The first week of December

A couple of days before December 1st 

we grabbed a nice day and went to the tree farm,

making it an extended lunch hour.

Evy was intrigued with the fact that we have to water this tree.

We prepared for our sibling dinner on the first.

I love setting the tables.

We are still 16 all together, plus one cousin,

but one sister and husband could not make it. 

A precious time we had together.

This group may not be fond of taking photos

but I just have to include them as part of our beloved family.

One of my H's brothers came to faith in Jesus this past year

and it is such a joy to see the peace and purpose he has found,

so eager to share.

The next day we were welcomed into this lovely setting

for our MGCC party.

Lovella and her Beloved went to a lot of beautiful work.
She dreamed and he crafted ... candle holders made from

last winter's broken birch tree limbs.

The food and fellowship when we get together is like another family. 

A few days later, on December 5, we hosted our staff dinner

at Tanglebanks Gardens - Brambles Bistro.

The food was amazing.

Again, these are photos I offer with a bit of hesitation,

but I would like to share the beauty of some of the overall scene.

My H has had a propensity to hire new immigrants

and somehow learns to communicate well with them.

On this evening we were about 50 people - 19 nationalities.

Everyone had the chance to say Merry Christmas in their language.

And so ends our first week with a scene 

that distracted me one night as I was preparing dinner ...

our backyard aglow, in more than one way.

How awesome are His works

and how humbling to be made in His image

to enjoy this beauty!

♡♡♡

The Heritage Fair

I heard about the heritage project Lacey was working on

when I picked her up from school one day last week.

So when I was asked for a bit of help, 

I invited myself to see what this fair was all about.

It was great!

Lovella's granddaughter happened to be right beside Lacey,

both having chosen their Mennonite heritage -

so there were Peppernuts and Zwieback to sample, side by side ...
and your guess would be as good as mine, where they got that help from. 

A closer look at her work that I just have to show off -

her own artwork and research.

She also had on display a book published by her aunt -

the life story of her great-grandmother.

I found it so good that kids can learn and share about their background.

Although many in this school have similar backgrounds, 

there were also students from India, Paraguay, Brazil, Croatia,

Netherlands, Holland, Scotland and more...

each being shown value in who they are by

having been given this opportunity.

Even just to open conversations 

with their parents and grandparents is so good.

I am so proud of this beautiful girl -

eager to learn, talented, conscientious, thoughtful

and fun to be with. 

♡♡♡

Peppernuts

This girl ... she's not been with us for Christmas since 2013

when she was five.

So when this photo came to my phone 

I knew she was thinking about this past summer

 when they were back in Canada with us.

 One warm night after dinner I decided it was as good a time as any

and showed her how we roll and cut Peppernut cookies.

Then we baked them for our Christmas in July.

I guess they made an impression on more than one grand,

 because on this random day when I got these photos,

her mom told me she had done these all on her own.

How can it be that in these small ways,

God continues to care for the little things I thought we'd miss out on -

that even though she lives on the other side of the world,

and rarely participates in our traditions

she pulled out the cookbook and made a new memory.

Knowing that our special summer moments stayed in her heart

is a gift I'm cherishing these days.

Another way to see God's grace.

Love Passed On

Something I love about having my photos and slides scanned

is that I can usually find a photo pretty fast.

This one takes me back to 1984 -

a moment lost in time - but one that 

shows the tender love of an older sister.

A sister that can smother her little brother with love

as much as she can be his boss -

very much like the one that was texted to me last week.

It's not always I look at Jack and see Ben -

I see my sweet grandson, Jack, who has endeared me to him

on his own merits -

however, when I saw this photo I went back in time

and maybe you can imagine how moments like that can feel.

He's quite a bit older here,

but his little face I get to see again

in the face of his son.

And that just makes me smile.

About Being in the Fall Season

Ten years ago, when I began to blog, I declared myself in the fall season of life,

filled with the colors of the changes that had transpired in my life.

At the time we were recent empty nesters .

Two of our daughters had moved out of country and 

we had one newly married couple near by.

To see our five young grandchildren involved a lot of travel.

When the announcement came that our youngest was going to be a dad,

he commented that maybe they should name this one "Local"

because everyone was saying to him that 

we must be so happy to have a local grandchild.

The year after Lacey was born, our American family moved to be near to us!

It was an unexpected dream come true.

To make things interesting, our original locals moved to Saskatoon for three years.

But they came back to visit often.

There was great joy, also when our Indonesia family came home

and stayed for a few years, even though it was hard to
let them go again.

I know that ten years ago and even earlier, 

I struggled some to embrace this new season. 

Some things did not look the way I'd have chosen.

But looking back now, I see how God has worked for my growth

and given me opportunities I could have missed.

He gave me the desires of my heart in ways 

I could not have dreamt.

A gift for such a time as this and beyond.

This season,

sandwiched between summer and winter,
 has taken me through the contrast of losing my mom-in-law

at the same time as giving my mom away in marriage.
It has been a time of welcoming more babies.
A time of improving our home space.
A time of taking my cooking and baking skills to new levels
and sharing it in many ways that challenged me,
yet gave me confidence in a gift to be used.

It has allowed me to see life through the eyes of children

as well as through the eyes of a mom's failing memory,

especially so because of my desire to write.

It has given me reason to appreciate the moments.

The beauty of autumn continues to 

inspire me even as I see it waning and preparing me for the next.

But for now, I will be thankful for every leaf 

that still flutters to the ground to nourish it

 unto new life to come.

I Will Carry You

On this visit, as is normal now, nothing she said made sense. She used words but they did not have meaning. I leaned in close, but had to pretend I understood. So I decided to read a verse that a friend shared with me recently ... from Isaiah 46:4

...  and she said, "That is beautiful!" I read it again and she said, "I like that!"

It's a mystery to me how God's Word has the power to open her mind ... but I will take it and be comforted to know that we cannot underestimate what she understands.