Christmas 2008

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. We were able to go to Pleasant Grove and spend Christmas with my family. My Grandma Barlow was here from Georgia and we had a great time visiting with her. Emma was spoiled rotten as usual and had so much fun playing with her cousins. It was hard not having Joey there for Christmas and was hard seeing the first year anniversary of his death come so soon. We miss him so much!

We also celebrated Christmas with Ivan's family a few weeks before Christmas. We all went and stayed at his sister Melissa's beautiful new home. This year we decided to do something a little different and adopted a family to buy Christmas gifts for. We usually draw names and buy for one of Ivan's siblings and their family. We took the money we would have spent on that and each bought for a child from our adopted family. We had so much fun shopping all together at WalMart for this little family. Their mother had been in a car accident and was in a coma. The 5 little girls are all living with their grandparents in a single wide trailer. It is always a blessing to have the opportunity to help someone in need. We all wrapped the gifts together and were able to see what everyone got. We also donated a Christmas tree and decorations and some food and clothing for the adults. It was an experience we won't forget. Thank you Melissa for letting us come and stay.