Happy Fifth Birthday, Jack

Dear Jack, 

I can hardly believe this day has come,

a day to look back on your first five years of life!

The call that came early one morning,

the joy of cradling the baby boy of our son,

a brother to three sisters

and eleventh in the line of cousins -

youngest and dearly loved in every way!

It seems a season has passed us by,

a season of life's firsts for the last time.

Falling asleep in our arms,

exploring the toybox belonging to each grandchild for a time,

swinging the backyard swing hung for our first,

and walks in the stroller to feed the ducks.

Worn books - read a few hundred times,

yet always new to the new beholder.

Playing with yeast doughs, rolling cookies,

doing puzzles, raking leaves, playing ball,

and pre-school pick-ups

with conversations in the car

using that precious developing vocabulary

I wish to hold on to.

So we celebrated five the way we do

for the last time.

You chose a stuffie to fill, 

added a sound and tucked in a heart.

It seemed we ducked in and out 

rather quickly, but it was just right.

 We are so grateful for the gift of you,

that sparkle in your eyes,

the joy of watching you learn,

exploring the gifts God has given you.

Digging, measuring, hammering, 

dancing, singing 

and especially your tender spirit.

With a treasure of dreams stored in our hearts

for all the days and years to come,

we want you to know we love you

and will pray for you always.

Papa and Mimi

First Family Christmas in this House

Outside the wind was blowing and everyone was quick to get in the door.

Joyful anticipation and thankfulness filled the air.

Remembering so clearly the distancing we had to do last year

made this year so much more special!

Tehya was on the phone with her family in Indonesia

and tried to get them into the photo as well. =)

My H and I had already chatted with them and watched them open the parcel sent off months ago.

It is so good to be able to communicate like this,

one thing that has improved greatly in the past few years. 

We had had a pre-christmas party with Tehya earlier 

because she had other plans for Christmas. 

Circumstances changed, so she was still with us on this day.

She has a way of winning everyone's hearts,

including the littlest ones. 

They just adore their older cousin! 

Our time began with appies early afternoon.

We sat down and the kids took turns reading through the Christmas story.

Then we initiated a new gift opening chair.

It is large enough for two and I had to put this one in.

One can't open before the other if the gifts are the same, right?

Teddy's most special gift from her parents was the tiniest,

cutest kitten (meowing in our laundry room)

but she still had a big smile for what she opened here. 

Lacey, our expressive, ever gracious and kind girl.

I can hardly get over how handsome and grown up Landon is getting to be! 

When did this happen?

And then Natalie, who's always ready with a smile.

The boys got right into helping Jack put together his trucks.

We usually serve dinner buffet style, 

but this time we served family style.

I didn't get any feedback on that, but it was worth a try.

After dinner the girls helped me clean up,

the kids went downstairs,

and it was time for the grown up gift exchange.

My most favorite moment of the year.

Then it was time for trifle and cookies.

I love how Koen cares for Jack, sitting beside him, or playing with him

even though he is six years older.

Funny thing, no one had to be begged to eat dessert. 

And as I write this, 

I'm thinking about our baby Jack turning five tomorrow,

but that will be a post for another day. 

The candles burned down and our long awaited day came to an end.

Hearts full of gratefulness for all of our gifts,

one of the greatest being family.

❤❤❤

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

 Once again, a year has passed.

The house is decorated,

gifts are wrapped,

the table is set,

dishes are planned.

Anticipation bubbles over.

Maybe  just a taste of the feeling God had

on that night long ago

when a stable provided a cradle,

an angel choir proclaimed His birth

and humble shepherds went in search of His gift.

I know that by the end of tomorrow 

I'll wish the day had not gone so fast.

Yet, I will have peace

because the only gift that lasts 

is the hope born for us on Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas!

Be Still my Soul

These little visits in her room, 

walks down the hall and peeks into the dining room, 

are true reality checks on the brevity of life 

and the wonders of everyday abilities that I want to be grateful for. 

Last week Monika and I visited in Mom's room for a few hours.

Mom never said a word, 

but sharing the intimate space with her

filled the room with feelings that can hardly be expressed. 

I cannot say 

how many times we have said that 'possibly last earthly goodbye',

but if she was able to soak in the sweet aroma 

of her daughters' sentiments, 

reminding her of who she is, what she has believed

and of the hope we share,  

it was the only gift that truly matters.

❤❤❤

Be still, my soul, The Lord is on thy side

Bear patiently, the cross of grief or pain

Leave to thy God, to order and provide

In every change, He faithful will remain

Be still, my soul, thy best thy heavenly friend

Through thorny ways, leads to a joyful end

Be still, my soul, thy God doth undertake

To guide the future as He has the past

Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake

All now mysterious shall be bright at last

Be still, my soul, the waves and wind still know

His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below

Be still, my soul, the hour is hastening on

When we shall be forever with the Lord

When disappointment, grief and fear are gone

Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored

Be still, my soul, when change and tears are past

All safe and blessed, we shall meet at last

Originally a German hymn written by 

Katharina von Schlegel (1697-1768)

translated in 1855 by Jane Borthwick 

 

The Bouquet Farm

Two days after the highway opened Kari picked me and Kristal up

for a wreath making workshop in Yarrow (on the other side of the flooded area).

We had registered for this back in October, when all was fine.

We drove up to the cutest little store with a coffee truck alongside of it

where we got our eggnog lates and went around to the back, 

inside a tent.

Everyone got a moss wrapped wreath, wire and plenty of 

fir, pine, cedar and eucalyptus cuttings to choose from.

We began with a small bundle of greenery and wound the wire around it

and the wreath,

then continued by overlapping small bundles full circle.

It smelled wonderful!

At the end we chose pinecones and ribbon to finish them off. 

I don't know how this happened ...

we all had the same opportunities to choose,

but somehow Kristal's wreath ended up much bigger than Kari's and mine.

She definitely was all in on this project! 

Obviously it is fun to hang a homemade wreath on our door, 

but maybe it was even more about doing something together,

catching up and taking time to listen and laugh together

in the midst of other things calling for our attention. 

It's about seizing the day.

❤❤❤

 

MGCC Christmas Party

One day last week we took note of the rain stopping for a spell 

and headed out to the tree farm.

Due to the unusual hot summer we had, a lot of trees were damaged,

but after hiking around for a while, we found our tree.

 

At home we set it up and began to plan for the MGCC Party 

that we hoped to have in 2020.

It looked like it would finally happen now,

but then the flood became an issue.

Two days before the party, I postponed it,

only to find out the next day that the tiger dam on the highway was coming down.

So back and forth we went and it was on again.

Almost all of the girls had to take this highway to get to our place,

water still coming up close, cars partially immersed along the way.

But once I found out that the way was open, I got busy!

There was plenty of good cheer and

long missed hugs all around.

Everyone brought parts of the delicious meal together. 

Appies were set out

while the men who have come together because of us 

connected once again.

This year marked 10 years since we published out first cookbook,

years which make up for a lot of drama and memories they share with us. 

Salads were plated and we had our seats.

Of course we missed those living further away, but 

it was still hard to believe that even this was finally possible! 

I did not take a lot of pictures and some of what I have were shared.

We enjoyed stuffed pork tenderloins with potatoes, yams and carrots roasted alongside.

With that we had a sweet and sour red cabbage, 

a savory bread stuffing and a cucumber salad.

And one last photo that I obviously did not take. 

Oh yes, and we had mini pavlovas and mini date pudding cakes for dessert.

We girls talked late into the night 

while the guys found the pool table and their own things to discuss. 

It's an unsually comfortable group to be with

considering how we came together, 

but as our publishing days are something we now only reminisce about 

it feels like another season has truly drawn to a close,

leaving us with the gift of a name

and a friendship we will always smile about. 

❤❤❤

 

The Candle of Hope

In the midst of, not only a pandemic, we have flooding throughout the province,

with national news-worthy updates for weeks now. 

Every day is a new day to see what will change. 

At the moment we are waiting on what the third atmospheric river will do

in regard to evacuations, while the army is busy building sandbag barricades.

Samaritan's Purse has taken up residence on our church parking lot,

not to distribute shoe boxes, but to go into areas and homes that need cleaning up.

They are the professionals, and if anyone wishes to help, 

they can do so, within a team that knows how to do it safely. 

It's heartbreaking to think of families, sometimes several generations,

having worked their farms and brought up their children,

to see it all wash away ... their memories, 

 their hopes and their dreams for their future.

We can all only imagine the loss ... and this is what motivates

our communities to help where we can.

Somehow in all of this, it seems rather fitting 

that we just celebrated 

the First Advent, symbolizing Hope.

The first candle that is lit is also sometimes called the Prophecy Candle,

to remember the prophets who foretold of a coming Messiah. 

It represents the waiting and expectation of salvation.

Hope was given to those who recognized Jesus,

who said, "I am the Light of the world, 

whoever follows me will not walk in darkness 

but will have the light of life."

 

We know the rest of the story,

of how salvation came in an unexpected way.

He died a criminal's death,

and came back to life ...

the Author of life here and forever.

The Bible tells us that all creation has been groaning

to be liberated from the bondage of decay

in the same way that we as believers wait in hope for our 

adoption and redemption.

(paraphrased from Romans 8: 19-23)

We not only have hope that tomorrow the sun will come out again,

but we also have hope that there is meaning beyond this life.

This is the precious gift I wish for all. 

❤❤❤

Of Fall Beauty and Flooding

I was so happy to see I didn't totally miss out on the autumn beauty

and the chance to walk in crunchy leaves.

Natalie, Landon, Koen and Evy stayed over for a few days.

Between baking large cinnamon buns and playing board games,

 we managed to fit in a wiener roast

before the rains came again.

Tehya also came for dinner one night and 

immediately ran barefoot out on the street

when she saw the rainbow.

These past few days it's been raining so much -

this is the scene we woke up to this morning.

We are on a hill, overlooking the Sumas Prairie -

which looks like a lake right now.

It would be beautiful if it weren't so devastating.

Currently all four highways coming to Vancouver are closed -

cutting us off from the rest of our country.

Right at our doorstep, the highway and all side roads 

are closed to the next town.

Many farmers have to evacuate and

hope their livestock gets rescued.

Other farmers have no way of getting their milk shipped

and no way of getting feed for their animals.

As we listen to the sound of helicopters overhead,

we wait and watch 

as this once in a lifetime experience unfolds before our eyes.

And I've been thinking of that rainbow.

The promise.