Christmas Memories ( the story I wrote for our newspaper in 2005 )

 I wrote this story in 2005 to participate in a writing contest for our local newspaper  "The Carillon".  I did not win a prize but I did get "honorable mention" so I was pretty happy about that.

Here is the link to my other Christmas story- it is fiction, also  written for the newspaper:
 http://sharingthefaith-northernsparrow.blogspot.ca/2012/12/new-beginnings-christmas-story-of-hope.html


The following is a true story from my growing up years.

My Christmas Story written in 2005

Christmas Memories from the 1970's

Even from my childhood, Christmas has always been my favorite time of the year. Back then, there were no lights or decorations, just the excitement of a little farm girl looking forward to Christmas! It was the one and only time of the year when there would be presents. I was the youngest of six girls in the family.
Preparing for Christmas began early in December, when in Sundayschool I would get my poem which I was required to memorize. It was not easy to memorize a poem of High German words and verses. I would set my heart to memorizing it as soon as I could. Then my mother would begin to sew new Christmas dresses for my sisters and me. Usually they would all be the same pattern, though not the same fabric. To my mother, the most important thing was that the dress would be long enough to cover my knees.
Soon it would be time for the school Christmas party. I really looked forward to this. Here we would all share a special lunch. Some children were required to bring sandwiches while others brought cookies or cupcakes. Our desks would be placed in a circle around the outer part of the classroom. We would share the lunch and to top it off we were treated to a bottle of pop.
After lunch recess, it would be time for the gift exchange, at which time we would present a gift to the child whose name we had picked several weeks earlier. Then it was time for the parents to come to school to see the children put on the play of the Birth of Christ. The part of an angel would be mine.
After many days of waiting, Christmas Eve would finally arrive. Not only was Christmas finally here but it was also my birthday. Though my birthday was not celebrated,  I would be reminded that I was a Christmas gift to my parents the year that I was born. But now we would celebrate the birth of Jesus! Supper and chores would be early on Christmas Eve, as it was time to get ready for the Sundayschool Christmas program. What excitement as my sisters and I could wear our new Christmas dresses for the first time. We would pack all eight of us into the family car and head off to church, which was five miles away. Here we would sing our favorite German Christmas carols. My favorite was "Leisse Rieselt der Schnee" which talked of snow falling down lazily as we await the coming of the Christ Child. Then each child was called up individually to come to the microphone to recite the verse that he or she had memorized. This made me so nervous and yet it was very exciting! Then the treat bags were handed out to the children and also a gift which was either a Catechism or a Bible. Soon our happy family was ready to go back home.
Once back at home, my Dad would read the Bible. After that was done, we ( my sisters and I ) would each get out a mixing bowl. We would put our name on a small piece of paper and place it in the mixing bowl. Then the mixing bowl was set out on the couch or on a chair. After all the children were asleep, my parents would put some candy, chocolate snowballs and peanuts in the bowl as well as an unwrapped gift or two. What excitement on Christmas morning when I would hurry downstairs to see what was in my bowl! My favorite gift I remember was a mother doll that was about five inches tall with a baby doll in a small pink carriage.
Then it would be time for breakfast, chores and then off to church for the Christmas Day service. After church on Christmas Day and also on Boxing Day ( known to me then as the Second Holiday of Christmas ) , we would have a quick and simple lunch and then head off to our grandparent's house. On Christmas Day we would go to my dad's family's home, while on the Second Holiday of Christmas we would go to my mom's family's home. Both family gatherings were more than an hour's drive away and with eight of us in the car, that seemed like a long ride. Here we were expected to recite our Sundayschool verses. After this we were given a treat bag and a small gift such as a handkerchief or a small toy. The day would be spent visiting and playing with cousins and of course enjoying a scrumptious meal prepared by my grandmother. Grandmother would make so much extra we were all glad to get a jar of Plumi Moos and her special cake with bananas and whipped cream on it home to enjoy later. The next several days and weeks would be spent playing with our new toys and munching on the treats of Christmas!
These are the memories of the Christmas of my childhood which I will always treasure. What a joy it is to remember the people and places of Christmases past as we make memories for the future!

To read more about my parents, please check out the following links-
http://sharingthefaith-northernsparrow.blogspot.ca/2012/04/my-dad-man-of-god.html
http://sharingthefaith-northernsparrow.blogspot.ca/2012/04/my-moma-woman-of-faith.html

To read more about my Grandparents please check out the following links -
http://sharingthefaith-northernsparrow.blogspot.ca/2012/06/grandpa-peter-and-grandma-g.html

http://sharingthefaith-northernsparrow.blogspot.ca/2012/05/grandpa-hermana-gentleman.html
http://sharingthefaith-northernsparrow.blogspot.ca/2012/06/grandma-anna-precious-memories.html

For the recipe for Plumi Moos please check my recipe blog - link to recipe here: http://bakeandtasterecipes.blogspot.ca/2012/11/pluma-moos-moms-recipe.html

Grandma Anna - precious memories!!

As I write this post about my Grandma Anna, I feel there is so much that I do not know about her. I don't have a lot of memories of her from my childhood but I will try to share a few. Grandma Anna is the mother of my Dad. She was born in May of 1899 and married my Grandpa Herman in December of 1921 at the age of 21.

I remember coming to their house and the smell of potatoes boiling on the stove as I entered the kitchen. Even now, sometimes when I am boiling potatoes on my stove I am reminded of Grandma Anna by that smell. Grandma Anna made the best homemade brown wholewheat bread! It tasted super delicious though I am not quite sure how she made it.
I remember family gatherings at Grandma and Grandpa's place. They lived in the country near a town called Winkler. My cousins and I would play "red rover" out in the yard. It was a lot of fun and Grandma would come check up on us occasionally. Grandma and Grandpa had a large family with my Dad being one of the older children in the family. Their youngest daughter (then a young gal) was still home with them back in those days of family gatherings. She was dating an older guy back then and I remember it being so much fun to watch her excitement as she would get ready for her date. My cousins secretly snooped in her room and found her "hopechest" - I would never have had the courage to be part of that. She did eventually marry this man though it wasn't till they ( my aunt and her boyfriend) were both well advanced in years sometime after Grandpa Herman had already passed away.
As Grandpa Herman and Grandma Anna got older they decided to move right into the town of Winkler. They bought a small house in which they lived until after Grandpa's passing. Family gatherings were a lot of fun there too because now my cousins and I had the fun of doing in-town stuff. There was an old, old house at the end of the street, right on the corner. As I remember it was grey and dark and scarey looking. We called it the " haunted house". Every family gathering, my cousins and I would walk down to the corner and see the haunted house. I was only around nine or ten years old at the time so for this little girl it was really quite scarey! There were no ghosts or anything - we only imagined it to be scarey!
Unlike my Grandma G, Grandma Anna knew my name. She had difficulty pronouncing it though as it was not a name she was used to but I give credit for trying her best.
Grandma Anna had type 2 diabetes. By practicing giving injections on an orange, she was able to learn to manage her diabetes and give the required injections to herself. I always thought that was a notable accomplishment for an elderly lady such as she was at the time.
Grandpa Herman passed away in the summer of 1974 so after his death, Grandma Anna decided that she would like to move into the seniors home in Winkler.  She was tired of cooking and cleaning anyway, and she would be happier in the company of others.  At this time Grandma Anna still had a little brown dog named Josie and oh how she loved her little Josie. She would prepare his dinners in a certain special way - she gave it her own loving touch. But when she decided to move to the seniors home, Josie also needed a new home so Grandma Anna gave Josie to my cousin Cornie. Josie didn't get quite the favored treatment at his new home but he was happy living on the farm with Cornie. It was nice that Grandma could still visit the farm and see Josie from time to time.
Grandma Anna was happy living in the seniors home although the noise did bother her some. In her later years the light bothered her eyes also so she would try to keep the light out of her room and also wear sunglasses all the time. She was very supportive of my Dad's call to the ministry and would always wait on Sundays for my parents to stop in at the care home so she could visit with them, showing her support to him. The Lord allowed Grandma Anna to have a somewhat enlightening spiritual experience while living in the care home. Though she had loved and followed the Lord since early in her life, this was a turning point in her spiritual life and she gained a new and fresh understanding from the Lord. I do not know what year this happened or the details of the experience.

One Sunday in March of 1989 at the care home, while eating supper at the table with her friends there, Grandma pointed upwards with her finger as if to say " I'm going up now"  and so she went to be with the Lord. This was a very unusual way of passing away but the Lord took her in an instant and she was gone. Now up in heaven she was reunited with Grandpa as well as her son Herman who passed away at age 17. You can read about this and other things relating to Grandpa in my post about Grandpa Herman in the archives of my blog.

2 Corinthians 5:7-9 says
⁷ For we walk by faith, not by sight:
⁸ We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
⁹ Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.

Grandpa Peter and Grandma G...Opposites Attract!!

Today I would like to tell you about my Grandparents that is my Mom's parents. I have hesitated to write about them but here is some of what I know. They were my favorite Grandparents even though they did not ever make an effort to know me by name.  They only referred to me as 'that girl there'. I believe they knew the names of a couple of my sisters though. Grandpa Peter was born in 1904 and passed away in 1985 at the age of 81 years. Grandma G was a bit older than Grandpa. She was born in 1901 and passed away in 1998 at the age of 96 years. They were married in June of 1923.  Life was a little rocky for them in their early years of marriage with Grandpa even moving back  home to live with his family for a bit but with the help of Grandma's great patience he returned to her and they were married for about 62 years. I believe Grandpa's love for Grandma was strong and enduring right up to the very end. It seemed like a sort of jealous but sweet love in that he was proud that she belonged with him.
Grandpa Peter made a living by farming though I only ever knew them as a retired couple. They lived in a small  old two story country house with a few large trees on the property. There was an old barn on the yard as well as an old shed and an outhouse.
Grandpa Peter had a mind of his own and was not easily persuaded. He did not like plants and flowers and therefore did not allow Grandma to have any in the house, nor did she have a garden. He loved the outdoors and preferred to sit outside under the shade trees rather than spending time in the house. He didn't much like green vegetables like lettuce but with a twinkle in his eye,he referred to it as "rabbit food". He insisted that he could not use a regular size tablespoon to eat soup, so in order to please him, we always set a serving spoon by his plate for dinner. Grandpa enjoyed telling a good joke and get everyone laughing.
Grandpa Peter and Grandma G often came to visit our home. Every time they came they would bring a treat for my sisters and I. Often it would be a pan of cinnamon buns that Grandpa had purchased at a store on the drive over. Grandpa would often be driving a different car than the time before. It seemed he liked to trade in his car for another used one just to try something else.  Grandpa and Grandma would make frequent trips to Alberta to visit their children there. Grandma would bake waffles and pack them up to take along as meals for the trip. They were quite adventureous in their old age really and made the trip from Manitoba to Alberta many times.
Grandpa and Grandma never had a telephone but they would come to our place to phone to Alberta to visit with their family there. They would both take a turn talking so phoning to each of the three families out in Alberta usually took the better part of an evening.
Grandma G was sort of a quiet and patient person. You could always tell when she was about to say something - you could see it in her face but she would wait till there was a longer silent space in the conversation, she would take a deeper breath, then if still no one was talking, she would add her thoughts to the conversation. She was always very generous in her compliments when my Mom would have my sisters and I  show off our new dresses to her. She spoke German as she would say -"Oh my, that is beautiful, now the boys will notice you". 
Grandpa and Grandma really enjoyed my Mom's fried fish. There was only one problem. The fish were not filleted so all the small bones had to be picked out as you ate. But Grandpa Peter didn't care and never took any of the little bones out. He would just eat it as if there were no bones at all. This made my Mom a bit scared and she would say " Papa, Papa, the fish have bones!!" but he would pay no attention. Then Grandma would say to my Mom - "Just leave him alone, he is a grown man, that is his problem". She just was so unbelieveably calm.
Grandma G could make the best Jam cookies ever. We would try to make her recipe but the cookies we made didn't taste nearly as delicious as Grandma's. She also made the best Plumi Moos ( a sweet fruit soup) and homemade buns for family gatherings. Her specialty for family gatherings was her cake though. She would make many many cakes and top them with bananas and whipped cream. She made sure there was extra food left over of everything she made so that every family could take home a whole cake, a half gallon jar of Plumi Moos as well as some cookies. She was so very generous.

                        This is a picture of Grandpa and Grandma on their wedding anniversary!                        

Grandma G wanted things to be just and fair and when it wasn't she was prepared to make things right. One time when they came to visit, Grandma brought $300 for my Mom. Apparently she knew that my Mom's brother owed my Mom that amount of money from many years earlier. Grandma figured that my Mom's brother would never pay the debt he owed, so Grandma took it upon herself to pay her son's debt. Over time she had secretly saved up the $300, always taking a small amount out of her pension check every month. She kept it a secret from Grandpa in case he wouldn't approve of her idea.  My Mom was very surprised that her Mom did that and it certainly was not something anyone would have expected of her or wanted Grandma to do. Grandma G insisted that my Mom take the cash.
Grandpa and Grandma were people of faith. They fully supported my Dad in his calling to be a preacher of the gospel. Regularly Grandpa and Grandma would drive to extra distance required in order to hear my Dad preach in the church. I remember they came to my baptism and I was glad to have them come. I know God works in all of our lives in various ways and He is not limited in His ways to encourage, lead and teach us. Grandma believed that God had prepared her for the stillborn birth/death of one of her babies through the song of the mourning dove. The mourning dove has a very distinct and sorrowful sounding song.
As the years went on Grandpa Peter's health started to fail.  He had troubles with diabetes and then a stroke that took away his ability to speak. It was very sad. He could not accept the failing condition of his health and did not cope with his struggles very well.  He passed away early one snowy December morning and since they did not have a telephone, Grandma G had to walk through  the snow to get help. But God was faithful to Grandma G and slowly with time she gained strength to move on with her life. She was 84 years old when Grandpa passed away and she lived to be 96 years old. She wasn't really sick when God called her home, she just passed on in a calm and peaceful way, very similar to the way she had lived her life.