Christmas Season Greetings!

 

Wishing each of you a very special and blessed Christmas and New Year season today!  I hope that each of you has been able to spend meaningful and special moments with your friends and family during this time.  My prayers are for those who were traveling in the awful winter conditions and perhaps facing difficult airline situations. So many people had disrupted family gatherings this year because of weather and travels, as the winter weather came right at Christmas.  

The last couple of weeks have been quite busy for our family as well. I appreciate all the kind and touching comments you shared regarding my Gram's death in my previous post.  Because I had just been to see her in October, I did not anticipate going back to her funeral. However, my mother's family reached out to me to see if I would come back to speak on behalf of the grandchildren at her funeral.  My Gram and Grampie had 10 children, 28 grandchildren, 53 great-grandchildren, and 6 great-great grandchildren. What a legacy! So I traveled back to Canada to be with my Mom as well as my sister and brother for the funeral.  My dad's health has not been good, so he was unable to travel.  

My Mom, sister Elayne, and I traveled together on the last leg of the flight. I managed to surprise them, as they did not know we all were going to be on the last flight together! 

Together beside my Gram's casket. She looked so beautiful and at peace. It was a comfort to know she was in her eternal resting place, at peace in the arms of Jesus. 

My sister and I put together two collage boards of my Gram's life that were set up by the guest book at the funeral. It was nice to have these memories displayed. The tablecloth under the collage boards was handmade by my great-grandmother (Gram's mother). It was beautifully handstitched. A family treasure for sure :) 

New Brunswick had no snow when we arrived.  However, the day after Gram's funeral a massive snowstorm arrived! I traveled back home at the "tail-end" of that snowstorm, having quite a few delays with my flights, and ended up traveling close to 30 hours before making it home safely.  

It was so good to be back home.  The dogs were especially happy to see me so we could walk again, and so we embarked on our walk the next morning... in rather COLD temperatures! 

Frigidly cold weather had set in, and our temps dropped down to -15.
After my arrival back home, within several days I came down with a head cold, which I am still recovering from.  It seems everyone around us is sick with one bug or another. Thankfully I haven't run a fever, just have a head cold, and I am on the mend, eating lots of fruits and taking zinc, vitamin D, and quercetin.   

In other news, our son and his wife were working in Texas, when they had to spend some time waiting for a load in El Paso, Texas.  In the yard they waited in, two small puppies had been dropped off and were malnourished and flea-bitten.  They won the hearts of my son and wife, and they adopted them. 

They were quite happy to have a good meal, a cozy place to sleep, and lots of love.
We are now officially grandpup-parents to Gus and Red! They are precious darlings! I can't say Annie and Riley are so thrilled about their arrival, but they are adjusting to the newcomers :) 

We held our family gathering on Christmas morning and enjoyed brunch together.  We spent several hours together eating and visiting. The Christmas story was read out of Luke 2, and we each shared how the Lord had touched our lives during this past year. It was very sweet. 

Little Gus all ready to open gifts! 

Our family gathered around the table with a friend who had no family
to celebrate Christmas with, so she joined us. 

Danielle and Zak just celebrated their 1-year anniversary of home ownership. They are currently in the process of building an Air B&B on their property too. We are excited for them! 

Ryan and Alanna with little Gus. 

Little Red, sound asleep! They are such sweet dogs, and well-behaved! 

So happy they found their forever homes with our kids. 

So the weather has been quite eventful here! The week before Christmas our temps dipped down to -15 with wind chills even lower for several days.  Our hot water froze up, although our cold water thankfully didn't.  As the temps have begun to warm up, the hot water lines opened up, without any breakage. We are SO thankful for that blessing!  

Since yesterday, we are getting bucketloads of rain dumped on us, and many places are experiencing flooding.  High winds are also expected later today.  It seems that any kind of extreme weather that could take place is paying us a visit! But thankfully, we are all warm, safe, and cozy, and all the animals are too.  

As I spent time praying, drinking hot tea, and reading the Word, I thought of each of you, my faithful readers.  I pray for those who are experiencing difficult situations, whether it be weather-related, health, travel, or financial. It has been a difficult, traumatic season for so many people.  So today as I am praying, please know that I have prayed for you, and your families, each of you are so special to me.  I appreciate your kind comments, thoughts, and prayers too. They have meant so very much! 

As the New Year approaches, our thoughts begin to think of what the new year will hold. and even if there have been difficulties you've had to face this season, I hope that you can seek out the blessings that come amidst the trouble and look for opportunities to be thankful in difficult situations.  I've noticed that keeping my perspective positive can impact not just my own life, but those around me. My hope remains steadfast in the Lord, and I pray His peace and presence will rest in your hearts and lives today.  I wish each of you a blessed Christmas and New Year's season!