Christmas Eve 2014. Our second Christmas without Barry & Zach. It is so hard. Miss them so much.
In the past Christmas Eve's, Barry, Sigrid Zach & Abby would have arrived during the afternoon & we would have supper together. A lot of chatter around the table. So much to talk about. Sometimes we would all go to church Christmas Eve. Sometimes, just Zach & Abby would come with us. Then we would have snacks later.
Sometimes, Allen, Lena, Jared & Brandon would have arrived. Sometimes, Chris, Charlotte, Adam, Katie, Carly & Nick would stop in after church & there would be lots of food to enjoy.
Things have changed. This year, our kids will all be home Christmas Day. Some will come for lunch, the rest will arrived early in the afternoon. First we'll open gifts, then we'll have coffee & some snacks. Some may go skating, some of us will visit & then start the supper prep.
This year we are having a fondue & the grandkids are really looking forward to it. We will have a good time. We will miss Barry & Zach so very much. There will be times when it will just be too quiet.
This is their second Christmas in Heaven. I'm sure their Christmas is alot more fun & meaningful than ours. Someday we'll join them & then we'll have the best Christmas ever. I wonder what Christmas in Heaven is like?
Spent some time at the conservatory at the Assiniboine Park enjoying the exhibit - Around the World in 80 Days - telling the story with various plants, trees & flowers.
This is the Azalea tree.
Orchid tree.
Pots of different colours of poinsettas were everywhere.
This elephant is made of plants, bark & trees.
Beautiful contrasting colours.
A train track with a working train surrounded in colour.
Done. Finished tonight. The annual task/chore of sending Christmas greetings to friends & family, mostly far. Have been doing this for many years. Guess my mom trained me well. She sent cards until she went into the care home. Most of the time I write a summary of our year, sometimes long, sometimes short. I read on the web how some people hate these photo-copied letters of people's bragging about where they've travelled, what they've bought & how great their kids are doing. Well, I'd rather have a generic letter than none at all!
Oh, I did write a little about our trip to Red Deer. Oh, and I mentioned Mexico too! So if you get a card from me & don't want to hear about our travels, you can just throw it out. But then you won't see the really nice picture of the two of us!
I do keep in touch with alot of friends on Facebook so some of you will read about me all year & see my pictures there. Guess I also just like to send a real card via Canada post. Also to keep in touch with my elderly aunts & uncles in Ontario.
Takes some planning for the perfect annual picture. Got a really nice one of the two of us beside the hubs fancy Mustang.
Huge job. Done. Didn't even count them so I can't brag about a number!!
Today I'm thankful that I am able to be back in my sewing room 3 weeks after surgery to repair the rotator cuff in my left shoulder. I'm working on a few projects that use precuts - fabric that I bought already cut into 10 inch squares & 2 1/2 inch strips. I'll sew a few tops now & then quilt them when I have more mobility in my shoulder.
So very thankful for my church & the people in it - amazing, gifted pastors who preach & teach from the Bible, caring youth leaders & Sunday School teachers, many, many people who cared & prayed for us during these past 14 months. A place to worship in peace.