A Christmas to Remember

For years James' family had talked of getting together for the holidays. In 2002 we all met in Boulder, Colorado for a Christmas family reunion. Some family members flew and some, like us, took a chance and drove across the country. It was the first time the whole family had been together in over 20 years!

Lori made lists and each of us had a family member to buy a gift for. We collected candy and trinkets to make sure each child received a Christmas stocking. We had been assured ahead of time that Darius would have a Christmas tree for us even though he and his family typically celebrated Kwanza instead. When we arrived the tree was still absent and no one seemed in a hurry to get one. There were a few people who were quite opposed to cutting one down and so a compromise was arranged. Lee Anne set to work drilling holes in a log from the back yard and Ginger went about trimming the huge pine tree in the front yard. Talk about a Charlie Brown Christmas! Luckily, some of us brought strings of lights from home and we found all kinds of things of decorate our little tree with. We even made an angel from an old McDonald's toy.


I'll always remember Christmas in Colorado, not just because of the stomach bug that swept though the house, the drives up into the mountains, our trip to Focus on the family, or the day we walked through the shops on Pearl Street, but because it was such a special time with family who we don't often see. My children had a chance to meet aunts, uncles, and cousins they had never seen or couldn't remember and we had the special opportunty to be together once again before all the kids grew up and went their separate ways.