Christmas Memories

My earliest Christmas memories begin around 6, 7, maybe 8 years old. With 6 other siblings, it was the most exciting time of the year for us. All of the kid’s bedrooms were down a long hall. We were not allowed to come down that hallway until we were summonsed. My brother Rod and I the two youngest, could hardly contain our excitement often getting admonished by our older brother and sisters as we crept down the hallway to take a peek into the living room to see what mom and dad were up to.

When everything was ready, my dad would ring a bell. It was a little handheld bell that only came out on that one day a year. We would then all come down the hall into the living room in an orderly fashion to the sounds of Bing Crosby, Andy Williams, and the like playing on my dad's reel to reel. When I say orderly, I am not kidding, no running, no rushing, we had to walk calmly into the living room like the Von Trapp family. Once we got to the living room, we were blinded by the light bar on my dad’s movie camera. This lightbar bar had 4 or 5 huge bulbs on it that threw enough light and heat to melt plastic!

We would then march up to our Christmas stockings take them off the wall above the fireplace and sit down to see what Santa brought in our stockings. Every year they were filled with mixed nuts in the shell and on the bottom, a tangerine! Next came the presents! My dad would sit at the base of the tree, grab a present, announce who it was for and watched as that person opened it. Once it was opened, he handed out the next present for someone else, we watched them open…. This process was repeated until all the presents were gone. I specifically recall one present, a remote-control helicopter. Well not remote control as they had not been invented yet. It had 4 D batteries in the handle with a button on it and a plastic cable that led to the helicopter. When you pushed the button on the handle it sent power to the helicopter, and it lifted into the air tethered to the power cable. I was walking around the living room flying the coolest toy ever amongst my 8 other family members, as I approached my sister Judy, something went amiss, and it turned sideways allowing the propellers to get entangled in her waist long hair! Screams were everywhere! From Judy, who was running around with a helicopter hanging from her hair and from me running around as my dad was whooping my butt! Good times…. I don't have any pictures from back then and even the home movies my dad made have gone M.I.A.

For Barb's part, her memories involved heavily tinseled trees and spending the day with her mom, dad and brother. Ironically the pictures below were taken in Klamath Falls only a few miles from where Forrest lives now. What are the odds of an Oregon girl ending up in Wisconsin and having a son that ends up in her hometown some 2,000 miles away? 

Barb at 2 years old

Barb and her brother

Christmas’ during my teenage years were a blur but my first Christmas with Barb, I will never forget. I was 22. You should have seen the look on the face of my family when I showed up to Christmas with an older woman and her 4-year-old child I met less than 2 months before! “Look what I found dad; can I keep her?!!?” They accepted both Barb and Jessica into our family and the rest is history.

The very next Christmas Barb showed up like this… Now how did that happen?!?! Since then, Christmas’ were our favorite time of year. Just thinking back on the joy and wonder of Christmas brought to our kids makes our hearts glow with love.

Looking back, we were not very good at taking pictures during Christmas, but at least we have these to look back on and reminisce.

1990?

1991

Here is a short video of our 1992 Christmas. It leaves a lump in my heart and tears in my eyes every time I watch it. I wish I could go back and relive those years with Barb and the kids. 

1996?

1998 maybe?
I know it was not 94, we did not build this house until 97

2002

As the years passed by the kids got older and older, eventually moving away. Since then, Christmas pictures have pretty much disappeared except for the occasional pet picture.

2003 Bailey's first Christmas!

Daisy's first Christmas

Dakota's first Christmas '17 (with us)

                         

                                         And of course, this year, Zoey's first Christmas

                To all our friends and family, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a joyous 2022!