Happy New Year

May your year be filled with the goodness that comes from God's hand, the love and acceptance that comes from his heart. May you find yourself running boldly into the throne room for any reason what-so-ever just because your are his child. May your heart be rulled by peace and may deep and abiding joy be yours. May you have strength for the difficult and unexpected that may arise. May you have enough - but not so much that you forget you depend on your Father. May you be a light in however God gives you opportunity. May you feel hope and know purpose beyond yourself. May you be blessed with friendship. Happy New Year.

Christmas Eve at Klassen's. We are about 38 I think. Next year there we expect there to be 9 children under the age of 5 - if everyone is home. Grandma says - "Where will we have this!!"

Christmas Day at our house began with LK making pancakes and sausages for Steve, our friends Melanie and Nathan and me. I enjoyed having company. I found the day refreshing and relaxing - very unusual for me for Christmas Day - I am usually tired. This huge photo blog demonstrates why people should blog every day during eventful times.

Nathan. A good man, Melanie's husband.

Melanie in her beautiful beach hat from Aimee. What a neat surprise to find a gift under the tree from Aimee. I love the buttons and Melanie looks so ready for a fun adventure in it.

Playing crokonole (sp) - A simple concept - not that simple to achieve - usually involving lots of laughter.

Munch Munch little squirrel. Soon it will be another's turn to bit your nutty little head off.

Cookie buisness. Melanie secrectly plans the demise of the squirrels. Neither of us has a fondness for them.

Melanie and I are making sugar cookies in this picture. What strikes me as funny in this shot is that it looks like LK is eating them faster than we can make them. Look at his hand fly. Acturally he's having a little cracker and cheese snack.

Christmas day dinner. Dad, Mom and Steve. Steve wasn't sure about the menu but in the end he said it was great.

Melanie and Nathan and LK. It was delightful having Melanie and Nathan join us.

As you will see, there are very few pictures of me - but I was at Christmas - really. Here I am presiding at our Christmas Day dinner with Melanie, Nathan, Steve, LK and my parents. We are eating Marsha's cranberry chicken recipie which I made ahead the day before.

Steve blessed some of us with framed photos he had taken. Here he gives my parents theirs. LK and I got the same one. They are in floating frames. The picture is pinched between two pieces of glass and the wall color will become the mat.

Boxing Day at our house. Everyone, except the Alberta Odegards, came for apple cider, and brunch at our house. The Schulz's opened their gifts first because they had other family gatherings to be at later that day. Here you see one of the cool ornaments some of us got. I got a new, very big, white teapot, cream jug and sugar what, sugar pot?? from Carolyn. My pottery teapot had to be retired. My new pot will serve many people big cups of tea and maybe even seconds without having to refill it. Hurray, I hate to leave the party to go back to the kitchen - I never like to miss anything. Sound familiar anyone??

This is a good day. We are together and today, everyone is doing pretty well. I love Steve's long thick curly hair andhis big smile.

Time for a story with Grandpa.

Joyful Cara and playful Sarah. Sarah is taking "Gloria" the angel down again. Once I saw her hug the angel. I don't think angels get many hugs - mostly they had to tell people not to be terrified of them!

Steve and Carolyn open up something for their little one. Carolyn has one of the most beautiful smiles I know.

Hanging out with the fam.

Relaxing with Uncle Steve.

The following pictures are taken at my parent's house. We went there around three to open presents, do our World Vision gift catolog buying as a group, and have cookies. Check out the big fire! And we didn't even get hot. As I post this picture I am thinking of how many people Sarah belongs to and how many people love her. She is a very rich little girl - rich in love. Look at her enjoy her tiny little Fisher Price people - just the right size for her little hands.

Cara opens a little something special from the Odegards. A couple of us got really neat delicate wooden Christmas ornaments - like nativity scenes or shepherds made by a dad of some students at the school where Aimee and Lance work. Cool.

Sarah gets her very own bright green little Nalgene water bottle. She's liked water bottles for a long time. Cara filled it with water and she carried it around taking a drink now and then, with help, for a long time.

My mom opening presents. Lance had her name. She is reading a card from him. He always has such kind things to say she says. I took the pictures quick before the tears. Mom misses Lance - and Aimee.

Sarah shakes her ladybug rythm instrument while daddy sings. Daddy invites her to shake it. She's in the band!!

Carol singing. My mom is playing one of Sarah's new instruments - Jingle bells on a little pink pig. Sarah got a whole set of rythm instruments that look like fun toys but sound like instruments - tambourine, shaker eggs...What a great idea. These little bells are not too hard to hold for my mom. She is well known for playing the tambourine in the past.

Time for music.

At my mom and dad's house. We planned on having cookies and oranges - but when we all got hungry we ordered pizza after opening gifts. In the pictrure are me, LK, Andy with Cara and Sarah down from him, my parents, and Steve on the floor. Steve and Carolyn were at another family gathering.

Sarah's cookies. Whole wheat, oatmeal, maple cookies with rosy rasperrry juice cheeks. These are the first cookies I have made for any of my grandchildren and I really enjoyed the milestone event. Sarah likes the cookies.

Whitetail deer in the forest - for my dad.

Today we went to the grocery store first thing. I grabbed my camera because I knew they would be there - the singing deer and the swinging Santa. A HA - first I spotted the deer. He was quite and still today. I must say he looks almost cheery in this picture - but you should see and hear him sing. His voice is loud, and poor quality, his mouth distorts, his rubber neck looks creepy and surreal compared to a real buck. While I was taking the deer's photo up comes a friend of Cara's, Cherise, and says hello. Hmmm...how do I explain why I am taking a rubber deer's photo. Well - it's for my blog I expalined.

Here is the dancing Santa with the swinging hips. Today, shock of shocks, he had collapsed - that's right his hips were sitting on his platform feet. I suppose that's how he shrinks for packing - but personally - I figure too much dancing for those arthritic hips. The plastic smile goes on. and on. and on.

OK, Who Prayed?

I had the most wonderful sleep last night and when I woke up for good at 10:00 I wondered - who prayed? This is the most refreshed I've felt in a while. Thanks for that.

Today was a relaxing day. I started out burning a batch of spiced pecans but I haven't been mean or crabby to anyone. I think I got the family Christmas schedule all settled. We are quite the bunch to coordinate with spouses families and all. Cara was my assistant co-ordinater and that was very helpful to me. So I've got the people coordinated and now I'm finalizing my menus and getting groceries. Whatever I can do ahead of time I am doing. Man, I miss the days of having two daughters in the home to help with entertaining.

Off to the kitchen to try a batch of cookies. I hope the end of the day is less burnt than the beginning!

Cara playing on the playground.

Today it was not raining - earlier that is - and it was warm and wonderful to be outside. I went for a 'nature walk' with Cara and Sarah. This lovely smile is for mom who is climbing on the monkey bars. This little one has her first real cold but still she is staying very cheerful. Another bit about Sarah is that just this last week it seems she is losing her toddler walk and just walks along so steady like she's been doin' it forever.

What Might These Two Photos Indicate?

Can you guess? Something they have in common. Something different going on?

Christmas light.

Sparkling in the sunshine.

More to Repent About

Weird emotions lately. I feel stretched thin, alone, sensitive, crabby and sometimes angry. I don't clearly see why I should feel these particular emotions now. They seem to have landed upon me. My first angry moment happened in Superstore when an animated rubber deer headmount kept singing loud stupid songs at me everytime I, or anyone else walked by. Then I saw the same deer at the grocery store - grrr. I had the nearly irresistible urge to tear the display down. Another gross display I've come across is an ugly Santa that dances with his hips - only he didn't make me crabby - who knows why. I've been grumpy with my husband sometimes also - and not just grumpy but choosing to say unkind things. You know how you have that moment to decide if you're going to say the mean thing or not? Well, more bad choices lately. I was going to bed the other night and thought - hmmm I seem to have more to ask forgiveness for lately. Thank goodness for grace. Now what can help? I think better sleep will help and maybe less sugar. I wonder if there was something bad in the flu shot I got - maybe it did more than make me ache for 4 days? A sinister plot indeed.

I'm back in the gym again - LK too. This feels great. BUT all this happens during chocolate season. We get boxes and boxes of high quality chocolate from suppliers at this time of year. Most of it we share with staff - but some of it we've brought home. Tonight we brought home TWO big baskets - to share with those who visit our home over Christmas. If you come and it's gone - oh boy, we'll have been caught.

My mom seems just a little brighter the last couple days. She says she feels the same but there is a lighter quality to her voice. Maybe, I told her, change is coming and we are first to see it since she is so tired still it's hard to see it herself.

We've had lots of sunny weather - but now we are back to the standard rain. I didn't mind so much today. I sat close to the fire and finished a good book which I can't mention in case Lance reads my blog ;P

We had a long phone visit with Lance and Aimee tonight - like an hour at least. Our presents are under their tree and they are listening to one of them. I talked to the babies through the phone that she held to her tummy. I told them this is grandma - I love you.

Saturday afternoon and evening was the semi annual Klassen Christmas House Tour.We visited everyone's home except Grandma and Grandpa's. We go there on Christmas Eve. The way it works is we get a schedule, well an order not an hourly schedule, and then we travel from home to home visiting and having a little food at each place. We nibbled our way through seven hours! OK so it was a little long - but so fun. I haven't heard of any other family doing this - so I think it's pretty special and unique. I think this is our third. Every time we have more houses and more people. It all began with Grandma Rita noting that she never got to see our homes at Christmas. Well, we didn't see each other's either - we always gathered at her home - so an idea was born. The opening light shot is at Dennis' front driveway. Hmmm...we thought Dennis was being funny - hey look at my light display laying on a mat. But no...this was as far as Greg had gotten on this particular tree. I bet they are up by now. Enjoy our tour. Sorry you can't taste it we had great variety.

First stop - Travis and Brandee's house. Little Topanga was a hit. Brandee has about a million teddy bears - I was wondering what Sarah thought of all those little bears.

Stop two - Stu and Elisa's house. It was really fun to visit the young couple's homes. Our appitites were fresh still and we were chowing down Elisa's potato skins.

Stop three - Andy and Cara's home. They served homemade salsa and chips. I think in this photo Sarah is pointing at the neighbors lights on their tree.

Stop four - our house. Steve and Carolyn aren't moved into theirs yet so they are posing with us which helps Steve K. not feel so all alone. Steve S. is covering up a spill on LK's sweater. Where is our little tree. I thought we were posing in front of our tree - I guess we are. Thankfully the angel shows over our heads.

Stop 5 - half way! Ben and Jacqueline's house. They are living in a cute little trailer out in the sticks - Yarrow. Their front yard is open field and mountains with a fire pit and picnic table. They are building a house in Mission, but this place will be hard to leave.

The guys. Ben, Steve, Stu and Nick.

Stop six. Erin and Brian's house. Little Austin has fallen asleep by now so he's not in the picture. Nick thought he looked funny with his hands on his head. Cute. Erin is getting a new kitchen. Her cabinets are in and the floor tiles are ready to go. Very nice.

We have four expectant mother's in our family. Aimee would fit in second from the left. Here are pictured Carolyn, Erin and Jacqueline. Erin is having her third, the other two ladies are expecting their first.

OK so who is the pregnant one here? Funny Steve.

Seven - Garry and Genny's house. Genny is LK's only sister.

Janna, Britany, and Roxanne.

Stop eight. Gwen and Reg's house. Love that cabin feeling.

Merv and Laurie's house. Joy and Rus are quite freshly engaged - very good news. These guys had the second largest tree. It's not in the picture because a pingpong game was taking place in front of it.

Stop 10 - Dennis and Shirley's family. They had the biggest tree!