Month: December 2017

Best Bits of 2017…

Posted on by lindaskelton

Christmas is past and the New Year’s coming on fast.

Thought I’d take a minute to look back and see where 2017 went!

Last year at this time we were officially commencing our first winter in Canmore…

We were braced for snow and cold and determined to use it to hone our cross-country skills…

MARCH brought Rachel to see our new nest before moving back to the Coast from her two-year venture in Alaska.

By APRIL I was more than ready for the snow to be done! But there was still time to tromp on frozen Lake MInnewanka and get some Grand shots of the Grandkids–

By MAY my flower hunger was acute but sweetly assuaged by the birth of grandbaby Jaxon back in Powell River where spring was already in gear…

And by the time I flew home, Alberta was fast catching up!

I guess I measure seasons in flowers. JULY brought the wood lily and the blue-eyed grasses…

And our sweet Alexis came for a visit with her mom and dad!

AUGUST brought her cousin, Jaxon with his folks

Then we were off to Yellowstone to camp with the rest of the grandkids

and witness the eclipse together beside amber waves of grain…

SUMMER 2017 will be remembered also for its unseasonably and delightfully hot temperatures

And just before frost hit in SEPTEMBER we discovered gardens in Banff we had somehow missed!

OCTOBER was perfect for a road trip…

to Prince George

and on to Powell River

to spend Thanksgiving with the girls and their men

Back home…

With NOVEMBER came snow in earnest and frozen lakes and beautiful sunrises…

And it brought us grandbaby Tiffany whom we have yet to meet in person.

And now that WINTER is officially here, well it’s time to ski again.

Though to be honest, I’d rather hole up indoors this time around.

And sometimes I need to remind myself of the reasons we’ve chosen to live in such a frigid place…

They are worth it!

And that’s where our year has gone! What about yours?

May God bless you as you recall all His mercies in the old year and look forward to all that is to come!

–LS

The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage…
Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

–Ps. 16:6;127:3 KJV

All the Season’s best to you and yours!

Posted on by lindaskelton

Christmas is simpler and quieter now that there are just the two old folks under this roof.ย  Bits of Christmases past come out to dangle and sparkle and add a little happy clutter for the month of ‘getting ready’…

And a few funky new things have joined the old and traditional…

 

No glamor here, but it’s homey, and we are grateful to have each other and to live near four out of seven grandkids.ย  Herein lies incentive to decorate and bake and wrap little packages. Oh! And to build ‘gingerbread’ houses…

ย ย 

I have enjoyed quiet mornings with Piper’s Indestructible Joy advent readings this year, highlighting the treasure that is ours in knowing Jesus.ย  May we see Him more and more clearly and love Him more and more dearly in this New Year.ย  This is my prayer for you and me both!

Blessings on you as you take time to consider the significance of that first Christmas morning.

Merry Christmsas from us and ours ( :

–LS

Thanks be to God for the indescribable gift of His grace to us in sending Jesus to be born into our world!

 

If it must be cold, let there be snow.

Posted on by lindaskelton

I’m really not a cold-weather girl, but if there must be winter, let it be lovely and let it be opportunity to move in ways you cannot do in summer… And so we have.ย  Saturday afternoons often find us on one trail or another working up a sweat as we have a look around cross-country ski territory here.

Here’s a jumle of the views we have enjoyed over the last month or so…

And of course, iconic Lake Louise, in winter:

ย 

Look closely and you can see an ice climber just below the frozen waterfalls below.ย  This is a popular spot for this brave sport!

These days we are having to drive to snow-country, an hour in either direction.ย  Our out-back is dry and bare.

But oh the ice is lovely!

Like icy jellyfish!

ย ย 

Will it be a snowy Christmas yet?ย  We shall see.

Here’s hoping you are finding beauty in the hard and cold seasons of your life. The Creator and Sustainer of all we see and know has been born to us a Saviour as well.

–LS

What shall I render to the LORD for all his benefits to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.

Ps.116:12-13 ESV