These lines are from "The Gate of the Year," a poem written in 1908 by Minnie Louise Haskins:

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year
"Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown."
And he replied, "Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!"

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

A Few of Our Christmas Decorations (for Rachel)

Luke 1:38 & 45

"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said."

"Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

What We Were Doing a Year Ago The Friday Before Christmas

(Those are the Hawaiian Islands the little plane diagram is flying to.)

And what the deck looks like today:

Well, at least we have great memories from last year.

Isaiah 52

How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,

"Your God Reigns!"

Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;
together they shout for joy.
When the LORD returns to Zion
they will see it with their own eyes.
Burst into songs of joy together,
you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the LORD has comforted His people.

Northerners Are Crazy

In my previous post I moaned about the cold. And a fellow blogger who lives a lot farther south, commented that she thought she would never survive living this far north.

I want to post a picture and tell her about a quite ridiculous tradition these Northerners have. It's called the Holidazzle Parade.

Yes, it's a parade. Yes, it's outside. Yes, people actually go and voluntarily sit outside in COLD weather to watch. No, we have never gone to see it. Don't plan to either.

Last weekend I heard the weather man say that it was going to be a nice night for the parade because the temperature was going to be 10 degrees!

I found these pictures on the web:


Northerners Are Crazy

It's Cold

I went out to run some errands today. It involved a 15 minute warm-up of my car. The "high" was about -6.

Yes, that's a negative sign in front of the 6. That's what they call cold. I heard a weather man say it's chilly. A slight understatement, I think.

I learned something too. Even though I got all nice and warm in the grocery store, it's still a good idea to zip up my coat and put my gloves on when I head out to the parking lot. Despite how cozy I was in the store, -6 is still cold.

**sigh**

Silly me. My fingers hurt by the time I got the grocery bags put in the car.

You'd never know this is my eighth (yes, 8th) winter in The Great White North.

FYI: The temp is currently -9. The flannel sheets are on the bed. My bed heater is getting ready for bed (my husband). It's supposed to get down to -16. Yesterday the low for tonight was forecasted as -26. But really, when it gets this cold what difference does the numbers make?

Stay warm!!

Help With What to Get the Woman In Your Life For Christmas

This is so funny. Watch the whole thing it's worth it and oh so helpful! **Never has happened to my husband**

Xmas Q&A

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Usually wrapping paper, but I do use both. A couple of years ago I went shopping the morning of the 26th and bought LOTS of paper for 50% off. I think I won't need to buy any wrapping paper for years.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial, because I hate crawling around on the floor trying to water a real one.

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually the day after Thanksgiving. We did it just last weekend this year. (It sucked to put it up without the kids here.)

4. When do you take the tree down? Shortly after New Year's Day.

5. Do you like eggnog? Yummm! I looked at some at the grocery store the other day. I think I'll get some soon.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Easy Bake Oven. I still have it. I had so much fun with that when I was little.

7. Hardest person to buy for? Brother-in-law. This year we are doing a gift card exchange so no agonizing over that.

8. Easiest person to buy for? My children.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? I have eight! I have a piece of furniture called a step chest and have a nativity scene on each step, and one on the living room coffee table.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail. We write a Christmas letter every year.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? The year I was missing my two front teeth, my uncle decided I needed two teeth. So he wrapped in a tiny box two PIGS TEETH! I was so disgusted I "lost" them so I didn't have to bring them home. My uncle still talks about it to this day (he's 88). My aunt always told me that she boiled the teeth before they wrapped them. (I found out a few years ago that my uncle took them out of a pig's head the dogs had been chewing on! Ewww!)

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? It's a Wonderful Life. It always makes me wonder what kind of a difference I have made in other's lives.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Sometime in the fall. But this year I am really behind!

14 . Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Maybe I have, maybe I haven't. I'll never tell.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My mom's Spritz cookies and Swedish Potato Bologna.

16. Lights on the tree? We have always had white lights, but I'd like to try colored ones sometime.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Silent Night and Joy to the World.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? I prefer to stay home, but we are traveling to see extended family. I have enjoyed traveling to "fun" places for Christmas. We've gone to New Zealand, Australia and last year was a cruise around the Hawaiian islands.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Doubt it.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Different every year. It all depends on when we go to be with extended families. Most of the time it's not even on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Now that both kids have significant others, that's getting even more complicated. This year it will be the 29th.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Crowds.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? This year I put mostly clear/iridescent ornaments on and filled in with the kids' ornaments. They'll be taking them with them to their new homes sooner than I think. Then I'll have to come up with some new ideas.

24. What do you want for Christmas this year? To spend time with my family. I am so looking forward to my kids being home and to having their girlfriend and boyfriend here.

Moldy the Snowman

When we got the plastic containers full of Christmas decorations out....

you know the ones that are supposed to keep stuff dry....

A couple of the containers had some water in them.

We think that some moisture condensed on the pipes in the storage room and dripped on the containers and got through the cracks where the handles are. One had a few inches of water in it and boy did it smell nasty. Just had to throw out a few things.

But I decided to not be bummed because it really is just stuff. And stuff that has nothing to do with God sending Jesus to earth to be the Savior of Mankind.

Here's a picture of the yuckiest item. I named him Moldy the Snowman.
He is headed to the landfill this week. Poor Moldy.

Thanksgiving Family Reunion

We attended a family reunion on my husband's side over the the Thanksgiving week. It was such a great time. We were fortunate to be able to have it at a Bible camp that some of the relatives live and work at.

The following are some of the pictures I took throughout the reunion.

Here is Pete's cousin who was amazing in the kitchen and organizing the weekend. Why is she wearing the goofy hat? She had just come back from a hike and had to help in the kitchen and didn't have a hair clip so she left the hat on. Such a goof!





Here are 5 of the reason we had the reunion. This is my father-in-law and 4 of his siblings. Do they look like they are related or what?



We brought pictures to help figure out who belonged with who. This was supposed to be a family tree, but some thought it looked more like a shrub than a tree.


Megan looking like a turkey. Hair by Zach.


Caleb looking tough with a paint ball gun.


Megan and her boyfriend Zach waiting to go shoot people with little balls of paint.



Pete's cousin in the kitchen again. She saw me sneaking around with my camera and posed for this picture. Looks serious doesn't she? :)


There was a stack of old National Geographic magazines to look through. I saw some dated in the 19teens and 1920s.

My Entertaining Father-In-Law Showing His School Spirit

Click on the arrow

The Thankfulness Post

We had an amazing Thanksgiving week complete with a once-in-a-lifetime family reunion. I will write more about that and post pictures later this week. But today I wanted to write about what I am thankful for.

I am feeling tremendously thankful for my sweet family.

Pete: I will be forever humbled and grateful that God blessed me with you as my partner in this life. What fun it is to travel through life with you by my side. When I was a little girl I longed for someone to love me. I remember as a teenager longing for a boy to love me for who I am. I remember reading about love and wondered if I would ever have that. God has gone overtime with you! Thank you ALWAYS for your unconditional love. Your name means rock and you are My rock. I love you.

Caleb: Every time I see you I realize how much I miss you. Thank you for being my first-born, my little boy. It's so fun to talk with you and hear your ideas. You are growing into an amazing man. Thank you for your love for God. Thank you for using your musical talent to serve the Kingdom. I love you.

Amanda: I have loved getting to know you this year. Thank you for your love for God, and for Caleb. Thank you for comforting Caleb when his friend was killed. Thank you for your terrific sense of humor. Thank you for your kindness and graciousness. Pete and I have both commented that the more we get to know you, the more we love you.

Megan: You are always my little girl. I miss you. I miss going for treats at the Coffee Company with you. You are so beautiful and talented and smart. You have a great sense of style. I am loving watching you spread your wings and making good choices. Thank you for always being a serious student, a terrific friend and for your love for God. Thanks for being my friend. I love you.

Zach: I am thankful that God brought you to this town and our church. You have brought so much to our family. Thank you for being a man of integrity and for your love for God and your desire to serve God. Thank you for your love for Megan and for treating her like the princess she is. I love you.