Christmas 2017

Christmas 2017

Dear Family and Friends,

  As we come to this season of particularly remembering the birth of our Savior, we hope each of you has had a year of learning, loving and growing as you make your way through life.  As we grow older, and hopefully wiser, we see more and more the truth behind the admonition  “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”  We have many opportunities for service in our family, community and church.
   We didn’t really intend this to be a year of travels, but it turned out that way.  In summer we went north to Alberta and British Columbia where we drove through the Canadian Rockies and over to Vancouver Island.  The scenery was wonderful, but could have been better without the smoke from the forest fires causing so much havoc in the area.  Everywhere people were stepping up to help those who had to be evacuated from their homes.  Even with the terrible things happening in our world today, there is much good to be grateful for.
   In late October we had some deliveries to make in Colorado and Kansas, so decided to just go ahead and make a trip of it.  We were fortunate to enjoy good weather while we traveled.  Since we are historical interpreters here, we made it rather a busman’s holiday by visiting living history sites in Indiana, (Connor Prairie), Virginia (Jamestown and Williamsburg) and Florida (Barberville Pioneer Settlement).  In Indianapolis we also visited various houses I grew up in and churches I attended.
   After Indianapolis we headed for West Virginia where we served as missionaries some years ago and were happy to see old friends there.  Next we visited family in Arlington, VA.  By then it was November, so we headed south to avoid potential bad weather.  We spent a delightful weekend with a childhood friend and her family in North Carolina as well as visiting the area of North Carolina where the Stephens family is known to have lived in the 1700s.
   We enjoyed a few days on the east coast of Florida with Roger’s sister.  Damage from the hurricanes earlier in the year was still evident.  While there we visited Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center where we got a surprise glimpse of the Orion Spacecraft being moved down a road.
    By then it was time to head back west, so we stayed in the south where the weather was nice and spent a few days in the New Orleans area.  I think the highlights there were going through the swamps looking for alligators and riding a paddle wheeler on the Mississippi.  We even saw cotton and sugar cane fields for the first time.
   By Thanksgiving we were back in Colorado to spend the holiday with three of our children and their families before heading back home.
   We met many wonderful folks along the way and enjoyed our time together.
   Most recently we experienced another milestone when our first grandchild was married, with another grandchild to do the same in just a few months.
   Now we wish each of you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and look forward to hearing from you!