fence, in one of the trees, on the boys' basketball goal...

...and the final holdout near the eave of the old garage.

Menacing little bugger, isn't he? (I knocked him down with a stick.)

Of course, that was so the Peep Elimination Squad (my two sons) could harvest the Peep Army for some planned experiments involving Peeps & a microwave. (See Peep Science for more ideas on how to experiment/"torture" Peeps for educational purposes.)

Or perhaps as a tasty snack.