Christmas Chronicles

I apologize to all for the length of this post and to those who will receive it by Snail Mail. It is our Christmas letter for this year.

Jackson Family Christmas Chronicles - 2007

How did we get so lucky?

Today is Saturday, December 8^th and there are a bunch of things that are screaming for attention, not the least of which is the imminent dread of fending off the hordes in the mall. I wonder how long I can hide in my office until Gerry insists that we head out. She is slowly working herself up to the state of, “Oh no, there’s simply not time to do all that we have to do before Christmas”. I think that women have a secret belief that, in spite of our protestations, men really do like to shop. One of my secret ambitions is to do my best to convince my dear wife that this is not true. Anyway, on to the family.

As evidenced by the photo, we had a wedding in the summer. Carly and Jesse Smith were married in the Salt Lake Temple in August. What a wonderful experience. We have added another fine individual into our in-laws and he brings with him an equally fine family, principled and kind. Jesse is in his last year at BYU and will graduate with a double E degree in the summer. For those of you who don’t understand engineering talk, that means Electrical Engineering. He has just accepted a position with the Stryker Corporation and they will be moving to San Jose, CA in July. He will be making head way in bringing the next great medical, diagnostic miracle to the world over the next few years.

Carly spent the first part of the year in the fine arts program at UVSC. She is a gifted dancer and brings great joy to us in her interpretations of ballet, modern and other dance forms. Since their marriage she has been volunteering at various places in Provo, changing hair color and style frequently and working at getting her status changed that will give her the opportunity to work in the States. They are still at the honeymoon phase.

Andrew is home with Mom and Dad at present. He spent his 2^nd summer selling home alarm systems. (The writer hopes it is his last.) This year he traveled to Dallas and worked with a bunch of friends in making that area a safer place to be. The days were all long and the work tough. It is door to door and there is a great deal of rejection by home owners before anyone signs up and then there is the difficulty of getting credit approved. He has a love interest whom he met Texas and they correspond by email, text message, phone and other means every day. With the current state of this relationship, he spends a great deal of time home with us as he attempts to remain faithful to that new friend. It is good to have him here as he is very pleasant to be with. Drew, as most of his friends now call him, is selling telecommunications equipment that is geared to commercial accounts.

Kristy and Lee Brewerton with their family still reside in south Edmonton. Their life is very busy as they are entertained by their 20 month old twins, Max and Sol and, 5 year old Sam. I call the twins the “monkey boys” as they are everywhere and anywhere all the time. The noise level is normally elevated and can rise to near riotous quite regularly. Samuel is in kindergarten at Keehewin Elementary. At Grand Parent’s Day last week he introduced us as Grandma and Grandpa Jackson from Calgary and then added the editorial observation that, “My Grandpa is very old”. (I had told him that I am as old as dirt, so he obviously had to pass that on.)

A few weeks ago, Kristy called and asked if they might bring some friends to our place and have a weekend “getaway”. It was bedlam!!! Actually we had a wonderful weekend as they brought 3 additional families, each with their 3 children down for a long weekend. They have told us that they had so much fun, that they are going to do it again. Help!

Lee (Dr. Brewerton) is incredibly busy in his 2^nd year as a Resident in Radiology. There is so much to learn and such an incredible expectation that they be able to diagnose and prescribe treatment. He is a gifted healer, the family and ward doctor, constantly on call.

Spencer and Jadi Jackson have their own wonderful story. They are expecting their 3^rd child, a little girl, in February. I have tried to convince Jadi that Stania would make a really unique and nice name but my campaign isn’t getting very far. Anna is soon to be 4 years old, is very much the grown up little sweetheart and is very comfortable in our home. A couple of weeks ago, she came to stay for the weekend and explained to me that while she was here, I could find somewhere else to sleep as she was claiming my pillow and my side of the bed. Yesterday she had a dance recital and invited her Dad to come up and perform some ballet with her. Rudolph Nureyev he is not. Our little friend, Cooper is 19 months old, has an interesting ability to communicate through grunts, points, nods and actions, all very effective. The other day we were playing on the floor. Actually, Grandpa was just laying on the floor and the kids were using him as a balance beam, trampoline, tackling dummy, you know, when he discovered that Grandpa had the most interesting nostrils. His new place to explore found a quick end to the game.

Spencer opened his insurance agency on May 1 of this year. The agency is State Farm, Spencer Jackson and is located on the main street of Okotoks, AB. They purchased a suite in a business condo and have set up a vibrant enterprise, all this after training for 8 months and pursuing the opportunity for about a year and half previously. Give him a call. Jadi continues to provide tutoring to very fortunate children as she is an exceptional teacher.

Jennifer and Mark Ehlert are based in Raymond, Alberta about 2 ½ hours south of Calgary. They have 4 beautiful and vibrant girls who each have a portion of grandpa’s heart. Last Christmas Jackson (now 7) and Braelynn (now 5) and I went over to the mall a few days before the festivities just to hang out. We had lunch, colored in Santa’s workshop and spent about 2 hours together. When we returned to our home, they agreed that the experience was just the very best of their lives and that the day was the “best day of our life”. I am sure they will have many (and likely have had) but that sure made a “very old grandpa feel” good. Jackson is in 2^nd grade, Braelynn in kindergarten, Kelsie (4 in January) goes to Play Play twice a week and Addisen (21 months) is her Mom and Dad’s constant companion. They have a huge yard, a trampoline in their basement and many little friends that love to hang out.

Mark continues to base his business out of his home, daily tele-commuting to his office in the San Francisco area. He produces computer generated programs that make dvd’s and web sites more lively. He is very talented and works long hours keeping Spark Art and his other clients happy. They are happy with the move to Raymond, have many friends and are busy, busy, busy. Jenn told me yesterday that she is an angel in Brae’s Christmas concert. That was very believable to me as we have always known that she is an angel.

Our children honor us by their goodness. They have chosen strong and capable mates, these accomplished adults all thrill us as they parent their precious little charges and we love and enjoy the bonds of friendship with all of them. They are all our favorites.

Gerry and Stan. Where to start? We sold the waste and recycling part of our company early in the year. Although it is a good thing, it was precipitated by the booming economy and the failure of some of the waste companies to provide the customer service our clients demanded. We are continuing to provide engineering technology services to a variety of clients and have been busier than we anticipated. When we sold Eco-Rite, we moved our business home and have set up 2 offices in our basement, where we now operate Hobble Canyon, Inc.

We are building a lovely home in Raymond. When people ask us if we are moving there, we indicate, very honestly, that we would like to but are not sure that it is time to do so. The house plan that we are building is wonderful and very functional to us, but time will tell. In the meantime, I am having a wonderful time being the general contractor, an activity that has stretched my abilities significantly. Negotiating best services at the best prices, as well as finding the right materials at the right price, is something that I have spent my life enjoying. We are searching near and far to find the right deals while understanding that quality is paramount. Even though we are early in the framing stage, I already know that this is something I will likely do over.

Gerry is embarked on a new quest. She has been taking water color classes and has talent to paint. She is a remarkable woman. Stan plays golf and then plays some more. Ever the quest to improve.

About a month ago, Carly and Jesse’s Christmas plans changed and Carly, who is unable to leave the States as her immigration status is pending, called and asked me what I thought of Christmas in Great Falls. The answer to the question was fairly apparent; not much! We immediately began to look for an option and are planning on spending some time with them over the next few weeks.

I apologize for the length of this missive but ……

We love you all, are grateful for our family, for our friends and neighbors. Our home is always welcome and our hearth warm. There is a warm bowl of soup and a pillow if you are weary. Please drop by.

Merry Christmas and all the best in 2008.