Christmas Reflections

Christmas 2010

Christmas at Home

 Because I’m a month behind in writing the blog, it might look as though I am mourning the Mitt Romney loss but that is not the cause.  We have been very busy this past month with activities that were not exciting enough to write about until now.  We finished our work with the Stake Nativity Festival this past week and that means that Norma can take a little break.  During her break she can work frantically to get ready for Christmas.

This will be our Christmas blog.  Many of you will be reading it as a result of our invitation in the Christmas letter to visit the blog.  We hope you enjoyed the letter, and now we invite you to enjoy our Christmas reminiscing in photos, together with the photos of our activities during the past six months. 

The Nativity

Christmas has several ingredients, which unite together to wrap up the Spirit.  I think these ingredients are; the story, music, images, light, gifts, food, friends and family.

For me, the story of Christmas begins with Third Nephi, chapter one:

 

 12 “And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord all that day; and behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying:  13 “Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfill all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets.  14 “Behold, I come unto my own, to fulfill all things which I have made known unto the children of men from the foundation of the world, and to do the will, both of the Father and of the Son—of the Father because of me, and of the Son because of my flesh. And behold, the time is at hand, and this night shall the sign be given.”  We read the rest of the story in St. Luke.

I hope you enjoy the photo gallery of Christmas images of the past few years.

Merry Christmas and happy New Year

A White Christmas

The Family Tree

Can You Hear The Music?

Christmas In The Air

Milwaukie Stake Nativity Festival

Nativity Festival 2012

Frederiksberg Ice Rink

Christmas At Nyhavn

Christmas On The Walking Street

A Little Window Dressing

Jul In The Ancestoral Church

Kajerødgaard In The Winter

The Country Church As A Beacon

Christmas In The Cottage

Snow On The Boats Of Nyhavn

A Tree With Living Lights

Roast Duck With Trimmings

This Christmas Dessert Is A Must

Another Holiday Dessert

Christmas At Tivoli Gardens

Tivoli Gardens

The Christmas Cottage

Winter Reflections

 Gary and Norma

A Week of Wins and Losses

Should'a Won

Dakota's Got The Ball

This week I do not hesitate to mention the hedge work.  I FINISHED IT!  It was not the most important milestone of the week, but important nonetheless.  The other milestones were Ben’s nineteenth birthday, Angie’s birthday, the presidential election and my birthday.

We tended Case and Cohen a couple of times and saw Dakota’s basket ball game.  All in all it has been a busy week.  We should experience some quiet time now until Thanksgiving.  

The Crowd Watched

Even Cohen Supports Dakota

Case, Emerson and Dakota

Sisters At The Carnival

Cousins At The Carnival

Tending Case

Bye for now.

Norma and Gary 

An Oregon Fall

Golden Snow

 I hesitate to mention the hedge work, but it plays a part in my reaction to last week’s statement that: “ . . . as good Oregonians, we don’t let it (rain) bother us.  We just move ahead.”  Maybe I’m not such a “good Oregonian”.  I did let it bother me, or at least it became the “last straw” in a series of frustrating events. 

The four hundred feet of hedge around the four-plex is to be trimmed twice each year, April and October.  Four weeks ago I started the job thinking I could do it in three or four days.  The two electric hedge trimmers I own and have used for four or five years, died on me the first day. 

My neighbor across the street said I could use his fathers gas fired hedge trimmer.  He would need to have his father bring it in from the farm and would do that within the next two weeks.  I chose to borrow my son-in-law’s gas fired hedge trimmer instead, thinking I could get it the same day.  It; however, wasn’t available until the next day.  Oh well.

Everybody told me I would enjoy the gas-fired trimmer more than the electric trimmer because it would cut the larger sticks better.  I must admit that it did trim faster.  The extra ten-pound weight on the end of my arms and the stopping to fill the gas tank, the climbing down the ladder to restart it whenever it stopped and the trying to keep it from flooding out-weighed the faster trimming to say nothing about it seriously breaking down twice.  I patched it a couple of times, but the last time required parts, which would take two weeks to get.  There is much more I could write about my decision to go and buy a new electric trimmer but I’m trying to keep this short.  Suffice it to say I was almost at my wits end.  This happened on the only dry morning we have had in a couple of weeks. 

After arriving home with my new trimmer and setting up the electric cords, the tarp and the ladder, I climbed up and started to cut the hedge.  It was working beautifully.  Five minutes later I felt a drop of rain.  I kept trimming.  Then I felt several drops of rain.  I decided I needed to get my gear in the basement before everything got wet.  It was too late; we were having a downpour.  Good Oregonian or not, I did let it bother me.

The forecast for tomorrow is cloudy but dry.  I’ll start early.

Our Stake Conference today was broadcast from Salt Lake and dealt with new procedures for helping the youth be prepared for serving missions at age eighteen.

Three weeks of solid rain has put a definite stop to our beautiful fall colors.  I have kept a record of the beauty of our Oregon Fall leaves.  Hope you enjoy them.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bye for now.

Norma and Gary