We had too good of a Christmas not to share it in some way. It seemed that everyone made some sort of sacrifice to make this event happen and I believe all of us appreciated the opportunity of getting together. People talk about the not so pleasant family gatherings but that is not what we are about. We shouldn't think about "forever families" unless we start that process here on earth and I think we have a pretty good jump on the process! We had a great time and I want to share it mostly in photos but I will add some commentary.
It was a bit foggy buy beauty comes out of trying to find our way. The trees taught us that lesson one morning.
While Heidi spent a few days with the Stephensons, DJ and children spent three days on the mountain with base camp in Hyde Park. It is always a delight to have them around and the ever present discussions with DJ are always appreciated. The sunglasses reminds me of a Joshua comment to his sunglass wearing female ski instructor. It was something like "it looks like you have blue eyes behind those glasses". What a jump that kid has on the guys around him!
Louise has been away from her class since mid-November because of her surgery but that doesn't mean that they have forgotten about her. She was presented with this very nice card by one of her students. Each hand print had a child's name by it.
We all shared in the nicest gift of the year with Steven coming for a most welcome two day visit prior to his deployment. We got him into the living room without Brynn seeing him then took her in for her "big surprise" from Salt Lake. It was a sweet, tender moment that we all shared. Thanks to Steven and Lindsay.
What would Christmas be without treats and fun projects? I made the gingerbread dough and rolled it out for the kids to decorate. Louise supplied the fun stuff (decorations) to liven up the cookies and (next photo) the houses. Some were nice little works of art and others were clusters of candy to be consumed -- it was fun either way they were used.
We so appreciated Tre's direction for the Christmas Eve reminder of the gift of the Savior. He commented that no director has ever worked with any cast with a shorter attention span! Tre knew his Luke 2 very well so the event was reenacted in spite of a few cast substitutions and smiles along the way.
I also enjoyed the carols that we sung to Lisa's capable assistance on the piano.
I considered each person's presence a gift. My parents are doing remarkably well and their attending the evening was appreciated. Dad brought his traditional Philadelphia cream cheese chip dip to make it an official family event.
We laugh as a family about lining up on Christmas morning to go to our presents. Well it is now going into the next generation. Notice the "Joy" sign on the wall. It is most fitting as I look at the faces of the children.
As I reviewed my many photos of Christmas morning (what a crazy, noisy sixty minutes from 7:00 to 8:00!), I captured the joy of the moment in Janae and her daughter's faces. I also liked the reminder from my Norwegian message just above Megan's head of "God Jul" -- Merry Christmas.
Again -- thanks to all of the family. We missed having the Fords us but thanks to Skype, we were able to visit with them. It was nice to relax and wander in our PJs and Levis.
To our grandchildren, Louise and I sent our love and appreciation. The older ones do such a nice job of helping with the little ones. Thank you for your good examples to your friends, for doing so well in school, and for giving all of us hope in the future as we see that you are grounded in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010
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