Our Christmas Card 2021

This year, our family suffered a great loss as we came to grips with losing our beloved Dad and Grandpa. Though our children have dealt with losing two of their "old Grandpas" (great-grandfathers) over the last few years, this time the loss was a little closer.

Their Grandpa had been sick for their entire lives. They have never known him without his motorized wheelchair. However, that never stopped them from enjoying him. They were always happy to help Grandma use the lift to move him from one chair to another. Our boys loved to make him laugh. They would do whatever they could to get him to chuckle.

That being said, he had been sick for over twenty years, going steadily downhill. However, in the last year or two, we have really watched him decline quicker than ever. That didn't make his passing any easier for any of us.

When the time came to do our annual family Christmas card, we had to really think about what we wanted to do. We always put something on it that had importance over the year. If Neal and the boys got a new toy, it was always front and center. We have put our horses on the front, as well as the goats and other animals that we have on the farm. Many people tell us that they can't wait to see what we will do next.

So, this year, we weren't too sure what to do. We almost didn't make a card due to our busy schedules. However, we decided that we wanted to honor the man that we lost this year. He loved to spend time in Potter County on his Christmas tree farm. For many years, they planted and harvested trees. We also couldn't forget how he was a "milkman" for Queen Dairy!

What started out as a family photograph with their "Big Red" and a Christmas tree, turned into a real family event. The boys (and Neal) ran around the house, throwing out ideas for our family picture.

Cody wanted to put a Gravely in the picture, since Grandpa always used it in the mountains with his Christmas trees. He also wanted to use his post-hole digger, since that was how he planted all of them. Evan wanted to make sure that his chainsaws were included in the picture since you can't have Christmas trees without cutting them down.

Then, they wanted to include hunting, since Grandpa loved to be out in the woods. Evan wanted to have Grandpa's gun in the picture. That lead to digging out some of his old hunting gear. Both boys wore hats that Bruce used to wear when he was out hunting. Evan's had a picture of a chainsaw on it. He even wore it crooked, just like Grandpa.

While we were looking for his clothes, we found some of his old flannel shirts. Both Neal and I decided to wear them in honor of his dad. We put Evan in a coat that was similar to something Bruce would have worn, except his was red and Evan only had a blue one. Cody was happy to wear a flannel shirt, with a hunting vest that was made by his Grandma.

However, nothing about Bruce would be complete without some Queen Dairy milk bottles and cartons. Bruce and Deb met through Queen Dairy, so that makes it even more special. Neal then found a hat for Ferrellgas, which is another one of Bruce's many jobs.

And that is the story of our Christmas card for this year. A great tribute to a man who is greatly missed. This Christmas will be a little harder than most, because of our loss.