Celebrating the Resurrection of Christ!

Thankful hearts.

We've been so blessed to celebrate Easter with family together at our new home this year!

Preparations were fun :)  Dad came over to help wash windows as the sun was shining, snow was melting, and spring air was warming.  Making lemon meringue pie to continue our poorly kept tradition, haha.  Every year from now on, right? :)

Cousins at the "kids" table...

there may or may not have been a close call with the candles and tissue paper flowers.  Oh, and the tablecloth too! haha

Will we ever grow up?

Eliza

Enjoying Autumn.

  

Tonight makes 24 cups of apples that have been cored, peeled, and sliced for four apple crisps in the last five days.  And I still have a bag and a half left for more fall baking :)

 

While I was visiting my Aunt and Uncle last weekend, we picked the apples together from their backyard.  It was such a fun weekend exploring the farmers market: gorgeous fresh flowers, an abundance of produce, cold press coffee - with lots of honey and cream ;), live music, and delicious bakery treats.  Then, a walk across the river and historic site-seeing.  Followed by some shopping and complete with an evening on the back porch with grilled steaks and veggies and a sewing project inside once it got too chilly out. 

So relaxing and wonderful to spend some time with Aunt Pam and Uncle John!

 

 

Oh, and of course I have to share a picture of the little sweetie that I go visit as much as I can :)  Welcoming the newest little addition to the family I've nanny-ed for with plenty of snuggles is high on my priority list recently.  Her siblings think she's pretty great too and have a hard time not smothering her with attention and affection!

 

. . .

 

The leaves are changing, air is crisp, pumpkin-flavored everything is coming out, scarves sweaters and boots are being pulled out, and it's time to savor the season before it's gone. 

Remembering to thank the Lord for the many blessings He has given and to be a blessing to others, living life in the perfect presence and peace found only in Him.

 

 

- Eliza

Meeting lil' Will

 

We took a little day trip to visit the newest little addition to our family: our cousin's baby, Will.  What a sweetie.  He was cooing and smiling away, melting my heart, when I snuggled him for the first time.  Welcome to the family, little one!  We love you!

 

 

 

With the cool fall weather we've been having, it was perfect to sip on a pumpkin chai latte and read my homework on the way.  Oh, and to write in a little card for Will that I had made earlier this summer while crafting with Grandma Shirley! :)

 

-Eliza

Cabin Time 2014

 

 

A snippet of some fun memories from the family cabin time this year:

...

exploring the lake by kayak/canoe

acrobatic water challenge with Uncle Dave on paddleboards

an abundance of delicious food

stories by the campfire & s'mores

gathering together to look at picture albums and old slides

relaxation and game time indoors during thunderstorms

and many more memories to cherish

...

 

 

Celebrate: He Is Risen!

 

{Grandma brought us these breathtaking purple calla lilies - Thanks Grandma!}

 

We celebrated Christ's resurrection today with the Sunday service reminder of His sacrifice and powerful overcoming of sin!

 

 

After the service, we gathered at the table for a meal of turkey, mashed potatoes, asparagus, lefse, and lemon meringue pie.  Yum.  With the sun shining and the weather warmer than it's been all spring, we then started clearing our garden and planting our indoor seeds.  It was so incredibly nice to step outside without a coat and feel the warm sunshine on our skin!



- Eliza

Don't forget to remember

It's so easy to get caught up in looking ahead or in the busyness of life in the moment.

This past week starting a new year has reminded me to remember to remember.

 

Remember God's blessings.

Remember His faithfulness.

Remember to be thankful.

 

 

On New Year's Day we had a dinner party with friends - a time to talk about the past year and just to be together.  These days will soon be memories themselves.  Another good reminder to live in the hope of the Kingdom of God which gives us daily purpose and joy!

 

 

 

(a new favorite recipe I tried for the party: Mini Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecakes)

 

A few pictures to remember our fun filled family Thanksgiving celebrations...

 



 

 

- Eliza

thankful

Everyday we're surrounded by blessings that we often take for granted.

Setting aside a day of Thanksgiving helps refocus on what really matters and to remember to thank God daily for what he has given us and to ask how we can be a blessing to others.

 

...

 

Four batches of our family traditional lefse has been prepared and taste-tested last weekend,

a giant turkey has been thawing for days,

a pumpkin cheesecake is chilling in the fridge tonight,

the house is almost clean and ready,

family members are making preparations to travel

and

the family feast tomorrow can't come soon enough :)

 

 

 

At the Cabin

 

 

 

A weekend filled with family, campfires, good food, lake fun, and hiking - or rather, walking long distances on a highway, looking for a scenic site that is just around the corner ;) - is how we celebrated 80 years of Grandpa's life for his birthday this year.

The site was breathtaking with hills, a beautiful lake, and tall solid pines.

Best of all, was the time spent together with these lovely people we are blessed to call family.

 

 

 

Eliza



Concert Soloist

 

From living room practice at Grandma and Grandpa's to an orchestra hall soloist.

That's our cousin!

 

 

She gave an amazing performance a few weeks ago and we had so much fun watching her talent on the violin (captured here).  We love you, Anna!
 

 



Little Joys of Christmastime

 

When there's fog and ice

and the radio stations and phone calls are saying to stay off the roads...
When plans were made to travel for family Christmas,
but now are delayed...
What do we do?

 

- sing Christmas songs -

- play board games -

- eat Christmas cookies -

- test out the roads and pick up egg nog shakes -
- stoke the fire in the basement -
- watch a Christmas movie -

and wait in anticipation for our Christmas celebration tomorrow! :)




(here's our little board game family... guess who won?  It's no surprise to us - he's undefeatable hint hint)


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


Yesterday, our neighbor, Vanessa, came over for cookie and bread baking.
 
Listening to Bing Crosby Christmas music while singing along and dancing in the kitchen definitely stirs up that Christmasy feeling!



 

 

 

 

 

~Eliza

Apple Tree

 

Someday I want an apple tree.

One with many branches, heavily loaded with red apples.

I loved getting apples again this year from my aunt and uncle's trees!
Baking cinnamon apple treats is on the agenda for this week, now that they've been thoroughly admired on the counter in their little white pail for a few days.  : )

While I was thinking of these apples, I remembered a picture I had looked at when I was scrapbooking with Grandma this summer - apple picking with our cousin. 
Wow, we were little...and the tree was little too!  Sad thing is, I can't remember if I remember this day or not! ;)  Sometimes I'll see a picture from when I was little and it will bring back memories, and other times it is all based off stories my parents, sister, or grandparents have told me.  Who knows, maybe I'll have to ask...
 



 

 

~Eliza

Making Memories

Cousin time is rare and cherished around here.  So we made the most of it with popcorn, ice cream, a movie, late night giggles, and an early morning making cinnamon rolls from scratch.  Why I'm not in bed sleeping now is a good question to be asking... :)

{the rolls pre-frosting.  Recipe here.  If you've never made homemade cinnamon rolls - do it!  All I can say is yum...}

The afternoon was spent with Grandma having lunch together and walking through the park... along with a little birthday surprise for Grandma!

~Eliza

Sunshine & Family

It was so wonderful to have sunshine this weekend after a big storm hit last week.  The hum of chainsaws has been heard sun up to sun down in our neighborhood for days.

After the storm, the neighbors came together to help each other out and make sure everyone was alright.  It's such a blessing to have the neighbors we do, who can celebrate with us when the electricity and water go back on - cheering and splashing each other with the water bottles that were no longer needed :)

Yesterday, we met with my grandma's side of the family for a reunion at a state park.  It was so much fun to see everyone again!

Since the bridge was under construction, we had two options to get to the place - either by foot on a boardwalk/path or by canoe.  Let's just say a few of us liked to pretend the canoe was the only way ;)  so we loaded it up with coolers, blankets, a camera, sunscreen, and people.  Thankfully, the bag of sunscreen was all that got wet!

There was a lot of swimming, splashing, eating, relaxing,

talking, and competition in bocce ball!

Our little family pulled aside for a picture at one point before we tried to squeeze the whole crew into one later on.

On a completely different note, our little garden has just taken off, getting bigger and bigger. 

Dare we hope for ripened tomatoes this year? (story here)  So far, so good!

~ Eliza

Welcome to the family Drew!

A family wedding and getaway weekend.  It was so much fun!  We will definitely remember this time together for years to come...

It was the first cousin to be married and that makes one-fourth of the cousins' weddings over and done.  Yes, we know - small family!  But it certainly makes for a close-knit one.

~Eliza

From the Pacific to the Gulf

It's funny how vivid a few memories are of our trip to the Pacific even though it was years ago while visiting relatives in Washington state.  Many of them have to do with injuries to my poor little feet!  At one point, I stepped on a bee in the grass and ended up in the lap of someone digging out a stinger from my heel as I cried and cried... the other clear memory was on the beach - I can almost still feel the stinging salty sea water and sand on my raw feet from barnacles on the rocks.  I made my daddy carry me for awhile after that one!  I have some happy memories of playing with cousins and making crafts, but - needless to say - they aren't quite as clear as the others!

At the Gulf, well...there are tons of memories there since it was only last year!

Mom didn't make it in the picture because she was the one taking it this time.  But, we all were there and loved the powdery white sand between our toes!

It made me smile when I went looking through family pictures and found these two of the beaches.  They sure bring back memories...some happy and some not so happy!

 

~Eliza

"Winterized"

This afternoon, I read a text from my grandpa saying:

"R U 2 GIRLS WINTERIZED"?

I didn't realize how much this would apply to today until just a few hours later.

I found myself pulling out boots, scarfs, hats, mittens, coats...

and our family went on a walk in the cold wind and snow.

Then, I realized to the full extent what Grandpa meant!

I miss this bonfire we had on a warm summer night

with Grandpa and the rest of the family...it seems crazy that it was only a few months ago.

At the same time, I'm glad there is snow since we'll be celebrating Christmas with them next weekend before they head south!

Until then...

better stay warm and "winterized!"

~Eliza

Vacation {Part 6}

Here is the rest of the story in pictures...

.Touring.

We visited the Edison and Ford Estates and their beautiful gardens!

That evening we were invited for supper and

.kayaking.

in the canals behind our friends' house.

After the fact, we were informed that there have been sharks, crocodiles, and water moccasins...yikes! Good thing they didn't tell us that before or the kayaking wouldn't have happened!

Next up:

.the white sand beach.

And then we were off to the airport...

.the end.

~Katelyn and Eliza