time

Time…it marches on! It waits for no one. Time heals all wounds.

Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.

Theophrastus (ancient Greek philosopher)

Speaking of time, it has been a while since I wrote a new blog post, the end of October to be exact! Since I last posted, we have finished the timber-cutting project. Phase Two should begin soon, which is stumping the future fields, fertilizing and seeding. I will post pictures as that project gets going. Right now it sort of looks like a bomb was dropped in a few places around here! It is going to take some time, but we should see some great results by the spring!

Life has a funny way of slowing us down and showing us what is really important! On November 15th, I lost my eighty year old dad. The last time I got to see him in person and give him a hug was in February for his birthday. Covid made any other visits to western New York and his assisted living center impossible. So now, as our family navigates this holiday season without him, we honor Dad’s memory and celebrate him as we continue our family traditions, thankful for the time we had with him for all these years!

This Christmas, as I prepare for family visits, favorite foods and all of the festivities we treasure, I will do so with a deeper appreciation for the gift of time with our loved ones. My advice, hold each other tight and treasure the precious memories you have created over the years. Invest in the lives of your family members and friends. Life is indeed too short! Take the time to set aside the devices and visit with the ones you love!

Our farm plays an important part in family traditions, especially at Christmas. The farmhouse is the family gathering place for Christmas day dinner. The laughter and love expressed warms my heart as we share a meal that many hands have helped to fix. Our tradition is that everyone who visits brings a dish ot two to share. We all seem to have our must-have favorites. and mine is the “Sweet Potato Casserole” that I make each year from a treasured recipe. Years ago, when I was nineteen, my friend Annie’s mom, Phyllis Mickshutz, shared her recipe with me and it has become a part of my family’s Thanksgiving and Christmas meals ever since. Little did I know as a teenager that this recipe would stand the test of time and become a family tradition!

This year, we have added a new favorite to the list, “Maple Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Butterscotch Glaze & Pecan Praline Filling”. I think you need to read that title several times and let the yumminess sink in! Carl (@farmlivingCarl) saved this recipe from an insert in the Gaston Gazette last year and I finally made it this year for Thanksgiving. Here is a link I found online for the recipe as well. If you take the time to try it, I would love to know what you think!

The time to celebrate Christ’s birth and all the joys of Christmas are right around the corner! Here in our next of the woods we will visit the @Christmas_town_usa lights in McAdenville, NC, hopefully attend our Christmas Eve communion church service, and simply treasure the gift of time with our granddaughters and all of our loved ones. The grand-girls are at such a fun age and I already have the Nativity set out for them to play with as we celebrate the reason for the season @thefarmatcrowderscreek! I am going to soak up every second!

So, as time moves quickly and Christmas day will be here before we know it, what traditions do you have with your family? I would love to hear how you celebrate this wonderful time of the year!

Take care and Merry Christmas!

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born  of woman, born under the law.

Galatians 4:4