Too much Christmas?

Since we ended up being in the States for the Christmas season, how could we not spend it with our grandkids?! What’s a road trip to Chicago, after all?  We left Philly on Friday, just before the historic snowstorm hit the East coast.  Departing at 4 a.m., (can anybody guess whose idea that was?!) we had no traffic problems or weather concerns the whole way.  Even though the Chicago area had only a coating of snow, Pappap, Ben, and Harry (our grandson) managed to go sledding on Sat.  (Admittedly, the hills in the area hardly qualify as thrilling!) Sunday we enjoyed visiting Sarah and Nate’s church, after which we baked Christmas cookies, opened presents, and had a Christmas ham dinner.  Harry and Johanna really loved the gifts their gifts.

However, this morning, we woke up  at 6 a.m. to the sound of Ben getting sick. We’re staying in a missionary guest apartment while here which is about 10 min. from our daughter’s place.  We decided to let Ben and Sharon stay there while we went to help Sarah with the kids.  But by the time we got to her apartment, I was sick.  Dave had been up all night coughing with a cold that he can’t seem to shake,  so we decided to send him to the doctor.  When he got back to Sarah’s, he had chills, felt nauseous, and thought he was going to pass out!   Believe it or not, Dave, Ben and I haven’t been sick since last fall in Costa Rica.  What timing! Thankfully, we have another day to recover before heading back to PA to the next Christmas celebration.  In spite of being under the weather, we’re glad we had one more chance to see Sarah and her family before leaving the country.

SNOW

We often don’t get snow in Philadelphia until well after Christmas, but this year we had an early snowfall.  Although it didn’t accumulate much here, we were happy to find a good coating on the ground further north when we went with friends to cut down their Christmas tree this past weekend.  It was  perfect for a snowball fight. After finding just the right tree, we traveled to Bethlehem (yes, right here in PA) to see the sights before returning to our friends’ house to trim the tree.  Having traipsed around in near freezing temperatures all day, we were glad to gather near their woodburning stove and relax for the evening.

Mistaken Identity?

Since it turns out the FBI can’t process my fingerprints due to “quality of characteristics”, maybe it wasn’t really me that the cashier gave the senior citizen discount to last week.  I confess it was a blow to vanity that she didn’t even ask my age.  She assumed I was old enough! Well, she was only a few days off. I crossed over that fine line into what some apparently consider “senior” this past Sunday.  But I’m still a child when it comes to celebrating my birthday.  I love getting cards and calls from friends and families, special meals, and VIP treatment.  Thanks to all those who helped make this year’s birthday a happy one!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Joy to the World!

Just the right tree

A delicious tradition

Our family has numerous traditions that we observe during the Christmas season.  Around 25 years ago, we started caroling with our Bible study group in the Olney neighborhood of Philadelphia.  Eventually, we stopped meeting as a Bible study, but our family continued the yearly caroling tradition with the Franchettis, who had hosted the study.  Having musically talented children (and now  grandchildren!), we make a full choir with all the parts. It’s been a good way to connect with our neighbors through the years, and pass on the Christmas spirit.  And, of course, we always have REAL hot chocolate when we come in from the cold!

Cutting down our own Christmas tree has also become an annual ritual.  We’ve gone to various farms through the years; but no matter where we go, Dave is sure we pick the tree that is at the farthest end of the field. Typically, we choose one that is bigger than we intended (they look so much smaller outside!).  This year we were successful in finding  one that would fit in our daughter’s apartment.  It’s perfect!

Baking Christmas cookies is a tradition I enjoyed growing up.  There were barely enough containers to hold the many varieties my mother baked.  One of my favorites is sand tarts.  This is an old recipe which takes a lot of patience, as the goal is to roll the dough paper thin.  (We’ve never quite achieved this goal, however!)  The cookies are then cut out in shapes of trees, bells, stars, etc., brushed with a mixture of egg white and milk, then decorated with colored sugar.  Although it’s time-consuming, the result is well worth it.  Besides, it’s only once a year!

We are thankful for another Christmas here in the States to enjoy these long-standing traditions.  While we can take some of them with us to Chile,  we will miss the family and friends who have made observing the traditions especially fun.

Over the river and through the woods…

Grandma’s house

Esther’s parents in the kitchen

Thankful to be with family

For the 26 years that we have lived in Philadelphia, we literally have driven over the river (the Susquehanna) and through the woods to get to Grandmother’s house. However, we’ve never gotten to do it in a one-horse open sleigh!  My parents moved into this house 50 years ago, so it has been “home” for me almost my whole life. We have stored up many good memories there through the years. 

Mom and Dad love to make big meals for holidays; and we enjoy eating the many traditional dishes they prepare.  This Thanksgiving, the crowd around the table was smaller than in past years, as many of the grandchildren now live outside of PA.  But the ones who are able to come are always given a big welcome.  Among our blessings, one of the greatest is the privilege of having loving parents who have encouraged us to follow the Lord, even if it takes us far from them.

Storage Ministry

Last year when we were packing up our house, we got rid of many things (throwing it out, giving it to friends and family or goodwill).  We took only 6 suitcases (plus carry-ons) to Costa Rica.  The stuff we wanted to take to Chile, but not to Costa Rica, we stored on the third floor of the house of some friends in Philadelphia.  After going through it again a few weeks ago, we reduced that pile in half by either throwing it out or adding it to the pile that we had stored in Lancaster in the basement of Dave’s brother’s house.  These were the belongings that we weren’t ready to part with and would like to have when we return to the States 4 or 5 years from now.  However, due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control, Dave’s brother was no longer able to keep our things at his house.  Thankfully, my brother and sister were able to come to the rescue, and we now have our stuff in Hanover in their basements.  We spent the day before Thanksgiving wiping things down and trying to make the pile as small as  possible.   We’re so thankful for our friends and relatives who have blessed us with this ministry of storage! 

On the road again

We’ve been doing lots of traveling since we’ve been back in the States.  We’ve only been at our home church two or three times in the three months we’ve been here as we’ve been visiting our supporting churches on weekends.   Thankfully, most of these churches are only 2 – 3 hours away;  nevertheless, the hours on the road add up.  A bonus is having our extended family in many of the areas where our supporting churches are located. This past weekend, we were able to see my niece while visiting a church in South Carolina.  On this same trip, we were able to visit with a family we met while in language school who happened to be home on a short furlough. It was great for Ben to be able to reconnect with these friends again.  We have been blessed by the friendships we’ve made here and abroad.  We’re also happy to report that we have all but 25% of the additional support we needed to raise while in the States!

Ben and the Stoudemeyer boys

Early good-bye

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  Hayride on the boardwalk

  

  Josie’s birthday celebration

  

  A windy, but fun surry ride on the boardwalk

  
  
  

  Back in August when we first got home, we enjoyed vacation with all of our kids and grandkids.  At that time, we expected to be heading to Chile the first week of November, and so we made plans to see Sarah and her children (from the Chicago area) one more time before leaving the States.  Thanks to the generosity of some friends with a home in Ocean City, NJ we were able to all stay together there the end of October.  We had a great time collecting shells and flying a kite on the beach with our nearly 4 year old grandson, Harry.  We tried to teach Josie to walk, but she was only interested in climbing the stairs.  We had our first surry ride on the boardwalk and also took advantage of the free hayrides they were giving the weekend before Halloween.  The great-grandparents even got in on that by coming and spending the day with us.  We had plenty to do, but we had to make time to take the Chicago branch of the family to see their newest cousin in VA.  We had a great time there and even pulled off an early 1 year birthday celebration for Josie.  The tough part was the good-bye.  I had not been thinking about it until Sarah told Harry at the airport that he wouldn’t be seeing us until he was 5 or 6 years old.  That was certainly a jolt of reality that brought more than a few tears.  Though the good-byes are hard, we’re so thankful for every bit of time we get to spend with our family.

Go Phillies

We had such fun being in Philly this year during the play-offs and World Series.  The late night games threw off our “early to bed, early to rise” routine, but it was worth it.  Though we have fond memories of watching the games with other ILE students last year in Costa Rica, we thoroughly enjoyed the excitement of watching the games with our enthusiastic Philadelphia friends.  Of course, we were disappointed in the final game, but we were glad they had made it that far!

A Phillies' game and pizza...does it get any better than this?!

Worth the wait

Keeping busy while waiting

Worth the wait!

Privileged Grandma!

I couldn’t stand it any more.  Our daughter’s due date had passed and we were waiting for the call to head to the Washington DC area to greet the new arrival.  I kept waking in the middle of the night, hoping this would be it.  Finally, we decided to go on down and wait with Michelle.  We had plenty to do to pass the time.  A contractor had left a job unfinished in her kitchen and dining room, holding up the final paint job.  Dave kept himself busy doing the required plaster work and getting the painting finished the day she finally went to the hospital (a week later!). I helped with shopping and cooking, and we all did our best to keep Michelle’s mind off what seemed a never ending pregnancy. We were so glad for the extra time to spend with her and her husband, David.  When the baby finally made his appearance on Oct. 8, I was the only one allowed to visit in the hospital, beside David, due to a new policy the hospital had put in place to restrict visitors from spreading H1N1. I enjoyed every minute spent with Samuel David!  We were so thankful to be in the States for his birth.