Fun With Sarah

Just a few show and tell shots of Sarah. Love this wild and wonderful morning hair with the hoodie on. She's all ready for a little shopping.

Painting - in the living room. I wonder if I ever did that with my kids when they were little? It all makes sense as a grandma - let's paint by the tree. Let's paint with the people. Will be careful I said.


Sarah and Grandpa L. hanging out. Sarah is wearing the new jumper that she picked out herself. I showed her a brown velvety dress but she told me she liked pink. Her face really lit up when we spotted this dress. The flowers are daises she says.

We're reading a book called First Snow in the Woods. It's a darling story about a fawn and her mommy and the first snow. Wildlife photographers have captured many animals and birds in the fall and first snowy days of winter. Beautiful. I was having a great time reading and was delighted to see in the photo that Sarah was also truly enjoying it. Her favorite picture was the one with the fawn's face all snowy.

Yesterday

Yesterday Steve and Courtney had a reunion with their worship team at our church which we enjoyed very much. Steve is playing his newish stand up electric bass. It sounds just like an ordinary stand up bass - well maybe an especially nice one. His friend, our friend, Jay Duncan, made it and it sounds beautiful. I've missed Courtney's drumming - either hand drums or her usual kit.

Most of the team - Courtney, Steve, Elmer (Courtney's dad), Zena, Wes, and James.


After church we headed to the food court for lunch - surprise, surprise both Courtney's folks were there and ended up treating all of us. Thanks guys! Courtney's mom, Ricka, is also from Minnesota like me. Imagine that - and we meet out here in Canada - our kids dating. It's a small world after all ... it's a small, small world.

Thanks for all the comments and encouragement lately. I'm glad you enjoyed the doll clothes and it was great to share our Christmas with you. After people commented on the Friendly Beast song I looked it up on the Internet and had a listen. Well - for one thing, it's not originally a Peter, Paul and Mary song. It's a really old English song. Secondly, it sounds nothing like the tune Steve made up for it - sort of a Gaelic rock sound.

My brother flew in today. More on that later - he's here for a week.

The Dolly Clothes

These dolly clothes were my main creative outlet for Christmas. Aimee had bought dolls like this, Beany Baby Kids, a little black boy and girl for Elijah and Eva. Like I said, they didn't come with much for clothes, so I was invited to sew. I found a model at our local thrift store and she is wearing one of the boys outfits.

All the boy's clothes.

All the girl's clothes.

Details.

Lewis, in early supervisory role, at Mike's house. Oh Lewis loved that little dolly - thought it was real. Of course I made it move and talk as if it was - and I'm good!

Christmas Times (Edit - click collages and little pictures to enlarge)

I think blogging as you go along during special occasions is smart - letting the days pile up and wondering where to start - maybe not so smart. At any rate, here are some notes and photos from our Christmas times.

Andy, Cara and Sarah came the evening of the 22nd which gave us a bit of leisure time for visiting and crafting. I was especially keen to make a craft with Sarah and Cara since this is what my girls and I would always do before Christmas.

We made sheep! Seven of them, so that each family group who came to Jesus' birthday party, at our house, would go home with a sheep. Sarah helped paint clothespin legs and cardboard sheep heads, and glue eyes and cotton balls on. She said her favorite thing was squeezing out the glue - not an easy job!

Somehow I missed taking a picture of our flock. They made quite an impact on the piano with the angles and my favorite baby Jesus figure.

Christmas Eve we went over to LK's parents' home as is our tradition. Here the enthusiastic line up for fruit soup, famous potato salad, meatballs and farmer sausage. There is a song, The Friendly Beast, and has a line about the donkey shaggy and brown, with many, many verses. Every year someone requests this song and nobody knows it. Steve decided to start the family carol time off with his enthusiastic freshly created version of the song and got the family to sing it all the way though! You know this song? We don't - not really.

THE FRIENDLY BEAST

Jesus our brother kind and good
Was humbly born in a stable rude.
And the friendly beasts around him stood
Jesus our brother, kind and good.

"I," said the donkey, all shaggy and brown,
"I carried his mother up hill and down
I carried his mother to Bethlehem town."
"I," said the donkey, all shaggy and brown.

"I," said the cow, all white and red
"I gave him my manger for his bed
I gave him my hay to pillow his head."
"I," said the cow, all white and red.

“I," said the sheep, with curly horn,
"I gave him my wool for a blanket warm
He wore my coat on Christmas morn."
"I," said the sheep, with curly horn.

"I," said the dove, from the rafters high
"I cooed him to sleep so he would not cry
We cooed him to sleep, my love and I”
“I," said the dove, from the rafters high.

Thus every beast, by some good spell
In the stable rude was glad to tell
Of the gift he gave Emmanuel
The gift he gave Emmanuel
The gift he gave Emmanuel ...

(Peter, Paul and Mary, anyone remember?)

Then we got into real caroling, Christmas story time and prayer.

Topanga and Ben (I mean Malachi, who looks just like his dad Ben) were fascinated with Cara and her clarinet. Topanga tried playing the keys and kept signing more, but what she really wanted was to play it herself. Look at the eye contact here. I think she's trying to negotiate a deal.

Christmas Day, our home. Pancakes, strawberries and Abrahams' fresh eggs for breaky. Steven came over for his stocking and I got in a little trouble for giving him books in it. Hey - good books - what can I say? :) LK and I are quite the team in the kitchen. It's snowing, I'm whistling and we are 'muxing' up some 'suppa' as Eva says. Marsha's cranberry chicken, orange glazed sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, broccoli, and a white kidney bean and asparagus salad. Roman apple birthday cake with creamed cheese icing and ice cream for desert.

Steve is showing off the Alphabets that he and Courtney got from Odegards. Top center, they are working on the accompanying crossword puzzle to understand the rest of their gift. Courtney got Alphagetti and happily declared it would be her lunch the next day.

Telling the Christmas story. Each person got a figure from the manger scene and then we took turns telling how that character fit into the story. This was an original thought on my part - but who knew it was also done in a local church play - Steven knew. Sarah told her mom she really liked holding her piece - an angel. Cara has a donkey and a sheep. Hee haw - Baa.Anna, Carolyn and Sarah blow out the candles.

Sheep gift give away grows silly with Grandpa LK.

Steve and Carolyn had our name this year (we trade names), and they made us a fantastic collage of 'togetherness' pictures of our family. Thanks guys. What a great and amazing surprise.

Christmas at the hospital. Only Cara and Sarah were able to come up with me. Anyone with a cold was automatically not able to come up. Mom's pneumonia is much better and the congestive heart failure is gone as well, but she is incredibly weak and VERY tired. What can be done? After she gets out of the hospital she will be going into another place for getting therapy and getting stronger.

Some Thank Yous

Second thank you post - starting at 7...

7. I'm thankful for a creative mind. I've enjoyed sewing dolly clothes and find again that figuring things out and successfully creating is good for my soul.

8. I'm thankful for good conversations with my husband and that this is a daily occurrence.

9. I'm thankful for my lite therapy 'booklite' that is helping already. When I use it I get the same feeling I get when I'm sitting in the summer sun. Amazing.

10. I'm thankful for the blogs of my kids, especially Aimee and Cara who live far away. Pictures are worth a thousand words. I like to look at them again and again.

11. I'm thankful for telephones - being able to talk with family and to hear the voices of my grandchildren.

12. I'm thankful for the sewing machine my dad gave me when mine suddenly did not work and I needed to sew Aimee's wedding dress. As I'm making the dolly clothes, I think how cool is is that I'm sewing something new for loved ones on my machine. Wedding dress, bridesmaid dresses, curtains, baptism gowns, dolly dresses. What a neat present from my dad.

13. I'm thankful for an open visit with my dad and for feeling close to him in this time when my mom is so very sick. He's a good man.

14. I'm thankful for my little break in leadership during Christmas break. It feels light.

15. I'm thankful that my God neither slumbers or sleeps and when we leave my mom after visiting hours are over, she is not alone. Even if she does not feel God presence, He is still with her. My father leans his head over hers and whispers, "God is with you".

16. It seems a small thing - but I'm thankful for spellcheck. Oh yes I am.

Baby Jesus?

Yesterday on my newsy MSN homepage, my eye caught the headline "World's Most Influential Infant". Whatever. Lots of that news is not of interest to me. About the third time I saw the page though, I thought, hmmm...it's Christmas time. Who else could be the most influential infant in the world except Jesus, who grew up and lived a life of great influence, but who we think of as an infant at Christmas time? With hope I clicked on the story. Brad Pit and Angelina Jolie's daughter, Shiloh is named the world's most influential infant. Well, I'm sure she is precious, as is every other little person, but that is an odd title for a child to bear.

Jesus gets my vote. And his strength matches the weight of the title. Amen?

Klassen Family Christmas Tour!

I believe it was the third Klassen Christmas house tour. They take place every second year. They are a blast and they are long. This year's started at 3:30 on Sunday afternoon and ended at 10:00. Steve K. told me it's his favorite Christmas activity. Of course - it's the perfect ADHD thing. In the car, out of the car, in to visit and eat and off again - very active - lots of change. Perfect. Obviously others in the family think the event is great too as pretty much everyone who can be there is.

We eat just a little bit at each house - which is a good thing because there were nine stops this year. At one house we had hot ors d’oeuvres, another stop caramel and apples, another chips, chicken wings, Cesar salad - you get the idea. The crowd of cars and the piles of shoes make quite an impression! The festive house pictured above and below is Travis and Brandee's - nephew and niece. Cool ball effect from the ceiling!

At each house a blessing was prayed for the family. I think this is the thing that delighted me the most on our first tour. LK's mom also brings a little gift for each house. This year it was a metallic three dimensional snowflake. Sparkly.

The snowman and the pretty mantel are in Elisa and Stu's home. Maddox saying good night to O'pa. That's Nick playing the piano - he's five (Erin and Brian's oldest boy). He was a hit! Shoe pile at Dennis and Shirley's. Family art from Gwen and Reg's entryway. Parking lot! Russ and Joy's sea shells hang on their tree and boys look out the window for Grandpa Merv.

I have one nativity set and often look longingly at others but I thought I should only have one. More than one family had several nativities - kid friendly, one from Africa that Garry brought back, fancy, formal, childlike - even a magnetic play set. I like the variety of nativities from different cultures that show that Jesus belongs to all of us. I'm inspired. Below are some of Erin and Brian's nativities and advent act ivies set out for their boys. Uncle Stu and Austin are in the middle there :)

Steve had a company party the same night but was really pleased that he and Courtney could come for 3 1/2 hour of the tour. Lookin' good eh? Watching a ping pong game. What's really funny is two little dudes are trying to take their Uncle Russ down while he plays. Funny! Mixing wrestling and ping pong!

Here are all the homes that we visited - not in order. From the left Brian and Erin, Nick, Austin and Maddox, Genny and Garry, Trevor and Sammy, LK and me and we nabbed the family we had around to be in our picture with us even though our nest is empty , Steve and Carolyn and Anna, Steve and Courtney. Aimee gets honorable mention for phoning at the first house. Middle row - Gwen and Reg, Katey and Jana, Stu and Elisa, Travis and Brandee, Teheila and Topanga (sp?). Bottom Jacqueline and Ben, Malachi and Jake, Joy and Russ, Dennis and Shirley, Greg, Brittany and Rose. I'm sure I spelled some names wrong - maybe there will be corrections in the comments! What a great family!! And I grew up in a tiny family with hardly any relatives and this is the family that I married into - lucky girl = blessed girl. I'll highlight our house - not because it was the best - but because it's our place and hey it's my blog :) We were asked to make veggie pizza - again. It is good and that's why it's back by popular demand. The crust is Pillsbury crescent rolls, unrolled and laid flat - bake that til just done. The middle layer is half sour cream and half cream cheese (I did no fat) into that mix fresh garlic (the more the better) and dill. Spread on soon before eating. Top layer, chopped broccoli, peppers, green onions, grated carrots - do your own thing. Oh yes - you serve it cold. Some guests were surprised that it was cold. Refreshing. It's yummy. The leftovers are pretty good too. The crust gets just a bit soft but that does not stop us from enjoying it.

Here is most everybody at our home. LK is reading a funny story called Gift Wrapping 101 for Men. It's hilarious. I like that he had something ready that he wanted to share with his family - a laugh. He also read that piece to his staff and they laughed even harder and longer - perhaps because they are mostly women?

See - Steve S. looking skeptical and the women on the couch are cracking up. Perhaps Steve felt threatened when the author talked about men's gifts looking like spitballs under the tree :) - Nah, Steve's not that easily threatened - he's being his own kind of funny.

Click on collages to enlarge them.

PS My mom went by ambulance to the hospital this evening. She has pneumonia - probably in her right lung - the side she lays on all the time. LK and I went over and decorated their tree and then we went to the hospital. My dad stayed longer and I just picked him up at 11:30 and took him home. He had ridden over in the ambulance. 911 sent two fire trucks and two ambulances. When it's breathing troubles they really send out the force. Mom's breathing is labored - but she says it's not hard - just different. She was already on antibiotics, so hopefully they have started to defeat the pneumonia. Now she'll be on IV antibiotics, I'm thinking a different type too. Also she gets more support for her breathing. Already a social worker has bee talking to them about living somewhere where they can have more help - or getting help in the home. God , please show us what kind of help to pursue. Thank you blog friend for your kind words and prayers.

Full Spectrum

From the upside of life - dinner out with Steve, Carolyn and Anna at Red Robbin. A phone call could change your life - or in this case my day! Steve gave us a shout that they were going out for supper and would we like to join them - yes.

There's an electric train that runs on a track near the ceiling and when it would go by Anna would wave at it. Well, so did I.


Funny, their neighbors/friends/upstairs landlords had the same dinner inspiration and ate in the booth behind us. In this photo you see Steve and Carolyn - then Mandy, Dan, daughter Dahlia and Nathan's car seat, which Nathan is in.



I've been at three parties with my single moms group. One dinner last weekend, then on Wednesday a tea at one of the ladies houses, and tonight a party at another ladies home. LK came with me tonight. The women like being together and hardly like to take a break at all - but I am looking forward to a little break before January.

Yesterday LK and I went out and got a REAL tree from a tree farm. He just got it in his head that this year he'd like a real one and a BIG one. We tramped the farm and chose our favorite and cut it down just like in the beginning years - just the two of us. It's already gone through 4 tea kettles of water! You don't do that part when it's a fake.

Unpacking the decorations always touches me. Picking up the tissue wrapped ornament gently and being surprised by a piece of family history. LK's dough art angel from our first married Christmas, a porcelain snowflake purchased on a romantic getaway, a glass star from Bragg Creek (I remembered Cara!), and baby Jesus ornaments that we all made on a Christmas morning. Then there were Sarah and Anna's hand ornaments... Family history.

My mom is now on antibiotics for her breathing as it seems there is something going on with a lung. Pneumonia? Dad can hear her wheezing. Oh I do hope the antibiotics are successful and a trip to the hospital is avoided. Mom asked my dad if he thought she might be dying. He answered that he thinks how she feels now is a result of medications and hopes she feels better when they are adjusted. He hopes.

Music and Unrelated Items

One of the surprise happinesses of last week was driving over to our children's old high school for a lunchtime banquet. We drove the old familiar roads that we must have driven hundred's of times and entered at the new middle school doors. White table cloths, sparkling apple cider, young students waiting tables and spoiling us all, and music. A high school jazz band, elementary choir (pictured) and a middle school choir. It blessed my spirit, more than I could have imagined, to have children singing to me between courses of my lunch.

Saturday night LK took me on a date to hear the Vancouver Good Noise Gospel Choir, the Sojourners, and Jim Burns. The first picture is the choir and the Sojourners. The theater was exquisite and made us feel like we were cruising again! The choir and musicians were happy and everything was about Jesus.

In this picture you see Jim Burns grinning at Steve Dawson's lap steel guitar playing. See, happy, having a good time. Steve's guitar playing was my favorite thing about the whole show.

Now for some bits and pieces. I made a blanket for LK. So often he can't sleep during part of the night and ends up reading on the couch for a while in our cold, heat turned down for the night, home. I was going to say I sewed it - but I didn't sew at all. I cut and tied it. Two layers of polar fleece cut the same size, tassells one inch wide x six inches long cut, go around the blanket tying each into a square knot. Finished. LK sees it an act of love and he is right.

I got my lightbook. It became obvious that I was sinking down and craving light so I made my move and began light therapy yesterday. Funny thing, on Sunday I had dreaded going to my dark church which has no windows in the 'worship center' (that's what they call it), so we went to another church we had visited in the summer. This church meets in a community hall and has tall windows down both sides. On this Sunday they had ALL the blinds fully drawn SHUT!! After church, someone asked my why I had come this Sunday, and I smiled and told her I was craving light and so I had come to this place. She was very kind, she herself does not notice blinds open or closed, but she offered to pray for me and did. Perhaps light will more easily enter my spirit.

Our friend Aron, who had the heart attack a couple weeks ago, is home after having three stints installed in arteries. He's feeling rough but hopefully that will improve. We expect it will. It's very soon after surgery.

My mom is not improving with the oxygen. I hoped it would help her feel more awake and want to do more. Dad says, if anything, it makes her sleep better and that's it.

I've had some Advent devotions sent to me via email and they are good. But it doesn't feel the same as holding a book and reading by a candle. The glow of the computer screen is just not the same. Also, we went to a Taize service Sunday night which is something we especially enjoy doing during Advent or Lent.

Squirrel update - a squirrel has made it to the top of the bird feeder but has not figured out, yet, how to get to the food. It was Sneaky Pete. Here is Sneaky Pete politely sitting on the grass eating his sunflower seed neatly with his tiny 'hands'.



Sneaky Pete says 'Hi Sarah, can you do a puppet show with me today? Me and that cat Mr. Silky Whiskers?

PS. I see a nest and an egg. It no longer looks like baby Jesus in a manger to me. I don't see a chicken - but I see the promise of a chicken.