Happy New Year 2009

Dear Family - What a month of celebration, family time and weather. The Bells are having a quiet first day of 2009 reading, watching football and even taking a nap. Our family gatherings were filled with fun, conversation and games. One of our best times was the evening we had both Emma (2) and Kamryn (1) to ourselves. Emma stayed overnight, and we took her to our church Christmas breakfast. Both girls clamored for Grandpa Bob's time and lap. Christmas day began at 6:45am at Jodi's apartment where Santa was expected, and he did arrive with a big red bag with gifts just as Jodi had ordered. To see 3 adults (Robert, Judy and Linda - Jodi's Mom) hiding in the hallway near Jodi's apartment must have been a sight s we waited for Jodi to come to the door! Christmas truly has its miracles - and we felt it that morning as we watched Jodi open her gifts from Santa Claus. Jodi came home with us and Darin, Brooke and Kamryn joined us for a light breakfast. Since a major storm was brewing, we decided that we would visit Heather, Paul and Emma on Saturday. The storm came later, but was a big one which found us shoveling a foot of snow the next morning. Our Saturday morning with the Roberson's was fun - again, Emma said hello to me at the door and then looked around me yelling for Grandpa Bob. She is quite a conversationalist on the phone now. This past Tuesday evening found us with a unique opportunity to have dinner with about 30 veterans - most of them from Deseret Storm and the Gulf War. They ranged in age from 30 years -70 years, and all are part of the Homeless Vets Program. Robert recently joined the Board of Directors. The vets all have had difficult struggles and are now moving forward with their lives due to this program. It was a very humbling evening with many of the vets coming to us thanking us for the opportunity to turn their lives around.
We are all blessed with the ability to problem-solve our way through difficulties, with strong family ties, our faith, and with parents whose strong examples of love and perseverance will carry us through whatever we face. A definition of Christmas that I came across is "Christmas is God is with us - peace & good will. May we have peace in our hearts, and find joy in our lives throughout 2009. Love, Judy