New Year's Thoughts from 1905

I just finished re-reading the 1904-1905 journals of my mother's father's mother's mother which I typed into a digital version years ago. 

Yes, that means these are the words of my great-great-grandmother! And since it was written in Norwegian [albeit while living in rural, midwestern USA], her daughter later translated the writing into English.

What perfect timing to come across the following entries of a New Year's 119 years ago!

Keep in mind that Great-Great-Grandma Johanna was widowed just 2 years prior and had 13 living children, ages 5 through 27. Nine of the youngest were still at home on the farm most of the time, and 1904 was very difficult in many ways. Yet Johanna knew where to find Hope! As she wrote:

"Dec. 31st - Nice and mild weather. All have been busy. [Then follows an explanation of who drove the horses in to meet an older son and wife at the train depot plus others coming for visits... all ending up at the Christmas program with tree and gifts at the Norwegian church.] 

"This is the last day of 1904. God grant grace to leave our old sinful habits. He assured us that our sins are forgiven for Jesus sake, so we may enter the New Year with peace and joy in our hearts.

"1905: Jan. 1 - Sunday. [After description of walking to church and prayer for as good a pastor to replace the beloved one who was resigning...] 

"God grant that the New Year may give:
Less of grief and sorrow.
Less of gnawing loneliness and need.
Less smarting blows and strikes,
Less of roughness and deceit.
Less of anguished sighs and cries.
Less of anger, revenge and hate.
Less of empty cupboards and dishes.
Less of slavery and tyranny than the year that now is past.

"God grant that this new year may give:
More of the spirits of springtime,
More of good fortune for women and men in their homes and huts by mountain or shores,
More of truth and honesty,
More of brotherhood and peace of heart.
More of concern for righteousness.
More powerful forward drive.
More of that which lifts our spirits.
More of that which strengthens our hand.
More of that which makes us free,
than the year that now is past."

• Johanna T.

[Footnote by my great-grandmother: "A very poor translation. It is beautiful in Norwegian."]

What is your prayer for this new year of 2024?

~ Hannah

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Friends!

I haven't been online much this month, which feels great! But there has been no lack of activity...

For one thing, we welcomed an overdue November baby at the beginning of December!

All the waiting was worth it for a precious new nephew!



Big brother is enthralled and was already reading (reciting a favorite book) to him on Day 2, after suggesting that I start reading to the baby. Such a responsive listener! 





A devoted big sister tries to help as much as she can with care for "My baby..."



In spare moments, I developed a new product line for The Nautical Nordic: Scandinavian Mitten tree ornaments!





Meanwhile, much of November and December was filled with the sounds of tools for demolition and carpentry. The husband and wife team are more than meticulous finish carpenters, but have also become friends!



Gone are the old construction stairs that were under the carpet we ripped out two years ago...



What a beautiful change to the new maple stairs with the old bannister skillfully reinstalled. Without all the creaks and cracks, we can't hear when the stairs are used anymore!

The basement trim is also done, and new basement stairs will be the project to start the new year! 



With all the action indoors, we didn't start decorating for Christmas until the middle of the month, but we were thrilled to get back to cutting our own real tree after several years of using a vintage artificial tree due to allergies.



Decorations were ready just in time for our original December birthday! (Don’t try to figure out Elsa's complex math involving the candles we had on hand... but with some division, multiplication, and addition, they stood for her age, which isn't far behind my four decades.)





Three days later it was time to celebrate a 2 year old!





[Can't get enough of this baby face!]



The 2 year old got new booties knit by Elsa for growing feet, and the doll, Daisy, has a new dress sewn by grandma and a poncho crocheted by me.



And of course a bunch of new books! Her reading aloud is mainly a combination of sounds from her favorite words: baby & kitty.



Our whole family Christmas celebration is still ahead, but our newborn has been a special illustration of the birth we are celebrating this season.



What wonder that the Creator of everything was willing to become a helpless baby, clinging to the fingers of a man and woman whom He had created!



...All to save His rebellious creatures from our own sins. 

All because of His perfect love!



"He came down to earth from heaven
Who is God and Lord of all,
And His shelter was a stable,
And His cradle was a stall:
With the poor, and mean, and lowly
Lived on earth, our Savior holy."

• Cecil F. Alexander, 1848



[Nativity ornament made by Dad of the telephone wire which was his livelihood]

Thanksgiving Resources

A blessed Thanksgiving, family and friends! 

These two resources have been helpful in reminding our family of the deep meaning and real lives behind the first Thanksgiving. 

As this excellent Focus on the Family Radio Theatre production points out, somewhat like the history of Joseph in the Old Testament, Squanto was stolen into slavery and spent years learning and serving... which then prepared him to return home and be raised to a position of influence at the right time to help save the lives of others.

Those "others" were the Pilgrims, part of whose history is so interestingly recounted in Barbara Rainey's book (with accompanying music CD which we enjoy each year.)

Speaking of the time when the Pilgrims dropped anchor on November 11, 1620 off the shores of what would become New England, one of their young leaders, William Bradford, wrote:

"I cannot but.. stand half amazed at this poor people's present condition;... Being thus past the vast ocean, and a sea of troubles... they had now no friends to welcome them nor inns to entertain or refresh their weather-beaten bodies;... What could now sustain them but the Spirit of God and His grace?"

And the rest of the history shows that sustaining grace through all the hardships. How thankful we can be for such a heritage represented in this celebration! 

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow! 

Our New Porch!

We are thoroughly enjoying the newly finished porch and the changing light throughout a sunny day!

Though not heated with the house, this rebuilt porch is now fully insulated, so it can get too hot for comfort even on chilly days with the sun shining. Should be amazing this winter!

Fall Birthdays and Projects

October went out with one birthday, and November came in with another!

Now we have a 4 year old who will soon have a 2 year-old sister and newborn sibling!

Meanwhile, work continues full-force around here. Our amazing finish carpenters have put in 11 days so far between the basement and porch. They did a beautiful job framing the awkward, deep doorway cut between the old and "new" basements.

Dad's choice of wood ceiling for the basement "library" is lovely!

And Dad and I put in a long, intense day to finish the porch tile with grout.

Finally, this week I learned to can pumpkin!

Both of Grandma's pressure canners are coming in handy. And it was perfect having our carpenters at work in the porch during the first time I tried the smaller canner. The wife of the husband-wife carpenter team could coach me through using the "jiggly-top" version of pressure canning between cutting boards for trim!

Chronic Lyme and Stress

My family and I pulled ticks off ourselves countless times every year growing up here on the prairie, but back then our immune systems were so good that our bodies naturally kept any infections under control.

It wasn't until a wide range of stressors (physical, environmental, and more) came to the overflowing point that our Limbic Systems (part of the nervous system control center deep in the brain) couldn't handle it, and we crashed physically.

With years of supplements, protocols, and avoidance of all the things we were suddenly sensitive to helped somewhat, it wasn't until we started addressing the Limbic System dysfunction that we could even hope to get to the root of all the issues stemming from our bodies being stuck in the chronic stress response.

Want to learn more? There is a free workshop going on this week with so much helpful information! You can join here if interested: 

https://www.limbicsystemrewire.com/sensitivityworkshop

[Replays are available during the event even if you do not have a Facebook account to watch it live.]

~ Hannah

P.S. - Know anyone who could find this information helpful? Feel free to share this post!

You Have Permission!

 

Have you been needing permission to go against the flow, be the odd one out, or break the habit?

Then here it is: "You have permission to shut it off."

When "it" is raising your stress levels, filling your mind with fear & darkness, or simply wasting your time...

Just try it! Turn off the power and notice the difference! In fact you may not know just how much "it" is negatively affecting you until you do so.

What then?! Start to notice all the beauty and gifts around you... or if that is hard to spot right now, look for a way to bring joy to another!

What is your "it"?

• the news

• the ads

• the drama

• the posts

• the stories

• the music

• the talk

• ...

Stop and notice how "it" raises your blood pressure, tightens your muscles, takes over your thoughts, and makes you more depressed, irritable or even fearful.

And when that happens, simply shut it off!

We were made for much more than media!

❤️ Hannah

The Autumn Push

Though we don't farm any of the miles of fields all around, late summer-autumn always meant a seasonal rush of work even in our family. Dad had to fit most of the plowing in of telephone cable after the crops came off, but before freeze-up.

And though that work was sold with the telephone company, these have been extra full weeks again!

Besides garden harvest, the post-mold-remediation house-rebuilding entered a new phase of finish-work. Dad spent days and weeks sanding and spraying paint and finish on woodwork in the shed until it got too cold. 

Then the work moved into the basement (through the window) where Mom and Elsa joined the action.

Meanwhile, Dad had prepared the new subfloor in the porch for tiling. He and I laid the tiles together, and I am still working on cleaning up in preparation for grout.

I also took two trips to town to get our Toyotas serviced - spending a couple hours in the waiting room each time (good knitting time) and running errands, which are huge wins in this healing journey - unthinkable a year or two ago!

It felt so strange to drive through town traffic and enter the grocery store I hadn't seen in probably a decade. To fight the rising stress responses of overwhelm, disorientation, and even grief over "lost" years, I chose to praise God and focus on the progress.

Then another rare event was my driving alone the hour to my sister's house for some lively family-time. The largest, multi-pronged carrot from our raised bed gardens was a hit with the littles!

Back home, I mowed lawn twice this year... a huge win.

A couple days ago Dad and I also got the roses covered for winter. First dirt, then leaves.

Mom and Elsa cleared vegetable and flower gardens.

And I picked in a basket full of bouquet-makings just in time.

This morning we woke to snow!