Christmas Past

A few of my favorite Christmas memories

1982

It was  Christmas Eve day and a typical snowy, blustery winter storm.  My dad hopped in the car with my sister for a quick errand to the grocery store, only a couple miles down road.  But even before he finished purchasing the milk and eggs, mountains of snow and drifts blocked the way home-too much snow even for our 4 wheel jeep to handle.  Walking home was out of the question with my little sister who must have been about 9 that Christmas.  My dad and Kate spent Christmas eve and Christmas day just a mile down the road with our friends, trapped in an ironic situation by snow and wind, while my mom and I waited at home together.  I remember my dad calling on the phone singing, "I'll be home for Christmas..."  and I remember sitting by our wood burning stove, drinking hot chocolate with my mom...waiting.

1988

This is the Christmas I was engaged to Dale.  Dale flew from Santa Barbara to Colorado on the day after Christmas and joined our family's traditional ski trip in Keystone.  He met much of my extended family and we celebrated our engagement and my parents 25th wedding anniversary together.  That was a starry-eyed Christmas.

1990

Our first of many Christmas' in Hawaii.  Christmas 1990 is a sad and happy memory--our first Christmas after my mom died in April of 1990.  Dale and I were only celebrating our 2nd married Christmas, and Kate was a junior in high school.  We were all too sad to take up our usual holiday traditions, so we packed up and flew to Hawaii where we turned a blind eye to Christmas and immersed ourselves in the sand and sun.  We skipped the snow and cold, but exchanged that for lots of rain storms.  I think we saw the sunshine for about two our of 14 days in Maui.  My memories that Christmas are swimming on Big Beach in the pouring rain, playing lots of tennis in between the downpours and sitting up late playing cards with Dale and Kate.  I'm so thankful we went to Hawaii that year.  It turned what will always forever be a sad memory into one that can still makes me smile.  Notice in this picture that Dale hasn't left the 80's.  You can laugh at his hot pink swim suit and pink hat!  My Christmas shirt is pretty "hip" too!

2002

My dad's 60th Birthday.  Our 2nd Christmas in Hawaii--this time Phil  and Dori are included.

2008

Our 3rd Christmas in Hawaii--adding kids to the picture!

1998

Christmas in Morocco in 1998 was another of my most memorable.  Kate and Phil were living and working in Morocco that year, and Kate bought me a ticket to come visit for Christmas, so off I went, leaving Dale behind to celebrate Christmas on his own with his family.  Kate, Phil and I shopped in the markets of Rabat, celebrated a Ramadan feast with one of their friends (who dressed us up like Moroccan brides and gave us makeovers and henna tatoos all evening) hiked in the mountain near Marrakesh and ate bastila and kebabs at a little restaurant for Christmas eve dinner.  On Christmas day, Kate and Phil travelled with me on the train 2 hours to the Casa Blanca airport, where I boarded a plane and spent Christmas day flying over Europe on my way home.   (This picture is of me and Kate dressed up in our costumes. (You can see how happy I was =:(  by the look on my face). 

2003

This Christmas is so memorable for one reason only.  For Christmas, Dale and I bought 2 round trip and 3 one way plane tickets to/from  Bujumbura, Burundi.   December 2003,  the court date to adopt our children was finalized.

2004

Our first Christmas with our children.  This Christmas was a dream fulfilled.