Monday, December 18, 2017

Christmas Card 2017




As I end my 84th year I am happy to have another  Christmas season to enjoy the story of the birth of the Savior to the World, with all the lights, the music, the gift giving, the Christmas trees, the parties, the movies and the list goes on and on.  The first Christmas I remember was in a small white house in Glendive, Montana when I was about 4.  We walked to the Congregational Church for a Christmas Eve service and then back home, probably in the snow.  We had no car and not much money or possessions but we had five and soon six in the family and there was always lots of love and fun as we shared the wonder of life and Christmas together.

The thing I  know this year is that I probably cannot  tell accurately enough to brag about   my children (3) and their children(15) and their children(8) but I do know that the family that started out as Richard and I in a small apartment in east San Diego in 1959 is now spread out in 15 households, from sea to sea, in various places,  with various  number of members in the household, and doing many different  jobs and education, as they all experience the marvels  of life, with its ups and downs and joys and sorrows and Christmas’s together or, sadly, sometimes  far away from home.  I feel their love and see their beauty as I talk to them on my smart phone, get a text from them or spot them on Instagram, Facebook or wherever they choose to shine.

The only one new to enter this big world was darling Charli, daughter of Amy and Joe.  And no one left this year… and we are all missing Richard and John, who are probably living a more exciting life than we can imagine in their heavenly realm!

Another thing I can tell you is that gathering  2017  pictures for this Christmas letter  took some time.  They are not all in my camera and computer anymore.  And I did have to use one picture from 2015 because some of us avoid picture taking all together.   

This winter I will be with the family of James and Camber and spend Christmas at their home 15036 El Camino Reale, Del Mar, CA 92014,  for those of you  who still send cards (I love them).   I will  be back home in Lake Almanor by April.   I am so lucky to have family in sunny places.  And since all three of my children and some of my grandchildren  live within 20 minutes of each other…think of the possibilities!  Life is Good!

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and I am so grateful to still be sharing this wonderful life with you at Christmas time in 2017!  

No comments:

John Hardy Memorial Hike 2015

My Life So Far