The Christmas Letter 2024

December
On a Sunday afternoon at home, the rain which will likely turn to snow, drips down. The tree trunks are looking blackly wet, and the snow is melting.  But the temps are dropping again and there will be fresh snow on the ground when we push back the blinds in the morning.  I went out a minute ago to take a picture of what I believe are mole tracks under the maple tree. The circular trails seem to follow the shadows of a summer canopy, perfect Beatrix Potter drawing-like patterns. This is amazing to me while the drizzle is icily damp and frigid.

In January we took the train to Idaho to visit Mom and Dad and our children and the rest of our people.  The train ride turned out to be quite relaxing. We slept and watched the world go by and read books. There is wildlife to see across the not so trackless prairie: coyotes, prairie chickens, and deer of a couple sorts.  We drew up at Libby, Montana at midnight, about 24 hours after setting forth, and found Josh there waiting for us. We had four quick days to visit our family and back home again by train.

We came home to spring in February! Yes, they put road bans on in February.  Because there was no winter to speak of. We had time, then, to install a new bathroom in the utility room area on the lower level. My phone pictures are all about the winter remodeling work. March is much the same. I see more pictures of the installation of the vanity and shower. I ended up with another deep windowsill for plants in the room as well. It’s hard to imagine the awful, cold and ugly space it used to be. Tim did the trim work. We’re grateful to all those who helped us make our basement into proper living spaces.

I babysat most weeks this year for Amy and Kristine. The three little boys played church on the stairs and helped Marmee make the cookies they regularly ordered up.

In April, Brads came to spend a week with us which was  Brad’s first visit home since his marriage to Sierra. It was discovered that the sailboat that gave us so many hours of lake time was in disrepair.  The old fiberglass had cracked open on the one side.
We girls all went shopping at Poor Richards over in Spooner one day. And our evenings were quiet with board games and visiting. When the family got together here that week the children went out coatless to play on the snowless lawn.  We took Brad’s to the airport , where they told us that they were going to have our twentieth grandchild.

May came in with daffodils, green grass, and northern lights. A few of those daffodils were blooms from bulbs I had planted on Christmas Day here at the stone house which is unheard of.

We spent some time at the cabin. It was warm and green. We hung a hammock. We also tramped the woods and up the hill to tune into the sermon at home on Sunday.

At home, by the end of the month the spirea and honeysuckle were in full bloom and the gardens planted. 

Uncle Amos spent various weekends with us this past year. Elv and I enjoy walking with him while he gets his 10,000 steps each day. He pushes his walker, and we keep up, literally.

In June we had a visit from Gwen, our granddaughter from Nebraska, while nephew Keagan attended a youth rally.  They flew into the MSP together. What an adventure for them. I picked them up at the airport and what fun they were having as two teens flying, I could see it on their faces. Elv and I took her home and Angelie came along, the next weekend. Good times with Jenny’s family.  I have memorable pictures of us playing in the grassy pasture that Gabe has been carefully coaching through drought and rain to become a waving sea of brome and flowers.

My mom turned 80 years old on the 30th so I made it my business to be there for it. I felt privileged to take Dad to his regular appointment where he must have a shot in his eye.

Besides this, Josh and Francis were in the middle of the building of their new house. They were still in the beginning stages but there really were walls and a roof so I could “see”. 

One day, I went walking in the back forty with Mom and Dad when we got caught in the rain. We tried to stay dry by standing under a tree, but that failed to work so we got home drenched and refreshed. Great investment in my memory bank.

It looks like it was in July that my brother Ivan and his wife stopped through here to see us.  And Gabes came to visit, too. We took walks and played outside a lot.

This summer, Clark’s children came over and helped me with some refinishing of patio furniture.  Benny and Asher set a trapline for the vermin of mice and chipmunks that tend to take over these old stone walls. Eventually, Benny earned his gun from the bounty we put on these critters. It has helped tremendously to not have chipmunks living in the walls.

We went out on the lakes in August a couple different times. We even went fishing.  I also hosted the NWMC ladies evening tea party here in our front lawn. That was a pleasant time of visiting and sharing. Youth girls sang for us. And the food table was top notch, of course. 

Amy and I went blackberry picking in the woods close to her house. Weston and Nicholas were not impressed with the briars, but we got our buckets full quickly, so nobody suffered, really.

I spent an evening with friends, Dorothy and Evangeline in Duluth. We went to the rotating restaurant for supper which was the first time for me. I felt like I had been transported to the 70’s. Very fun.

September found us in Nebraska once again when Gabe was ordained.  Yes, we did really get around this summer, but we worked hard at our jobs in between.

I flew west in October to spend time with my sisters. Such good times together. Then Evie and I drove north to Bonners Ferry through Glacier Park on Sunday.

Seems to me that the girls all drive pick- ups in the West. Evie’s is nice. “Leland bought it for me.” She states proudly.

Elv  took another vacation and came to me on the train to Libby again. We spent that week helping Josh and Francis in their house. Elv hooked up the solar panel and the off-grid electrical system. Francis laid their own hearth of river rocks. And I got to lay a few of them.  Before we left, they installed the chimney and stove so that we were privileged to attend the first fire in the new house. Also, Lena hosted the baby shower for Sierra while I was there.

The highlight of November was spending the weekend at the cabin so that we could attend and help in the wedding of Miriam to her Malcolm from Maine. It was especially enjoyable for me to watch Elv do the ceremony for them… a comforting moment for my own reasons. Miriam and Malcolm had a sweet, small wedding with lots of blue and their friends and family in attendance.
One Saturday  the Amos Kauffman girl cousins came to visit.  What fun. Old memories and shared context made for tireless visiting.

Our family spent Thanksgiving Day at Dru’s little log house. We ate all day and played board games. And sang, too.

Elv still logs for a local logging business enjoying having our son Lance employed there as well. I appreciate that Elv doesn’t have to be in the woods alone each day especially when they have no phone service. No phone service still occasionally happens up here in northern Wisconsin.

I’m still working at Northwood Outdoor a couple days a week. I keep thinking that ten years is long enough, but I love my work. So I stick with it doing the best I can. And none of that would happen without Jolynn faithfully doing a lot of the daily work so that the gift part of the store even exists.
There’s so much to be thankful for this year. Elv’s health has been much better. We begin to think about future plans, much differently, but with hope and more courage than we thought possible. We have firewood and plenty of work and a beautiful home. Most of all we have Jesus and our hope to spend eternity with Him.

                    Elv and Arla Graber