Christmas in the City

Had a wonderful time in the city

I smile when I recall

The space, the songs, the company

I really had a ball

"Annie's Other Song"

John Denver

This song has been going through my mind since we
arrived back home last Thursday after spending Christmas in New York City.

Daughter #1 (KP) and her husband (K) are now living there and invited us to come for the holiday. Daughter #2 (KE) and her beau (A) were going to spend Christmas with his mother, who lives near the city, so they drove us in, which was very convenient since driving in the city is not something we'd volunteer to do! The traffic going in and out was amazingly sparse compared to the usual teeming mass of vehicles. It proved to be a perfect time to visit.

We saw the huge tree in Rockefeller Center the day after Christmas (Boxing Day for the Aussies and Brits)

On Christmas Eve KP and K took us to a jazz concert at Lincoln Center. Ann Hampton Calloway was performing and she was fabulous! Her back-up trio on piano, base and drums was wonderful too. She's a great entertainer with a beautiful voice. It was a really fun night. Unfortunately they didn't allow photos so I didn't take my camera. I was really sorry to miss getting some shots of Lincoln Center which was decked out in absolute splendor. They won the prize for the best light show. It was gorgeous! Midtown was looking really spectacular. What a time to be without a camera!!

Went to church on Christmas morning at St. Paul The Divine Cathedral

It's such a magnificent building!
The service was beautiful, with lots of Christmas carols being sung. There was such an echo in the sanctuary that the congregation was actually singing a couple of notes behind the choir, and we had to concentrate very hard to hear the sermon.

The cathedral is within walking distance and happily the weather was fairly mild. The wind was a bit nippy, but we did have some sunshine!

Our hosts - KP and K

KE came back to the city in the afternoon and the girls cooked a delicious Christmas dinner of roast lamb, baked potatoes, fancy brussel sprouts with yummy additions, and cauliflower au gratin. My contribution was pumpkin bread, eggnog cheese cake and cookies.

Here we are opening presents

Super soft homemade socks from KP for me! And we gave her a knitting book (of course!).

Ross got a lovely pair of mittens from the girl who loves to knit, and
there were many other presents, including some very good books. I got 3 new gardening books, so I'll be curling up with those on the wintery days and nights to come! KE gave me my very own mad bomber hat, so I won't have to steal Ross's anymore. His was a Christmas present last year from A and I wore it around all winter (but only on the farm!) I'm a little hesitant to be seen in public wearing one of these hats, but KE tells me they're very 'in' at the moment :) Hmmm.

Here's Ross with A and KE

Once in a while I relinquish the camera :)

We took Hanna with us to her new home and she is now officially ensconced in her highrise apartment and has made a very smooth transition from a country cat to a city cat. Here she is under the glass of the coffee table. She had to explore every possible place to play!

Ilsa was not in the least impressed with her new 'playmate' and her welcome couldn't be described as warm :)

Hanna was totally unafraid and tried hard to make friends, but Ilsa just hissed and hid in the bedroom the entire time we were there. She's rather a shy kitty. However, I talked to KP today and she was pleased to report that the two are now friends and playing happily together. Well, she's not really sure that Ilsa is altogether happy about it, but she is playing.

On Christmas afternoon KP and I went for a walk in Central Park. It's pretty even in it's winter colors. There were quite a few people out for a brisk walk or a stroll, even though so many people had left the Big Apple for the holidays.

I really liked these 'natural' decorations, but the city decked out in lights and baubles is quite a sight to see. I'll post more photos next time.

Jasmine is missing Hanna and so are we, but we're happy that she has a loving home and a kitty friend, who's learning to like her. She's a very adaptable cat and did amazingly well on the trip. Nothing seems to phase her. She certainly looks content, doesn't she?

So yes, we had a wonderful time in the city, and Ross surprised us all, as well as himself, by really enjoying the Big Apple. It was his first visit to the city even though he was born and raised in upstate NY!

May 2008 be a wonderful, joy-filled year, rich in blessings for all of you. I look forward to another year of friendship and sharing our corners of this big wide world.

Happy New Year dear blog friends!

The Reason for the Season

Our nativity used to belong to my dear mother MIL. It brings back fond memories of her every year when I assemble it at Christmas time.

Jesus, The Savior is born! Without Him there would be no reason for the season.

May God's gift of love be your gift this Christmas.




These weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are always so busy, but it's finally beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

The decorating is done and the cookies are baked, but the sugar cookies have yet to be frosted. I've made a dent in the wrapping today and will finish that up tomorrow.

We'll have our girls and Ko home for Christmas Eve and day. It's always such a blessing to have at least some of our children home at any time, but it's especially fun at Christmas. Our son and his family will go to his MIL's for a big family gathering. We'll have our Christmas with them next weekend. We sure will miss those little grandsons!




The Nativity at our church

I'm looking forward to the time when I can visit you all again. I'll soon be catching up with those of you I've missed lately. It's been so much fun getting to know you all over this past year and I look forward to many more visits during 2007.

Until then dear blog friends, I wish you a wonderful and joy-filled Christmas, surrounded by the love of your family and friends.

May that sweet spirit of friendship that we share brighten your New Year and last the whole year through.

And may the blessings of peace and love fill your homes and hearts.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

VBS - Fiesta!

It's Vacation Bible School (VBS) week at our church and we're having a Fiesta!



Our theme is Mexican.



Here are the four amigos who made the scenery and did the decorating (with a few other helping hands)....feeling (and acting) really silly in these HUGE hats :)



That's me with another helper who had to be coaxed into the picture...he's a character.



I'm a team leader and there are 5 kids in my group. There are several teams of mixed ages, each with a leader. There's also a team of preschoolers. Here we're off to do crafts (tonight we painted VBS 2006 T-shirts)....which follows the Bible lesson. This lesson is acted out each night by a "Bible character" (and sidekick) and is a fun way to "hear" the Bible stories.



Next we play games. All the activities tie in with the Bible lesson each night...to reinforce the Bible point. These points are listed (well, a one-word reminder is listed) on the sign I'm standing next to up there....

Each team is making a blanket (just tying a fringe on a premade blanket actually). These will be sent, along with a Spanish pull-out found in the back of our workbooks...a little spanish version of our workbook. This contains our Bible stories for each night, plus activities. We also have a penny competitiion between the boys and the girls (boys are winning so far, thanks to a young man who brought a backpack loaded with pennies! And of course, he spilled them :) The money will be sent to Mexican children, along with the blankets and books.



Each night we watch a new episode of the adventures of a chipmunk named Chadder. He gets into some dangerous situations for a chipmunk, but always manages to triumph over evil, with a little help from his friends :)



We also have a life-size Chadder. Now that's one big chipmunk! The littlest kids are especially enthralled by him (who is actually a 'she').
 


We sing some really neat songs which really get us moving. We do actions and sign language along with the words. One of the best things about the opening and closing is we get to make lots of noise (at given moments). Whenever the song leader uses a Bible point in a sentence (e.g. Jesus is our friend) we have to throw up our arms and yell, "Viva!" It really keeps the kids listening because they LOVE to yell that out :) All in all, it's a fun week, enjoyed by children and adults alike. And hopefully we'll manage to plant a few seeds in little hearts.

Muddled Weekend

As it turned out, I was home this weekend after all. Chris mixed up the dates and the show is next weekend. At least she's all ready for it and will have a stress-free week!

Our Community Choir concert was scheduled for tonight and I had been disappointed a while back when Chris told me the dates conflicted. So now I was pleased to think I could sing in the concert after all!!
Alas, it wasn’t to be. Our concert was canceled due to a horrible car accident last Thursday in which 3 of our local seniors were killed…a young man and 2 young ladies. What a terrible tragedy!

Note: I realized after posting this that I need to clarify the term 'seniors'. Here in the US it is used for high schoolers in their graduating year of school......12th grade

The calling hours were today and several of the high school kids who would be attending were to be extras in our concert (there were to be a few drama scenes to illustrate the Easter music). The combined funerals will be held tomorrow. It will be such a huge event that it will be broadcast in the high school auditorium to accommodate the people who can’t fit into the church (which is a large one). Needless to say, this is a very sad time for our community.

On a brighter note, the hyacinths are blooming brightly and smelling oh, so sweet! Added to the daffodils they make a very pretty picture. I thought I’d show you some of the photos I’ve taken lately.

We’ve had rain for most of the weekend and much colder temperatures, so we’ve been stuck inside, feeling like winter is back. However, it stopped this afternoon and my hubby worked outside constructing yet another small section of rustic fence. He intends to plant some American bittersweet by it. This plant produces lovely red berries in the fall. The birds will love it!

This morning in church we were privileged to listen to an amazing fellow named Jason Nightingale. This gentleman has the awesome ability to memorize whole books of the Bible. I can’t even imagine having a memory like his!!! He recited the book of John word for word, as if he were telling a story, complete with all the characters and feelings. It was a truly remarkable experience to see and hear him do this.

Jason and his wife, Sharon, travel around the country in a huge motorhome. He performs his recitations in churches all over the US. They’re based in Washington state and their mission is to support a large group of orphans and widows in Monrovia, Liberia, as well as church planting. They’re an amazing couple. Perhaps some of you out there have met them too, and seen Jason speak.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!