the year that was...

December 31st is a good time to look back...

a do a quick review of  'the year that was'!

 

January brought snow...

 

...and a celebration of my 60th birthday.

(Many celebrations, actually!)

 

February...a sweet time with the grands.

 

March...

a road trip along the Gulf Coast of the US from Houston, Texas to Key West.

 

April...

the tulip fields nearby put on a show for us.

May...

spring harvest on the farm.

 

June...

a quick trip to Iowa to celebrate my nephew's wedding.

July...

'the girls' got together to sign a contract for a second cookbook.

Mennonite Girls Can Cook...

Celebrate!

August...

we sailed to Alaska with our kids and grands aboard the Disney Wonder.

September...

Dad turned 90.

We celebrated!

October...

warm weather, fall harvest...

and Thanksgiving.

 

November...

a trip to Palm Springs and the mountains nearby.

 December...

a drive to the snow-capped peaks just north of 'my front porch'....

and good times with family and friends as the year draws to an end.

It seems just yesterday that I stood at the threshold of 2012.

I remember being fearful of stepping into it...

and for good reason.

There are things that happened this past year...

which I was not free to share over here.

Hard things.

But as the year comes to a close...

I can say that God was faithful.

He was there...

through the valleys and the hilltops.

His mercies are new every morning.

Though I know not what tomorrow may hold...

I know He holds tomorrow!

Wishing you all a Happy New Year.

christmas down on the farm...

It was supposed to be ready by Christmas.

I've been watching the progress across the fields for the past month.

It didn't quite meet the target...

but yesterday morning the last ring of the 'slurry store' went up.

It's a little extra 'closet space' over at the farm...

an above ground manure tank.

 A necessity...

not a luxury!

For the most part...we like to focus on the milk production aspect of dairy farming.

 

I thought our kids' Christmas picture would make a great ad for milk!

Their dog was all dressed for the occasion as well...

but somehow never made the photo.

(Maybe he couldn't master the glass of milk!)

Have a wonderful weekend...

as we come to the end of year 2012.

Got milk?

Just checking! :)

memories of christmas 2012...

Family...

together at Christmas.

Those are the memories that live on.

We had some quiet moments...

of quality cousin time.

Some...

not so quiet!

We played Quirkle (new to me and fun...even if I was the 'biggest loser')...

and Apples to Apples...

and 'steal'.

On Christmas Eve we all took in the six o'clock church service.

I don't recall ever not attending church on Christmas Eve.

Those services are the best...

and usually end in the singing of Silent Night by candlelight.

A capella.

Beautiful!

This year, hubby and I were the 'token' grandparents...

and read the Christmas story from our rocking chairs on the stage...

to the 'one-hundred' pre-schoolers sitting at our feet.

Two sat on our laps.

Two we knew quite well.

It seemed our laps weren't big enough for all who wanted to climb up!

After church...

the kids and grands all came for appies.

And so ended...

'the night before Christmas'.

They went home to their own beds...

to return before long.

In the morning...

I re-set the table for brunch.

Tradition dictates what we eat every single Christmas morning.

Christmas morning wifesaver...fresh fruit salad...warm 'potato' rolls.

The place cards were made up last minute...

inspired by 'pinterest'.

A 'shipping tag...tied to a sprig of greenery.

The grands always wonder when 'grandpa Santa' will appear.

Unfortunately, grandpa was feeling 'under the weather'...

and not up to playing Santa.

But my nephew Brendan...

who joined us for the day...

stepped into the suit.

It seems one size really does fit all!

Brendan disappeared to take a phone call from his parents in Manitoba...

and re-appeared at the front door as Santa.

Everyone had a good laugh.

They seemed to think Santa was far too tall and lean this year...

despite the added pillow fluff!

 

The pre-requisite to getting their stocking was a visit to Santa's knee.

Some were a little reluctant to take their seat!

Is this not how one-year-old-visits to Santa always go?

It was a doll kind of Christmas for the wee girls this year.

The boys got 'wheels'.

And once the gifts were all opened...

we sat back to enjoy a violin recital.

Wintertime in Russia...by Ranen.

Beautiful!

Lucy much preferred that to sitting on Santa's knee. 

 

Kris went to work at noon. 

(There are those who are required to work on Christmas Day.)

The rest of us played games...

and ate some more!

This year I gave the grands each an apron for Christmas...

to go with their fully autographed copies of Mennonite Girls Can Cook.

I had planned to do that for Christmas 2011...

but never got the aprons made.

Enough for now...

of Christmas memories 2012.

We are off to a family turkey dinner today...

at my sister's.

Happy Boxing Day...

one and all!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

He loves each of us

as if there were only

one of us.

~St. Augustine

 

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,

that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

And that is why we celebrate Christmas.

May you experience the Lord's goodness and blessing

in a very special way this Christmas!

(Though we are having a little snow here today...
the photo is from 'yesteryear'.)

 

'twas the week before christmas...

'Twas the week before Christmas

there was so much to do...

...but I took a few pictures

so I'll show those to you.

The cookies were baked

by the grands, as you see...

they donned their new aprons

and sampled with glee!

The concerts were many...

we took in a few...

the ones our grands were a part of...

were our favorites to view!

The lights that were strung here and there in our city...

called us to come see.

To miss them would be a pity!

The snow is still here...

the valley is white.

Merry Christmas to all...

and to all a good night.

(...on this the eve of 4th advent Sunday)

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas...

We had a snow day yesterday!

Some people stayed home.

Some wished they had.

Our fabulous new billion dollar Port Mann Bridge...

was closed most of the day...

due to chucks of ice falling on vehicles.

Traffic in the Fraser Valley has been chaotic!

We went to my granddaughter's school Christmas concert right after lunch...

only to find that it had been postponed until tomorrow because of the weather.

Not far from her school we passed by this lovely 'Christmassy' home...

and I said...

'Stop. I want a picture.'

Here's why.

I spent several Christmas's in that very house as a child.

When I was seven years old...

we left that house behind and moved to the farm...

the one where I now live.

The house of my childhood really never looked much like the house in the picture though!

It has gone through several re-models over the years...

and came out looking quite pretty!

The present owners gave me a tour shortly after they took over.

They were thrilled that I had photos of the house from the 1950's...

which I shared with them.

At home...

the snow fell most of the day.

I like how a snowfall cleans everything up so nicely...

and makes it feel more like Christmas.

It seems it has warmed up a wee bit though...

and the forecast is for rain today.

Who knows what the day may hold?

We may try to take in Ranen's school concert once again.

And tonight we will be going to the Christmas concert in our neighbourhood school.

 Emme and Spencer are in the sixth grade and this will be their last Christmas program at that school.

How time flies!

Enjoy the day...

  

a gathering of friends at christmas...

We had a little get-together here on Sunday night...

...the gals from MGCC and their hubbies.

(Ellen made the trek north from Seattle...

while Betty and Char had their own little get-together in Manitoba.)

 When these gals offer to bring food...

they mean business.

Delicious...

and plentiful!

There were a lot of cooks in the kitchen!

We played games...

and had a white elephant gift exchange.

The 'elephant-in-the-bag' could be anything that one already owned...

but could not be purchased for the gift exchange.

Amazing what fun gifts we came up with.

The most sought after one...

...was a wire basket filled with 2 1/2 dozen extra-large farm fresh eggs

...laid that very morning.

I was happy to have the eggs in my fridge when the evening was over...

and have already broken into the stash!

Marg somehow landed up with a wire robe...

which was most appropriate.

Her i-pad at times types words without her approval.

On her most recent get-away she sent us a note...

describing the relaxing time she was having...

as she lounged beside the pool in her 'wire' robe...

coffee in hand. 

It turns out she was wearing a white robe...

and i-pad got things a little confused.

Meanwhile we will forever have visions of Marg in her wire robe!

The guys played crokinole..

...many rounds, it seems.

The girls spent hours around the table.

We had things to look after...

and stories to tell...

and gifts to exchange...

and friendships to enjoy.

What a fun time we always have together!

Friends are a gift from God...

adding beauty and joy to our lives.

 Glory to God in the Highest,

 and on Earth peace, good will toward men. 

 Luke 2:14

At my place it seemed almost peaceful last night...

as the snow fell...

and a hush fell over the land.

But a feeling of sadness prevails...

in light of the events of this week.

My heart goes out to the families who are in the midst of the horror.

In a time of deep despair...

on December 25, 1864 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow penned the words to 

'I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day'.

They seem so appropriate today.

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!

inside and outside decor...

It seems there is never a dull moment at this time of year.

I always intend to accomplish much more than really happens...

and that is is definitely the case this year.

Besides everything else...

I have been having major computer issues for the past three weeks...

and that has taken up huge chunks of time.

 I'm hoping we are over the worst now...

and soon I will be loving my new computer!

 

One of the few projects I completed was a ruffled  'linen' table runner...

that is plenty long enough for my table!

When one has an over-sized dining table...

most  table runners look a little too petite.

I pulled the idea from Pinterest...

and used a painters drop sheet to make the runner.

As for the 'natural' centerpiece...

it went together very quickly.

Last year I watched a floral designer create Christmas wreaths and centerpieces.

I went home and copied.

For the centerpiece...

she used a waterproof tray in the middle and taped oasis onto that.

Then the base for the entire thing is an old 'fake swag'...

shaped into the desired length.

I cut assorted greenery at the farm...

and stuck it in here and there...

using the wires from the swag to attach the greens.  

The candle sits on the oasis and I can easily stick fresh flowers in alongside.

It's plenty big...

and big is good on a big table!

As for the wreath...

I did the same thing.

I used on old fake wreath and stuck live greenery in throughout.

So simple!

One week ago...

we got our tree.

As I posted last spring...

one of the red sunset maples along our driveway died.

We ordered another...

and were told we must wait until fall.

We got the call to come pick up our tree last week.

How does one plant a tree that has a 36 inch rootball...
is 18 feet tall...

and weighs a ton?

One brings in the big machinery...

and calls in a friend to help.

Ron used his digger like a fork...

and had the tree in place in no time.

We are hoping it will have leaves next spring!

I watched the goings-on from the front porch...

out of the rain.

And those are just a few of the things we have been busy with this past week.

Besides that...

we are enjoying the delights of the season.

The music...

the lights and the laughter...

the carols and the cookies...

good times with good friends.

And most of all...

we are mindful that Jesus is the reason for this season!

hockey night in chilliwack...

Though many are mourning the usual hockey season...

what with the NHL strike...

we discovered we can get our hockey fix locally.

Watching six-year-olds play hockey is fabulous entertainment...

and it's free!

Ryder is playing for the first time this year...

and we went to watch.

And to cheer.

 

He looked so serious out there.

I could have sworn it was his dad under all that gear.

That's just how he looked...some three decades ago.

But he never played hockey at that age.

They all had their chance at playing the different positions.

Ryder seemed to play forward...

no matter what his position!

He was so cute sitting on the bench.

He wouldn't turn around to look at us.

Not until the match was over.

Oh...it was a tie game.

It is usually a tie game.

That's a good way to end!

 

And when it was all over...

 ...he posed for me with his most loyal fan.

Love that smile.

Love that hockey player!

Who needs hockey on TV when when can watch the real thing...

right here in town?

Oh...

and we had Tim Horton's coffee while we watched.

It seemed appropriate since he plays on the Tim Horton's team.