the year that was...

And as the year draws to close...

I will do my annual 'rear-view mirror' post once again.

January ~ we enjoyed the beauty of our local hills blanketed in snow.

February ~ a tour which included the 'highlights of Shanghai' 

March - the delights of spring and Easter

 

April - tulips of the valley

 

May - Mennonite Girls Can Cook Celebrations book launch

June - celebrating my dad on Father's Day

July - Canada day, camping with the grands, and a few final walks through Minter Gardens.

 

August - an RV road trip that took us across the US to the east coast...and a memorable time in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

 

September - harvesting the last crops of grass for this year on 'the green, green fields of home'!

October - continuing the road trip where we left off...down the Blue Ridge Parkway...west to California...

 

November - ...and back home again.

December - Christmas...a time to celebrate with family...

and to send greetings to friends near and far.

Let me take this opportunity to thank all of you...

my blogging friends...

who I have so enjoyed 'visiting' with this past year.

You have inspired and encouraged me...

made me smile...

and sometimes shed a tear...

introduced me to new things...

reminded me of old things...

and had me thinking about different things.

I thank you all for your friendship...

and wish you much joy in 2014!

 

 

on Christmas Day in the morning...

Let me give you a wee picture of what happens behind this closed door on Christmas Day...

in the morning.

 

We always do brunch with the family.

Some traditions change from year to year...

but that is one that has remained the same.

We have the very same menu from year to year as well!

I'm not allowed to mess with that...

so I have been told.

Christmas Morning Wife Saver (breakfast casserole)

Fresh Fruit Salad

Croissants

These two were here before the others arrived.

Lucy fetched Baby Jesus from the nativity scene...

and cradled Him for a bit.

Maggie returned Him to His place among the shepherds, wisemen and angels.

My nephew came next.

He lives in our area...

and has no immediate family nearby.

And he is always fun to have.

Just ask the kids!

He decided to don the Santa suit and be the greeter as the rest arrived.

Ooops. 

All pretense was over...

as the beard fell to the floor.

Since when is Santa tall and skinny anyhow?

Once brunch was over and done with...

we moved to the living room.

We could have lingered at the table much longer...

had Lucy not insisted it was time to open the gifts!

Emme read the Christmas story for us...

from the Children's Storybook Bible.

She had everyone's attention...

even the wee ones.

We started a new tradition this year.

The gift-opener sat on the 'gift-opening chair'.

That worked well!

How was it that these two both got the same gift from the one who had their name?

I was glad that the Furby's were not staying at Grammy's house...

especially when I learned that there was no OFF switch. :)

Emme and Spencer will be playing tennis with us this year!

Brendan loves nothing better than a good book!

I'm not sure he was all that impressed with the books he was required to read on Christmas Day.

But he was a very good sport...

and read to Micah and Lucy for well over an hour.

Ranen and Maggie changed into their new jammies...

and nibbled at chocolate monograms they found in their stockings.

And before we parted ways on Christmas Day...

Ranen played some carols for us on her violin.

And she played one of my favorite old German carols...

Oh, come, little children, oh, come, one and all,
To Bethlehem’s stable, in Bethlehem’s stall.
And see with rejoicing this glorious sight,
Our Father in heaven has sent us this night.

As she played...

the words ran through my mind in German...

like I learned them so long ago.

Ihr Kinderlein, kommet, o kommet doch all!
Zur Krippe her kommet in Bethlehems Stall
und seht, was in dieser hochheiligen Nacht
der Vater im Himmel für Freude uns macht!

And that was Christmas 2013...

behind the closed door.

There was laughter and joy...

good times, good food and good gifts.

But there was also sadness...

as we acknowledge that in a family there are difficult times.

Even at Christmas!

Merry Christmas...

 Wise men searched for Jesus.

And when they found him...

and fell down and worshipped Him.

They still do!

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. 

Psalm 95:6 NIV 

Wishing you all a most blessed Christmas celebration!

tidings of great joy...

Concerts and choirs...

lights and trees.
Cookies and candies and nuts...
and those sweet little oranges.

And even snow!

And Christmas cards in the mailbox from friends near and far.

And a heavy parcel delivered to the door...

 from our friends in Switzerland.

We shall have Swiss chocolate for Christmas!

And watching the grands open their gifts.

They are all things I enjoy about Christmas.

But what brings me real joy?

A Saviour...

who is Christ the Lord.

Only He can cast out fear...

and bring joy.

"Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy."

Luke 2:10KJV

Wishing you joy this Christmas!

desert, mountains and valleys...

Let me 'wrap up' our road trip...
with a few photos of the last leg of the journey.

We left our favorite oasis in the desert (that would be Palm Springs)...

and drove north.

A one-and-a-half hour drive took us to the High Desert...

a wind-swept area just above the Mojave Desert.

My aunt lives here...

all on her own...

and seems to love it.

We paid her a visit on our way through...

and were recipients of her warm hospitality.

Did I say wind-swept?

They harness a lot of that wind in the high desert of California.

Who knew they parked planes out in the desert?
Edwards Air Force Base is located in this area...
about 90 miles north of LA.
It is home to the Air Force Test Center...
 the Air Force Research Lab...
and NASA's Flight Research Center.

We passed through the San Gabriel Mountains...
the San Joaquin Valley...

...and on through the Cascade Range.

Mt. Shasta loomed ahead in all her glory.
This volcanic mountain has not erupted for several centuries...
and is now considered a 'high-threat volcano'.

My thoughts immediately go to Mt. St. Helen's.
I can tell you exactly where I was when Mt. St. Helen's erupted on the morning of May 18, 1980.
I was standing in the walk-in closet on a Sunday morning debating as to what I would wear...
when I heard a loud boom and ran to look out the window.
There was nothing to be seen.

But some 500 kilometers to the south in Washington state
the deadliest and most destructive volcanic event in US history had just occurred.

We spent the last night of our road trip at a campground in Longview, Washington.
Since it was just a few miles from the Mt. St. Helen's / Silver Lake visitor centre...
we stopped in there.

 

It was well worth the visit.
One day we will return in the summer...
when the roads to the crater are open.

And that was our last stop on our road trip...
(except for a quick visit to American Girl in Lynnwood).


We have been back in the valley for a month...
in more ways than one.

We discovered that one can not stay on the mountain top.
Real life happens in the valley.
Real life is not always easy.

And so this Christmas includes things we had not planned on.

I am reminded of the verse I chose as my theme for 2013.

You make known to me the path of life;
    in your presence there is fullness of joy;
    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16:11 ESV

In His presence there is joy.

I will seek out His presence.

petrified forest national park...

If you thought you might get some ideas for Christmas decor, baking or gifting over here today...

you were mistaken.

I'm taking you back down Route 66...

and to a treasure in northern Arizona today...
 a national park we visited last month.

We had never heard of the Petrified Forest National Park before...

and had it not been directly on our route...

we would not have paid it a visit.

We would not have known what we were missing!

We entered the park from the north...

...at the Painted Desert Visitor Centre.

 Nearby...we stopped to see the Painted Desert Inn...

a national historic landmark.

It is built of adobe and petrified wood blocks...

quarried nearby.

The lodge was built in 1937 and was at one time slated for demolition.

Following public protests...

it was instead renovated and reopened as a museum and bookstore several years ago.

The inn was once owned and operated by the famed entrepreneur Fred Harvey...

known for his elegant hotels and restaurants.

A little further down the park loop...
we stopped at Puerco Pueblo.

We walked amidst the ruins of a hundred room village...
once occupied by the Puebloan people.
A very long time ago!

(about 1250 AD)

No...we did not touch the petroglyphs...
though we were right beside them.

This area was designated a national park in 1906...
to protect one of the world's largest petrified wood deposits.

 

Agate Bridge is a large petrified log spanning a gully in Jasper Forest.

We walked on several miles of trails...
among the giant logs.

I won't even begin to try to explain the how and why of these great logs of petrified wood.
I understand 'old'...

but not that old!

Beautiful mineral detail...
on that ancient rock-became-wood.

I brought home a sample...
from the gift shop outside the park.

The birds of the park seemed to be protected species as well...
and were trained beggars!

Historic US Route 66 ran through the park at one time...

...and a few car parts remain as a reminder.

We came.
We saw.
We listened to the silence of the wilderness...
and walked among the ancient petrified logs.
We would recommend you do the same one day...
if you are ever passing by that way.

Open every day of the year...
except for Christmas!