Merry Christmas to all!

We would like to to wish a very merry Christmas to our loved ones, both near and far. This is such a special time of year. It's always fun to get together and celebrate the season. I have so many great memories of Christmas's over the past gazillion years. Obviously I have forgotten many, or they have become very blurred; but there are a few that really stand out.

In my earliest memories, Grandma and Grandpa Myers would sleep over on Christmas Eve, and we kids would sleep in the same room. Grandma Mom (that's what we really called her) would sing to us and tell us Christmas stories.

A great memory happened for several years while I was in elementary school. After New Years, our neighborhood gang would go door-to-door and collect everyone's Christmas trees. We would stack them up in the field next to my house, and about a week later we all got together to enjoy a very large bonfire. That was always the end of the season for us all.

Mel remembers, when he was eight or so, the Christmas tree falling down during the night . He came downstairs to see what was going on and found his dad trying to get the tree back up. He remembers many years of sneaking to the top of the stairs, and looking around the posts, to see if Santa had come yet.

I remember the year when I was 18 that our patio roof caved in from the weight of the snow. It crushed our boat that was stored underneath. My dad took it all in stride and just said that Santa must have gained too much weight that year. I remember the year when I was 21 that I got engaged on the night we were decorating our Christmas tree.

Christmas was so much fun, both in Wyoming and Utah, when our kids were little. We both will always remember the excitment that each Christmas morning brought. There were lean years and not-so lean years, but the kids were always so excited about everything dealing with Christmas. We both remember the fun of shopping for toys and putting out the presents for our kids.

Cory, of course, was born at Christmas. He came home from the hospital on Christmas morning tied up in a big plaid bow. And then there was Cameron's car accident during the Christmas that he was 16. I will never in my entire life forget the joy and gratitude I felt when I called the hospital on Christmas morning and was told that he had just awaken from his coma.

I will always remember and treasure mine and Mel's first Christmas together. Our Christmas's are much more quiet than they were when our children were small; but they are every bit as special.

We remember Christmas parties, caroling, and hayrides. Most of all, we remember and will always remember the love that we have for that Baby in a Manger. We are so grateful for our testimony of the gospel; for the light and love that our Savior brought in to the world. We want to wish you all a very merry Christmas. God Bless Us Every One!