Meditation on the Lord's Supper

Dear Ones,

At this Advent season I wish you all a Joyous Christmas and a Blessed New Year. This meditation which I have included is very much in tune with the birth and work of Jesus Christ and I have included it as a meditation which means much to me. I love you all.

I have been working my way through a book that my Pastor lent me last summer. I have been studying worship and the historical viewpoints of acceptable worship. We are taught in the book of Leviticus that God is our Creator and King and as such, HE must be worshipped according to HIS prescriptions. Therefore I have been reading a book entitled The Worship of the English Puritans by Horton Davies, Professor of Religious History, Princeton University, copyright 1948, reprinted, 1997.

Our congregation is celebrating the Lord’s Supper this coming Lord’s Day and I came across a theological viewpoint which I should have known, but has escaped me in my 57 years of living. I am not preaching, I only wish to celebrate a moment of joy in my life with my family.
In reformed congregations, the Lord’s Table is fenced, that is to say that participants are urged not to partake unworthily. This always stimulated my feelings of worthlessness, because I can think of 1001 reasons every moment of every day why I am not worthy to partake of the Lord’s Supper. Sins of omission, sins of commission, sins of pride, neglect, unlovingness.

Please share with me Davies’ summary of the Puritan view of the Lord’s Supper.
Pg. 216. “ Finally, the Lord’s Supper as celebrated by the Puritans was, in the words of Matthew Henry, ‘a communicating ordinance’. It was not a memorial, a tribute to a crucified leader. It was a feast at which the Risen Lord was Host and in which he delivered to his faithful people the benefits of his most sacred Passion. (Emphasis mine.) As to its outward form and order, it exhibited, to use John Owen’s definition, ‘the purity, simplicity and spirituality of evangelical worship’.” (Five Disputations p. 417).

Dear ones, what wondrous love is this. I always focused on my sins which are many when contemplating the Lord’s Supper and I neglected to notice that the host of the feast is the very one who lay His life down for my atonement—so that I may joyously partake of His love feast covered in His righteousness. There is no greater love than this that a man lay down his life for a friend. This is worship according to His prescriptions, that we may be forgiven.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!  I trust you all had a great day!  We had a nice Christmas.  Mike had a four day weekend so we got to relax together as a family.  It was fun seeing Nathan this time around, he is really getting into it.  Ayla was mostly concerned with eating the wrapping paper.  Next year should be interesting.  We enjoyed ham for dinner and there was plenty of egg nog to go around.  Still working on coming up with some sort of tradition, but I suppose that will come in time.  

 
The kiddos got spoiled by lots of grandparents and extended family this year.  We also went to a reindeer farm nearby on the day before Christmas Eve.  Nathan really enjoyed that, but it was pretty cold out.  They have a large herd of reindeer and some Rocky Mountain elk and two orphaned moose.  It was actually pretty neat.  

War on Christmas???

Very insightful article on the real Christmas war by a Jewish man -- he writes:  “We hear a lot about ‘the war on Christmas.’  But the true seasonal struggle is the war within Christmas, a single holiday shared by two deeply antagonistic religions.” ...

Just want to say MERRY CHRISTMAS to all my family! Hope you are all well and happy!

Doesn't this seem forever ago? So many great memories. Merry Christmas!

Shortest day, longest night

Well, Emily, it's the turning point now -- today was the shortest day and tonight will be the longest night. But the days will start getting longer and the nights shorter after this. Given how short our days are, we were surprised to find out that we have about 2 hours more daylight than you. All the rest of you are rich! rich!

Every year I see some article or hear some commentator debunking "Christmas myths," like that Jesus was born on December 25. I don't know of anybody who ever really believed that, but it was thought appropriate to remember the coming of the Light of the World at the darkest time of the year, when days start getting longer. It was regarded as a metaphor for human history. Like in Christina Rossetti's poem --


In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty,
Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim
Worship night and day,
A breastful of milk
And a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
Which adore.

Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air,
But only His mother
In her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the Beloved
With a kiss.

What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him,
Give my heart.

The Hobbit

The first major trailer for The Hobbit has just been released.

Hi Family

Hi everyone. I have enjoyed reading all the posts on here, but I haven't felt motivated to post anything until now.

Work is going well. We have been a little slow for the past week or two, but im sure it will pick up again after new years. It seems typical of every year to slow down around Christmas/New years.

A couple weekends ago, I spent the better part of a day and a half installing a remote start into my car. Now all I have to do is hit a button on my key chain and my car starts up and gets all nice and toasty warm. I was a little hesitant to undertake a project like this, but I figured it would be a fun challenge. Surprisingly the hardest part about it was trying to program the receiver (inside the car) to communicate with the transmitter (on my key chain). In hindsight the programming actually wasn't hard, but the difficulty came from "Instruction Reading Error", which my Dad was able to help me iron out after several hours of frustration and head scratching.

In other news, I recently joined the local fire station here in Glenside. It has been interesting and exciting so far. Interesting, learning about the equipment and how its used. Exciting, Racing to the fire house trying to make it for the first deployed truck, and if you make it Racing under lights and siren to the scene of the alarm. PA requires the completion of a FF1 Course (about 180 hrs total!) in order to be allowed into a Burning building. So for now I will be making myself useful on the exterior. I registered for the first section of the FF1 class, and it begins in the middle of January.
I have been on a whole bunch of "False alarm" calls over the past 2 months, but I got to go on a real call last Friday. Here is a rundown of how it went.

Me, Matt, and Beth had just finished eating lunch. It was time to clean up, and my fire pager went off. The message on the pager said it was a car accident and possible car fire. I told Matt and Beth I had to go and I rushed out the door. I ran to my car and drove carefully to the station. Upon arriving at the fire house the Fire Engine was running and people where climbing in. I ran to my gear, got it half on and quickly stumbled over to the to the truck. I climbed in and when my door shut we were off! I could tell by the attitude in the truck that this was not the average false alarm I had experienced multiple times over the past two months. There where 4 of us in the back of the engine, all continuing to suit up in our gear. The Engine was FLYING down the road with one nearly constant HORRRRRRRN blast. The other 3 guys where putting on there air packs, fire gloves, turning the air tanks on and getting into the face masks. When they started putting the face masks on I knew that we where probably about to get into something that I did not really feel ready for. The Engine came to a jarring halt and we piled out. 50 feet ahead of us was a silver taxi van with 6 foot high flames coming out of the engine compartment. It was a FIRE! A man in a mask told me to feed him some slack. He grabbed a hose from a large spool at the passenger side roof near the middle of the truck, and immediately started walking towards the flames. I puled the hose down as fast as I possibly could and did not stop until the spool was fully unwound. There was a lot of steamy white smoke and about a minute later the fire was completely out. Once it appeared safe to approach the area I walked over. A guy named Bill told me to help the paramedics around the corner. I walked over and there was a woman on the ground in visible pain. They where fitting her with a neck brace and fixing to put her on a stretcher. I helped keep the stretcher still as they moved her from the ground. Then we strapped her down in 5 places to keep her from moving. Once she was in the ambulance most of the excitement was over. We swept up the road, waited for the tow trucks to pull the two cars away, put down some oil dry, and got back on the engine to head back to the station. It was neat to see some real action.

Well. That's all for now.
Merry Christmas To All!

It's never too late? The Beginning of Christmas Traditions

Christmas at our house got off to a slow start.  Every year I struggle with wanting to jump right in to the decorum of the holidays and not being able to find the time to do so.  The tree is finally up and decorated.  This is the first year Juliet (15 months) has noticed the tree and it is adorable.  She points to it constantly and we bought candy canes for her to put on it.  We even taught her the sign for tree so she can "talk" about it too.  (Picture the tree in hula dancing.)  But as a new family, it is a struggle to figure out what our traditions as a family will be.  Once thing I did not grow up with, but that we are trying out, is celebrating Advent.  I got a book on Amazon for this purpose (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1426712103/ref=oh_o04_s00_i00_details) and we have done all of three days so far!  But it is something we hope to start in a timely manner next year, complete with ornaments designed by Matt.  (He just finished his first semester back at school for Computer Graphics, so it is appropriate.  Give him your congrats!)  The things that didn't make it in to our traditions this year are Christmas music and hanging stockings.  Maybe next year.  I also ran across a blog post online (I read too many blogs.  I am constantly starting sentences with, "On this blog I was reading....") I saw the idea of buying your children each three presents, in remembrance of the three presents brought to Jesus.  I really liked that idea, as I am trying to find ways to focus our attention on Jesus' birth.  This year I am particularly struck by the wonderful gift of Jesus coming to earth to pay for our sins.  I try to imagine what it would be like on this world before Jesus came and died, to live under the previous laws. (Would that even apply to me, not being Jewish?)  Praise God, is all I can say.  And may my family, and our traditions, do the same.

Christmas in Glenside

Well, it really is beginning to look like Christmas around here. The tree is up and is absolutely loaded with ornaments. The nutcrackers are doing 24 hour sentry duty on the mantle. The little village is set up on the sideboard with the little skaters making endless circles, and not even getting dizzy. To be added to the mix this year will be a small N gage train set that will circle the village. Poppy feels that it is his grandfatherly duty to provide his little ones with the enjoyment of a Christmas train set. I wonder who will enjoy it the most! ; ) Uncle Tim, thoroughly enjoying his role, has already loaded the base of the tree with wrapped presents for his little niece and nephew. It is very exciting to have a new generation of little ones around to enjoy the season with. Thinking fond thoughts of Larry and Holly as you get to spen a Christmas with all four of your kids and your grand kids. Enjoy and be blessed. We hope to make a whirlwind trip to visit Gammer and Gaffer right after Christmas. But, to all of you, have a blessed holiday, and don't forget the reason for the season. I love you all!

Unwrapping Christmas

Vickie used to get so excited about Christmas. She couldn’t wait to give the gifts that she had bought. And she couldn’t wait to receive the gifts that others had bought her.

One year, when we were kids, I bought her a small gift — I think it was earrings — do you remember, Vickie? — and I wrapped the small box they came in. Then I got a bright idea. I put that box in a slightly larger box, and I wrapped that. Then I put that box in a slightly larger box, and I wrapped that. And so on and so forth until there were about 10 boxes altogether and it looked huge. I got a big kick out of watching her shake that box and try to guess what was inside. By Christmas morning, I thought she’d burst. She couldn’t wait to see what was inside, but she had to unwrap box after box after box before she got to the real present.

Actually, that’s a good illustration of what’s happened with the real Christmas — by “Christmas” I don’t mean the commemoration that comes around every year, but rather the original event that is allegedly being commemorated. It’s as if that original gift has been boxed and wrapped and boxed and wrapped and boxed and wrapped, etc., etc., etc. Except instead of looking bigger and bigger, it has looked smaller and smaller and smaller. Sometimes you can’t even see the original gift at all. And yet it’s the greatest gift of all, inexpressibly great! How can we unwrap it?

Well, ask yourself a question: if you were to identify the greediest Christmas curmudgeon of all, who is the first character who comes to mind? Ebenezer Scrooge? Good guess, but I’m thinking of someone even worse. He worse partly because Scrooge is fictional and this character really existed. I’d suggest Zaccheus. You can read about him in the Gospel According to Luke, chapter 19, verses 1–10.

If you want to picture Zaccheus, I can’t think of any better illustration than Danny DeVito playing the character Louis De Palma on the old TV show “Taxi.” He’s about 4' 9", and his character was so selfish, and so greedy, that every time he came on the screen, you felt like you needed a bath. The real Zaccheus was a lot like that, only worse. He was a tax collector, but he didn’t work for his own country. His own country was occupied by the Roman empire and he collaborated with the enemy by collecting taxes for the Romans. And because he had the might and cruelty of the Roman empire backing him up, he extorted money from his neighbours and lived a loose life with other sinners.

But for some reason, he was interested in Jesus. He wanted to see Jesus. But so did a lot of other people. And because he was so short, and because his neighbours hated him too much to help him, he couldn’t even get a glimpse. So he ran ahead and climbed a tree. As soon as Jesus came to the tree, he stopped, called Zaccheus by name, and invited himself to Zaccheus’ home. And as a result, Zaccheus’s rebellion was broken and he repented and began to follow Jesus. Jesus explained why he went after Zaccheus—vs. 10—“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” And that is the great essential gift of Christmas. (That’s why I’m calling Zaccheus a Christmas curmudgeon.) When you unwrap all the other layers and get down to what Christmas really means, this is it—“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Juliet Completed her first drawing ever today. She now has the most colorful hands in Ambler She also loves hanging candy canes on the tree. Merry Christmas all!

Merry Christmas from the Morrises!

I took some Christmas photos of Ben today. This is one of my favorites.

So thats how it is done

Hi everyone I finally figured out how to post things. check out my website www.matthewtswann.com

Christmas Cookies

Hi Everybody,

Emily asked me for some Christmas cookie recipes that I used to make and since I typed them all out, I decided to share them all with you. Sad to say, since I work I haven't baked in a long while, but it was fun looking at the old recipes and seeing how they were written out. Unfortunately when I copied and pasted the recipes, I lost all of my formatting. I should have remembered that from college. I used to become so frustrated when I had to re-type my assignments on blogs to keep my formatting. I hope that you can make some sense out or the recipes. Enjoy!

Christmas Cookie Recipes: I use unbleached flour in all recipes.

Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies (soft)
Recipe from Ruth Arbuckle to Pam Wilson
1c white sugar1c brown sugar1c milk1c butter (2 sticks)1 heaping tsp soda1 heaping tsp baking powder1 tsp salt2 eggs1 tsp vanillaflour to stiffen (about 5 heaping cups)
Mix then roll into balls and press with palm. Bake 275 between 10-15 minutes. Ice with vanilla frosting when cool.
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Recipe from Rheta Hubenthal to Pam (Peterson) Wilson
Sift together:2 1/2c flour2 tsp soda1 ½ tsp salt
Cream well:2c sugar1c butter or shorteningAdd 2 eggs and beat1/2c molasses1 1/2 tsp banilla2 c oatmeal1 ½ c. nuts1c chocolate chips1c raisins
Cream sugar and butter. Add eggs, beat well Add molasses and vanilla. Mix in flour mixture, then add oatmeal, nuts and chocolate chips. Bake in 375 oven for 10-12 minutes.
Gingerbread Men
Recipe from Rheta Hubenthal to Pam (Peterson) Wilson
3/4c melted butter1c molasses1/2c honey1c thick sour or buttermilk (to make sour milk add 1T lemon juice to 1c milk-PW)6 1/2c unbleached flour, sifted1/2 tsp salt2 tsp ginger4 tsp baking powder¾ tsp baking soda1 T lemon or orange extract
Mix melted butter, molasses and honey until smooth. Add milk, then flour sifted with salt, ginger, baking powder, and soda. Add extract. Mix to a smooth stiff dough. Roll out on lightly floured surface to 1/3 inch. Cut into shapes. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Decorate with bits of preserved fruits, raising, honey icing. Fruits may be placed on cookie before baking. (note: I always decorated half with raisins and half with cinnamon red hots-PW)
Pineapple Cookies
Recipe from the 1972 Pennsylvania State Grange Cookbook, contributed by Virtue Carson, Fallowfield Grange No. 1382
1/2c brown sugar1/2c white sugar1 egg1/2c shortening (note; butter is a healthier substitute-PW)¼ tsp salt2c flour1 tsp baking powder1/4 tsp soda3/4c drained crushed pineapple
Mix in order given. Drop by spoonsful on cookie sheet and bake 15 min. at 400. Yield: 3 dozen.
Orange Cookies
Recipe adapted by Pam Wilson
1 12oz can orange juice concentrate½ c butter2 eggs2 tsp soda2 tsp baking powder4c flour1 tsp orange rind1 tsp orange extract (optional)2-3T water (as needed)
Mix well. Bake 350-375 for 10-12 minutes.
Orange Icing
Recipe from the 1972 Pennsylvania State Grange Cookbook, contributed by Della Jones, Jefferson Grange, No. 1373
1 box powdered sugar, 2T butter, rind of 1 orange and enough orange juice to make good spreading consistency.


Sugar Cookies (rolled)
Recipe from the 1972 Pennsylvania State Grange Cookbook, contributed by Mrs. Jacob Hibbs, Middletown Grange No. 684
1c shortening (part butter)1 1/2c sugar 2 eggs 3c sifted flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/4c milk1 1/2 tsp vanilla.
Cream shortening, add sugar gradually and cream together. Beat eggs well and blend into creamed mixture. Add flavoring to milk. Stir in sifted dry ingredients alternately with liquid. Chill dough for easy handling. Roll very thin. Cut out. Sprinkle with sugar or brush with milk, then sugar. Bake at 400 for 5-9 minutes. Yield: 8 dozen.
Raisin or Pineapple Filled Cookies
Recipe from Ruth Wilson to Pam Wilson
3c sugar 1c shortening (butter) 1c milk 2 eggs 6 or 7c flour 2tsp. soda 4 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp vanilla
Cream shortening and sugar, add milk, beaten eggs and vanilla alternately with soda, baking powder and 5c flour. Use remaining flour to make dough just stiff enough to handle. (A softer dough makes better cookies.)
Raisin Filling:
1 box raising 1c sugar 2T cornstarch 1 pt. water
Cook until thickened, remove from fire and add 1 tsp. vanilla. Let cool.
Pineapple filling:
1 can crushed pineapple (1lb 4oz) 1/2c sugar 2T cornstarch
Bring pineapple to a boil and mix sugar and cornstarch and stir into pineapple. Let cool.
Roll out dough and cut with round cookie cutter (a glass can substitute-PW). Put a teaspoonful of the filling on cut cookie and place another cut cookie on top and press the edges firmly together. Bake at 375 for 12 minutes.
Nut Horns
Recipe from Ruth Wilson to Pam Wilson. Plan to spend a half day making these delicious treats.
6 egg yolks 2 whole eggs 1lb. butter (1/2 lb oleo and ½ lb cream cheese) 1 c milk 2 pck dried yeast 1/2 tsp salt 3T sugar
Warm milk to soften yeast. Add sugar and salt. Cream butter, beat eggs and add to butter. Add milk mixture and flour to consistency of soft pie crust. Knead and Chill 4 hours.
Filling:
2lb ground walnuts 6 egg whites (large) beaten stiff
Add nuts and 3/4c sugar to egg whites.
Roll dough. Cut into rectangular shapes approximately 2” x 3” then cut in half into triangles. Fill the base of the triangle with a narrow line of filling then roll toward the point of the triangle. Bake at 300 for 25 minutes.
Pecan Tassies
Recipe from the 1972 Pennsylvania State Grange Cookbook, contributed by Mrs. Freeburn Love, Tuscarora Grange No. 774
¼ lb. butter 1-3 oz package cream cheese 1c flour 3/4c light brown sugar 1 egg 1 tsp melted butter dash salt few drops vanilla 1c chopped pecans
Cream butter and cream cheese, blend in flour. Chill this while you make filling. Mix other ingredients together well. Grease tart pans. Kivide dough into 24 balls. Press a ball in each of the small muffin tins. Put the filling in and add 1/2 pecan on top of each tart. Bake at 350 until crust is brown and filling slightly firm.
Monkey Bread
Recipe from Mrs. Harold Van Bemmel to Mrs. Lavonne Ritenour to Pam (Peterson) Wilson
Cut 4 cans of Pillsbury biscuits into 4 pieces. Roll each piece in 1c sugar and 1T cinnamon. Place in buttered bundt pan. Mix and heat until boiling: 1/2c white sugar, 1/2c brown sugar and 3/4c butter. Pour this over and mix around biscuits. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes. Cool 5 minutes and turn out.
This is a great treat for Christmas Morning.

Here's what the wind storm did to our trampolines on Sunday. They were both to the left of where my shadow is and in front of the red building there. It is still blowing and blowing out there with snow drifting up against hedges and fence rows and leaving bare spots over most of the grass. And our barn has a whistle in the wind, sorry, no pictures available of the whistle.

Holly

Now I'm preparing for Christmas!

Well, I seem to do this every year and then promise myself that I will not do it again next year.  I am a little late getting started on my Christmas preparations.  Not too late, really, but if you want to buy something and have it shipped on time it is getting a bit late.  I always tell myself I will buy next year's Christmas gifts after this year's Christmas when stores are having huge sales, and then I never do.  Anyway, I feel like I am actually getting an earlier start than normal on my shopping because I usually leave it till the week before...or a few days before Christmas!  This is the first year we are spending Christmas at home on our own as a little family.  I am relieved in a way that we will not have the stress of traveling with the kids and all that comes with that.  On the other hand I am a bit sad because I am used to spending Christmas with lots of other family and extended family members. 

How are you all planning to spend Christmas? 

Why are Uncle Larry and I the only ones who write on here?

guess what Holly and I just did

It was a beautiful sunny day, about 45 degrees fahrenheit (but we've had a cold snap and a lot of below freezing nights) and we skated on our pond. It's a nice-sized pond, and even though it's a bit of a distance from our house, I decided that it's better than trying to build my own rink.

But it was very evident that we hadn't skated for a long time and that both of us need better-fitting skates. Still, it was fun.

Here is Holly on our pond, to give you an idea what size it is...

Trouble commenting

I've made several attempts to comment on your Nutcracker post, Emily, but I haven't succeeded. First the font is so microscopic that I can't see what I just typed. Then it refuses to post. Anybody else having that trouble?

How was The Nutcracker?

When we were in Columbus, Ohio many years ago, our family went to see The Nutcracker. If I remember correctly, it was also on Black Friday. Still, we really enjoyed it.

Today we are going to see The Nutcracker. I'm not sure what compelled us that it was a good idea to buy our tickets for black Friday. Just the thought of driving into Anchorage today is scary. We had a really nice Thanksgiving! I hope everyone else did as well.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

How To Carve a Turkey

How to Properly Carve a Turkey

breakfast

We used to have this posted on our refrigerator, because it made us think of Garrett...

Emily asked how far the mountains are from where we live. This picture was taken at Lake Louise, which is about a 2 hour drive from where we live.

If you've ever been to Denver, that gives you an idea what the terrain at Calgary is like. Calgary is on the flat prairie just east of (and in sight of) the Rocky Mountains.

Winter's coming to Alberta too

Hi everybody,

Here is where we live in Alberta.

This, however, is a summer shot.

It looks like winter is coming.

We don't have snow yet, like Emily, but it's been below freezing for a while and the ponds are frozen.

So pretty soon, I'll need to get a winter shot of our little farm on the prairie.

bad year for college football

Why Penn State abuse is (and isn’t) like the Catholic Church

Looking forward to Thanksgiving!

It's so nice to see some more posts on here!  I love hearing from you all! 

We are preparing for Thanksgiving.  We have some really nice neighbors with whom we have become friends and we are all going to spend a big Thanksgiving together.  The one family has two kids about the same ages as ours and the other family just had their first child 2 months after Ayla was born.  It's nice to have other families with kids around.  Anyway, I love to cook big meals and have lots of people around (probably a product of growing up with 5 siblings).  It should be lots of fun!  We have a lot to give thanks for, too! 

Garrett, you are so right about winter.  That becomes especially essential up here since winter lasts 6-7 months of the year and it gets very DARK up here.  We don't have it quite as bad as the RCMP that Uncle Larry was talking about had it, but it will get to the point around the solstice where the sun will not rise until 10:30 AM and will set at about 3:15 PM.  It can be pretty gloomy!  If you are into winter sports, this is the place to be, though!  Snow machines everywhere, ski resorts, ice fishing, hunting, ice skating, cross country skiing, sledding, snow shoeing, dog sledding...pretty much everything to do with ice and snow!  People up here are very active and the culture is very different from most places I've lived before.  It seems to be more part of the lifestyle rather than something they try to schedule into their lives.  I think a lot of western states tend to be more like that, though.  I really want to try my hand at skiing before I leave this place. 

We already have about a foot and a half of snow on the ground.  It is very pretty!  We are working on getting Nathan some boots so he can go out and play in it.  We are all doing well.  Ayla and Nathan are both growing very quickly.  What is everyone planning for Thanksgiving?  

Preparing for winter.

As the weather cools off and it gets harder and harder to do stuff outdoors, I am faced with my yearly challenge. What am I going to do in my spare time to keep me sane? Often times in my past, I have filled that time with videos games. This was very unhealthy mentally, and socially. In recent years, I have had to get a little more creative. I have often wanted to get a rock gym membership, but never wanted to cough up the money for it. This year, I have come to the conclusion that it is worth the extra money to keep physically active in the winter, considering it's only 4-5 months. I will not be doing the rock gym however. I wanted a cross trainer that will help improve my skills in longboarding. My hope is to get out to some competitions this next summer. I have signed up for yoga and pilates classes for the winter. Both of which really focus on core strength and muscular endurance. At the moment, I am only doing 2-3 classes a week, to get my body used to it. In full fledged winter, I will be going every day. I have done yoga before, and it has really helped me stay focused in life and keep positive as well as adding some structure to my day. I will also be returning to full-time classes, close to the final stretch.

Something I have learned in life, you have to take advantage of winter, and not let it take advantage of you. Don't let it keep you from living, almost half your year is in winter. You have to live it!

Stopping by to say Hi!

Hi everyone! I'm back in Willow Grove after being in Florida for a few days. It was nice there, but you can't beat this beautiful fall weather in PA this week! The leaves are changing, the sun is shining, the air is almost crisp, but not quite. It is beautiful!

Last weekend, we had the joy of having Mom and Dad (aka, Gammer and Gaffer) visit us. What a wonderful family time we had. While they were there, Jack got on to the ancestry.com website and we found some family on the Wilson/Burdette side, and the Nelson/Minnich side. It was interesting. It got the stories rolling also. I wish I had the sense to grab my digital recorder. Pappy was on a roll. I am sure some of it was not accurate, but it was all interesting and entertaining. We have relatives such as "short legs", and "Swoosh". Did you know we had a major league ball player in the fam? A pitcher named "Lew" Burdette. And "Swoosh" marched in the Batan death March. He also did the plumbing in the Manorville house.

We are healthy and well. I have on my mind some who are not well. A dear friend of mine from college times is literally on her deathbed right now. Her name is Barbara Porter. I hate death. I am very sad for Barb's husband and her two children, as well as her extended family and friends.

Dear family, it is nice to connect like this. It is wonderful to have family. Enjoy each other!!!!

Monday

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all are doing well. :)

RCMP

The other evening, we went to a banquet for a Christian school that some of our members use. I sat beside a fellow who is an RCMP commander. (By the way, he said the RCMP is recruiting -- in case anyone is interested.) Anyway, he's been stationed all over Canada. He told me that a couple of his posts were so far north that the sun stayed below the horizon from around the beginning of November till around the end of February. That's about 4 months of darkness! Yikey!

baseball

Former major league baseball player, Matty Alou, died today at age 72. During his career, he played with the Pittsburgh Pirates along with Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, and Al Oliver. That was the Pittsburgh Pirate team I grew up loving, back in the days when a great game called baseball still existed and was "America's national pastime." I remember watching ball games on our old TV, or listening to them on my transistor radio. I did get down to Three Rivers Stadium to see Clemente play, but not till after Alou had been traded.

Hi, everyone!

Well, it appears this blog was a hit in the first few days of its life, but it seems it must no longer hold its novelty. I know we are all busy, but it would be nice to see a post on here every once in a while ;)
I hope you are all doing great!

Another week

Another week has begun and we are supposed to have rain snow mix all week long. We went to Fiddler on the Roof last night and that was very well done. Unfortunately it was a little overshadowed by the feeling that people did not think our children should have been there. There were other kids there but none quite as young as ours, though Nathan and Ayla both behaved very well! It was a bit irritating to me...

Mike is planning to go on a caribou hunt with some of his coworkers in November. I wish I were going, too! It will be nice to stock the freezer, especially with the price of meat up here.

Gaffer's Bow Hunting

Gaffer grew up in the hills of southwestern Pennsylvania, so it followed naturally that he was a good and avid hunter. He had his favorite spots in the hollows and the hills. He knew where the 'simmon tree was too. Well, bow hunting is very popular now, but back in the late 60s it was a new hunting form (among American Caucasians that is. Our red skinned brothers had that sport down pretty good at one time.) So Gaffer proceeded to read up on the sport and teach himself all of the finer points of bow hunting. He bought a long bow and hunting tips and began to target practice. He was going to hunt deer.
Well, the first day of archery season came, and there is Gaffer out before the break of day in his black and red checked Woolrich Hunting Outfit. He was hunting on the ground (tree stands weren't used back then) and he hunted and hunted. I don't rightly know if he came home for lunch or not, but he was still hunting as evening light was approaching, and lo and behold he saw a buck. Now Gaffer put his name on that buck at that very moment and he carefully raised his bow and drew back and took aim. Thunk! A hit!
Well that buck stood a second and took off running like a tom cat after a she cat. So Gaffer knew that he was going to have to track that deer. But the thing of it was that evening light had passed and now it was nigh on to dusk. But Gaffer found some blood signs and started tracking. But it got darker and darker and it's a well known fact that the woods get darker much faster than an open field. Also wounded deer tend to go downhill because the going is easier and the deeper into a valley one goes, the darker it gets. To make a long story short (I know its a little late for that), but Gaffer lost the blood trail. I can't rightly remember, but I believe that he went out the next morning and tried to recover the trail. But he never did find that deer.
It is a character of Gaffer's personality that he has a deep respect and concern for all of God's creatures. He can kill an animal when necessary, but he always does it in the most humane way possible. When he rifle hunted he always made a clean, quick kill and put food on the table to boot. Well, Gaffer just couldn't take a hankering to the idea of a slow kill and lost meat. The truth of the matter is that bow hunting was a new sport, the tools were not as advanced as they are today, and Gaffer didn't have much experience tracking a wounded deer. In time he would have improved and succeeded. But the truth of the matter is (and some of this story I embellished) Gaffer hung up his bow and never attempted bow hunting again. He didn't have the heart to wound a magnificent animal and leave it to die a slow death and rot away wasted. I don't believe he ever rifle hunted after that either. He lost his heart for it.

The Laughing Gaffer

Well, this story takes place long before he was a Gaffer, he may not have even been pappy yet! Gaffer, Gammer and Uncle Bill (Cat) and Aunt Elenor went to Virginia beach together. They had a great time together. One day, while swimming in the ocean and enjoying the waves, Aunt Elenor (who was wearing a rather risqué bathing suit with no straps!!!) was hit with a big wave, and off went her suit. Gaffer got a great laugh out of that, and as he stood there laughing out loud, another big wave came and washed away his false teeth! I think Aunt Elenor got the last laugh on that one.

Weekend

This week, Fiddler on the Roof is playing in Anchorage and we just got our tickets to go see it! I am very excited; it is one of my favorite musicals! I hope that Nathan enjoys it and can stand to sit for that long. I guess we will have to see.

We already have snow on the ground here, and the days are getting very short again. Winters up here can be pretty bleak. I have a hard time getting up in the morning because it's dark and my mind thinks I should still be sleeping. I miss Fall in Pennsylvania. It's definitely something you take for granted until you move away.

Gaffer's stories: The Lunchbox

Back when Gaffer used to work at PPG, there was a guy who worked with him who always put his lunchbox in the same spot. Every day he would set his lunchbox there, and at the end of the day he had a habit of grabbing it on a run on the way out of work. One day, after some of his fellow coworkers noticed this, they decided to nail it in place and see what happened. Just as usual at the end of the day this guy came running out and went to grab his lunchbox... Of course it didn't budge and the other guys got a good kick out of that.

Gaffer's Stories: Motorhome Mechanical Troubles

Gaffer told of one of the later experiences in the motorhome. He and Gammer were driving in the south (maybe Texas?) and had headed to a campground that they stayed in regularly when they traveled this way. As soon as they pulled in one of the engine belts snapped. Gaffer managed to get the motorhome parked, and decided to walk into town to find a mechanic. They had passed a Ford dealer up the road, and the motorhome had a Ford-built engine. On the way out of the campground, Gaffer asked someone about where he could go to find a good mechanic. The response was, “Don’t go the Ford dealer—they’ll overcharge you!” But a garage across the street was recommended, so Gaffer went there instead. It turned out that one of the replacement parts needed to be ordered, so they stayed at that campground for a week until the part came in.

Gaffer's Stories: Winter Driving

Gaffer told a story about one of his worst winter weather driving experiences. He was driving a Volkswagen Beetle up a long, gradual hill, maybe two miles long on a snowy day. The VW had good traction in the snow, except if you hit a drift it would veer off course. Over the top of the hill came another car. Only one lane of tire tracks was available in the deep snow. Gaffer got half way over as the car approached, staying in the right-hand tire track. That oncoming car wasn’t budging, so Gaffer had to get all the way over into the snow. Somehow he managed to keep going and avoided being stuck.

Gaffer's Stories

One of the privileges that I've enjoyed since marrying into this family has been the addition of a new set of grandparents. I always look forward to visits with Gammer and Gaffer, especially the time we all spend sitting around listening to Gaffer tell stories. I’ve been hoping to collect these stories into one place for some time now. This blog seems like the perfect venue. So go ahead and post a story you’ve heard whether it’s about growing up in the country, serving in the Army, touring the country by RV or just a joke that Gaffer likes.

Hi everyone!

This is great! I am so glad that you started this up Emily. :)

So THIS is how it happened!

So THIS is how it happened!

What I do.

http://youtu.be/L2NXzhKFGqA

:D

Thanks, Emily!

This is a great idea! Thanks, Emily for pulling it together. I hope we all make an effort to make good use of this.

Welcome, Family!

Hey everyone!

Well, I've finally done it, I've initiated a family blog!  If you're reading this, it probably means you thought this was a good idea and took me up on the invitation.  I think we will have a lot of fun sharing and connecting on here.  Family is important, and we need to stick together and keep in touch!