Family Blessings and Fun

Yesterday we finally were able to connect with our "extended" Florida family and celebrate Christmas together! We traveled about an hour south of us to meet up with my sister and her hubby and my husband's brother and his wife and son for lunch at a restaurant and a good visit.

This is my "little big sister Doris with me.  I call her that because she's "littler" than me, but she's still my "big sister".

Here she is with her hubby Art.

These are the "Steiner Men". It's very difficult to get a good picture of all of them at once, so this will have to do! LOL. They put on such shenanigans most of the time.

A certain nephew doesn't like to have his picture taken, so now it has become a big joke and event to try and get Nick to smile and be "normal" for a picture. It's all in good fun,

This is the "Steiner" clan, yours truly, our DIL Rose, Benton, hubby John in back, nephew Nick in front, BIL Bill and his sweet wife Peggy. Their daughter Shannon was unable to come.

Somehow my sister managed to get these two pictures, one of me giving Nick a hug and the one below where he looks like the handsome young man that he is. He really is a sweetheart, and we have good fun together.

And here is the "Mursch/Hutchinson/Steiner" clan, a.k.a. my side of the family:

Sister Doris and hubby Art, yours truly, son Benton, DIL Rose, and hubby John.  

Can you tell it was cold and windy? Well, it was!  The temperature kept dropping all day  and we really weren't all properly prepared for such a drop.  I mean, this is Florida, for goodness sake! LOL.

Our son Scott had to work so couldn't join us yesterday, but he came by here today and we had a fun time with him.  Uncle Billy and Aunt Peggy gave John and Scott some fun "toys" for Christmas gifts, so the "boys" had to try them out:

I have some fun videos of them playing with these, but I can't seem to download them from my phone to my computer for some reason, so I guess you'll just have to take my word for it that they had a lot of fun!  Boys will be boys!!

I guess our family is a family that enjoys playing together and still has a lot of the "child" left in us.

Sugar and Spice were not forgotten with some more new toys from their "Aunt and Uncle",

And Benton and Rose got some new Tervis insulated cups in addition to some other fun things that I forgot to take pictures of.

And Lily Grace was not to be forgotten: She got a pretty new dress and black patent leather shoes to match.  

This beautiful snow globe has a lovely nativity scene inside! Really pretty!

And my sister always remembers to give me a new Teapot Calendar each year...

Along with the latest little Madame Alexander Hallmark tree ornament doll...

Who joins the family at Pamela's Victorian Cottage...

She has quite a few new sisters to get acquainted with...Our little family has certainly grown!!  I expect there will have to be some new stories in the near future about what's going on at Pamela's Victorian Cottage!

I can imagine what some of you are thinking...don't these people ever grow up?  Well, to be honest, no. I guess we are all big kids at heart and our family seems to indulge this fun and happy side of our personalities.  Maybe it's because when you've been through the hard and sad times of life you stop and realize that life is just too short to be so serious and stoic all the time.  Yes, there is a time to weep and a time to laugh...Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 says it best:

1 "To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven:

2 A time to be born,

And a time to die;

A time to plant,

And a time to pluck what is planted;

3 A time to kill,

And a time to heal;

A time to break down,

And a time to build up;

4 A time to weep,

And a time to laugh;

A time to mourn,

And a time to dance;

5 A time to cast away stones,

And a time to gather stones;

A time to embrace,

And a time to refrain from embracing;

6 A time to gain,

And a time to lose;

A time to keep,

And a time to throw away;

7 A time to tear,

And a time to sew;

A time to keep silence,

And a time to speak;

8 A time to love,

And a time to hate;

A time of war,

And a time of peace."

This past week it seemed as though just about everywhere we turned someone was losing a loved one...in one week alone our little church was touched by at least 5 deaths, either from former members or loved ones of members...most notably our former Pastor here for over seventeen years passed away rather unexpectedly.  He had just turned 70, and had a good report from the Doctor that he was doing better and improving. He had been dealing with health issues for a long time, but nothing that appeared to be that severe...but he passed away peacefully in his sleep early one morning...and I am sure he woke up in heaven and heard the words, "Welcome Home, Good and Faithful Servant!" 

I used to share his "Sermon Notes" here in my blog each week, and here is the post I wrote from his last sermon to us when he retired in June of 2019:  "Sermon Notes: A Season of Change" 

In loving memory of Pastor "A.C." Myers, here with his wife Leslie.  He will be greatly missed by his family and everyone who knew him.

Yes, there is "a time to be born, and a time to die", " a time to weep, and a time to laugh"..."a time to mourn and a time to dance"... we all go through different seasons in our lives, and oftentimes we can get stuck in one season or another, especially the season of grief.  I know this all too well, have been there and certainly don't want to go back...once in a while it still creeps up on me and I find myself succumbing to the need to weep and mourn again...but when I think about heaven...and the joy that is waiting for us there...and the loved ones who have gone on before us who will be there waiting to greet us at heaven's gate...well, that helps me to get back into "the time to laugh", and the "time to dance".  It helps me to rest in the joy of knowing where my loved ones are, and WHO they are with...Jesus! The One Who made heaven possible for us to enter...through His great sacrifice.  And it also allows me the freedom to enjoy the happy things of earth while I am still here...the love of friends and family, the beauty of God's creation all around us, and yes, even the joy and sweetness of allowing myself to be a child again...to be filled with that kind of joy and peace and trust...

Matthew 18:2-4 says:

2 "Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 

3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, 

you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 

4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

And most importantly to share that love and faith and trust with others. especially those who may be weeping or mourning and grieving...the faith of a little child that gives us great hope for our future.

So I must close this post for tonight and move on. I pray that whatever "season of life" you are in currently, that you will find the kind of rest and peace and yes, STRENGTH, that you need to carry on. There's only one place I know of to find it...in the Presence and Person of Jesus Christ...

Here's the sunset over Still Waters Pond right now as I write: 

"You will keep him in perfect peace,

Whose mind is stayed on You,

Because he trusts in You."

Isaiah 26:3

Amen...and Good Night