Of course there is much to do the week of Christmas…..
I have gift clues to write and presents to wrap, I have laundry to do and a dishwasher to empty, I have clothes to fold and Christmas letters to address…
I have lots to do, but tonight, I opted to hit the pause button….
As I paused, I enjoyed reading the latest edition of our family newsletter: Treasured Ties
This is Vol. 27 (25 + years) of Treasured Ties and over the years, TT has assisted in sharing the stories within our family. There are updates submitted by family members of all ages. There is cutting edge news and historical stories. There is a welcome box announcing babies and adoptions and a family directory!
Let me share a bit of the flavor:
I like school because we have recess. I like Josiah and Harold. My teacher’s name is Mrs. Mudde. We have been learning about Christmas and about Jesus’ birth. When I turned five I got a guinea pig named Tommy and I liked holding him. He died. I was sad. Then we got another guinea pig named Tom. He died too while we were on vacation. I was sad. I learned how to ride a two-wheeler on the tennis courts by my house. We moved into a new house. I like it. And Peter and I bought a new air hockey table. Merry Christmas everybody!
~ Isaiah age 5
Hi,
im Rory from the Kehr family and im going to tell you whats been going on in my family. One thing that went on a little bit ago is that my little brother was born in May 8, 2011 and he is 7 months old. my little brother harris is going to school like me at the potters house. cady is 2 and even thogh shes not in school she LOVES ART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! me well ive been doing spelling at school. we have moved 2 houses down from our old 1. oops! i forgot to tell about my pearents. they are VERY VERY NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! well thats ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! From rory
There is a memory box section as well. There is a picture of the house that 11 of the 12 children (my Mom and her siblings) were born in Friesland, Netherlands. The story that goes with it is a fun read:
Lost but Not Forgotten!
In the Netherlands is a county called Opsterland. It has a small town which has a spot that is still very dear to us. When we are there, we always make sure we pass it on our bikes. And then we stop and talk about things that happened long ago. It used to be a very busy place. There were always kids playing outside, cows in the pasture, and men working the fields with horses. Now there is nothing left. The place burned down some years ago. By now you probably know that I am writing about the farm where all of us were born except Myles, who was born in Drachten.
It was not a big house but we made it work. There was a big kitchen—at least that’s what we called it—that was also a family room because we spent a lot of time there together. During the war everybody had to be inside at 8 o’clock so we were all home every night. There were three closets in this room. One was the rommel kost (junk closet) where we hung our coats. Our toys had to be picked up at night and stored in that closet as well. Then there was a diaper closet which held all the baby stuff. And in another corner was a place for some dishes. And at the bottom of this closet there was some room for turf which was burned in the stove to heat the house. One of us had to keep that turf box filled.
The barn was connected to the house which was not a problem except in the winter. When the cows were in the barn all the time, it did not always smell so good. Milking the cows was not a bad job. I always found it kind of relaxing. But now and then the cows would swing their dirty tails right in your face. That was no fun. When John was busy milking, we could always hear him in the house as he was singing his Psalms. We had to milk by hand. There was no electricity so we milked them one by one. Each time you were done with one, the pail had to be emptied in a milk can with a strainer on top. Most of the time, we had 22 cows plus some heifers in a side barn. There were also two or three horses in that barn. When they had to be fed, first you’d have to go behind and then next to them in a dark hallway to a crib—which the horses ate from. Every time I fed the horses, I always thought, this must be just like the crib where Jesus was born.
I hope you can start to envision why I had to hit pause and get caught up on the happenings of my family. I am thankful for a family that values stories and recognizes the value of writing them down and sharing them.
I wonder what it would look like for your family to have a treasured ties of your own….let me know if you would like to see a hard copy of ours!
