The Elements

Rain, rain, and more rain was on the forecast for early this week. Creeks were raging, puddles growing, and raincoats and boots were well-worn after nearly four, full days of the relentless patter of the elements.

Yesterday morning proved to be nothing but the same, but the weathermen were right and declared that Thursday afternoon would bring us four to eight inches of snow!

It's absolutely beautiful around here. The best snow storm we've had since moving here three years ago.  I know that many places get this much and it is completely normal and even a burden, but here we're grateful for it. A reason to curl up with a good book, drink more tea, and look at the beauty of nature covered in a white blanket.

Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, we know that it won't last long. This weekend is supposed to move up into the forty degree range and much of it will melt. We'll make the most of it and enjoy it while we can.

This is not from the recent snow storm,

but it's appropriate because Willem's meeting

us for lunch today! We're excited to see him.

The picture was taken at the Cascades on 

New Year's Eve, 2010.

Sisters, Sisters

Oh, how I love my sister!

Phoebe came to spend two nights and one full day with us and it was nothing but wonderful. I realized after she left today that this was the most quality sister time we have had for at least 1.5 years. A lot has happened in that time with my health and with her trip to Senegal, so we were certainly due for some purposeful time.

We talked.
We hiked.
We shopped.
We ate.
We talked.

Without distractions, we were present to hear about each other's lives & experiences.

That's a quality visit.

Lois Grace Barlow

A beautiful, kind, and wonderful woman went to the other shore this morning. Lois Grace Barlow, Jim's grandmother, was the well-loved matriarch of the Barlow family and though she will be greatly missed, she is in a peaceful place.

Last weekend we celebrated Christmas with the Barlows in South Carolina and went to visit Grammy and Grampy multiple times. We feel so blessed to have had that time with her. Erin and Christine (Jim's sisters) were there, as well as Russell (Erin's fiance) and Kim and John (Jim's parents), so we had a large reunion, of sorts, within their tiny room for visits.

While Grammy & Grampy really enjoyed seeing the family, Leif was the star of the show. Their faces lit up and they loved petting him. Grampy even offered to take him if he needed another home. Jim says that they always had a dog and cats around and you could tell that they just really enjoyed having a furry friend moving around the room.

Grammy was lovingly called "Prope" by Red/Grampy, which was short for Proper, her maiden name. She trained as a nurse and met Grampy when she rented a room from his parents' inn. She raised five children over a range of 14 years and Jim's dad, John, was the youngest of her brood.

Her intricate, crocheted creations are truly stunning and her needlepoints of nature are beautiful. She's also known for her wonderful cooking and love for serving her family.

Jim has many fond memories of his childhood visits to their home in upstate New York. He especially loved spending time in their outdoor paradise with a beautiful pond and pond house, trails filled with evergreen, and creek-walking in the cascading, stair-like slabs of rock with waterfalls. It was a young boy's dream and he always looked forward to being there.

Grammy was a night owl, not unlike many of the Barlow clan, and so Jim remembers many nights of staying up and talking to her late into the night.

She loved her husband, Red, and held his hand closely throughout much of our visit with them last week. They were married for 68 years and would have had their 69th anniversary in April.

One of the most touching moments of the visit came when Grammy told Jim, "You will make a wonderful doctor. You are so caring and kind." It was a beautiful moment between a grandmother and her grandson, one that we will cherish forever.

We will always be grateful for the time we had with Grammy last weekend and the many visits Jim was able to enjoy with her throughout his lifetime. 

Her love & faith live on.

The Original Barlow Crew

The Barlow Kiddos

The Whole Crew

Heaven gained another angel.

Rest in Peace, Lois Grace Barlow

aka "Grammy" & "Prope"
93 years old.

Holiday Cheer

We were all eager for Christmas this year, even Leif caught the bug. Phoebe's return home from Senegal was quite exciting and our 86 year old grandma came to spend the holidays with us, as well. The house quickly became full and lively!

Much to our surprise, we were also greeted with a white Christmas! Four inches came down quickly on Christmas Eve creating treacherous conditions, a car in the ditch, quick outfit changes from church clothes to work clothes to run ashes and a shovel down the hill, and missing the church service. So, we made our own music and sang Christmas carols in the evening!

Phoebe's friend, Kelly, joined us and added another willing singer to the group!

The days were filled with delicious meals of roast beast, beautiful and delicious pie, yorkshire pudding, and much more!

Christmas day brought lots of cheer and giving. Phoebe's gifts from Senegal were a huge hit, especially Jim's awesome sun hat!

A pancake breakfast was followed by our traditional hike up to the Paris View. Here's our Abbey Road shot :)

Yay! We had an extra person to take a whole family picture :)

The Krumich Trio

Who can resist a snowball fight when you have perfect packing snow? Dad's an excellent shot; all of those childhood baseball games with the neighborhood kids paid off! But Jim & Willem kept trying.

 Hearts, Othello, Fusball, and Apples to Apples were quite fun! Grandma even joined in on the latter.

We wish you a very merry holiday season filled with joy, laughter, & love. 

Here's to a great 2013!

Big, BIG Day!

In a hospital room in the Cleveland Clinic, my uncle received a bone marrow transplant today! He's fought the hard fight against leukemia for six months and spent months before that visiting doctors to find out what was wrong.

It's been a long, rocky, roller coaster of a ride and today many prayers are answered. The fight't not over yet, but we are one step closer to a cure. His brother was a perfect match.

My uncle John is a talented man. He's an airplane mechanic, avid woodworker, bass in choirs, organizer of community projects such as adding handicapped ramps to people's houses who are in need, and he's a comedian. Okay, well he's not officially a comedian, but ask anyone who's spent a few minutes around him and they'll tell you that he is one quick-witted and hilarious guy.

The roads not over yet, but we are so grateful and excited that this day has come! Here are some pictures for him and for you to enjoy :)

Classic relaxed pose, when he's not sleeping on a bench somewhere :)

Easter

He LOVES his grandkids

Imagine the stories they get to hear!
She must be pinching herself to make sure it's real.

Oh gosh, Junko!

We all love you SO much Uncle John! Many prayers and thoughts for you today and always.

Ta Da!

On the way home from his rotation today, Jim stopped and bought a longer set of Christmas tree lights. Our tree is now complete with lights and ornaments! It's still quirky, but a little more put-together now. 

Always check the length of lights before purchasing- got it! They do sell lengths that are too small for even our itty-bitty tree. Lesson learned :)

In the Spirit

... of the holidays!

On Friday we went to Home Depot with the plans of getting a shrubbery for our Christmas tree. We ended up getting a Norfolk Pine, so that we could have it all year long. The fact that it's actually an evergreen makes me almost forget it's not the real deal. We love it.

While in Walgreens I grabbed a short length of lights, thinking it would be enough, and it just barely goes from the outlet to the top of the tree, making one swirl around the tree. Hmm, this may need to change.

Soon we'll get our ornaments on it, but for now I will enjoy gazing at the tree while the upstairs is dimmed.

My Pandora station plays only Christmas and holiday music these days... 'tis the season.

Yesterday we went to Floyd for their Winterfest and walked around many different booths and rooms of artists. That's one of the best ways to spend a few hours! Well, let's be real... I could spend days doing just that. I mean there's nothing better than gleaning new creative ideas, talking with interesting people, and getting truly one-of-a-kind gifts.

Today it was the little things that brought the most joy: hiking our backyard trail, making potato soup (the second time in a week!), smelling banana walnut bread cooking in the oven, and lighting our "Christmas" tree.

Now it's time to hunker down and knit one of my last Christmas gifts. Good night!