CHRISTMAS 2007

Danny

Ashley Thay

Danny and Ashley Thay

Dave


Grandpa Jack

Grandma Jean

Karen, Grandma Jean, Sue

Elder Mann and Elder Bailey sporting their new hats and aprons that I made for them for Christmas.



Danny and Ashley Christmas morning
Grandma Jean with her grandkids for the traditional photo pose on the stairs.
Danny reading a certificate from a home made gift giver. Ashley with HER certificate from a home made gift giver.
A pretty quiet gift giving tradition at this empty nest.

This Christmas we were few in numbers and it was hard to "Get" the holiday spirit for some time. Having an empty nest, it didn't seem so important to decorate and spread the Christmas cheer. Well, in the end, we "pulled" it off, (I think we did anyway). We decided last year that this one was a "home made Christmas." At the time, it seemed like a good idea but as December approached some of us had no idea of what we were going to do for the others. A couple weeks later, still, some of us didn't know what we were going to make for the others. I must confess, each of us "cheated" in some form by giving something other than a home made gift. It proved to be a task far more challenging than any of us expected. It was good for us all to at least consider the work that had to go in to meeting the goal date of December 25. It's not like we didn't know for 364 days that we needed to be prepared for the unveiling of the gifts and believe me, there was some stress involved. We all felt some pressure from the challenge and it was a relief when Christmas day arrived. Whether we made the deadline or not, it was a great exercise for us in giving of ourselves and not contributing to the retail owners pockets by buying some expensive item that may only be appreciated on December 25th and put aside or stored in a box under the house. We were able to retain some of our hard earned money from the year but I do hope that each of us got more out of this Christmas than that.