Christmases Past

Rachel's first Christmas

Christmas 2005 (Above) Christmas 2002 (Below)

Last night as I was laying in bed, I was thinking about all of the Christmases since Dan and I have been married. Bear with me while I list them.

Our first Christmas

We lived in the apartment behind Mom and Dad's house. We were both in school, and we had only been married a few weeks. The only Christmas decoration we owned was a wedding present that was a Christmas snow globe. We bought a real tree. Then we went to Kmart and got a few of the last decorations they had left and decorated our tree. On Christmas Eve we lit a candle and drank sparkling cider while we admired our first Christmas tree. We had a hard time picking gifts for each other since we didn't know each other as well as we do now. I was working as a Math tutor, and Dan worked the 2-10pm shift at Modus Media.

Our Second Christmas

We still lived in the apartment. This year we used a hand-me-down fake tree. I was 5 months pregnant with Rachel. At the time, I worked at 1-800Contacts, and Dan was trying to make it as a Realtor.

Our Third Christmas

Rachel was 7 months old. She was the highlight of our Christmas. We lived at our Condo in Midvale. We were really poor at the time, and couldn't buy too many gifts for Christmas. We were really happy though.

Our Fourth Christmas

We still lived at our Condo in Midvale. We were both still attending UVSC. Dan worked all day and went to school at night. I was pregnant with Caleb at the time. We didn't have a lot of money for presents, and Dan got a speeding ticket for speeding in school zone. We were hoping to buy a DVD player, and we scraped up enough money for that. I bought Rachel presents at Savers. I felt like puking since I was pregnant.

Our Fifth Christmas

We had just moved to our first West Jordan house. We bought the house thinking that our condo would sale soon. But it didn't. We were making two mortgage payments at the time. On top of that, Dan's truck broke down, the furnace broke, and the tv broke. This Christmas things seemed so hard. We managed to get a few presents for each other, and Leslie bought our kids presents. We were so happy to be in a house. Let me tell you that I hate living close to people. Our neighbor at our condo complained about our TV being too loud. I never complained to her that I could hear her singing in the shower. At this Christmas, Dan was in grad school, and I was still working on my Bachelor's degree.

Our Sixth Christmas

Can you believe the double mortgages almost dragged out for a year? We had several renters fall through, and a sale that took 3 months to go through. Right before Christmas, we finally got rid of our Condo. That was the thing I was happiest about. I was also happy because Dan finished his Master's degree right before Christmas. Somebody did a sub-for-santa for us this year. We didn't ask for it. Somebody in our ward who knew that we were making double mortgage payments arranged it. It brings a whole new meaning to humility when you see what others have done for you. I felt so humbled.

Our Seventh Christmas

I finished my Bachelor's degree right before Christmas. That was a huge relief. It was our first Christmas that we weren't poor. Now, I am not saying we were rich. But if you look at our other Christmases, we were rich. Caleb was 2 and Rachel was 4. We had a lot of fun. We got a new hand-me-down tree since I rat made its nest in our other tree that we had in a box in our shed.

Our Eigth Christmas

This Christmas we had 3 children. Anna, Rachel, and Caleb. We were all so delighted to have a baby in our family again. I don't remember much else, except we were happy.

Our Ninth Christmas

Anna was 1, Caleb was 4, and Rachel was 6. This was our last Christmas at our old house. We put up our tree in the entry way this year. Anna got a ride-on toy that played music. Rachel made up a little dance that went with the song. It was cute. Recently I asked Rachel to do the dance and she didn't even know what I was talking about. We got a trampoline this year. Dan and I put it up on the 26th. (Can you believe he wouldn't put it up on Christmas Eve?) We were so cold by the time we were done.

Our Tenth Christmas

This was our first Christmas in a new West Jordan house. We were so thankful to be in a much bigger house. It was also Alex's first Christmas. It seems kind of strange, but I think Alex was the highlight of our Christmas.

As I look back through the years, I can see that it really is the people that made Christmas great. It is family that is important. I am so thankful for everyone. I am thankful for those that helped us during our poor years. Most of all, I am thankful for Jesus Christ. It is only in and through him that we can be saved. I am thankful that we can celebrate his birth.