Christmas comes early
Rebecca Waddingham
The gift of Christmas arrived early — and quite literally — for the Brownlee family Friday night.
Friends and neighbors from church banded together to give the Brownlees a Christmas, something they might not have had this year otherwise.
That means everything — a tree, donated by a Boy Scout troop; lights on the house, mounted by friends; presents for the five young Brownlee children; and of course, plenty of food, including a homemade gingerbread house. There was even a night's hotel stay Friday for Mom and Dad and baby sitters for the wee ones.
A youth group and a seniors' group at Grace Church in West Greeley decided to adopt a family for Christmas, and it didn't take long for someone to suggest the Brownlees, who have attended the church for all three years they've lived in Greeley.
Mary Brownlee, 40, is suffering from inflammatory breast cancer, a rare, painful form of cancer that leaves her with a 5 percent chance of surviving two to four years. It's been two years since the diagnosis, which is Mary's second battle with breast cancer. The first time, doctors thought she was cured, but the predator kept coming back.
Mary and her husband, Earl, have two sets of twins and a 3-year-old, more than a handful already. Mary's painful chemotherapy treatments leave her weak and tired, barely able to hold 3-year-old Isabella, much less cook for an entire family.
She said Christmas just wouldn't have been possible this year without the help of Grace Church.
"It means the world," she said softly.
Her house wasn't nearly as quiet — more than 20 people crowded the living room with gifts for Isabella, 6-year-old twins Jordan and Eden, and 5-year-old identical twins Gabriella and Kamie.
"Dang, that's a lot of presents!" Kamie exclaimed. "There's a lot of people here!"
Shortly before arriving at the Brownlee home, children and adults wrapped presents at the church. Each child got about seven gifts plus a stuffed stocking. The family wants to wait until closer to Christmas to open the presents, then drive home to see family in Syracuse, Kan., for the holiday.
Mary and Earl grinned ear-to-ear as the bubbly group poured inside, staying only long enough to drop off their gifts and sing a hearty version of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."
John Barnes, the youth pastor at Grace Church who helped organize the event, prayed for the family.
"You're a blessing to our lives, and we hope this is a blessing to you all," he said.
Mary said it certainly was.
She has good weeks and bad weeks, and she had a couple very bad weeks recently, when an aggressive chemotherapy regimen landed her in the hospital for nine days. Then there was this summer, when Mary was healthy and energetic enough to hike in the mountains. It goes back and forth.
To get through the bad times, she prays for strength and continually relies on the goodness of friends and strangers. A new Encouragement Bible rests on a table near the couch, and video versions of the Gospel are near the VCR. Love — and hope — abound in her home. Mary isn't giving up.
"You just pray for more time," Mary said, glancing at the sparkling Christmas tree.