Happy Birthday Stephen!

I must admit that I struggled with tears as I scanned these pictures.  It's hard to believe that my baby is turning 23.

So many birthdays have come and gone.  There have been family dinners and many parties with friends.  There were all kinds of birthday celebrations:  hockey parties on the backyard rink, tobogganing parties, Sens & Raptor games, trips to Niagara Falls and even a Sesame Street Live Play and of course ALWAYS a cake.


2nd Birthday

3rd Birthday

4th Birthday

Frankford Friends plus Jason

Lots of things changed in those years....our address has changed, friends have changed, birthday celebrations changed and of course my hair has changed. 

There are some things that have always stayed the same:
Stephen's love for....Adventure!







Stephen's love of....Nature!

Stephen's love for animals and especially Curley

Stephen's love for money (and his big dislike of loans)

Stephen's love for his family, especially his nieces and nephew

 

 

And the best thing about Stephen that will never change is that he will always be my baby (even if he is 23) and he still has the best smile that can warm my heart.

 

 

Okay....one more thing:

Happy Birthday Stephen!  Love you lots!

Merry Christmas!

From Luke 2

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while^[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.
⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

Merry Christmas!

The Ghost of Christmas Past

Memories are a wonderful thing but they can haunt you too.  I woke up this morning and just wanted to stay in bed.  No family to prepare dinner for....no last minute things to do....and really not much excitement.  It's Christmas Eve and yet it feels like just another day at an isolated post.

 Oh, how I miss those days with little ones eagerly looking under the tree at the gifts.  I miss the excitement of Christmas morning and even the mess that it brings.  I miss putting together the toys and playing them with my little ones.

 



I miss cooking for our families and having my mom in the kitchen helping and my dad carving the turkey.  The last Christmas that I had with the family was in 2008 and even then Ron wasn't there.



 We were happy that last year this time Stephen was on his way and we had pizza and games and gifts and dinner and enjoyed a great few days together.



Christmas Eve has traditionally been a night of games with chips and dip.  Ron is off to work and so should I crack open the bag and play a game of solitaire?  No, wait the other guys said that they might come over on Ron's break for a game.  Here's hoping for an old tradition to continue with new players.

Miss and love my family and thankful for so many Christmases that we were together!

Christmas Baking

I love to bake.  After writing my final exam on Wednesday night I took all day Thursday baking.

 

All of my favourites:

• Thumbprint Cookies
• Shortbread Cookies
• Haystacks
• Nanaimo Bars
• Magic Bars
• Mini Peanut Butter Bar and Chocolate Chip Loaves

And then I packed everything up to go to friends and businesses in the community.  Okay, maybe I didn't pack everything up.

We had to have a little sampling plate for us.

Today...the temperature outside right now is -41 degrees Celsius and later this morning it is forecasted to be -44 with the wind chill.  

So when the weather outside is frightful, my kitchen is so delightful.

And since tomorrow night we will be going to a Christmas pizza party and I'm on for desserts I think I will be whipping up these two sweet treats to take with us.

Toblerone-topped caramel cheesecake and Mile-High Peanut Butter Pie

 If you are on the prairies or the Yukon stay warm and if you are in Ontario stay off the roads today!



Checking off my list

This Christmas will be the quietest that we have ever had.

• No family dinner to prepare for
• No church banquet to set up and organize
• No children's Christmas program to practise

But of course there are still some things to do:
1)  Decorate the house....done!

2) Mail out the cards and presents...done!

3)  Host a dessert night with Ron's work group....done!

4) Write 2 final exams....oh my eyes ache.  A week of studying and 5 1/2 hours of exams...done!
5) Book a cruise (that is the gift that Ron and I have chosen for each other)....done!
6) Baking....that is my project for today:

Even though things are quieter around here this year we are still looking forward to celebrating Christmas.  The other night we got an unexpected invite for dinner at the Indian Child & Family Services.  The dinner was delicious but before we ate they wanted to ask the blessing.  Immediately someone turned and asked Ron.  Once a pastor, always a pastor.  It was nice.

Yesterday the band office delivered a box of food to us for Christmas.  It included a turkey, dressing, potatoes and vegetables.  How nice was that!

We will be having another group get together before Christmas to exchange gifts and Ron and I even get to go to church on Christmas Sunday.  I will cook a turkey with all the trimmings on Christmas and will be joined by two of the single guys that will be working through Christmas.

 So Christmas will be different this year but life is constantly changing and we have to make the best of it.  Christmas is about celebrating Christ's birth and you can do that with family and friends and just in your own heart.
At the bottom of the tree is an ornament that also reminds me that I have someone to be very thankful for:

This is an antique now.  Christmas get-togethers change through the years.  I would love to have the whole family here or be there with them but I am thankful that Ron and I will be together.

May your Christmas be filled with love and peace.

Baby, it's cold outside....

It is so cold that I am quite content to stay inside even if it is to study all weekend.  We ventured out yesterday for another cross country ski and we layered, layered, layered.  So how cold is it:

It is the crackling coat, freezing toes, numbing fingers, frost bite kind of day!

 

Even the weather forecast has an encouraging note:

 

Our back door is frozen up and our front door is hard to open due to the frost.

So what's a girl to do....hmmm.  Well study of course but with a tea in hand my first act of studying will be these books.

Yup, it's time.  Where shall we go?  Somewhere warm!

Happy Weekend!

Should Old Acquaintance be forgot...

Two nights ago the phone rang and I smiled when I saw the call display.  It was a high school friend that I hadn't talked to in quite a few years.  When I said hello, the reply was:  "Hello there, Penny Steele Face."  Only Tracy would call me that.  Back in the day, she was my best friend, Sears Face. 

I met Tracy in high school.  We were in a lot of the same classes and I don't remember how we became friends but I can guess it was probably because we were laughing at something at the same time.  We had so much fun and soon she was at my house almost as much as I was.  She called my parents mom and dad and they adopted her into the family.  She became part of our church youth group and attended our church.  I don't ever remember ever fighting with Tracy but I had to always make sure to spell her name right....Tracy without an e.  We just had fun.  There was lots of laughing downstairs at our house as we tried to play ping pong or pool.

As the years went by there were boyfriends and college and marriage and we didn't see each other much.  Every once in awhile we would connect and it was always like the old days....talking and laughing and enjoying each other's company. 

When the phone rang and I saw that it was my old friend Tracy we picked up from right where we had left off.  She had received my Christmas letter and was surprised with all the events of the past year and just needed to talk.  She had to call my parents for my phone number.  We talked for an hour about the old days, our adult children, my grandchildren and we laughed.  I know that Tracy is one of those friends that will always be there.  She is a special person that came into my life so many years ago and I am glad that she is still there.

When we went to hang up she said that she would be praying for us and I know that she will.

Winter Wonderland

We've had snow here for over a month now and every snowflake that lands on the ground will stay there until spring.  It's been a bit chilly here but yesterday we layered up and set out for some winter exercise.

The trail that we found was so beautiful with snow hanging heavy on the branches and the sun shining through the trees.

There is nothing like being out in the cold crisp air with the beauty of nature all around...it just makes me smile!

So how cold was it?  Well, does -28 degrees Celsius sound cold?

This is what - 28 Celsius looks like:

Frosted eyelids

• Frozen hair that looks like it could be broken off
• Very Red cheeks

Time to head into the chalet for a hot chocolate and sandwich....okay maybe not a chalet but it sounds better.