Happy Birthday, Jack!

On this day I keep thinking back to one year ago ...

the drop off of three sisters here, 

the wait for the call and

the excitement of meeting you!

I'm awed at how it can be that we are here now ...

ready to get you onto those wheels.

 At first you wondered what this was all about,

 but, with everyone smiling and taking pictures,

you decided to wave.

and enjoy the moment as well.

Jack, we've loved you from the start,

but I didn't  know we could love you this much!

For the way your eyes twinkle in recognition,

your little jig when the music goes on,

your curiosity about things that move or make noise,

your awareness of what is going on around you ...

but most of all

I love the way you show love.

Your "leaning in" forehead to forehead

or cheek to cheek 

has melted my heart over and over again.

I love that you trust

and I pray your trust is never disappointed.

May the Lord bless you and keep you

and make His face shine on you.

Love, Papa and Mimi

💗

Merry Christmas!

The word JOY is one that has kept coming back to me these days ...

a gift given to us ... that of joy in our hearts!

I decided this year we would decorate a Birthday cake for Jesus.

On the day before Christmas, already Christmas in Indonesia, 

we facetimed with these dear ones and watched them open 

their gifts from us, wrapped and waiting since May. 

On Christmas Day here, 

my H helped me in the kitchen preparing

to have everything ready for our early afternoon doorbell chimes. 

We had appetizers ready and dinner ready to put in the oven later.

There was some more facetime.

Shaun and Kristal are having their turn in the background.

 The first thing we do before opening gifts is read the Christmas story.

Papa is good at filling in with his own words.

My favorite moment was when the kids each shared what they

had done with some extra cash we gave them some time ago,

asking them to reach out to someone in need.

They were very happy to share about soccer balls and chickens given

and socks and toothbrushes handed out.

They took turns on the gift opening chair.

There were craft boxes, walkie-talkies and a musical jewelry box.

The highlights were the matching tricycles for the three-year-olds.

(or almost three)

 The kids had dinner and then went to play

While us adults had our own dinner.

It was special to have just the adult kids around the table for a nice meal ...

and although there was room for two more,

there was peace and joy in knowing all is well.

Yes, all is well here at the Friesen home ...

and we wish you JOY

as you reflect on your own circumstances 

and look forward to the year ahead.

Blessings to you, all who visit!

You have encouraged me all year long.

♡♡♡

Lakehouse Christmas

On Sunday we had our annual Lakehouse gathering. 

We had set up the tree earlier and 

cleaned out the garage so that we could set up a table in there.

A heater, a rug, mini lights and cedar boughs made it quite cozy.

We are thankful that mom and Abe could still come out this year.

They were first to arrive and mom enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere by the fire

while I was prepping food. 

Once everyone started coming 

they also came with appies and salads to share. 

Larissa came with baby Erika from Nanaimo

to see her sister, Rosalynn, who is very ill in hospital.

Families in Seattle and Indonesia and Matt in Ontario, could not come,

 so the ones here, numbered 18 adults and 14 kids.

It was crowded but no one minded!

 We can't express enough of our joy at having our 

Saskatoon family back.

 And here are most of the kids, having their own party!

I could tell this time around that they are growing up and did not need 

much adult  supervision. 

 A quick look at the folding table set up over the coffee table when it was time to eat

 and the actual dining room table ... before everyone was seated.

 I told Kari that Jack had his first Oma Cookie
and she laughed and said that she only wished it was his first!

 Mom and Abe still like to give gifts.

After dinner and while dessert was out,

each family sat with them as they opened 

what they had bought with their gift money.

Mom's attention span is waning, but she still tries to place each person. 

 What a gift for these great-grandchildren to know they are special!

There were hugs all around.

 A highlight was when Abe got out his accordion to play

Happy Birthday to Mom/Oma. 

 We stayed where we all were in the eating, sitting area, 

singing one song after another. It was spontaneous and wonderful!

 Mom was sitting by the counter in the middle, by her cake,

in her element with each song.

From Happy Birthday to Come on Ring those Bells,

to other Christmas carols and her favorite, 

"Welchen Jubel, Welche Freude!" 

(A traditional German song that she chose.)

We so appreciated this time for many reasons 

I can hardly express ..

family love, traditions, prayers for each other,

connecting and appreciating each other.

Seizing the day.

Taking the Baton this Christmas

My mom has been my biggest inspiration

and most important teacher in the kitchen.

Growing up, I can't say that she made me learn how to cook,

but once I had a need to know, she was there.

Just before I got married,

I scrambled to copy recipes and take notes.

Over the years it became our way of connecting

and how I looked forward to the days

when she'd drive out from Vancouver

to spend the day baking or canning together.

I learned most of what I wanted to learn

but held back on a few things.

Things she had perfected and there

was just no reason for me to try.

Her Perishky and cookies, the best of the best, 

made me feel like a child again ...

spoiled by her goodness.

But this year I realized it's time ...

she's given all she could.

Her recipes are large - in true Mennonite style -

I think she often doubled them -

but I can't ask her anymore.

She looks at me and shakes her head ...

still with a feeling of dismay that she has no clue

about something she used to do with hardly a thought.

Her cookbooks are torn apart -

in her frenzy over the past years to find recipes

or to make sense of them.

Pages charred from laying on her stove top. 

Yet now as I rolled the dough, numerous times,
I knew she'll always be here 

in all the memories that these cookies ignite ...

In the way her fingers pinched and shaped them
and in the loving way each cookie was iced and packaged up.

I did not know they looked so funny before baking them.

So, I went back to the pictures I took of her for the cookbook

to "see" and saw that I was on the right track.

In the oven they puffed beautifully.

Some jam ran out.

I cooked the meringue glaze - over and over again -

determined to get it down to an art -

the way she did it.

Every stage presented a memory of seeing her in her kitchen,
when she was baking for orders, or MCC or family.
There were seasons when
doughs were stacked in the fridge and
counters were filled with cookies drying or ready to go.

Another recipe with the same icing ... are these chocolate honey cookies,
given to grands by the pail full.
When I made them now, I realized how generous she has been.

The chocolate cookie dough also gets refrigerated and,

because I found it hard to remove from the bowl once it set,

I decided to put saran wrap into the bowl first.

This made for easy removal after.

The dough gets divided into four pieces and each piece is rolled into a long roll.

Then each roll gets cut into pieces and rolled into balls.

After icing them,

they keep in a cool place for at least a month ...

little chocolate cakes that melt in your mouth. 

They are my favorite.
 And will always be a sweet hug from her.

♡♡♡

MGCC Christmas 2017

December 3, 2017

Four o'clock in the afternoon ... and everything was ready!

A log in the fire and candles lit.

Each guest's place prepared ..

It was so much fun to do this together!

Every Christmas he strings literally thousands of lights on the outside trees

and puts up a star on top of the weeping cypress in the back yard ...

while I hang garlands on railings and mantles inside.

One day on our walk in the park, we saw a downed birch branch 

which he picked up to do my bidding.

It became part of the table setting along with

burlap runners, garlands, a variety of candle holders from my stash,

cinnamon sticks, fresh greens, twine and pine cones.

I love mixing the woodsy look with the elegant.
A girl can be both, right?

The second table, the one that  faces the back yard ...

and after the candles are lit.

We started with a sangria ...

 and a variety of fun appies ... 

Julie's tortilla roll ups, 

hot artichoke dip with multi grain chips

 nuts and dried fruit brought by Ellen

and Char's red pepper jelly tarts, by Kathy

Judy and Elmer prepared individually plated Mediterranean salads.

Our German buffet menu consisted of

Rouladen

Bev's Spaetzle with caramelized onions

German Fried Potatoes

Red Cabbage

roasted beans and carrots

cucumber salad

Broetchen

I can't believe how serious we can look while getting our food

but I know that in reality there were lots of smiles!

After dinner the girls headed to the living room

where we did our gift exchange game ...

this year, something shared from our kitchens.

Everyone came with one gift and left with one ...

a collection of homemade candied nuts, salsa, jam,

sugar cookies under a dome, meringue glazed cookies in a jar,

tiny bread loaves with a citrus, ginger infused honey, 

roasted coffee beans and even homemade sausage.

We all knew we did not need another present but

making something to share and enjoy was a fun challenge.

We finished with Marg's TV famous hazelnut roll
and Lovella's delicious Black Forrest Cake ...
and a lot of coffee and lingering.
We can't believe that nine years ago we hardly knew each other.

And here we are ... sisters of the heart,
missing Char and Betty,
but always the Mennonite Girls now.
I've gotten used to the label and it's all good.