2012 Christmas Blog

Well, another year has rolled around, and it seems to have rolled around even more quickly than usual!  It's time once more to celebrate the birth of our saviour with friends and family.  I decided to try a Christmas blog this year instead of the usual letter.  So here goes!
After spending Christmas in Edmonton with Greg and family, we rang in the new year in Cobourg with Jeff and Kerry.

We expect to be doing the same thing again this year. 

After bidding them a fond farewell, we headed south, beginning our winter vacation with a cruise of the Eastern Caribbean - such a nice warm change from the frosty pics above!

Back on shore, we enjoyed a few weeks in the south on the Atlantic coast, where there are lots of good places to bike......

......and to enjoy one of my favorite birds.

Of course in the far south, we also see lots of these gorgeous critters!

We then moved further north, and inland to Kissimmee, where we spent the biggest chunk of the winter, biking and picnicking almost every day.  We also enjoyed time with friends from the Cobourg area while there.

A highlight of the winter for us was when our grand-daughter, Megan (who was working in a Disney store at the time), and her friend Melissa, came to join us for 8 days, many of which they spent at Disney parks.  Nanny even joined them for a day! 

We managed to squeeze in a day at the beach while they were there.....

......and a day at Gatorland.  I think we sent them home exhausted! 

We see lots of flowers while in the sunny south, but this is definitely a favorite of mine!

And of course, we see a lot of these guys along the bike paths.

Another thing we love to do each winter in Kissimmee is to watch the sandhill cranes - first sitting on eggs, then showing the babies how to find their food.  What a treat!

On our way north from Florida, we stopped for a week in Myrtle Beach, where we like to see shows, walk on the beach, and visit Brookgreen Gardens, which has 100's of sculptures.........

 


......as well as some rescued wildlife creatures. 

Back home, once the weather warms up, we like to spend time cruising around in this much loved and enjoyed car.

May found us once again in Edmonton, where we put Greg and Karen on the plane for their trip of a lifetime to Europe, and we spent time with the girls .......

.....both in Edmonton, and later in Vancouver, where we all headed for a visit with family.

 
 While in Vancouver, we took a tram up Grouse Mountain........

......where we spent much time enjoying the antics of the two grizzly bears!  

 
It was fantastic for me that we got to spend Mother's Day with Jeff and Kerry.  Jeff made us his famous "maple-bacon" donuts, then the two of them made us a wonderful brunch, interspersed with hiking in Lynn Valley, and a bar-b-que by the ocean!  Wow!  Never a dull moment!

  In June, we took a long-anticipated trip to Newfoundland - with Seniors Discovery Tours.

Two for the things I most wanted to see were icebergs and puffins, and boy, did we ever see a LOT of them!   

 Which of course brings us to the summer, which we enjoyed on the boat.  This year, we spent the whole time on the Rideau Canal system, Ottawa (our boat at the front, in dowtown Ottawa), and the 1000 Islands.

It was a beautiful summer to be on - and IN  -  the water, and we saw a great many of my favorite bird - the loon. 

 Another fun thing we did this year was to drive to Branson, MO, where we did a lot of fun things, and saw some amazing shows!  The most amazing of all was the "Moses" show at the Light and Sound Theatre.  It was incredible, with a huge stage, live animals, and a great many people.  We did a behind the scenes tour before, which made it even more awesome. 

It was another treat this fall to have my sister come and stay with us.  Bev and I did lots of visiting, saw a lot of family, and even visited the Hunt Camp (picture) where our Dad used to hunt, and our Uncle Donnie still does.  We sadly said good-bye to our Aunt Jean while Bev was here, and it was good that she just happened to be here to see Jean a few times, and then be here for her funeral.  We were most thankful for that, though we miss our aunt a lot.

Another treat was a week-long visit with Paul's Aunt Gwen and Uncle John from Prince George, BC.  It was good to spend time with them.

Phew!  It seems that we have been away from home more than we have been AT home this year, and we will be winding it up with a trip to Edmonton to spend Christmas

with Greg, Karen, and the girls, as we did last year.

We do love spending time with our kids!

Paul and I have both been well this last year, and we truly praise the Lord for His many blessings to us.  When we are home, we love to spend time with friends and family, do what we can at the church, and helping with a group called Northumberland Promise. I read with some delightful little grade 3 girls every Monday as well, which I love doing.

Greg is still enjoying his job as a director with Park Memorial Funeral Home....except maybe on days like this.  I think this was in October!  He also does a lot of refereeing of hockey, which is a year-round thing in Edmonton. 

Karen loves her job as one of the children's pastors at Heartland Alliance Church in Sherwood Park. 

Erin is working as a lab assistant in a lab in Camrose, and able to live at home and commute. 

And Megan is just completing her first semester at Ambrose University in Calgary. (second from right)


We are looking forward to seeing them all soon! 

Jeff is working for a condominium company called Intracorp as Warranty Supervisor, enjoying everything but the commute!

And Kerry continues to be a very busy "teacher-on-call" in West Vancouver.



We hope that this finds you all well and happy, and that you will all have a happy Christmas with family and friends.  And may you be blessed with good health and happiness in 2017.

With love,  Paul and Peggy

Jeff and Kerry's wedding reception Cobourg 2006