A Snowy Resurrection Day

Resurrection Day began with this beautiful sunrise glow over fresh snow! The following pictures were taken the day before while more than six inches of wet snow were falling. 

I even got out skiing before it hit 40 degrees!

Christ is Risen! Because He lives, we can face tomorrow.

Food Reintroduction Win: Black-Bottom Birthday Cake!

Huge Win! I enjoyed my first Black-Bottom Cake [my long-time standard] in about a dozen years!

While I am getting back to gluten by way of whole grain rye and einkorn sourdough and the occasional pasta away from home, we chose to use a gluten-free cake mix when adding back cream cheese for now.

But lake time comes before cake on my birthday... despite cold water!

December 2024

Remember how I mentioned birthday season began with Mom's a couple months ago? Well, it turned out differently than expected as the flu took over two December birthdays. But first, we gained a new one-year-old!

Hopefully the yak-down sweater I made him will last our big boy a couple of years.

He already loves books... especially if they have real paper pages, which are usually off-limits. But having his very own board books is great too!

Dad still looked and felt pretty awful from the accident, and we were all traumatized to be among any traffic as I drove the hour from home, but we were so grateful to still be all together to celebrate!

A week or two later, Dad was up to getting back to camera club, but still not able to move his body freely enough to drive, so I drove him in. Praise God, He had restored the joy of driving to me again by this time!

On the way, we stopped by to get our last belongings out of the wrecked van, and it looked even worse out of the snowy ditch. What a miracle to see Dad standing by this! The miracle of one or two seconds delay in his turn kept this hit from being full on his door.

With Dad's ongoing pain levels, this was my first year to cut down the Christmas tree on our property. 

Elsa helped me each step of the way!

While later than usual, we got it up just in time for Elsa's birthday!

The new fireplace looks great, but still requires open windows and an exhaust fan as we continue to burn off the new smell on warmer days.

I have even gotten out to knit in the warm corner of the deck a couple of sunny afternoons!

Due to that flu I mentioned earlier, our two birthday girls got to celebrate along with Jesus' birthday party this year!

Three year old hands needed new, wool mittens!

"Grandpa, you look better!" Yes, he does! Still dealing with pain and lack of stamina, but even his numb teeth are starting to feel better, thank God!

The day after Christmas was perfect for exploring on the kids' new snowshoes.

And the snow was perfect for building a snowman!

Then we warmed up by the basement wood stove with a sweet and spicy project: orange pomanders.

And there was even time to try out our old, candle-powered steam boats in the bathtub. What a hit!

Now the days are getting longer, and we look forward to a new year, knowing that our Good Shepherd will continue to lead us in His love and grace.

Happy New Year!
~ Hannah

An Extra-Thankful Thanksgiving!

This is not your typical Thanksgiving photo, I know. But it sums up why our family is extra thankful this Thanksgiving!

Yesterday my parents were run into less than a mile from home. Mom was unscathed even though pens and a sturdy glasses case inside the purse at her feet were mysteriously broken during impact.

Dad came through all the ER tests and scans with no bones broken and no brain bleed or organ damage, which were huge answers to prayer! He is in a lot of pain from cuts, bruises, sprains, and deep contusions, and his face looks pretty awful. But we are so thankful to have him home and healing.

He was even able to join us in singing around the supper table last night, "Praise God from Whom all blessings flow...!"

Time to get ready for a quiet Thanksgiving supper with the 4 of us at home. (Dad is grateful that much of the meal is soft for his painful teeth and jaw!)

What are you grateful for today?!

~ Hannah

Birthday Season Begins!

Mom has the first of five family birthdays before Christmas (three of which are in December), so we get to celebrate a lot these weeks!

For the first time in at least a decade, Elsa and I ate the birthday meal of lasagne as well as the same cake as the rest of the family! Still gluten free so far, but with many other ingredients we have avoided for our sensitivities and inflammation levels all these years. 

Thanks to God's gift of neuroplasticity, we are finally getting back to life with the help of brain rewiring!

Another night, another party!

How is he already five?!?

Celebration, Heritage & Gratitude

Just under 80 relatives gathered for our annual Independence Day celebration at the lake cottage. A small, but cosy group!

For the first time in a decade, I ate everything from the potluck tables! All I still avoided was anything overtly made with gluten. It's hard to believe I could get back to this point!

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow! I know it's not Thanksgiving Day, but gratitude is always in season,and right now I am thanking God for...

Family and Relatives with a shared godly heritage 

Good memories brought back as rain drove us into the old living room... and the ability to once again enjoy the building I had to avoid most of the past decade due to sensitivities

A widening range of flavors to enjoy

...And a nation which was founded by brave and often God-fearing men.

"The world seems to me an immense battle-place, where wrong and right have been struggling; always struggling. And sometimes the wrong seems to cover the whole earth, like a flood, and there is nothing but confusion and horror; and then sometimes the floods part and one sees a little bit of firm ground, where grass and flowers might grow, if they had a chance. And in those spots there is generally some great, grand man, who has fought back the flood of wrong and made a clearing."

▪︎ from "Nobody" by Susan Warner 

Another Birthday at the State Park

Another year = another birthday at the state park!

First time in a lake for this 6-month old! The sand was a hit... especially in the mouth.

Big brother is getting brave in the water and creative in the sand!

Big sister is always looking for fun!

 "The earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord." ▪︎ Psalm 33:5