Category Archives: Christmas

We Interrupt the Program…

…to show you this!

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When it snows in the Seattle area it takes precedence over everything. Everyone talks about it. The newscasters can’t get enough mileage out of it.

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I’ve been watching the younger kids throwing snow at each other already and the older kids adults with cars try to spin wheelies in it.

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I won’t be going anywhere today. Katie and I are pretty beat from our round trip to Vancouver B.C. yesterday, anyway. I’ll share all about that on another day because…it SNOWED, and in Seattle when it snows that’s all we talk about!

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Just a few more snow shots to share and then I’m going to head to the kitchen to make Lovella’s Cranberry Coconut Loaf.

Vancouver & Snow 079Snow on Rosemary…the bush.

Vancouver & Snow 075I’m kicking myself because I didn’t fill the bird feeder before the snow.

For me the best place to be when it snows is inside looking out of my warm and cozy spot to see the wet cold snow.

Vancouver & Snow 081I’m almost done…

Hope you have a wonderful Friday everyone. You know where you can find me.

Vancouver & Snow 066I’m inside enjoying the outside views of our December snow!

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How about you? Do you like to be out in the snow or do you become a recluse when it snows?

December Note Cards

It’s time to join Vee at A Haven for Vee for her December Note Card Party. If you want to join in the fun you can click over and read the rules.

I cannot tell a lie, my choices made me cry.

Palisade 025December 2012 celebrating Katie’s 27th birthday at Palisade Restaurant on Elliott Bay in Seattle. I should have used this for our Christmas photo this year. This December we are missing Andrew and hold him and all of 1/9 Bravo Company in our prayers as they serve in Afghanistan this Christmas.

Hoar Frost 1 069January 2013 ~ My first experience with Hoar Frost.

IMGP9112March 2013 ~Wedding Shower Love with my sisters and mom.

IMGP1040December 2013 ~ Something new I bought for Christmas this year.

I’m not one you’d call emotional but this Christmas season in the midst of all the Joy it brings we are surrounded by loneliness, too. My dear old Pop is so lonely for my mom who died this past September. He praises the Lord for all the good things in his life and he knows his dear wife is with his Lord but he cannot get away from his loneliness. It is so understandable after living day in and day out with someone for 70 years and now to turn around ready to say something to them and they are gone. Our daughter is living with us while our son in law Andrew is serving with the Marines in Afghanistan. This Christmas they’ll celebrate Christmas half a world away from each other. This Christmas as never before I am reminded and earnest to think and pray for those who are living with loneliness, brokenness, illness, and loss. In no way am I saying Bah Humbug. I am embracing the Joy and celebrating that Joy that came down to us at Christmas time long long ago and putting my Hope in Christ and lifting up the hurting to Him.

…A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!

Fall on your knees
Oh hear the angel voices
Oh night divine
Oh night when Christ was born…

Up Close…

Xmas close up 002A Crown for my King.

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Old and Primitive.

Xmas close up 004A landmark from England.

Xmas close up 006The Amiable Guinea Pig ~ Beatrix Potter

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Hunca Munca ~ Beatrix Potter

Xmas close up 008Frosted Window Panes from Russia.

Xmas close up 010Katie, 1986

Christmas 18-55 lensOur First Nativity, small and wooden. This one has been well used and some parts have been glued together. One of the animals is missing a leg.

IMGP1024The controversial blond Mary.

IMGP1036Ded Moroz Father Frost from Russia.

Just a few of our Christmas things up close and personal. I’ll be sharing a few more in the near future.

I shared a story earlier in December about our church Toy Shop Project for needy families in our community. Our church was able to help 315 families with grocery gift cards and toys for their children. We had over 2000 new toys that we gave away. Our goal was 1800. What a wonderful experience to be able to share in this way in our own community.

I’m so thankful for a quiet week leading up to Christmas. How are your days?

She’s Trimmed Up…

Twinkle 019Fewer than usual ornaments were unwrapped to put on her. The crocheted angel still has it’s place on top.

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Speaking of angels I have been on a quest to find angels that are not the sweet faced variety. I found this next angel at clearance last year and I appreciate the fact that the face is blank. I wanted to find angels that would have to say “fear not” when you looked at them. I suppose the sudden appearance of angels could also warrant the need to say “fear not”.

Xmas close up 019Our one big event during this Christmas season was last Thursday and from here on out we’ll be enjoying the quiet, cozy, twinkling of the season.

Twinkle 011We had all the leaves in the table for our dinner event last Thursday. I bought this Lenox Laurel red tablecloth at Goodwill this year. It was long enough for our table with all the leaves in. There were 12 around the table and I had enough Santa Hat chair covers for 12. Those I bought at Target Clearance a few years back now.

Our table is back down to just 2 extra leaves now and that will be big enough for our Christmas festivities from here on out. There will be six around the Christmas breakfast table and six at our Christmas dinner table. This week is a quiet week at home for us but a very busy week at work for Dear. Do you have lots of gatherings this year or are you enjoying a quiet cozy time?

O Mystery Tree, O Mystery Tree…

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Our Mystery Tree tradition is continuing this year. On Sunday we put the back seat down in the jeep and headed to the Home Depot to pick out our tree. Our round trip from home to the store and back again took a little under 45 minutes total! We arrive, we spy out the trunks of the trees in our height range in the piles where the trees are still all tied up, we pick one, buy it, throw it into the back of the jeep and head home where the stand is ready and waiting. Dear cuts off a portion of the trunk and gives it a good thrust into the stand. Tighten the screws on the trunk and get ready for the reveal…

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It’s so much fun to stand back and watch as Dear cuts the string off the branches.

2013-12-10 Mystery Tree 2013

Tah Dah!

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When I got home late last night Dear had put the lights on the tree so I can now finish decorating it. We’ll see what gets done today.

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Little by little it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas around this old house.

Life continues to keep us on our knees in the midst of this joyful time of Advent and more and more we look to the Hope we have in Christ. We had one of those 3 A.M. phone calls where you know the news can’t be good. A Brother in law had a heart attack that was caught in time and arteries were cleared. He’ll be home soon. We know the reality of how fragile life can be. We always wait for good news from Afghanistan. “Made it back from the Mission, I’m O.K., going to bed now, talk more later.” We rally around each other supporting each other in whatever life throws our way.

Faith

I will have faith,
However dreams are shattered;
I will have faith that righteousness can live;
I will have faith e’en when my heart is breaking,
To work and pray and give!

I will have faith
When troubled is life’s ocean,
When low-blown clouds the Pilot’s face shall hide;
I will have faith when my fair ship is battered;
I will await the turning of the tide!

I will have faith
That God is still in Heaven;
I will have faith that He is by my side;
I will have faith though every star is darkened,
That He and truth abide!

The Residence, Denver

Beginning to End…

…It was a wonderful day!

Josh and Laura arrived just after midnight and tucked themselves in for the night. We woke up on Christmas morning to familiar Christmas music. Dear mixed up his Swedish pancakes and we had Judy’s famous bacon wrapped smokies along side. Yum.

We opened up our gifts to each other saving the rest for our 2nd Christmas on Saturday. We will have the whole crew here on Friday night and Saturday to enjoy all our Christmas traditions once more.

Dinner was the usual prime rib and Yorkshire pudding with added roasted root vegetables and Brussels sprouts. We had Betty’s Cinnamon Bun Cake for dessert.

Thankfully before the kids loaded up their car for home we remembered to take a photo by the tree.

Today I’m preparing for Katie and Andrew’s arrival this evening. The fun will continue all week long. Tomorrow is our Katie’s 27th birthday…27 on the 27th. I guess I better bake a cake.

Happy Boxing Day to all our friends in Canada and the U.K.!

Joy Bells Are Ringing

Joy Bells Are Ringing

Joy bells are ringing,
Christmas is bringing
Tidings of Jesus’ birth.
Candles are gleaming,
Gladness is streaming
Out over all the earth.

Light is ascending,
Nighttime is ending,
Sunshine from God appears.
Hope of the ages,
Foretold by sages,
Comes to dispel all fears.

O what a treasure
God in His pleasure
Lovingly gives today.
Grace to the lowly,
Peace, pure and holy,
Angels to men convey.

Come to the manger,
Kindred and stranger,
Hail now the newborn King!
In adoration
With jubilation
Peoples and nations sing!

Banish all sadness,
Fill me with gladness,
Jesus, whom I adore!
All else may perish,
Thee will I cherish
Now and forevermore!

Words: Nils Frykman, 1881. Translated from Swedish to English by E. Gustav Johnson, 1946.

I posted this song last year. I love the words and wanted to share it again.

Merry Christmas everyone. I do not know when I’ll be posting again this year. I will be back again sometime soon. Blessings in the New Year!

Christmas Past…

I’ve decided to share some snap shots of Christmas past and join in with Vee’s December Notecard Party…

Christmas dessert from 2009

December night in Seattle with the Space Needle through the boat masts at Elliott Bay Marina 2009. We were celebrating Katie’s completion of her degree along with her birthday.

This year Katie is turning 27 on the 27th of December. I guess we’ll have to do something special to celebrate this magic birthday!

Every day Christmas table from several years back. Things have changed in this room.

Thanks Vee, for letting me join in late. Today I’m trying to talk myself into wrapping some gifts. I’m also thinking I should choose some cookie recipes to bake. It’s raining steadily here in the Seattle area. How are things in your part of the world?

Over the River…

…and across the line, to a Mennonite Girls Can Cook Christmas party we go!

We crossed the U.S./Canadian border at Sumas and the border agents didn’t confiscate my Smirntopf or my Antispasto platter so all was good. We arrived to Judy and Elmer’s home all decked out beautifully for Christmas.

Not all the girls could be there that night. Our eastern Canadian girls, Betty and Charlotte, got together in Manitoba for their own party this night.

We took care of some serious business first before we set out all the dishes of food. Judy put together a fun getting to know you game where we had to connect each of the guests to an obscure fact or experience that guest had in their life. It was not easy but before too very long Kathy was the first to  figure it all out. Having a sea lion visit visit him in his backyard, falling into a manure pit, kayaking the Cayes and jungles of Belize, assisting drunken hitchhikers, were just a few of the interesting experiences. We were sworn to secrecy for one of the experiences we heard about! Next was the White Elephant exchange where we behaved quite civilly except when it came to the basket of fresh eggs!

The guys headed upstairs to play the popular Canadian game called Crokinole while we girls warmed up and set out the dishes we brought to share.

Oh My!…

I wonder if there will be enough food!? We were chuckling about the fact that food abundance is never an issue when you invite the girls to bring a dish!

Judy created that cute Christmas tree cheese platter. I’m sure a duplicate will appear somewhere at another blogdom Christmas party!

So…do you think we’ll have enough? Don’t forget we still haven’t put out the desserts!!

We let our husbands go first and they enjoyed what they saw and dug in heartily.

The “Girls” got to sit around the table set perfectly for the 8 of us.

After our fill of the savories it was on to dessert, oh my!

Judy made this beautiful punch for us to enjoy and Lovella made some homemade Egg Nog.

Her recipe was on the MGCC blog yesterday if you’d like to try making your own nog!

We ended our time around the table exchanging gifts to one another. Such generous and sweet reminders of our love and friendship.

Another wonderful Celebration to tuck away in our hearts. Thank you Judy and Elmer for a beautiful evening and thank you girls for all your love and prayers and friendship and celebrations!!