a look back on the year that was...

As the year draws quickly to a close....

will do my annual rear-view mirror post.

January 1, 2012 began for us under the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

From there it was on to Kenya...

an amazing experience!

February ~ the eagles and snow-capped peaks of home.

March ~ the first wiener roast of the year.

April...a trip across the mountain pass to retrieve Kris's vehicle following his accident.

May ~ Mennonite Girls Can Cook book launch celebration.

June ~ the latest we have ever planted corn on our farm...
due to a very wet spring.

July ~ we welcome Baby Lucy

We celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary.

September ~ a trip up the Sunshine Coast

October ~ we are thankful for family and the harvest that was late, but plentiful.

November ~ Yosemite National Park and Palm Springs

As the sun sets on another year...
I realize again how much I have to be thankful for!

Soon we will be opening the door on a new year.
I'm a little fearful of stepping through.
But I know Who goes before me...
and His mercies are new every morning.

Happy New Year to all of you...
my blogging friends!

the bumps along the road....

Just in case you think everything went off without a glitch over here during the Christmas season...

let me tell you about a few of the little bumps along the way.

We made several trips across the border to pick up parcels before Christmas.

One of the packages had been shipped on December 1st...

 but had not yet arrived when we went down the first time.

A few days before Christmas we made another trip to Ship Happens...

with plans to pick up the last of the packages.

But I'm thinking it might have been on this Greyhound bus...

 ...which ran into troubles along the way.

We waited in a long line-up to cross the border into Sumas, Washington...

and then waited in a long line-up at Ship Happens...

where many Canadian shoppers were picking up parcels. 

While waiting to be served at Ship Happens...

one can amuse oneself by reading the sayings posted on their walls.

Or even taking photos of them...

so they can be shared!

I thought they were worth passing on.

We arrived at the front of the line...

only to find the package in question was not there.

Since that time...

Christmas has come and gone...

and a gift from American Girl is still missing.

Many phone calls and e-mails later...

the package has still not showed up....

and no one seems to have a solution for  finding or replacing the item...

which has been paid for...

of course.

Emme may just have another gift to open sometime in the New Year! 

There were other things that never went as planned!

Here's one we can laugh about.

I had made up a number of Christmas ice-cream cakes for several occasions over the holiday season.  

There was one totally untouched...

and so I offered it to Broni for the turkey dinner she was hosting on Christmas Day.

I packaged it up for her...

and sent hubby down to the basement to put it in the freezer.

On Christmas Day...

Broni came calling for her dessert.

Hubby went down to retrieve it...

and was gone for a very long time.

He could not find the dessert!

At long last he decided to look in the fridge...

and there it was.

An ice-cream cake that has spent five days in a fridge is not a pretty thing!

We did some quick thinking...

and found an alternate dessert for Broni.

Oh boy!

Stuff happens.

Sometimes we just have to laugh about it!

So...let's hear about the hic-cups in your well-laid plans!

surprises on the front porch...

It was Saturday...

Christmas Eve...

and I was working my way down 'the list'...

and checking it twice.

A little car zipped into the driveway...

and someone ran to the front door and rang the bell.

I opened the door...

and there stood a neighbour holding out a tray of goodies.

She wished us a Merry Christmas...

and hurried on her way.

Check them out.

These cookies were not only delicious...

but a work of art!

No sooner had I put the goodies on the counter...

than the doorbell rang again.

Another neighbour held out a jug of mulled apple cider...

and wished us a Merry Christmas.

Did I tell you...we have the best of neighbours?

Hubby came home bearing gifts from two employees.

I thought we should be giving them gifts.

Since when do employers get gifts?

Did I tell you...we have the best employees?

I just turned on the vacuum cleaner...

and the doorbell rang again.

There stood our builder...

who had just completed the barn project for us...

bearing a gift as well.

Did I tell you...we have the best contractor around?

We gabbed for some time...

and then he was on his way.

Back to the vacuuming...for a moment.

And then the doorbell rang again!

There stood my brother-in-law, Terry.

He was making a special delivery from my sister.

She had made me a Christmas wreathe...

and I knew just where to hang it.

The picture of butterflies and wild flowers which hangs on the powder room wall year round...

has been replaced for the festive season. 

It needed a little bling!

Did I tell you...I have the best of sisters?

We had a lot of unexpected surprises over Christmas!

We are most thankful for one and all.

so this was Christmas ~ part 2

On Christmas morning we meet as a family for brunch...

every year.

And we have the same thing on our plates...

every time.

It just wouldn't be the same without 'Christmas morning wifesaver'...
which comes out of the oven piping hot at the time the kids all arrive.
Along with fresh rolls...
and a fresh fruit salad.
And so it was on Christmas Day at our home.

The grands already know the drill.
Grandpa slips away from the table...
and re-appears somewhere as Grandpa Santa.
We fooled them this year!
We re-cruited the real Santa to show up at the front door with their stockings in hand.

Some were amused.

Some were afraid. 

And all will remember the Christmas the real Santa came.

And once Santa had departed...
we set about exchanging gifts with one another.
The grands always pick names...
and have such fun choosing gifts.
Everything needed to be tried and tested...
pronto!

As for the gift of the year?
Kindle...
the hands-down winner.
We so enjoyed the Kindle reader we had on loan for our vacation...
that we decided to get the kids each one for Christmas (the big kids, that is).
They thought that since we had so enjoyed our borrowed Kindle...
they would get us each one.
So we opened a lot of Kindles on Christmas Day.
And we were all happy with our gifts.

But at the end of the day...
we know it is not the gifts we shower each other with...
but the gift of God's Son sent for us...
that matter's most!

so this was Christmas ~ part 1

For the record...

there was no white Christmas in our part of the world this year.

There was however...

a 'near white' Christmas Eve.

I stepped outside to take this photo just before the sun set on the 24th of December.

The blanket that covered our world may not have been snow...

but it was a nice touch!

God is the Master artist.

We attended an early church service on Christmas Eve...

...one where we knew a few members of this particular choir.

They sang.

We sang.

We heard the real story of Christmas...

the one that is not heard much in the hustle and bustle of the season.

Joy, joy for Christ is born,

The Babe, the Son of Mary!

And when the service was over...

we were a hungry lot.

And as tradition dictates...

they all come for appies after.

But before we can eat...

can Grammy just get one picture?

We managed to include baby Lucy this time.

She also sat in a high chair at the table for the first time...

and never spilled a thing!

Another first....

we played Guesstures together...

young and old.

It was a game we used to play at my parents' place at Christmas...

decades ago.

It was good for laughs then...

and now!

Oh...and the guys are better actors than the girls.

Though I question the final score somewhat...

since the guy's team was doing the tallying.

Eventually it was time for everyone to rush off to their beds...

before Santa's scheduled arrival.

And in the morning...

they would all be back to carry on with the festivities.

To be cont'd...

rejoice!

This is the day that the Lord has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

May you take the time to pause and reflect...

to pray and rejoice...

as we celebrate the birth of our Saviour!

 

I wish for each of you a blessed Christmas...

filled with love, hope and peace.

 

we care....

For the past several years we have been part of a small group of friends that meet together on a regular basis...mostly just to share this journey we call life.  Some call us a life group.  I call us a care group...because we care!  We take turns hosting...and we work our way through a Bible study...or sometimes are inspired by an inspirational video series.  But mostly we share our joys and sorrows...and pray for each other.  During these years we have been meeting...we have had been through so much with each other.  There have been children married and parents buried.  Many new grandchildren have joined our ranks and one grandchild went on ahead to her heavenly home.  There has been illness...and a couple from our group who underwent a double kidney transplant operation.  One has a son with disabilities.  There are others who have shared relationship problems with family members...co-workers...or even neighbours.  We are there for each other.  We care!  Sharing with friends makes the sorrows easier and multiplies the joys.

We also know how to fun together...and celebrated a few milestone birthdays in the recent past.  And every year around this time we have a Christmas party.  We did just that...a few days ago.  Though the food is always fantastic...the highlight of the evening is our gift exchange.  We know how to give the best of gifts!  Who could have known that a 'white elephant' gift exchange could be so entertaining?  A few of the gifts seem to come back from year to year!

The antique rat trap was a real prize this year...though it seems it got left behind when the party was over.  And who would not want a 'green valley' sign for their man cave.  I would have been quite happy to take home the ceramic Christmas tree with its many sparkling lights.  We had such a good time.  We put our cares aside...and we laughed. 

And now it seems our journey together will be changing in the New Year.  One of the couples will be moving on...due to a job transfer.  I'm sad about that.  But we wish them any blessings...and we will keep them in our prayers...because we care!

all on a winter's day...

Yesterday was a picture perfect day here in the valley.

I wish I could have been outside...

but had to be content with the view from my office window for the most part.

I had a friend call...

just wondering if we might possibly sneak in a game of tennis before the day was over.

It was a good idea...

but my 'to do list' was too long!

 

In the afternoon...

I took a drive out in the countryside to deliver necessary paperwork to our accountant.

 

While most accountants have an office in the city...

ours has an office on his farm.

 

I always enjoy the drive back to the neighbourhood where we once lived!

And while I waited on a passing train...

I played with the camera.

It was hard to take a bad shot yesterday!

It may be known as the shortest and darkest day of the year...

but December 21st  was bright and beautiful in my corner of the world in 2011!

I picked up the mail on the way home...

and was delighted to find a parcel.

The name on the return address was unfamiliar to me...

but I opened the package and read the note.

And I smiled!

It was from someone who grew up nearby...

and even babysat my children on occasion.

She made beautiful music...

and always had a smile on her face.

She married and moved away many years ago...

and took on a new name that I never recognized.

She had read the post about halvah  on 'My Front Porch' last year....

...and when she saw a small brick of the Christmas confection in a store recently... 

she decided to gift me with it.

How sweet is that?

And here's the thing.

As we drove home from the Christmas concert the previous evening...

we talked of her and wondered how she was doing.

We haven't seen her in years!

The next day...

the package arrived in the mailbox.

How can that be?

Thank-you, Janice...

for the halvah!

I sampled it for 'night lunch'.

It was good...

a taste of Christmas past!

memories of Christmas past...

I like to dwell in the past just a wee bit at this time of year!

The red sled gets propped up for old times sake.

It belonged to hubby when he was a kid.

Now it belongs to me.

Smile! 

The wee red stockings were knit with love by my mom-in-law many decades ago...

and hang on the old Singer that my grandmother sewed with.

And the vintage tree ornaments handed down from a family collection...

are pulled from their original box every December.

And this year...

we will also enjoy a candy that I recall showing up in my childhood home every December.

They were called 'rock-a-va-shaky'...as I recall.

A Russian candy...

with a lobster on the wrapper.

I found some in a European deli...

and had to pick up a handful for old time's sake.

Truth be told...

they don't taste any better now than they did then!

We took in a wonderful community Christmas concert last night...

with orchestras, choirs, drama.

 

It told the story of Christmas celebrations through the ages...
particularly among the German speaking Mennonites of the Ukraine.

No matter how bleak their situation...
they always had a reason to sing.
And sing they did...beautifully.

Though the decorations and the customs may change...

the message of Christmas remains always the same.

Immanuel...

God with us.

Jesus...

born a King.

And that is why we sing!

passing the turkey...passing the puck...

Though there are plenty of choices...

it's the turkey platter that goes around first...

always.

We have a tradition at our place...

to have our turkey dinner and celebrate Lisa's birthday at the same time...

about a week before Christmas.

Jeremy was wondering...
why does Lisa always get a turkey dinner for her birthday...
while he gets a wiener roast most every year?
There are a few benefits to having a birthday right near Christmas!

Let's just say it was a special birthday for her this year!

Though it may look like all was calm and peaceful...

there weren't too many of those quiet moments on Sunday night!

They have a lot of energy...

...and so we encouraged them all to go down to the basement and play a little floor hockey.

It was a good time for all...

big and small.

It is just important for those over six feet tall to keep their heads bowed as they play!
Technically...
it is a crawl space.
Perfect for little people...
hockey, trikes...
and storage.

They'll be back soon...
for the next round.
Grandpa Santa is making plans!