Merry Christmas - better late than never!

This was our Christmas card this year.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE our family pictures - courtesy of Amanda Castleberry Photography (my lovely and talented neice).  Unfortunately, I decided very late to do Christmas cards, so they didn't hit the mail until after New Year's (major faux pas, I know, so sue me :).  Anyhow, if you didn't get it (that means you didn't send me your address, better luck next year ;), here it is!  And here is our annual Christmas letter.  No recap of the year, no updates, just me being 'me' and saying just what I want to say - although words escape me sometimes, this letter doesn't say exactly what I wanted to, but you get the point.  Anyhow, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Holidays, and all that!



Dear Family and Friends,


Many of you may know that for our family this year was crazy, to say the least. In light of it all, I honestly didn’t have the will to write the annual Christmas letter itemizing all of the highlights of the year. There were some wonderful events this year, don’t get me wrong, but some things couldn’t exactly be categorized as ‘highlights,’ and neither could they be ignored. So, I had decided to skip the tradition of the Christmas cards this year altogether. Avoidance. Sometimes it works. Still, there was something nagging at me. Our family pictures. I really loved them this year, and they were more significant this year than in years past. They wouldn’t let me skip the tradition, so here it goes. This year we unexpectedly lost both of Matt’s wonderful parents to cancer. Oh crap, here come the waterworks. Now I remember why I was going to avoid this altogether. Frank and Sharon Brown were amazing people. Beyond description amazing. They defy words, and their legacy is one I am so grateful to be a part of. With their passing this summer I found myself becoming much more sentimental. And that, my friends, brings me to the story of our family pictures this year. Although they aren’t here, Frank and Sharon were the inspiration behind them. Frank often told us stories of his life growing up on a farm. They honestly sounded outlandish sometimes; it was a very different time and a different life than we live. We loved those stories. He owned and regularly wore several pairs of cowboy boots, and little Mason thought they were the coolest shoes ever. This year we bought Mason his own pair. Not too long before he fell ill, Grandma and Grandpa were at our house for a visit. Mason spied Grandpa’s boots at the door and disappeared to his room. He returned carrying his own cowboy boots and lined them up carefully next to Grandpa’s. He informed everyone in the room that he was ‘just like Grandpa.’ Nothing would make me prouder. Grandpa also loved old cars. Mason loves cars. A lot. He loved to sit and play cars with Grandpa, and we loved to hear stories of Grandpa’s cars he had when he was young. Stories about how one of his cars was so low to the ground that his friends had to lift it over the railroad tracks when he would go to visit Sharon in high school. Sharon. I have never known, nor do I think I ever will know, a person more aware of others needs and willing to put them before her own. She was always taking care of us. Many times when we would show up for a random visit, Matt or one of my kids (usually Mason) would have a tear in their clothing. That just wouldn’t do. They were immediately ordered to remove the article of clothing while Grandma carefully mended the tear. She literally always carried a needle and thread with her. Everywhere. When something would tear or lose a button, my kids (and Matt) would simply say, ‘it’s okay, Grandma will fix it.’ When we were preparing for her funeral service, each one of Matt’s sisters shared stories about the amazing dresses she made for them when they were younger. I was inspired. I had already vowed that I would make her proud, and try to become more like her. I figured that was a good place to start. I found a dress that I loved at a boutique, but I couldn’t find a pattern. Oh, and I should mention that I don’t actually know how to sew. No problem, right? Well, it took much more time and work than I originally thought, but I did it. I wish she were here, she would be so proud, they really did turn out cute (although if she were here they would have probably looked a little better, I could have used her sewing expertise!). If you knew her, you know that her children and grandchildren were her greatest joy. They could do no wrong, and everything that they did was the most amazing thing she had ever seen. My cute niece, Amanda, is a student at BYU (a fact that both Frank and Sharon were very proud of) in the visual arts program. Amanda is an amazingly talented photographer, and we were lucky enough to work our way into her busy schedule for a family photo session this fall. Now, if you didn’t know Frank and Sharon, you are probably wondering right now why I am telling you all of this. I’ll explain. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. While that is true, sometimes a picture alone can’t tell the whole story. Sometimes the thousand words are still necessary. And so it is with our family pictures this year. The larger one of our whole family is mostly the one I am referring to. It was completely inspired by and dedicated to Frank and Sharon Brown. It was taken on a farm in front of an old car, a very fitting setting, reminiscent of Frank’s stories. In the photo, Matt is wearing Frank’s cowboy boots which he inherited and wears proudly as a reminder of the shoes he has to fill. Mason is wearing his own cowboy boots, the very same ones that he lined up next to Grandpa’s when he declared that he wanted to be just like him. My girls are wearing the dressed that I handmade for them in my attempt to be like Sharon. Every time I look at this picture I think of them. I think of all that they stood for, and I am reminded of the things that I want to be remembered for. I am reminded that I want to be a better person, to try to live up to the legacy that they left. I am also reminded that we never know how long we have. Dear family and friends, I am grateful for the time that we have, for every meaningful moment that we have shared. And that is why I wanted to tell you the story of our family pictures this year. I want you to know that we are grateful for each and every one of you and for your part in our lives. We love you, and send our warmest wishes to you and your families this holiday season. Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year.

With love,
The Brown Family
Matt, Mandy, McKinley, Mason, and Maylee