Christmas Eve and Christmas 2011

When we were raising our family Christmas Eve was always a very special time filled with wonder as we contemplated the significance of the birth of our Savior so long ago in a manger in far away Bethlehem.  We loved the story , the music, the smell of pine, the laughter, the twinkling eyes and smiling faces of family gathered together, and the anticipation of a special visitor from the North Pole bearing gifts to all the boys and girls of the world.  As the years went by so did some of the traditional Christmas activities and all too soon we found ourselves alone on Christmas Eve, though not very often. We seemed to get invitations from family to come and spend this special night with them.  Well do we remember the Christmas Eves with Stephen and Candice and their sweet family in Smithfield, and the snowy night of Christmas Eve at Alison and Ammon's place.  The past couple of years we have been invited to come to Ryan and Sam's for a special Christmas Eve with their precious little family.  Ryan has taken it upon himself to make a very special meal for us to celebrate this  night like no other.  I must say, he is a very good cook, in spite of all he had to endure from his father.  Maybe that has been my main role, to show everyone how not to do things.  I guess the main thing is that they learned.  This year, also, we had Stephen and Candice with us.  They went with us to Ryan and Sam's for the evenings festivities.  Afterwards we all came home to our little place where we were able to enjoy the fun with Stephen and Candice and their children before bedtime.  The children were allowed to open one special present before they retired and each of them got  a new set of  casual cloths, which doubled as pajamas, at least for the night.  It was so fun to have the sound of laughter and children in our home for Christmas Eve.  Thanks to all who shared some time with us during this special season of the year.  Below are just a few pictures of our 2011 Christmas memories.

Not to be forgotten, the reason for the season, celebrating the gift of Jesus' birth, life, and atonement to bless all the people of the world, past, present, and future.

Mother and Child, Samantha and Tristan,  Christmas Eve 2011.

We were blessed to have these three beautiful little girls with us on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  The blessing of happy children in every home would be my greatest  wish for Christmas?

Mason, Halle, Gabrielle, and Sophie patiently await the time to open their Christmas presents.

Time for a little breakfast on Christmas morning is made easier by the thought of some of Grandpa's huckleberries in the cereal.  Just another of the great rewards for spending a couple  of days on the mountain in the huckleberry patch last summer.

I didn't get good pictures of all of the festivities surrounding Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but These should help everyone get the idea, that it was a very good time for us, Christmas 2011.

JT's Mission Report

     As most of you know, our eldest grandson, Elder JT Eborn, returned from his mission in Russia this past week. It has been wonderful to see him again and to see how he has grown and matured in the gospel.  He has always had a big smile and a great attitude about life, not that he hasn't had his share of challenges.  He has learned to accept what comes along and to see opportunity for growth and service to others in all of life's circumstances.  This mission to Siberia, where the temperatures for months on end are below zero and where people have been taught for many decades that there is no God and that religion is the opiate of the people and where a state of near hopelessness is a common attitude for many people has been a grand experience for Elder Eborn.  JT never complained but accepted his assignment to the "nether most part" of the vineyard with a happy heart and with a strong will to share the gospel with all of the people in Russia, who were willing to listen and give heed.  He undoubtedly had a pronounced effect on many of the Russian people as well as others he met along the way, including his companions, fellow Church members, those who were assigned to be his leaders and those of us who stayed home and supported him through our prayers, our letters etc.

     Today he reported his mission.  He was humble and powerfully spiritual.  It was obvious that he had performed his duties as a missionary with courage, valor, and integrity, and that what was already a strong testimony of the gospel when he left had grown even more certain and powerful  As grandparents we were very happy be able to say: "He's our grandson!!"  We love all of our grandchildren very much, but somehow the first one has a special place in our hearts.   Maybe it's just because he's got the others by a few months or years.  We know he has set a great example for his cousins and for all of us and we are very grateful for his example and his love of the Lord and all of his people.

     This Sunday evening I'm getting a little out of my routine.  For the past two years, one hundred and four weeks, I have taken time to write to my favorite missionary.  The letters weren't long and perhaps they seemed rather repetitive and dull, but the underlying message was this. "JT, we love you, and you are always in our thoughts and prayers, and the gospel is true."  This will not change, in spite of the fact that he's now home and is beginning the the next big chapter of his life.  I have no doubt that he will do well at whatever he determines to do in life.  As we were talking, JT thanked me for all of those letters.  He said that only one other person had written him every week.  Amber, yes, she is still here and she still likes JT.  I think the feeling is mutual.  We'll see where all of this goes, but irregardless they have shown that they can both be loyal.  This a quality to be sought after by all of us, I think.

I'm not a betting man, but if I were .....................  Time will tell.

Celebrating the Christmas Season 2011

This Christmas season we have so much to be thankful for.   Fist of all, we give thanks for the birth, the life, the example, and the atonement of our Savior, which makes it possible for us to experience true joy.  It is good for us to get together at this season and remember the sacrifice He made for us and to celebrate the birth of  the baby Jesus in that manger so long ago.

It is also good to get together as family and friends and enjoy one another's company and give thanks for those who touch our lives for good.  We have been blessed with a wonderful family, with the bounties of life and, for the most part, good health.  Opportunities to learn, to grown, and to serve surround us on every side.  I hope we recognize the Source of all these blessings.

This year we had a special blessing.  Our missionary, Elder JT Eborn has returned from two years of service in the Russia Novosibirsk Mission.  He has been a wonderful example to us all and has shown his love for the people of Siberia during these past two years.  We are grateful for his love for his family and all of us back home, and we are especially grateful for his safe return.  He has grown in the gospel and has become a man of great love and compassion.  His testimony is strong and vibrant and will continue to influence others forever.  And he certainly didn't lose his good looks over the past two years.  The family has always loved JT, but now even more than ever.

All of the cousins were so happy to see JT.  They recognize in him, the goodness that was exemplified by our Lord.

Again this year we were fortunate enough to get four tickets to the special Tabernacle Choir Christmas Program at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City.  We had been looking forward to spending an evening on Temple Square, observing the beauty of the lights and the enjoying the merriment of that special place, to be concluded with the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Program.  But as the time drew near we had conflicts in our schedule and besides we wanted to do something special for someone else.  We decided to give the tickets to JT so that he and Amber, who is still there after two years in the mission filed in Siberia, could have an evening together celebrating the Spirit of Christmas on Temple Square.  As it turned out JT and Amber gave the two extra tickets to two homeless men so they could get into the Conference Center and enjoy the festivities.  I couldn't help think, how much like JT this really was.  He is always looking out to help others.  I guess it's the  "Good Turn Daily" thing that he learned as a Scout.  I'm sure they touched these two men for good.  We were proud to hear what they had done. How much like the Savior this act was.

The Salt Lake Temple in Winter

Just One Scene from the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Program.

Today we got together as a family, at least most of us.  Some had to work and some were a ill for the day, but others traveled all night to be with family from Las Vegas, and others from Lehi, Layton and other places in Cache Valley.  We were all happy to see each other and enjoy the great time  that was planned by Justin and Chalisa.  We had a great meal, ate too much, exchanged gifts and played together.  Mostly we just enjoyed being together at this special time of the year.

A few representative photos are below.

Celebrating the Christmas Season with our Neighbors and Friends

Last night we had a little Christmas Party/Home Evening  at our place.  All of our little senior subdivision neighbors were invited and most of them showed up.  We all seem to get along well and tend to look out for each other.  We have been blessed to have such good people around us wherever we have gone in our lives. Here is the Bretner neighborhood has been no exception.  Alison vetted the place pretty well for us before we moved in here almost three and a half years ago.  According to our HOA bi-laws, the head of the household  has to be fifty-five years old or older to live here.  None of us have a problem with that.  It's good in some ways but we do miss the fun of little children in the neighborhood.  Of course, our old neighborhood in Montpelier had pretty much become a senior subdivision before we left to, so in that respect there hasn't been much of a change.  I couldn't help but feel last night while our neighbors were here, what a great place the world would be if every neighborhood was as caring as ours is.  Not all of us get a lot accomplished on a typical day, but when you are old just making it through the day with a smile on your face is perhaps enough.  Three years ago all these people were strangers, but now they all sort of feel like family.  Actually, I did know one of our neighbors here from long ago.  Eldon Drake, who is now in his ninety years old was one of my professors at Utah State when I was in college so long ago.  When we moved in here, we had just started to unload the truck when a white car pulled up along side and and elderly, familiar looking gentleman, looked at me and said: "Bart Eborn, welcome to our neighborhood."  This man has a memory like no one else I know.  I don't know how many students he had during about forty years as a professor at USU, but you can imagine that it was many thousands.  I must have either been very bad or very good, because in spite of all the years, he has always remembered me.  He even looked us up in Montpelier, when I was teaching over there.  He was coming home from Yellowstone by way of Star Valley and stopped down at the USave and asked if they knew me and where I lived.  It was about nine o'clock at night when we heard the door bell ring and as we opened the door there was my old college professor from thirty years before.  He was genuinely interested in what was going on in our lives.

It was rather humbling for me to be remembered after such a long time.

     Another time , this was before Dr. Drake's surprise visit to us in Montpelier, we got a phone call from Jason.  It seems he was out at the Maverick in Providence getting gas for his car.  There was an elderly gentleman there who was trying to get gas too.  He seemed to be having trouble with the pumps or something.  Jason, being the good man that he is, went over to this elderly gentleman and volunteered to help him.  After they got the pump working a were filling the man's gas tank, he looked over at Jason, and then said: "Are you Bart Eborn's boy?"  He had never seen Jason before in his life and he hadn't seen me in thirty years.  It just astounds me that he could make that association after all that time in a setting like the gas pumps at the Providence Maverick.  It brought joy to my heart, though no real surprise, to think that Jason was looking out for others and especially that in this act of kindness, Dr. Drake was for some reason unknown to me, thought of Jason's dad.  There are some truly astounding and wonderful people in the world. Some are in our family, some are our neighbors, and many more surround us in our daily lives and help to make us  what we are.  I can't help but think of the hymn we sometimes sing, Each Life That Touches Ours For Good. Our lives have been influenced by so many good people.  I hope that in turn we are doing some good for others in our every day walk of life as well.

By the way, Eldon Drake is the second person on the left of the above photograph take at our home last night.

A Great Day for a Great Little Girl

As most of you know Stephen and Candice recently moved back to Utah from Pueblo, Colorado where they have lived for the last nearly five years.  It has been a good and growing experience for all of them and they have met many wonderful people who also have left lasting impressions upon their lives.  They have been anxiously engaged in the Good Cause and have blessed the lives of many during this time.  They have also missed home and their family here in Utah.  Stephen has been blessed to find work in scouting here in Utah and will be working with the Great Salt Lake Council.  We are excited to have them closer to us. For the time being they are staying in Lehi with Candice's sister Keri and her husband Toby and their family until they can sell their home in Pueblo.  We will all pray that this doesn't take a long time.

Sweet little Gabrielle had her birthday  just at the time they were leaving Pueblo.  She turned eight and of course was looking forward to being baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  They were not able to do this in Pueblo and expected to have wait a while after arriving in Utah for arrangements to be made.  However, they went to church in Lehi that first Sunday and were introduced to the Bishop in their new ward.  He was on the ball and upon learning of Gabrielle's desire to be baptized made arrangements for the baptism this past Saturday.  We had the opportunity to go down and be a part of this special occasion.  Stephen baptized her and I was asked to confirm her.  Following the confirmation Gabrielle, said to me:  "Grandpa, when you put your hands on my head I felt a warm feeling in my head and when you said receive the Holy Ghost it went right down into my heart and all over."  What a blessing and testimony that was to me.  We love our sweet Gabrielle.  The Lord loves her and she is a part of a very loving and supportive family.  We are all so blessed.

Gabrielle following her baptism and confirmation with her parents, Stephen and Candice.

The Stephen and Candice Eborn family.  Thanks for allowing us to be  part of your lives.