Christmas Past

With Christmas less than 2 weeks away I thought I would share some of my favorite memories as I was a kid. Everybody loves a walk down memory lane right. :)

Every year we would travel down to Ferron Utah and stay with my dad's family for a few days so we could have a family party. Four days and over 25 people gets pretty crowded and awfully rowdy but I sure do miss those days. All us kids would build forts out of the couches, pool table and ping pong table. We would watch Labyrinth and The Never Ending Story in the dark. We would play in the snow and get pulled on sleds behind the 4-wheelers. There was always too much food and candy and the best part, presents. Every year we had a cheesy little program that was in no way religious. We would sing the 12 days of Christmas with actions, I loved it. There was always a guy in the ward who would come dressed as Santa and we would each have a stocking hanging by the fireplace. My favorite gifts were usually stuffed animals and the girls would get pretty dresses that were all alike. One year my cousins Ryan and Stevie who are close in age, both got these giant stuffed dinosaurs that they rode around on. I was totally jealous. One year we got too big for the house. My grandma was a principal at an elementary school nearby so we got to have full run of the place. It was so much fun. These days our family parties are limited to dinner and a few games since we are over 60 people including great-grand kids. I cherish the days we crowded together in Grandma Gray's House.

One of my favorite memories as a kid was in 1991. I was 13 years old and we were living in Boise Idaho. My dad was working in Hawaii and had just been through Hurricane Iniki the worst in Hawaii's history to date. We knew that Christmas would be small because we didn't have a lot of money but worse was knowing that my dad wouldn't be able to come home and be with us. A couple days before Christmas my mom told us that dad had asked a friend to come visit and be Santa for him and bring us a special gift. Being a teen I was a bit stubborn about it but we were good for my baby sister who was only 3 at the time. The day our "gift" was to arrive a man pulled up to our house wearing a Santa Suit and got out of the car. I remember instantly crying because the second he stepped onto our sidewalk he was crying. I knew by his big smile that it was my dad. He sat in a chair and holding back his tears as best he could he had each of us sit on his lap and tell us what we wanted from Santa. When my turn came I remember saying that I only wanted you for Christmas. When Santa asked who I said, "my dad". I loved that Christmas, I don't even know what I got that year besides my dad.

I remember when I got my first Cabbage Patch kid and my first stereo. I remember my dad used to give my Grandma Clark a lump of coal every year as a joke. One year we went to the coal mine just outside of Castle Dale and got a giant lump for her. She loved it. Coal was always an inside joke between the two of them but I know it meant deep down that he loved her. Sometimes I think about taking a little bag of coal out to her grave just to show her I remember.

When I was a missionary I was so excited about Christmas that I opened all my presents the day I got the package. When Christmas came I cried because I was so homesick and I had no gifts to open. Silly I know but it was my own fault. I did wait till my birthday to open those presents though.

I think my saddest Christmas memory is one I can't remember at all. In 1997 while we were living in Sandy my baby sister was fighting a mean battle with Leukemia. Our lives had been so consumed by doctors and medicine that I don't remember what happened when we woke up Christmas morning. When I called and asked my mom what we did that year she said it was like any other years but we had to stay home because Camille was restricted to the house because of her fragile immune system. I don't even remember what we did on New Years Eve. I remember the months before Christmas I donated bone marrow for Camille and we dressed up and went trick-or-treating at Primary Children's Hospital. I'm sure that we had a good Christmas because we were all together and Camille was on the mend but it makes me sad that the bulk of memories I have left of her involve her fragility and fight for life.

Emma's first Christmas was so much fun. She was just learning to walk and figure out the world. We were living with Colt's parents and I admit I was a little bitter about sharing Santa with them but it all worked out. I can't wait for her to come down the stairs this year and see what Santa has brought for her. I look forward to next year when we have 2 kids to wake up Christmas morning and share the joy and love for family with them.

Emma's first Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas my friends. I hope you have great memories and make beautiful memories this year.