Scenes from a Christmas

 It's Christmas Eve and pretty quiet in the house right now, so I've been going thru some recent pictures.  Tomorrow night family will be here around our new dining room table.  Watch for more pictures then :)

.

keto cranberry pound cake

I had so much fun decorating the lanterns this year.  This one went to my friend Cathy.

Oceanna's sweet little face.

Betsy & Kyle opening their gift from Grandma Peggy

Christmas Eve weather was so beautiful, perfect for smoking a bunch of ribs for tomorrow night's dinner.

V's vintage Santa sleigh and reindeer.  The boys always loved these.

Tucker, the new puppy at Rachel's house

The new hawk ornament is in memory of Judson.  And I found the red ornament from 1989 where he wrote his name.

Yesterday out of the corner of my eye, I saw a huge hawk landing in this tree in our neighbor's yard.  Once he was in the tree, it was hard to see him; he was perfectly camouflaged. I'll be watching for him again.

This little tree was made by Larry Green's mom, sometime around 1990 I think.  Mark and Larry were good friends and fishing buddies way back in our early McFarland days.  The little picture is of Judson and Warren, the year they both found letter jackets under the Christmas tree.

 Looking back, last year's Christmas was so hard.  We are thankful for moments of joy this year.

 Speaking of moments of joy,   new pictures 

of our little Oceanna, are instant hits of bliss.  She's one week old today.

Oceanna Rae

 She is incredibly beautiful and I can't wait to get to know her.  We are so blessed.

Christmas House 2019

Waiting on a Baby

We're still waiting for Jennifer and Isaac's baby to make its entrance into the world, so I went looking for some pictures from Isaac's birth.  I couldn't find the ones I was looking for, but these made me smile.

Isaac

I never think of Isaac looking anything like me because he looks so much like Clayton.  

But when I saw these, I can tell we're related!

Isaac's mom

 Thanks to Clayton for writing these notes in his baby book.

 Isaac's baby is taking after him already.  Isaac was born a full month later than expected so there was lots of waiting involved back then. They assured me that he wasn't really a month overdue, we just miscalculated the due date.  Whatever our new baby's birth date, we're going to be so happy to see him--or her!

Angel of Hope

My sweet friend Pam had Judson's name put on the Angel of Hope wall at Washington Park.  It was a beautiful candlelit ceremony with a few songs, prayers, and a reading of the names of those remembered.  It was a little chilly, but actually good weather for the season. It was sad, but so touching and we loved it.   We were glad to have Rachel with us too.

Pam knew how special this would be to us;
her daughter Emily's name is also on the wall.

 

 My picture of Judson's name on the plaque is blurry here, I'll have to take another one. So many names there, it's hard to believe so many have lost children.  But I know that Judson is okay now, that he's still with us and watching over us, and waiting til we all get to join him on the other side. 

A excerpt of a post from a facebook group for grieving parents:

 ". . . I shifted my focus (to) the fact that my precious son is blissfully happy and loved beyond comprehension. Every day. I stopped thinking about me and started thinking about him, and only him, and where he is now. I focused on the fact that I too will be with him one day forever. . ."  

I am so grateful to other parents who are sharing what they are going through and how they are coping--including my friend, Pam.