Alva Review-Courier -

What makes Christmas time so special? When I was a child, it was the wrapped presents under the Christmas tree. As a teenager, it was getting out of school for a few weeks. When I became a father, it was watching my kids open their presents. Now that my children are grown and have their own families, it is getting everyone back home and together as one family. Maybe for you, it is the baking, the lights, and the decorations. Perhaps it is the first snow. Maybe the Christmas movies. We all have our favorites at this time of the year.

But for many, this is a difficult season. My grandmother d...