I was a freshman at Rick's College and deeply homesick that December of 1990. I had spent Thanksgiving with the Wheatlys and the Chipmans in Utah which was wonderful, but added to my homesickness. I had limited money and had no idea how I was going to get home for Christmas, but I had faith my parents would help me figure it out.
Luckily my roommate, Debbie Palmer, who was from my stake had her parents coming to pick her up in Rexburg and I was able to ride home with them. They really had to squeeze me into their car that was already packed. I remember her Dad getting angry when I packed my small bag in the trunk. It was a very long and tense ride home for me, but the closer we got the more excited I felt to
see the loving faces of my family. It had felt like years and years since I had seen my brother and sisters and I was excited to see the changes in them, even though I had only been gone for 4 months.
It was such a wonderful feeling to step into my own home and feel the love and acceptance there. My mom told me that we wouldn't really be getting much for Christmas but I didn't even care. I was just so happy to be with my family and felt like that was the best present I could ever get.
Because I had been living away for the first time ever, coming home to my wonderful family felt magical. There was a special spirit in our home that Christmas. We had many generous gifts given to our family during that time and I remember being amazed at the generosity of so many people.
What stood out to me the most was the generosity of my sister Erin. She had always been so generous anyway, but what she did for us this year was so wonderful and left a lasting impression on me. Erin had been working as the Crawford's weekend nanny and had been saving her
money for awhile. I can just picture the delight in her mind when she decided that she would give her hard earned money to my parents anonymously for Christmas. While we (the kids) knew about this amazing gift, I didn't realize until Christmas day, when my Dad opened a letter that had
been placed on the tree, just how special this gift really was. It was an emotional and wonderful moment that beautiful Christmas Day with my family.
As I have thought about that Christmas in 1990 I don't remember any of the physical presents I got. I have searched my journals to see if I had written anything down, because I usually did write what about what I received. I did write about it, but my journal entry was very brief and I didn't name the gifts I received this time. What I did say was that we had been blessed beyond measure as a family and that my amazing sister Erin provided not only the monetary needs for Christmas, but she
provided that beautiful spirit of Christmas that can be so hard to find. It was the best Christmas I've ever had and one I will never forget.
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