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!

remembering...

It was a weekend of remembering.

She was hubby's sister...

my sis-in-law...

Aunt Nellie to our children...

and Great-aunt Nellie to our grands.

We gathered early in the morning at the cemetery...

where she was laid to rest.

We knew that she was already safely resting in the arms of her Savior.

That is a blessed assurance!

From there...

we carried on to the church for the memorial service...

a celebration of the life of Nellie Janzen.

It was good to hear the tributes from those nearest and dearest to her.

We laughed and we cried!

Nellie disliked crowds and large gatherings.

How ironic...

that such a large crowd gathered in her memory.

She was not there to over rule!

She was a friend to many...

and they came to pay their respects.

It had been a very long time since all the cousins had been together.

They came from near and far...

and when the funeral tea was over...

the family gathering continued at our place into the evening.

Being together as family makes the best of the worst of times!

Once there were four siblings.

Now there are two.

No one has been promised tomorrow.

Again we are reminded to celebrate each day as a gift!

Yesterday was a special gift in our corner.

Sunshine and summer temperatures in October is not the norm.

We enjoyed it to the fullest...

and gave thanks!

celebrations and mourning...

Life is like that.  

The good and bad...

the happy and the sad...

always seem to come at the same time. 

We had Celebrations book launch events over the weekend.

at Granville Island and in Victoria..

The heavy rain hardly dampened our spirits...

and we had such a good time.

A celebration.

 And we met the nicest of folk!

Though we came prepared with boots and umbrellas...

Friday night in downtown Victoria couldn't have been nicer.

The rain stopped...

and we enjoyed our walk in the city...

and our dinner with a view of the parliament buildings.

We had a lot of laughs over the weekend...

and you may even hear some of the stories one day.

But as we were returning from our most enjoyable weekend...

I received a text message that came as a shock.

Hubby's sister had just passed away.

 Now that was not expected!

Of all the days...

Elmer had decided he would stop in and pay her a visit on Saturday.

He arrived to see several ambulances parked outside her front door...

and a houseful of paramedics.

He never had a chance to say good-bye. 

Yesterday we celebrated our granddaughter's fifth birthday.

But at the same time we were sad...

at the loss of a sister.

A sister who will not be celebrating her birthday next week...

but instead will be rejoicing in heaven.

Laughter and tears.

Celebrations and sadness.

Such is life!

celebration interlude...

I'll be back on the road with my next post...mostly in Rhode Island...but I'm taking a wee detour today to document what's happening here and now.

Though it may feel like fall to some of you...somewhere...over here it is blazing hot this week.  We have broken all kinds of temperature records...with more falling every day.  The fall harvest is underway...with much of the corn coming in off the field this week.  Things ground to a halt early on September 11th since we had a birthday to celebrate.  And that can't wait until next year! 

The whole gang came for a birthday supper (outside, of course!)...and the birthday boy had his choice dessert.  Lucy insisted on sitting on his lap...and sharing dessert with her favorite Papa.  Micah was most impatient for grandpa to open the gift he brought...since he knew it was exactly what grandpa would want.  A hotwheels set!  And then he begged grandpa to leave his party and come race cars with him downstairs.  Too cute!  And Ranen brought grandpa raisin oatmeal cookies...since she knew they were his favorite.  Grands are precious!

We are not done with birthdays just yet though.  My dad is celebrating this weekend as well.  He is ninety-one years young...and still going strong. 

William Baerg ~ photo taken June 2013

 

So we will celebrate him!  Every day is a gift...and every 365 days we stop to say thank-you to God for the blessings of another year.  I am most grateful today to still have my father around!

Wishing each of you a wonderful weekend...with lots of reasons to celebrate as well.

double the blessing...

This has little to do with our road trip...

but everything to do with celebrating the arrival of my niece's twin boys.

  

They came a wee bit early...

while we were off wandering about the east coast.

I saw them for the first time on facebook...

  (picture by grandma Dot ~ borrowed from facebook)

...just as sweet as can be.  

Two peas in a pod!

We never knew whether the babies would be boys or girls.

It was like it used to be....

a surprise when the baby arrives.

Make that babies!

While on our road trip...

I crocheted around a few receiving blankets for the coming babies. 

They were both girl-flavoured blankies...

since I just thought they would be having twin girls. 

 It's what I know!  

I reasoned that I could always do up a boy blanket yet last minute...

if one of the babies was a boy.  

What a surprise...

two boys!

 I made two more blankets...

in more appropriate colours.

Yesterday we welcomed the babies with a shower...

and honoured their mother...

...my niece, Jamie.

The cake was decorated by her sister...

using the babies room decor as inspiration.

The twins slept through the entire party.

The wee twins, that is!

My twin grands got a chance to cuddle with their second cousins as well.

Most special!

How fun to welcome Eli and Finn.

Children are a reward from the Lord.

Psalm 127:3

Have a wonderful day...

this end-of-summer holiday!

celebrating his special day...

Our oldest son is having a birthday today...

and that is a good reason to celebrate.

 It's actually a special birthday...

a milestone for sure!

We are in far away Maine today...

and won't be there to sing 'happy birthday'...

or share the cake.

But we started the celebrations before we left home...

with a birthday dinner in a revolving restaurant...

high in the skies above the city of Vancouver.

 

 How is it possible that our firstborn is forty already...

when it seems just yesterday we were celebrating his first??

The years have gone by...

too quickly...

it seems!

The Lord bless you
    and keep you; 

 the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you; 

 the Lord turn his face toward you
    and give you peace.

Numbers 6: 24-26

Happy 40th Birthday, Kris!

Love,

(and Dad, too)

camping out in the orchard...

On our way back from our weekend in the Rockies...

we found ourselves in the Okanagan valley at the end of day.

We had intentions of staying at a campground on the lake for night.

But after checking it out...

we decided against that over-crowded and noisy option...

...and agreed instead that camping in a quiet private orchard not far away was a much better idea!

The thought of having cherries for breakfast was quite appealing as well.

We knew there was no one home...

since John and Liz were still in Alberta.

We sent them a quick text...

 for permission (or forgiveness)...

...and parked right next to their lovely home on the hill.

How convenient to have hook-ups right there.

By the time we were parked it was dark...

but in the morning...

we explored.

I've been coming here to visit for over four decades....

to my brother-in-law's farm.

We have camped in the orchard on many occasions...

the first time with a truck and camper in the summer of 1971.

The barn stood then where it stands now...

and looked much the same.

But the view below the orchard has changed.

Where once there were trees as far as the eye could see...

there are now homes and businesses.

And up the hill...

behind their place they also have new neighbours...

with many more coming!

And this was our niece's playhouse back in the day...

and has been enjoyed by many other girls over the years.

The gardens look as amazing now as they always have.

The picker's cabins perched on the edge of the orchard...

are still white-washed and inviting!

This is where our brother-in-law grew up.

The house has gone through several re-models over the years.

We enjoyed our self-guided tour...

and our breakfast cherries.

But I should mention that it was actually an apple orchard that we were camped in...

and it looks like there will be a crop in a month or two.

 Now let me take you back in time...

and view a few pictures at the same location...

but taken long ago.

Spring ~ 1985

Kris and Jeremy loved weekends in Kelowna...

especially if they involved motorbiking with cousin Rob.

 (Notice the barn in the back)

Summer ~ 1981

Enjoying the fruits of their harvest.

Fall ~1977

Cousins playing in leaves.

Winter ~ 1972

Snowmobiling in the orchard.

As you can tell...

camping in the orchard brought back a lot of memories from visits of years gone by.

Thanks for letting us use your 'campsite' in your absence,

John and Liz!

oh...the place he'll go!

Oh the places you'll go! 
There is fun to be done! 
There are points to be scored. 
There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball 
...will make you the winning-est winner of all.

~ Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!

 

Meet my nephew, Andrew...

a graduate in the Class of 2013.

Oelwein, Iowa

He invited us to his grad party.

We sent our regrets...

since Iowa was a little far to go last Saturday.

And so we send our wishes from afar...

along with Dr. Seuss's sentiments.

(I'm thinking the doctor knew Andrew when he penned his book!)

 

 

You're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting,
So... get on your way!

 

You have brains in your head. 

You have feet in your shoes. 

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You're on your own. 

And you know what you know. 

And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

Congratulations, Andrew...

from all those who frequent 'my front porch'.
Wishing you all the best as you journey on!

 ^'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 
'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, 
plans to give you hope and a future.'
Jeremiah 29:11