Looking Ahead ....past Christmas!

I love Christmas....I am little bit like the retail stores.  Once Halloween is over I start to think about when I can put up my Christmas decorations. 

I try to wait until the end of November but sometimes things slip out a little earlier.   I am not like my mom who thought  Boxing day was meant to box up the decorations....nope, they have to stay up until after New Year's and perhaps even a few days later than that.  The family across the street from us still have their Christmas tree and lights up and for me, I'm okay with that.  The weeks leading up to Christmas includes lots of driving around and checking out the best lights.

Some may go a little overboard but I'm okay with that when I am on the hunt for some great Christmas lights.  Then Christmas comes and eventually you have to take down the decorations and it is always a bit of a sad day for me.

I know some people kind of enjoy it because their house feels cleaner and bigger with the clutter of the decorations packed away under the stairs again.  For me, I miss the soft glow of the Christmas tree lights in the corner and I miss walking outside at night seeing the snow covered lights on the houses and trees but all good things must come to an end.

And so as the last decoration gallops into storage for 10 months I notice that I need to adjust my timer for our living room light.

The days are getting a little longer and you know what that means?



Yes, I enjoy Christmas but I'm over it now....time to think about cruising!  And as for settling into Three Hills, I think I am doing it nicely.  We had company last night for supper and even pulled out the Catan game and I just got a invite for coffee today.  2016 is looking promising!

It Frosted Last Night

When we lived in Deschambault Lake, surrounded by the woods, I loved the beauty of the snow on the trees.  Yes, I am one of those strange people that enjoy winter and that means, snow.  There is nothing prettier to me than the snow hanging heavy on tree branches.  I really like to go for a walk when it is lightly snowing.  It always puts a smile on my face.


Here in Three Hills, we have gotten a little bit of snow but what we get more of is heavy fog that frosts the trees.  The air will start to get colder and a fog settles in around us so thick that we can't see past our deck.  The fog may stay for a couple of days and then it lifts leaving behind picture perfect scenery.  Today was one of those "grab the camera" moments.  We had to dress warm but it was a gorgeous walk.

This is the street just down from our house and everything you see on the trees is frost....not snow.

I wanted to step into the snow to take a picture of the red berries hanging in the frosty tree.

And then a pretty bird flew into the tree and waited for me to take this picture.

The heavy frost also sticks to the wires which means at times you may lose power and that is what happened this morning.  Just when it was time to make my morning tea, the power went off.  Since Ron had worked until 3:00 a.m. we decided to crawl back under the duvet and have a morning nap.  Two hours later the furnace clicked on and it started to heat up our home which was now down to 13 degrees Celsius.   That morning tea sure tasted good at that point!

A Quarter of a Century

Today my baby turns 25!  It is so hard to believe that our little boy has grown up.  He has had a busy year.  He started the year living in the Yukon and ended up moving south to his dream job.  He bought a house and his little family of 2 dogs and a cat keep him busy.  The most exciting thing about today is having him home with us to celebrate this special day with him.  We have so enjoyed being closer to him and being able to spend time with him every couple of weeks.


I thought I should share a few pictures from years gone by of our little boy.

One of our special spots in Sharbot Lake Provincial Park

Fishing with Papa

Christmas 1993 with gifts from Grandma and Grandpa Clark

On the backyard rink in Frankford

Yup, he's all grown up now....but he will always be my special baby boy! 

The Day After

The build up to Christmas is always pretty big....even bigger when you have little children around.  This year it seemed like a pretty relaxed preparation time.  

 We opened our gifts and were  blessed with some very thoughtful gifts.  We had an untraditional Christmas dinner of salmon and lots of veggies.  I did put a cranberry sauce on the salmon to make it more festive.  It was good.   The animals and I are just relaxing this morning while Ron is working. 

Two more sleeps and then our boy will come and then we will do Christmas and his birthday.  So let the festivities continue.  Turkey and dressing, pumpkin pie and all the fixings will be on the menu.  Better late than never...so no let down from Christmas Day...it's still coming.

A Week of Celebrations

Last week this time we were at our son's graduation.  It was an exciting time seeing him accomplish his goal.  The smile on on his face showed us that all his determination has paid off.  It was a proud moment for us.  After the ceremony we went to a grad dinner and it was nice to meet some of his classmates who have become his good friends.

On Monday we headed to our son's  for the night.  We had a simple turkey dinner and played some games.  It was an early Christmas celebration.  The next day we went into the city and bought a gift for the graduate and then went to the Japanese Village for lunch.  It was a delicious meal and a wonderful experience.  They cook the meal right in front of you.

Last night Ron and I went to the Trochu Arboretum and Gardens Christmas light display.  It was a beautiful night.  We walked the path through 9 out of 12 days of Christmas.  Each year they add a few more days so we will have to go back next year to see if they have made it to the 12 days.  We sipped on hot chocolate and listened to Christmas music.

Today I went out for lunch with a friend while Ron started back to work.  Our boy is starting work today so we will celebrate Christmas with him in a few days but his animal farm will be here with us.  Hopefully we will get to FaceTime with Jenn and the kids but I am sure there is lots of celebrating there with four little ones.

Merry Christmas from Ron and I!

Island Time

On Thursday Ron started his four days off and off we flew to Vancouver Island to spend some time with my sister and her family.  We landed just after a very bad wind storm and had a delicious supper at Carol's.  Carol and Mike live in a beautiful home with a view of the ocean and on clear days...the mountains.  After a relaxing evening and meeting the puppies we settled in for the night.

In the morning we were treated to an amazing breakfast courtesy of Mike.  Yum!

Through the day we had a nice visit with Mike's parents and then spent time decorating the house.  For supper our nephew, Dustin and his family arrived.  It was such a nice visit.

On Saturday Carol and Mike went off to work and we drove to Nanaimo to see our nephew's son play hockey.  He was the little goalie just like his dad!

It was another stormy day on the island with lots of rain and wind but we made the most of it.  When we picked Carol up from work the power was out there and at their home but we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Mike's parents.

 







When we arrived back to Carol and Mike's the power was still out so we cuddled around the fireplace and enjoyed a little visit.


picture taken with a flash...it was really dark

Sunday morning we said our goodbyes at the airport after a wonderful weekend.  It is great being that close to my sister....just a quick plane ride away.

Seize The Day

This past week we went to two concerts.  The first one was Mercy Me.  They are one of my favourite gospel groups.  They are so sincere and SO good.  It was in Calgary and they had the Philharmonic orchestra accompanying them.  Amazing!  The first half was their familiar songs and then they did a Christmas package.  It was great!

Then on Friday night we went to a Brian Doerksen and Carolyn Arends concert right here in Three Hills.  I had been to Brian Doerksen concert once before in Belleville when Ron was at depot and it was so good.  Brian is the worship director at the bible college here and he writes some of the best Christian worship songs.  

Carolyn Arends sang many new Christmas songs but the one song that stuck out that night was "Seize the Day."  I've decided that that is what I want to do.  I know it won't be easy but I want to enjoy the moments.  I don't want to feel guilty for not doing anything when I don't feel like doing anything and I want to make the best of the times throughout my day.

So after coming from church I sit with my tea and homemade jam jam and seize the moment to just enjoy this Christmas season.

Hoping you seize your day!