CHRISTMAS 2009

12-28-09 CHRISTMAS 2009

This was one of my best Christmases. While everyone was not present on Christmas Eve at our home, it was one of the meaningful Christmas events I have experienced. Kenny, Jo and their family left for Kansas on Dec. 21 to celebrate Christmas with the Elliotts-it was the first time in many years they had all been together. Kate, Aaron and their family came over from Parker on Christmas Day. Kenny and Jo returned to G. J. after Christmas so our grandchildren did have some time to play together.

The highlight however was Christmas Eve. After our fondue dinner, a family tradition, we read the Christmas story from Matthew, Luke and 3 Nephi together with the scriptures about Christ’s tender mercies. Then each family member gave one or two incidents in their life where they had been blessed with Christ’s tender mercies. What a blessing. What a testimony to hear the adult children bear witness of how they had felt Christ’s mercies in the lives. I was so grateful to know that each of my children and Gabi had a testimony and had felt Christ’s love and concern for them individually. I realized how blessed I am to have such wonderful family members.

Things have sure changed in my life, I remember as a kid we would get up at 4:00 a.m. to look at our presents Now, with only adults at home for this Christmas, everyone slept in on Christmas morning. Curtis and Michael Waters called us at 7:14 a.m. to share their excitement of what they received for Christmas. All in our family finally arose and we had our Christmas breakfast. Then we opened up our presents with Kim passing them out.

Other items of interest this past week:

1. I talked to all three sisters this week. It is sure satisfying to feel their love and support. I truly have been blessed to have them in my life.
2. I have started on my “Spiritual Book of Remembrance” or my small plates. I called the new book, “Christ’s Tender Mercies to Kenneth Kelly Summers.” I already have started putting things in my book.
3. I found an old file in my file cabinet called “Remembrances.” I had forgotten what was in the file. I was so excited to find in a big envelope many precious things from my mission like my “Ministerial Certificate” and letter s from people I had taught. When I went on a mission, the missionaries were given a certificate signed by the First Presidency stating the bearer was a missionary for the church and a “duly ordained minister of the gospel.” This certificate got me discounts at some clothing stores and was very useful in getting myself out of traffic tickets. I was stopped 9 times by policeman on my mission but never received a ticket-I was given the “ministerial courtesy.” I was touched by the letters I had received from people I had taught who joined the church or their families. These are truly “tender mercies “to me.
4. We all went to a movie matinee. We saw “Invictus” with Morgan Freeman playing Nelson Mandela about how he used the mostly Afrikaner Soccer team to unite the blacks and the whites of South Africa after he was elected. Counting the movie my kids took me to in Denver at Thanksgiving staring Sandra Bullock in “Blind ?” I went to two movies during the year-that is one over my usual l quota of no more than one movie per year. It has been years since I went to a movie on my own-I only go when my children pressure me into attending with them. They went to two more movies at Christmastime that I didn’t attend. It’s not that I don’t like movies-I love them but instead of paying to see them, I wait till they come out on TV and watch them for free. I guess I never have gotten over when as a kid in Monticello it was 25 cents to see a movie if you were under 12 and 50 cents as an adult. I changed our cable package in October and November to include the sports channels that cover the Mountain West Conference so I could watch BYU football. It was only an extra $16.00 per month- a great buy-cheaper than a single ticket to a game. But about 20 movie channels came with the package and I started watching movies all the time. I soon realized I was wasting my life away watching movies so the Monday after the Utah-BYU game I returned to my old plan with the cable company. I can’t watch BYU basketball but I don’t watch movies all the time either.
5. Kenny and Jo’s boys loved the snow and the deer. Drew and Ian went sledding at Windgate School and loved it. They also tried to have Gabi’s dog “Louie” pull them on the sled. It was so cold and while the boys had winter coats they purchased in California, they were not really Colorado winter coats. They found out however when they went to Kansas that it was even colder there because of the wind.
6. I am amazed at the price of items I purchase. Food is definitely more expensive but clothes and electronics are cheaper than they were ten years ago. I can buy a shirt or cotton pants for less than I paid five years ago. Most of this is caused by globalization-our products are not produced in the USA anymore but in third world countries with cheap labor. Our country doesn’t produce anything, it just buys. I don’t know how much longer this can continue.
7. On Sunday I attended 5th and 8th wards. I completed the 4th quarter by attending every ward sacrament meeting at least once. Next year I am going to visit each ward priesthood meeting at least one in addition to attending each ward sacrament meeting every quarter. My visiting family gave me a good Christmas present by showing up to sacrament meeting on time.
8. My kids believed I needed help in the wardrobe department so most of my presents at Christmas were clothes. It’s true that everyone of my casual cotton pants were frayed at the bottom but the rest of the pants looked okay. My kids also thought I shouldn’t wear Bolder Boulder shirts everyday so I received lots of cotton pants and cotton casual shirts. I have worn all the shirts and some of pants.
9. We had a big snow storm about the 9th of December and the snow has stayed on the ground ever since that time and it is cold, cold cold. I didn’t walk this week because it was so cold and the roads were icy. I have my rules and unless it gets up to at least 20 degrees, I don’t walk.
10. Gabi is sure a good cook. He fixes the family special meals when we are together. They are always very tasty.

K. K. Summers