Christmas

One of three tables ready and waiting--tablecloth from the Basque Country.

A change from Monday Night dinner--Sam's family rented a whole theatre room for a limited number to watch "A Christmas Story". Later, the boys opened an early present, slingshots. The photo caption: "Hope they don't shoot their eyes out!" was a perfect follow-up.

Rebecca "helped" me Tuesday while her mom was at the library. We did a variety of activities, including painting rocks.  Any favorites? Which ones are Rebecca's? You may have to enlarge the photo to get the full effect of the bottom row.

However, her greatest accomplishment was to learn to play Splendor--the game that always sits at one end of our table ready for the nightly spousal contest. Surely she is not old enough, nevertheless smart enough!

Still had last minute shopping to do Wednesday, after another brief visit with consuegra Debby. One stop was nearby to this delightful folk singer, Mrs. Kate. Her grandkids dragged out all the totes and cases full of her merchandise and helped me choose CDs and finger puppets for each of the grandkids. Then they performed a couple of songs.

Thursday Diane joined us for Stephan and Karen's annual Christmas Eve brunch. The group was smaller, but as always we enjoyed food, fun and fellowship. 

Thank you, Stephan and Karen!

Christmas Day was spent with Diane who stayed here through Sunday.

In the afternoon, Michael went with his hiking buddy to the Rangeline Nature Preserve in Anderson and covered 3 1/2 miles of trail at the expert and intermediate levels.

Meanwhile, back at the homestead, Diane and I were pleasantly surprised by a group of carolers and a plate of cookies--our neighbors, the Vosses, had walked over through the woods to surprise us!

Saturday was our ALL family gathering. For this year, that was our Christmas miracle. We hadn't been ALL together since Thanksgiving of 2018. The Krazy Kochs photo was my favorite! Notice our newest family member's pose.

We so enjoyed remembering the story of Jesus' birth as read by Kayla and Rebecca, and then visualized for us by the new little family, Skye, Destiny and Kalani.

When Diane asked the meaning of inn keeper, Michael was reminded of an early play on words. In response to a reading in first or second grade, he drew a house-of-sorts with a tree next to it and the name was "Come Inn."

I am reminded of the song:

Into my heart, into my heart,

Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.

Come in today, come in to stay,

Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.

Sadly, when God came in the flesh to dwell with us, he was not welcomed, "He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him." (John 1:11)

May our world today welcome Emanuel (=God with us), the promised one who was and  is "Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)

Week 36

Cousin Karin says, "Here is another glad to make your heart glad. It is one of the prettier ones I have had, and notice the frilly edges.There are also two orangish-red ones in the center front."

The daily trips to Oncology for Leah's radiation treatments continue. We are grateful that the side effects have not been worse. Tiredness is the main one. 

I enjoy little visits with Kalani, especially when he smiles for me. And during our rides I get to hear about all the things he can do now.

Kayla keeps very busy at her part-time library job and loves it! Tuesday I stopped by there to donate The Library Book and take Rebecca for a walk. Another mother picks Rebecca up after school and brings her to the library.

Rebecca didn't want to walk the trail again, so we picked up her bike and went to the park. She rode around everywhere, taking breaks and asking me to join her on the playground equipment. I quickly realized that I am not as flexible as I used to be!

We watched some good films this week as part of our evening entertainment. I was very interested in the documentary about the life of Luis Palau, an Argentine evangelist. We also enjoyed God Where Are You? and Copying Beethoven.

While researching the 1941 Brethren Missionary archives, I came across several fascinating stories about the mission in Argentina. For example, several letters from Laura Wagner described what her life and ministry involved--the heavy load she carried, her zeal, her heart for people and the extent of her sacrifice. My admiration for this woman grew enormously. I only wish I had gotten to know her better when I had the opportunity. It happens that their second daughter (in dad´s arms) started a Christian school and I taught third grade there for about a year. By then, late 60's, doña Laura was a white'haired older woman who faithfully cooked for the school children. She could have taught me so much from her life of missionary experience. 

Interestingly, their son (in mom's arms) lived in the US several years, He remodeled a little house acquired from his relatives. worked in maintenance at Grace Village where my parents were and at Global Auto, my brother's shop. Alan and Victor were friends and ministered together in the Spanish-speaking church in Warsaw. Dory, his wife, was able to join him from Argentina. They were very dear to us and we've missed them since they went back to their homeland and their children and grandchildren,

It was fun to get together with my fellow-writers again after a summer hiatus, albeit virtually via Zoom.

Later in the day Michael and I went to an in-person event--Elijah's soccer game. Always a joy to share moments with family!

A small treat for Elijah after a long game.

Saturday was the start of a big weekend in Upland, starting with yard sales all over town. People come from everywhere causing traffic jams. Diane enjoys coming for the event. So I picked her up and we made the rounds of the library book sale, a couple yard sales, a visit to her good friends the Phillips, and we ended the day with a stop at Sophie's Ice Cream.

Diane enjoying a turtle sundae

Will end with another blossom to cheer y'all, my latest tutorial. 

Life goes on . . .

Yet another Sunday bouquet from cousin Karin--roses and two kinds of irises.

My delightful Monday visitors--Kayla and Rebecca and . . . (don't know the name of her little companion).

They planned to explore the woods and have lunch at the picnic table.

Other types of visits followed every day of the week: phone calls from near and far; a WhatsApp hour-long conversation with a friend/cousin in New Zealand; a couple Zoom meetings. These all break the monotony of enforced isolation. 

Sitting most of the day, has led me to learn how to better use my laptop computer. I resumed the search for information about my parents and other relatives in the digital archives of the denominational magazine. At least seven members of my father's family were involved in various ministries within the Grace Brethren Church. I discovered so many interesting tidbits in the 1946 volume, that I decided to summarize my gleanings and share them with the Hoyt Cousins. While still learning how to navigate these online resources, I am also grateful for the progress.

Meanwhile, Michael, my saintly husband, (this week an old friend of mine called him a saint) has not slowed down at all even with the additional load of household chores. 

When he ran out of materials for the tension relief bands, he began cutting plastic shields and putting together kits for PhyXTGear volunteers to assemble in their homes. Another team unrolls and cuts the enormous 1000 lb. roll of plastic that was donated. Michael then laser-cuts the workable-size sheets following a standard pattern for shields. He can prepare up to 50 kits per hour.  Most of that time he spends on his feet.

Some days after hours of work at the shop, he still goes out for a 20-mile bicycle ride. Saturday, he joined seven other riders for his first long ride of the season, 85 miles! The weather was beautiful, the governor had lifted the stay-at-home order, and many were out enjoying the Greenway.

St. Michael's culinary exploits continue. This week's winner was a round of cheese. When I asked what inspired him, he said he'd been thinking and reading about it for over a year! The experience proved to be far easier than he anticipated, and tasty too!

I was reminded of how he got into beekeeping. First he read and studied about them for over a year, then he jumped into the business. 

Last weekend, he purchased two packages of bees to replace the ones lost over the winter. Installing and feeding them is an added chore.

We rolled over into a new month. When I turned the calendar page to May, there were sweet reminders of Mom's last Mother's Day on earth, and Rebecca's visit to her great great grandmother.

Saturday marked the third week since the misstep that changed my routines drastically. Yet here I am dressed and ready for a new day, and all by myself!  I'm beginning to get around better, finding ways to help with a few tasks, and gradually putting more weight on the left foot. 

We are so grateful for livestream resources from our church--Bible studies, a couple Touch Point segments per week to keep us informed and connected, and especially the Sunday morning worship service. The first Sunday of the month we celebrate communion. We were prepared here at home with a version of the bread and the cup. Though meaningful, it is not quite the same without our church family.

Speaking of bread, Stephan baked a bunch for Saturday morning sale in their kiosk at the top of the lane. It was gone before noon.

The stay-at-home order and no ice sculpture deadlines, allowed Stephan to tackle a list of big projects--clean and paint the barn, build a three-point carry-all, among others. 

I will close with a poetic quote I came across in the archives from my scholarly uncle, Dr. Herman A. Hoyt:

The clouds may come and the clouds may go,

And the winds of life may breathe and blow,

But the value of a human soul never changes.

Christmas Week--eventFULL

I sit here overwhelmed, trying to process the many events of the past week. Throughout Advent, daily meditations helped me focus on the greatest gift of all time--"the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" and "from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace." (John 1:14,16) 

Truly that was our experience--grace upon grace. 

Much time was spent preparing for our getaway December 27-30 to celebrate Christmas and our 50th wedding anniversary together as a family. [Note: We were married on January 31, but that date falls in the middle of the intense robot build-season--never a good time to get away.]

Gifts wrapped and ready for the trip

Tuesday morning we picked up Diane for the scrumptious annual Christmas Eve brunch at Stephan and Karen's.

In the afternoon Diane and I baked cookies from my aunt's recipe. Yummy! Michael is happy to find something in the cookie jar!

In the evening we enjoyed the candle light service. The church was packed; always fun to see visiting family members.

Kayla invited us to join them for food after. She loves to show hospitality. They hosted several family gatherings over the holidays.

Christmas Day we were there again for Leah's chicken and noodles. The day was beautiful, mild and sunny, 60 degrees! The girls (Kayla, Rebecca, Lily and Lucy) and I decided to walk the new trail. It is so close to their house but on the other side of the railroad tracks. On the way back we chose to make our way through the thorny growth and over the tracks. The dogs were okay with that, but Rebecca was not up for the adventure.

That evening, after a delicious steak dinner (Omaha Steaks from Jimmy and Leah), we enjoyed the Walkway of Lights on the way to Diane's apartment in Marion.

Thursday, as I was busy preparing food for our outing, it was fun to see Stephan interviewed about his upcoming ice festival in Carmel.

We promised to provide the first evening meal. So I went crazy preparing a Christmas-type meal ready to heat and eat.

My first-ever pecan pie

Meanwhile, whenever possible, Michael was sorting, rearranging, making order out of chaos in the electronic area of the robotics shop. 

Friday noon we set off for our family getaway in Demotte, two or three hours away.

It seems every year we have need of a Christmas miracle. This year we experienced three crises, and again God was with us--grace upon grace!

The first was when Sam called and said their family might not make it (that's one third of our members to occupy the 8-bedroom house!). Water gushing in the garage, a serious leak under the house, had him baffled. Would he have to dig deep to find the problem? Father and son were on the phone a few times. By God's grace, the source of the problem was discovered and resolved in time for them to join us that night.

The two celebrations and the other two crises deserve posts of their own. So I leave you with only these two questions.

Our make-do Christmas tree holds a clue to the theme of this year's gift-giving. Can you guess?

This lovely decoration, also made on the spot for the surprise our children planned, is surrounded by an item I brought. What is it?

Festivals and Moves

Labor Day weekend is the big Upland festival--yard sales all over town, music and food at the Lion's Park culminating with fireworks Sunday night, and a parade on Monday.

My best yard sale purchase was this Mancala game that sits on our big counter and leads to competitive rounds among the three housemates. Moriah, the young college student has the most wins.

The parade is a big deal in this small town. As the memories of years past surfaced on Facebook, I was reminded of the variety of ways we have taken part and enjoyed this Upland tradition. When we had horses Michael and different family members entered them. Some rode bicycles another year and Michael joined on his Segway once. There was a time when the skateboarders from Sam's shop were a favorite feature.

Rebecca's first Labor Day parade

Our youngest family member, Rebecca didn't always enjoy the experience. Last year she hid in the house and watched through the window. However, this year she and I were in the Basics Jr. [a high-energy Bible club geared especially for younger kids 4 year-2nd grade] section. She rode in the truck and I walked/jogged behind handing out leaflets and candy. Moriah and I are both volunteer helpers in Basics Jr. this year.
 

The family tends to congregate in front of Leah's house to watch the event. When Rebecca and I came after the parade we found that Sam and the boys had joined the fun. Matt and Kayla had their honey sale going.

A couple weeks ago I mentioned the possibility of big changes coming for the robotics team. I can now announce officially that they are moving out of Madjax and into an old building that has had many lives in its 100+ years of existence. More recently it was a used auto shop. We walked through last week assessing the needs and potential. A huge amount of work will go into getting set up to begin building a robot in the new year.
My two favorite features--door and chandelier--so very out of place in the old dusty crusty warehouse. 

Back and front of Blue Dutch Auto

Hopefully, the move will draw in students from a broader area. To advertise the newly named East Central Indiana Robotics, the guys took advantage of the Matthews Covered Bridge festival, September 6-8, and set up a display with a few robots on Main St. in front of the building. They talked for hours with passersby and handed out brochures.

We had planned to go to Winona Lake Friday afternoon, visit with Mother and attend a Josh Garrels concert at Grace. Instead, I drove up to see Mother alone and met with a representative from a company that offers hospice services. My brother Alan and I listened to a lot of information and signed many papers. Later that evening a nurse came, checked her vitals, read all the charts and consulted with the agency's doctor who determined that Mother does not qualify for their services at this time .

"So, Mother, you are too well. You'll likely live to be 100!" She just smiled.

At the concert I met up with Sam and Kristie, the boys, and Lexi (Malachi's fiancé). Josh's music is a family favorite. We have known the Garrels for many years and watched their family grow. When the crowd was begging for an encore, I went outside the tent to talk to Michelle. Just then he ended with a song he wrote for his wife, and I took her picture as he was singing about how beautiful she is.

We are so blessed to know wonderful people from all over the world. This week we were privileged to visit with Andi and Sheba Eicher from India. They brought their daughter Asha here, a fifth generation Eicher to attend Taylor University. Of course, there was the obligatory Ivanhoe's stop.

Another exciting week that took longer to process than I had hoped. I am reminded that my body is still healing from the accident in June and that slows me down. 

I suspect none of you accomplished everything you wish you had in one week. True?