Finally, It's 2014!

 

 

 

We Survived 2013...

As an extended family, I think we can be glad 2013 is behind us.  Medical issues with Kylie and Ethan, job changes with my younger-but-more-mature sister - as well as her husband - and other little hiccups that life throws at us... they're done.  We have been granted enough grace to get through it all and even laugh and smile a fair bit, too!

Now we look forward with anticipation and excitement (or fear and trepidation, depending who you might be asking) to see what this new year has in store for us.  

I might as well recap the last couple of weeks and see what happened.  Everything went by so fast.

Christmas

The joyous season.  The hectic season.  The time of year I try to avoid a couple of areas of the city because of the major shopping centres and major traffic delays that come with them.  Fortunately, most shopping was done and out of the way early.  And, I ate too much.  Not all at once, mind you - but the cumulative effect was pretty good! 

We had three Christmases this year.  Two with both sides of our families but the first was just with our family on the 25th.  It was a nice relaxing day and we had lots of fun with the three boys. Half-Pint might have had a different take on things early in the day, however.  Let me backtrack for a moment...

Leading up to the big day the boys were always wanting to know where their gifts were.  They saw other gifts being wrapped and placed under the tree for cousins and aunts and uncles.  They never did see any of their gifts.  My mom always used to say "Christmas is a time for secrets and surprises!" so we keep some secrets from them.  Half-Pint particularly felt that he was being forgotten.  Being the youngest, his grasp on the situation might be easy to understand.  "Don't worry, we've got you a lovely doll to play with" his mother would tell him.  Of course, no rough and tumble 4-year old wants a doll.  And of course, she had to buy him a doll as a joke.

On Christmas Day the first gift to be opened was for Half-Pint.  Specially selected and wrapped with love and affection by his sadistic mother - a tiny pink doll!  His expression was priceless!  He said thank you, but there was no joy in his expression.  A deadpan look was all he could muster.  Of course, Christine thought it was funny - and so did I.  We both had to capture our perspectives of the unwrapping.

Brother KP was shocked, almost giddy "They did it!!   They did!!!   They did get you a doll!!"  LP suddenly realized what his fate might be and just stated very solemnly "Oh, no...".  Christine just laughed.

He has realized what his gift is...

Resigned to having to say "Thank you" for a doll!

Fortunately, things brightened up rather quickly as more gifts were opened.  I wonder what they will say next year when they are told they will be getting a doll...

LP trying on his camo pants and hat

Having some fun in the snow after opening gifts

Because of all the gifts and celebrating that happens right around Christmas, the past couple of years we have saved the stockings for New Year's Day.  A few old hockey socks (clean and washed, of course) with the bottom taped closed become the overstuffed stockings.

Brother KP finding a small treasure in his

I'm not sure what's happening here...

With all of the food, family, presents and celebrating over it was finally time to get back to some sort of regular schedule.  We were again shown that we are very blessed with great family and very tolerant friends!
God has been good to us again this year.  It may not have gone according to our plans, in some cases very awry, but we have been under His care.

The First Birthday Of 2014

Brother KP has a January birthday, beating his Aunt Erin and his dad by a few days.  He got a new Bible and a new bike and some Lego.  The kid is seven years old now.  Seven!  I can't believe how fast those years have gone by!

I was spoiled by getting a wonderful sleep-in day before my birthday.  I thoroughly enjoyed that.  Getting a chance to have a birthday dinner with a few boys later this week should be nice, too. 

Feathers and Snow

I took the boys for a bit of a hike along the river.  As we were walking along we came upon a Cooper's hawk enjoying a bit of a feast on a dove or pigeon.  It let us get fairly close and get some pictures before taking off with it's meal in it's talons.

You can see a little clump of feathers in the air as the bird plucked them out

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A little stare-down before it went back to eating

After watching the hawk fly away we wandered a little further.  We found a number of big trees with lots of beaver activity.  Trees I couldn't wrap my arms around were chewed either in parts or all the way around.  These were some very ambitious beavers!  Very destructive and wasteful, too.

This knife is 6" long.  You can get an idea of the sizes of these trees.

We were fortunate enough to actually catch one of the nasty little rodents in action.  It was amazing to see how fast his big front teeth chomped into the tree.  Here are a couple of photos of the action!

Amazing to see one of these creatures in the wild!

Look at the size of the chompers on that rodent!

Deer - 1;  Human - 0

I am saddened to announce that deer season was a bust this year.  Shut-out again.  We'll have to try again next season.  For now we'll have to settle for something with feathers - or maybe thick fur...

Jim Peaco photo, from Nov. 1994.  Coyotes still look the same.

Oh, one more thing...

One day before Christmas I came upstairs to much laughter and crashing and banging.  It seems the boys invented a new game that essentially involved launching themselves off various pieces of furniture and colliding into each other in the air.  Disaster averted, but such is life with boys!

boy (noun):  a noise, with dirt on it.