Many thanks for a blessed Christmas

Dear Editor,

My name is Joel and I will be 13 in March 2014. My little brother Cameron will be 8 in March 2014.

Cameron and I are staying with our grandparents while our mommy is going through cancer treatment in another state and addressing physical medical problems of my little brother, Kayden, who is 10 years old. We also have a brother, Richard, who just turned 6 on the 12th of December 2013. You see, our daddy has his hands full working a full-time job, caring for our mommy and little brothers, Kayden and Richard, therefore that is why Cameron and I are staying with our loving grandparents.

Cameron and I go to an awesome school. All our teachers and the other school staff are such wonderful people, they are terrific with all the students at Southwest Elementary.

Well, you see my homeroom teacher, Mrs. Wilson, and my little brother Cameron's homeroom teacher, Ms. Kennedy, sent some papers home with us before Christmas for my grandparents to fill out. Although my grandparents hesitated to fill out these papers, our (adopted) Aunt Mary encouraged them to do so. None of us had any idea filling out those papers would result in so many "Angels," wonderful, caring individuals, anonymous people donating Christmas gifts and food boxes for the 2013 Christmas. Oh boy, the bottom of our tree was packed with gifts and our cupboards filled with groceries. You see, this was actually the first real Christmas my little brother Cameron ever had, because of medical, financial and other hardships our family has had for the past five years. It was really something watching my little brother, Cameron opening up all his gifts. We got everying we listed on those papers sent home from the school, plus a whole lot more. Yes, Angels came and blessed us and made it possible for us to have the best Christmas ever! Beings I don't know who all those angels were, is the reason I am asking the newspaper editors to print my letter of appreciation, so my little brother Cameron and I can say thank you -- to all the angels who gave us all those wonderful gifts and food boxes and made it possible for my grandparents, my little brother, Cameron and me to have such a wonderful and blessed 2013 Christmas. Now if my little brother, Cameron, and I may be allowed to do so, we would like to say thank you to all those anonymous angels that gave the Gifts of Love, all those at Southwest Elementary School in Indianola who gave their gifts of love. To our grandparents Jim and Jamie, our parents, Sadonya and JayDee, our Uncle Jimmy and to those we have adopted as our uncle and aunts and cousins: Uncle Dave and Aunt Mary Weston of Indianola, Auntie Marcia Brace and her children (our adopted cousins) from the state of Colorado, Auntie Vickie and Will Baker from Palisade, Nebraska, Sandy and Barb at the Community Action in McCook, Nebraska.

Also, we want to thank our Uncle Scott and Aunt Becky for making it financially possible to come back home to Nebraska to here with friends and loved ones for this past holiday season and all those that follow. My little brother, Cameron and I send out thanks and love to all those who gave and sent us gifts of love to make our 2013 Christmas season the best we ever had.

A Christmas that we will always remember and one that will always be an extremely fond memory for us.

Joel Costello, Cameron Sims,

Indianola, Nebraska