WHITE ENVELOPE (A story we could all use at Christmas!)

A friend sent this to me via email and I had to share it with everyone. It really touched me, as I hope it does all of you!


It's just a small white envelope stuck among the
branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no
identification, no inscription. It has peeked through
the branches of our tree for the past 10 years or so.

It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas
--oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the
commercial aspects of it -- the overspending, the
frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie
for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma --
the gifts given in desperation because you couldn't
think of anything else.

Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass
the usual shirts, sweaters, ties, and so forth. I
reached for something special just for Mike. The
inspiration came in an unusual way. Our son Kevin,
who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior
level at the school he attended.

Shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match
against a team sponsored by an inner-city church.

These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that
shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them
together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in
their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new
wrestling shoes. As the match began, I was alarmed
to see that the other team was wrestling without
headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect
a wrestler's ears. It was a luxury the ragtag team
obviously could not afford.

Well, we ended up walloping them. We took every weight
class. And as each of their boys got up from the mat,
he swaggered around in his tatters with false bravado,
a kind of street pride that couldn't acknowledge defeat.

Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, 'I wish
just one of them could have won,' he said. 'They have
a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart
right out of them.' Mike loved kids -- all kids -- and he
knew them, having coached little league football, baseball,
and lacrosse.

That's when the idea for his present came. That
afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and
bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes
and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church.
On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree,
the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that
this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest
thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding
years. For each Christmas, I followed the tradition
--one year sending a group of mentally handicapped
youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a
pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the
ground the week before Christmas, and on and on. The
envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was
always the last thing opened on Christmas morning, and
our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand
with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the
envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.

As the children grew, the toys gave way to more
practical presents, but the envelope never lost its
allure. The story doesn't end there. You see, we lost
Mike last year due to cancer. When Christmas rolled
around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely
got the tree up. But Christmas Eve found me placing an
envelope on the tree, and in the morning it was joined
by three more. Each of our children, unbeknownst
to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for
their dad. The tradition has grown and someday will
expand even further with our grandchildren standing
around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation
watching as their fathers take down the envelope.
Mike's spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always
be with us.

May we all remember Christ, who is the reason for the
season, and the true Christmas spirit this year and
always.

God Bless! -- pass this along to those friends and
loved ones who you know are the givers who understand
the true meaning of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Austin's Birthday Party

Austin had a great party this year. We had the party at JJ's Movies, where the kids could eat pizza and watch the movie "Igor"!

They had a blast and couldn't believe it when Austin got a wakeboard from us!

What fun it would be to be a kid again!!

Happy Birthday our 11 year old!!

Christmas Chorus Concert

Brittney's Chorus concert was great this year. I wanted to show you pics from that night. It's amazing how much the girls change each year!

The chorus was a lot bigger and better this year. I think their voices are not changing as much now!!
Closer pic of Britt, though it is really hard to get good pictures in the dark auditorium.

Brittney is a cheerleader again!

Doesn't she look so cute in her uniform?

Christmas Decorations

Make a Smilebox postcard

Skyler

Thought I would show everyone Britt boyfriend. What do you think?

Austin's team wins conference and county championship!

The Forest Hill Huskies had a great season this year. All 3 teams went to the championships, with the PeeWees and the Mighty Mites winning!! Austin's team (the Mighty Mites) when all of their games, including preseason, for the first time in the history of our program. We are really proud of all of the boys, especially our #88.

Thanksgiving 2008

We had a great Thanksgiving this year with Jeff's dad, Bob and Pat! It was a little different, because we stayed home, but really enjoyable. Hope everyone had a great day!

Trying to get Christmas pictures is no easy task with Austin, hopefully we have a good one this year.

Our trip to Hawaii

Jeff and I had a great trip to Hawaii! I wanted to share some of our favorite pictures from the trip! Hope you enjoy tham as much as we have!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Austin finally gets a haircut!!!

Jeff couldn't stand it any more so he took Austin for a haircut!! The pics go backwards, so scroll down all the way to see from beginning to end. We could have made a pillow from all of the hair Dawn cut off!!

Camping with friends

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Cathie

Many of you know that my stepmom Cathy, passed away a little over a month ago. For those that didn't I wanted everyone to know. I also wanted to show the photos that we took last time we were with her. We will all miss her, especially my Dad. Please keep y our prayers and thoughts with him and Cathy's family.

Britt made the local paper!!!

Walter R. Johnson Middle School girls' volleyball player Brittany Willingham, No. 14, bumps the ball during game one of Tuesday's home match against Heritage Middle. Margaret Avery, No. 9 looks on in the background I couldn't resist putting this on our blog as well! We are so proud of our star!!!

Halloween 08

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Brittney and Volleyball

Britt had a great season this year in Volleyball though they just couldn't seem to squeek out with many wins. I wanted to show off some of the great pics we got this season:

POSTING AGAIN!!!

It has been a really long time since I have posted anything on our blog. I am really going to try to do better! It has been crazy busy, but I am going to make the additional time.

The posts that I am working on now may not be in order of time, but I wanted to make sure that they were shared with everyone who would enjoy them!!

Mountains to Coast Bike Ride

We have enjoyed watching 100's of bike riders go by the house this afternoon in route to the coast. Morganton is the first stop on this long ride for about 1000 bikers. The kids went out back to say "Hi" and got this great picture to share.

Huskies beat Wolverines

What a great game the FH Huskies had on Saturday as you can see by the final score of the game.
Everyone was having a great time, including Britt, Hannah, Jeff and Papa!
Even the fans in the stands were really into the game.
The boys worked hard for their 22 points, the wolverines didn't go down easy.
Austin is loving his new position at tight end. He's doing a great job with it!



Way to go boys!!!

Our New Baby

This past weekend Brittney brought home something special. She brought home Ella, the baby. The eight grade children, as part of their health class, must bring home a "key" baby for the weekend. They must take care of them when they cry by holding a key in their back until they coo (which can be 1 to 30 minutes!) Believe me, they like to cry. Needless to say they couldn't go anywhere without them. Britt was so glad when the weekend was over that she gave the baby back as soon as school started on Monday. This first picture was Monday morning by the way.
I wanted to show you a picture of the girls (Britt and Lily) on the first morning at the football game. If only they new how the weekend world end they wouldn't be so happy!! HaHa!!
We found out (the parents I mean) that there are also real care babies that must have diapers changed, be fed, etc. I highly recommend if you have a middle school student you start this program, if they haven't already!

Forest Hill vs. Valdese

The mighty mite team stays on a winning streak. Wanted to show you the boys as the game began. The final score FH over V 42-6!! Way to go boys!!!!