Christmas 2019


This Christmas was so very different than we’ve ever had. On Monday night, Tanner gave a great Christmas lesson for family home evening. We watched the new nativity video that the Church produced and discussed the events surrounding the birth of Christ.

On Christmas Eve, we tried to keep some of our family traditions alive. With Kaneesha, Riley, and Brooks at their home, and Myranda in Slovakia, it left Noell, Tanner, and I with the infant twins and Dad and Mom. It was all nice and good, but didn’t have the same sparkle that exists with more of the family there.

Tate and Dawson are a lot of work, so on Christmas Day we didn’t even begin to open presents until after 9 am (and it may have been closer to 10). Tanner had cooked a great breakfast and we enjoyed it, then we opened presents. That didn’t take long, as there were no gifts for the twins and few for the rest of us.

Excitement picked up Christmas afternoon as Kaneesha and Riley arrived with Brooks. It was fun to see Brooks’ enthusiasm for unwrapping gifts. He’s not only a busy little boy who loves to open gifts, but he’s full of energy at all times.

We loved the opportunity to visit and see Myranda on Christmas, using Google Hangouts. She seems to love the opportunity to meet so many people and to begin her service in Slovakia. I’m certain she’ll be a great missionary.

I took the week off from work to spend time with the family. By the time Friday rolled around, we had a Christmas dinner with my siblings and a few adult grandchildren. This year Mom and Dad gave very special gifts to each of the sons (including sons-in-law). We were each given a gun. These were guns that the family has used throughout our lives. Clark talked with me about it before the night and asked me which gun I might prefer. The gun that was most special to me was the .22 long rifle. Clark was excited to let me know that nobody else had requested that gun.

The .22 was so special to me because I never loved the kick and loud booms of the shotguns or rifles. Also, when I was hunting my second (or even first year) I purchased my 30-06 rife and used it throughout my dear and elk hunting days.

For years I’ve told Noell that I’d like to purchase a .22 to shoot with my children. I knew my daughters would enjoy shooting one and even Tanner would enjoy shooting it with me. They can be so amazingly accurate. They also reminded me of scout camp. When I worked for the Boy Scouts and helped manage a scout camp I had the opportunity to shoot .22s with Kaneesha when she was two years old. Each year Kaneesha and I shot together, it was a special time together. By the time Myranda was old enough to shoot, I no longer worked at scout camps. When I was Tanner’s scout leader I took him to scout camp and shot the .22s.

One of my favorite memories with Myranda at Girl’s Camp didn’t have anything to do with .22s, but she really enjoyed shooting the AK-47. Now, that’s a different story...

Another favorite memory, with the .22 I was given, happened with Fred. As my older brother, Fred loved to hunt and shoot. He and I would often shoot the old .22. It was incredibly accurate. I could shoot it fairly well, but Fred was a true marksman. I remember, before the fruit trees were grown that Fred and I would place things on the ditch bank next to the big canal and shoot at them. Several times, we set out a milk jug lid (about 1 1/2 inch diameter) and stood on the balcony. From that great distance, Fred shot a hole right through the little lid.

While I enjoyed hunting and shooting other guns, my favorite shooting memories were actually with the old .22 long-rifle. Receiving this .22 rifle will be a very special Christmas memory.

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