Relearning Winter

I've never been a big fan of winter.  Not that I hate it and, truth be told, I've missed it when I've lived in places that that didn't have a real, Midwestern, winter.  I just enjoy the other seasons more.

This winter is no exception.  A few weeks ago I was ready to be done with winter.  I don't get a vote, of course, but still I was ready to be done with single digit temperatures, treacherous 40 mile commutes to the day job, clearing vehicles before you can drive them, bundling up to go out and do anything, and wading through snow to do the chores.

Last week we got a bunch of the white stuff early.  I don't always get the tractor out to clear the driveway with new snow since De and I both drive AWD vehicles, but this time there was enough I had to.  My little tractor can only push so much and if we had gotten more I'd have been in trouble.

Then we had a day or two of warmer weather where much, but not all of it, melted.  Then colder weather guaranteeing what was left would stay for the weekend.  This weekend, the kids and grandkids were up for the one year birthday of the youngest one, and the announcement there is another on the way.  With snow on the ground and an open hill in front of the house there was bound to be sledding.  De and I have five or six sleds from when our kids were young we keep for just such an opportunity.   With an inch or so of new snow Saturday night, it was clear there would be more after Church on Sunday.

Saturday was the birthday party, and after the traditional festivities Papa took the four girls, the two grands and the two adopted grands from my last post, out to play in the snow.  Between Saturday and Sunday there was:

A lot of sledding,

Snow angels,

Snow "reindeer",

"Bears" in the snow,

And lots of smiles and laughter.

Through it all, Papa 'relearned' winter.  Where I had seen mostly inconvenience, the grandkids saw a wonderland of imagination, endless possibilities, and pure joy.  For the price a few days of achy joints and sore muscles, I got to share in it all and see winter anew in the laughter of the children I love.  The days where I can do that will someday, perhaps someday soon, come to a close so I'm cherishing the opportunities I have.  It was worth every minute I'll spend with the heating pad, every ibuprofen I'll need in the next day or two to get through the workday, and every bit of muscle cream I'll use before bed.  This day, I am truly blessed!

Col. 1:9-12,

Mark

A Fresh Start!

It's cold here in NE Indiana.  Again.  With the exception of one anomalous 50F day last week, we've had single digit positives and negatives or low teens in both directions for several weeks now.  After a while it starts to kind of sink into your bones, which makes those occasional warm days even more of a blessing.  This morning was no exception.  Depending on whose thermometer you were looking at it was somewhere between -4F and 9F at first light.  Brrrrr!

There was one difference between this morning (Sunday - January 14) and the way most of our bone-chilling mornings have been.  The sun was out.  One of the reasons the morning was so cold is that the clouds cleared off during the night and the open sky just sucked what heat there was right out of the air.  (The physics behind that phenomena is really cool - no pun intended - but most folks know that clear skies=cold nights and are justifiably not really interested in the mathy specifics of how God designed it all to work.  Still...)

I suppose it works this way in most places but, here at least, sunny skies after a clear, cold, cold night makes for a simply glorious morning!  We had a light, soft snow whisper in early last evening with no breeze, so when the sun came up every twig in every tree and every standing stalk of roadside grass was painted with a frosty, glowing blaze of sunlight.  It was clear and crisp and wonderfully perfect.  Adding to that, while I was doing the Church Security team thing and watching for other things, I got to watch a dozen or so deer pick their way across an open field between wooded areas near the church building.  Glorious!!

And to make life even better, the garden seed and tree catalogs have started to arrive.  De and I have always enjoyed planning the garden in the months before we can actually work it, and the seed catalogs always provide fuel for that fire.  For us, when the planning begins, it's much like the dawning of a new day like we had today.  It's like a fresh start!  Never mind we couldn't do all we wanted to do last year, or the year before.  Never mind there is still a bit of clean-up to do before we can really get things started in the spring.  Never mind the 'new health realities' mean focusing on less labor intensive methods of doing things.  It's a blank garden canvas that we can paint however we choose.  Once again, simply glorious!!

Speaking of wonderful things, last post I promised a picture of the grand kids, so here it is.  The family did PJ pics for family Christmas this year, and this is ours with the grands.  (The oldest never gives you a natural smile unless you catch her off guard!)  As many of you know, grand kids are such a blessing, and De and I are loving being grandparents.  We don't get to see them nearly often enough, so when we do its always a wonderful (and exhausting!) time.  We are so looking forward to having them come to the homestead in the spring.

While we were down at their place a few weeks ago the oldest one, as kids often do, was asking her dad for something that was not going to be in the family spend plan.  Dad was telling her if she wanted something like that she would need to get a job and, since she did not have a job, that item was not going to be forthcoming.  Her reply just made my heart sing.  "Yes I do!! Helping Papa in the garden!!"  Papa resisted the urge to whip out his wallet and buy whatever it was she wanted, but it sure made my day!   It assured Grammy De and I that we are making an impact and a difference in the life of those children!  And that is truly glorious.

Col. 1:9-12,

Mark

Getting caught up on Last Weekend

Things have been a bit crazy lately, and I've fallen behind on keeping up with the blog duties.   This evening I managed to get caught up on comments, and now need to get my own blog posts out.

First from last weekend, then I'll get another post on it's heals for this weekend.

In my last post I shared the fun we had with the granddaughters Friday and Saturday.  On Sunday morning, as we were making breakfast before Church, I did manage to get pics and wanted to share those with everyone.

Heaven takes care of the eggs from the beginning ...

...to the end.  She always does a great job!

Harmony picked up getting the toast ready....

and also LOVES to help!

After Church we met their parents about 2/3 of the way home to give them back.  We bought a late lunch for everyone and said our goodbyes.  We really did love having them and look forward to doing it again.  I will say, however, that the relative silence in the car on the was especially golden!

We are blessed!  Col. 1:9-12,

Mark

Weekend with the Grandkids - Saturday

Another big day with Heaven and Harmony - Our two granddaughters.  It was a great day and we did a lot.

The morning started with our usual breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast and 'cutie' oranges.  Heaven is at the point where she pretty much cooks the eggs herself.  All I did was get bowls out the cupboard and run the stove.  Everything else, from getting eggs out of the refrigerator to serving them onto the plates, Heaven does without any help.  This time younger sister Harmony took care of the toast and got the oranges out of the 'fridge.  No pics - Papa was busy trying to keep some semblance of order about the whole process.

After breakfast and getting dressed into "work clothes" (Miss Heaven did not want to wear 'play clothes', she was going out to work with Papa!) it was off to work for the morning.

The day started with more work in the garden beds.

Harmony is doing her share of the digging.

Where ever there is digging, there is a chicken looking for a worm snack!  Harmony's not so sure about the help....

It didn't stop her from getting out the 'big tools'!

Always the worker, Heaven fills the feed bucket for the chickens,...

... and puts clean water in the clean bowl.

After that was lunch time, then a surprise!  Gramma and Aunt M took the two of them to see the movie 'Cinderella' (and for ice cream and a little shopping after.)  All three princesses had tiaras for the movie.

All cleaned up and ready to go see Cinderella!  (Harmony - I liked it except for the "kissing" parts)

After the movie it was time for just a little more playing then supper, bath and bed.  But supper was something a little special!

Heaven and Papa roasting hot dogs at a little backyard cook-out.

It's a little chilly out, but everyone is enjoying their food.

The girls enjoying S'mores while Gramma works on another batch.

Nothing like some sticky, gooey, yummy goodness.  It's a good thing bath time was next!

Another wonderful day!  Tomorrow we take them back home after Church.  We're meeting their parents part-way there at a restaurant and enjoying a meal with the daughter and son-in-law (and girls) before we all say good-bye.

Once again, I must say - 'We are Blessed! (and tired.)'

Mark

Weekend with the Grandkids - Friday Evening

De, Aunt M. (Daughter #1) and I made the 3 hour trip (one way) south to pick up the granddaughters for the weekend.  We got to see K (daughter #2 ) for a short visit, then it was back on the road.  Most of the day was spent driving, but we got home in time to get some of the chores done, and a little more. 

After we got everything in the house it was time to pick up on the chores with two additional helpers.  Eggs were collected, chickens were let out of the run, and were fed a little scratch.  After that, since it was a nice day with only a moderate wind, we decided to take a walk to the garden.  If we're going to the garden we need to have our boots on.  Papa has the big, black rubber boots.  The ladies' boots are all little more colorful. 

Polka dots for everyone.

Those of you with gardens know that "just taking a walk" in a garden that needs some attention is a dangerous thing. Papa noticed that some of the beds were badly in need of a lot of weeding before planting time.  A big clump of crabgrass here, another there and pretty soon everyone is working!  And I do mean everyone.

Heaven (in blue) and Harmony (Pink) help Papa clear crabgrass

Of course if there's digging to be done, the birds are all in.

It seems the birds are all in with Aunt M, ready or not!

Heaven is the more cautious of the two and, since it had been awhile, was initially very concerned about the chickens being right there with her.  Fortunately, that didn't last very long.  Harmony, the younger, is much more likely to be found at Grandma's side so when Grandma went in, she went too.  Heaven, the older, loves to work with Papa and work she did!
 

There were weeds to haul to the compost pile, so off she went, and the wheelbarrow comes back empty.

A Red Star inspects some of Heaven's work

Heaven offers a worm in exchange for the help.

We had supper and baths, and are now playing quietly (mostly) until bedtime.  This will be the first time girls have stayed overnight alone with Grandma and Papa, so we're not sure quite what to expect.

What fun!  And more to come tomorrow and Sunday!  We are blessed!

Col. 1:9-12

Mark




 

Happy New Year! (And Catching Up On Christmas)

Happy New Year to all! It's hard to believe it is 2015.  I wish all of you and yours the very best for the year to come.

I'm planning on doing another post today reflecting on 2014 and pondering 2015, but for this post I'd like to finish up my 'Catching up on Christmas' series.  I suspect most of you are ready for that.  There's no real central theme here, but I will try to capture some meanigful thoughts.

First an observation: Another view of life through the eyes of the grandchildren.  After all the gifts were opened and we all just enjoying the time together the girls got out things with which to play.  I was intrigued with their choices:  Colored wooden blocks and a 20 year old children's tea set. Baby dolls that belonged to our girls with a few old "Rescue Heroes" on the side were also in the mix.   To be fair, many of the new things had been packed up and much of what De and I bought them were educational toys and books to be used for homeschooling.  All that being said, the toys that were most most played with were the ones that allowed them employ their own creativity the most.  In a world where most things for kids come with a built in storyline, I found that to be encouraging. 

Not be stuck on being a doting grandparent, but I was struck by another example of how important it is to allow the young ones a chance to do 'real' things.  A year ago, when the girls were first coming to with their Daddy as guests when he and D2 were dating, a favorite thing was to have Papa cook a breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast with some 'cutie' orange slices on the side.  I've posted before that Heaven, the older of the two, is learning to help with the breakfast making and LOVES to do so.  She's now to the point were I get the things out (eggs, butter, a bowl, small frying pan, etc.) and she does it all herself under Papa's supervision.  She also makes sure she gets to do the dishes after, which in our house is scrubbing the pans and loading the rest in the dishwasher.  The only exception is that Papa lights the stove and peals the cuties.  I'm not ashamed to say her simple accomplishments make for a proud Papa.

No discussion of Christmas should end without a taking the time to remember the reason for it all:  The advent of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.  For many, many years our Church has done a Christmas Eve candle light service.  We try to do new things each year, but there is always music and singing, a short message, and concludes with the lighting of candles that each person (something like age 10 and up) gets as they come in.  This year one the new things was a short, simply illustrated video with Paul Harvey reading "The Man and the Birds".  The original author is unknown, but Mr. Harvey regularly included it in his radio program on or around Christmas.  It was first time I remember hearing it and it has made a clear impression on me.  I include it here hoping you will enjoy as much as I.

Our protagonist is not a scrooge. In fact he was a kind, and quite decent, mostly good man. Honest in his dealings and generous to his family, he was commonly received as a man of good values.
But, he could never bring himself to believe the story of Christ. The incarnation, the God born a man by virgin birth… It just didn’t make sense to him, and he was too honest a man to feign devotion to a story he could not accept. The story of Jesus, God coming to Earth as a man, simply didn’t add up in his mind.
And so one Christmas, feeling his pretense of devotion had thoroughly run its course, he told his wife he would not be going with the family to Church.
“I’m sorry to upset you,” he explained, “but I would simply feel like a hypocrite.” He told her that he would stay at home, and wait for them to return from Midnight Mass.
Shortly after the family had left a snowstorm moved into the area. Settling in his chair with a cup of coffee, the man began to relax for the evening.
Before too long, the soft white noise of the steady snow was interrupted by a loud thud. Then another, and another. At first the man concluded someone must have been throwing snowballs against his living room window, but upon peering out from behind the blinds his yard appeared quite empty.
Reluctantly venturing outside, he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the falling snow, just beneath his living room window. Having been caught in the storm the desperate birds were trying in vain to fly through the large landscape window.
Being the decent man that he was, he knew he couldn’t leave the stranded birds to freeze in the night storm, and resolved to find a solution. It was just then that he thought of the barn where his children stabled their pony. It would be warm, sheltered, and safe… If he could get the birds into it.
Quickly he put on a jacket and galoshes, and began trekking through the snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on the light; but the birds did not fly in.
Thinking that food might entice them, he hurried back to the house and retrieved some bread crumbs. Sprinkling the crumbs in the snow, the man made a trail to the warmly lit doorway of the stable.
But still, the birds vainly fought the cold beneath his living room window.
He tried catching them. He tried shooing them into the barn by waving his arms and walking around them. But nothing worked. As he approached, they scattered in almost every direction, and as soon as he retreated back they resumed their hopeless attempts to fly through his living room window.
The man realized that the birds were simply too afraid of him. To them, after all, he was a giant and terrifying creature. ‘If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me – that I’m not trying to hurt them. But how?”
Any move he made simply confused, and frightened them.
“If only I could let them know I want them to be safe,” he said allowed. “If only I could be a bird, and mingle with them and speak their language, I could let them know that I mean them no harm. I could show them the way to the safe warm barn, but...” realization seemed to wash over him, “but I guess I would have to be one of them; so that they could see, and hear, and understand.”
At that moment the church bells began to ring through the dense cold. He stood there listening to the bells, Adeste Fidelis. Listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas. And he sank to his knees in the snow.


We have ALL been blessed!

Col. 1:9-12,

Mark

Catching Up on Christmas - Time at the Dining Room Table

Another Christmas tradition on the Hoosier Country Homestead is taking time out just to be together.  It's a deliberate thing that doesn't just happen: It's something we "make time for".  As in most homes, I suppose, the dining room table is the center of many of our together-times.  Meals are shared there, business is conducted there, cookies are made there, Bible reading is done there, projects are completed there, games are played there, and puzzles are worked there.  Ours is a bit larger than average at 7'5" x 5'2" so there's plenty of room for everything and everyone.  It's a plate glass top over a hand forged (by a brother-in-law) wrought iron base and wasn't even supposed to be a dining room table when it was started.  The wooden door below the glass was the door to De's room growing up.  That story with all the details will have to wait for another post.

Where much our of living is done.  You can see the start of a 1500 piece puzzle on the right.

 
Part of our family time is working picture puzzles.  Each year we get at least one new 1000+ piece puzzle and work it up.  We usually end up working two or three spread out over a couple of weeks as family comes and goes.  When a puzzle is underway we usually just work around it. When mealtime comes a place mat goes down and we eat over the top of it!  The nice thing about a puzzle is you can work it and talk and laugh and drink your tea, coffee, cocoa or wine all at the same time. Usually two or three can work at once.  You can come and go as you please (or when you need a break), let someone else work the puzzle, or just hang out on the other side of the table.  There are always the jokes that a small pile of pieces "don't go with this puzzle" (they always do) or pieces that are "missing" (usually not, or found under a place mat or on the floor). As with the cookies, it's not the completed puzzle that makes doing it worth-while: Its the time we spend together that makes it special.

Fannie Mae's General Store - Lot's of work in this one!

This year we played games with the girls (which included some work on letters and numbers) at the table.  Age appropriate games with them are such a hoot!

Playing a "matching" game.  Harmony knows where to find the match!

A new tradition (2nd year) is making a molded chocolate Christmas house, although this is actually done around Thanksgiving time.  It's similar to a gingerbread house, only made with chocolate and decorated with candy.  This is De's thing and fits well with her doll house hobby.  You can see a couple of her 1/2 scale houses and part of a castle in the backgrounds.  (There are 50+ dollhouses and room boxes scattered around the house.  You can see her latest project at De-Lightful Minis  )

Somebody is snitching the decorations!

Grandma helps with the 'glue'

Getting the roof just right.

Tada!  The final product!

How wonderful it is to come together and just 'be family'!  These times are so precious to us and are a part of what makes the Christmas holiday so special for all of us.  We are blessed!

Tomorrow:  Happy New Year! And the last of the 'Catching Up' series.

Col. 1:9-12,

Mark

Catching up on Christmas - Cookie Baking!

One of the favorite holiday traditions on the Hoosier Country Homestead is cookie baking.  Each year we pick a day when everyone is home and we bake Christmas cookies.  Usually there are two or three kinds of cookies on the menu, but the 'secret' ingredient is not a special almond extract or red-and-green sprinkles.  It's family.  The only really special thing about the cookies is that making them is a family project.  De and I have done this since the oldest (now 26) was just big enough to stand on a chair and handle her own bit of dough.  This year was special because we got to be part of the very first time the two new granddaughters have had the opportunity to participate.  That made a wonderful tradition even more precious.

I struggled to 'pare down' my collection of pictures.  There are still a lot, so here goes:

The process starts, as one would expect, with mixing the dough.  This year De, Daughter #1 (D1) and the Son (S) handled that part of the job.

There were sugar cookies, a wheat-free Gingerbread, and wheat-free spritz cookies.  With the dough made and chilling, the sugar cookie "production line" was set up on the table and rest of the family was summoned to the task.  Let the fun begin!

The parchment paper is put down, the cookie cutters are set in place, and finally the dough is delivered.  Here D1 and S delivery the 'goods' to D2 and the two granddaughters waiting at the table.

With the dough rolled out its time for the cookie cutting to begin.  What fun it was to see the two young ones all covered  with flour and punching out cookies for the very first time!

De makes sure the "production line" doesn't get backed up and keeps the cookies going in and out of oven.  During baking, the support crew gets to take a break.









Son-in-Law (SIL) and S get a moment to rest while the cookie cutting continues.

You all know how hard the job of "Photo Documentarian" can be :) so I take the opportunity for a quick rest.  This and bath time (Grandma's job) are one of the few times I'm sitting and don't have a little girl or two in my lap - Not that I'm complaining!


Even Zyla decides it's time for little siesta.

With cookies out of oven and cooled the decorating process can begin. Frosting the cookies and getting the right 'sprinkles' on put the finishing touches on the project.









Everyone helps with the frosting chores.  We carefully explain that one of the key tenets of cookie making is that any cookie broken by a real and true accident can be consumed on the spot, but breaking cookies on purpose violates the rules.  I'm not entirely certain this bit of confectionery law was carefully adhered to (by anyone) but we had plenty of cookies when we were done so I guess it all worked out.

With frosting underway it was time to start with the sprinkles!  In the eyes of a child, as well as some 'big kids' you can never have too many sprinkles!

The final tidbit of cookie making jurisprudence is one we had to watch a bit more carefully.  "You can't lick the frosting knife or eat the left-over sprinkles until AFTER the last cookie is done."  I think D2 and SIL would have been fine with the more straightforward "You can't lick the frosting knife or eat the sprinkles.", but once Papa had spoken the former into cookie making law, it was too late to rescind it!

When it was all said and done, we ended up with a nice batch of cookies.  They tasted great and (thankfully) some were sent home with everyone involved.  But the cookies were really just a byproduct: They'll last a few days at most.  The memories of another Christmas spent together laughing, doing, and just enjoying family last a lifetime.  This is the stuff that 'family' is made of, and we are sooo blessed to have been entrusted with this one.  We thank the Lord for what He has given us, and pray we are honoring Him with our care of it.

Col. 1:9-12

Mark