Leaving our Nest

Did you know this is what a baby owl looks like?

We found him one morning after a strong windstorm,

seemingly having been blown right out of its nest.

I must admit I feel a little bit like him today ...

maybe a tad grumpy.

It's always hard to leave a place that's been so comfortable.

But just like this owl, 

if I have not been totally forgotten,

I'll be just fine.

Rendezvous in the Desert

I'm checking in from one of our favorite vacation spots, a rented condo near a pool, surrounded by palm trees - our oasis in the desert. 

The kids have taken their turns here and now we are following on their heels.

The day we arrived I was texting with some of the MGCC

to let them know we are here etc.

One had already settled in at another condo,

but one had no plans to come.

As we chatted, I said that we had extra rooms because of the space our kids needed.

"You should come!" is what I said.

And "come"  they did!

We chalked it up to one of the privileges of getting to this age

and had a wonderful three days to show them our favorite spots.

One day we met up with Kathy and her hubby at the Painted Canyon.

My H and I were there in 2016, but found out when we got to the

bottom that we had not actually seen the view from the very top.

We found the starting place.

I guess some visitors thought it needed clarification.

The guys carried our lunch. One backpack was shared.

We entered the tunneled pathways through the rock formations,

sometimes barely seeing the sky.

Ladders actually made it easier at times.

And this time we found the view!

It was amazing! 

So different than what we would see at home, but still so beautiful! 

In the background is the Salton Sea.

We came down ...

and down some more!

As I said before, it really felt like a playground.

We walked, we shopped and we ate delicios food,
but one of our favorite things to do here still is the relaxing
by the poolside with a good book.

I was glad our company was good with that too.

And for me it was special to be able to share this time with Lovella.

Friendship is one of our best gifts!

Another Peek Into My Family (From Russia to Paraguay)

I just finished reading The Last Train to Leningrad  by David Funk, who lives in Abbotsford. I found it interesting because he tells of the hardship that our grandparents faced in Russia before they were miraculously given permission to leave. The story he tells is of his own family (who happened to go through Leningrad before moving on to Prussia and to Canada) but they intertwine with other families in such a way that my own family history comes alive. 

When David Funk's grandparents and family left on November 1, 1929 there were thousands still left behind in Moscow, waiting and hoping for emigration papers, many being sent away and never heard from again. My great-grandparents were given permission to leave at the end of the same month as did my H's grandparents along with their children. By that time South America had opened its doors for these refugees and that is where they went after a short stay in Germany. 

This book gave me a glimpse of how this event in history has determined the course of my life, the fact that I'm here, and makes me ever so grateful!

My aunt recently sent me a photo she found while trying to find out more about our past. It was one that I had never seen before and sums up so much of what I have written about earlier.

Study it a bit with me here:

It is 1930 - and the inscription reads that the Neufelds are celebrating their 25th Wedding Anniversary. I went to check my own records and saw that they were married in 1905 in Russia, so it made sense.
What I am intrigued with is all the rest that this photo tells ...

It's the year that my Oma (my maternal grandmother, age 16, siblings and parents) immigrated as refuges from Russia to Paraguay. They came by ship and went by river boat, train and then by ox-drawn carriage to this barren wilderness where they set up camp with many others in the same boat, literally. The makeshift shelter shows that they have not been there long. Yet, they have made tables, and stools and decorated for this occasion. The table has a white tablecloth and everyone is dressed in their best.

Great grandma and grandpa Neufeld are sitting at the head of the table. My grandmother is standing closest to her father, leaning against the shelter. Some siblings are married, others are younger. Friends have also joined them, the older ones dressed in their dark warm clothing from Russia. I was able to zoom in and see that they have Zwieback on the table! It amazes me that everything they needed to celebrate was taken care of.

One of Oma's brothers became interested in photography while still in Russia and did his own photo processing. Photo credit goes to Jakob Neufeld.

For more background you can read  http://foreverythingaseason.blogspot.ca/2009/11/from-russia-to-paraguay.html 

Good Friday

On my walk this week I was amazed, yet again, as I saw life springing up all around me. The cycle of death and life - a profound mystery.

Less than a week before Jesus was arrested He predicted His death in this way, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds... “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” John 12: 23 -28

No one truly understood what He was talking about until after the week was over. That's when they said, "Didn't He say ...?" 

Today we have the whole scene behind us. We don't need to grieve, as did His loved ones when they laid Him in the grave, because we know that His death led to life. He arose, the Victor over death. The mystery is this, that through His death we can have life. Life abundant and forever.  Hallelujah, What a Savior! 

I was reminded this week of a poem written by James Allan Francis, One Solitary Life. The following verses sum up the idea in the poem in the best way. 

⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2: 5-11

Spring is Here

 The first batch of Paska gets mixed,

patted down by Evy,

then covered and left to rest and rise ...

 while we meander down the hill and to the park.

Spring break means a bit of extra time with the big kids too.

 What do you do when there are four kids

and two swings?

You make up a run-the-gauntlet game

while Mimi takes pictures.

So responsible!

We head back with the stroller 

and other wheels.

 At home I'm happy to see that they still like to

do workbooks - while Evy has her quiet time at the computer.

Paska gets baked and sprinkled and enjoyed.

And another day - another memory - is tucked away. 

Happy 10th Birthday, Landon

These days, there's hardly a time goes by when I see you 

and don't marvel at how tall you are getting! 

Energetic, usually a ball in your hand or at your feet,

I think back to the day we got the call and flew to Phoenix

to welcome you, just weeks after Makenna was born here.

Such an exciting time!

Then came the first year of your life when you flew up to Canada

several times, because there were just way too many reasons to.

I remember visiting you when you were two,

growing into the character that you are ...

smiling blue eyes, teasing us
and having us in stitches

as you held your casted and good arm behind you

asking us to guess "which one is holding something?"
Your one-leg-up dance, had me as well!

You moved to Canada
and we enjoyed daily life here, such as washing Papa's car
 raking leaves and weekly play dates.

Your tender heart is something that has warmed my heart.

I loved watching your fascination with cars.
You could examine the workings of wheels
and moving parts for a long time.

You started school and what I noticed
in your discussions with your sister in the back seat,
is how you cared about the feelings of anyone who may be different.

One of my favorite memories is meeting
as a family in Hawaii,
flying in from two sides of the Pacific,
and the shiny eyes ... between you, our twin grands ...



In the kitchen, your gangly legs hang off the counter or not,
as you've learned to flip crepes just right.

And how can I not think of the balls
 that have been kicked or thrown around our yard,
 knowing that you could always count on Papa to join you
while others sat at the table still.

Landon,
these thoughts just skim the surface
of the privilege of sharing life with you -
a grandson whom we are so proud of!
We wish you a very happy birthday
and pray you share the love of God
through the gifts he has given you.

Love,
Papa and Mimi