Kelley Christmas at Stonewater Ranch

Christmas in the Northwest-Winter wonderland!

It is freezing! It is bright and sunny and MSN weather says it is 21 degrees. The fir trees are loaded down with dry snow and every few minutes snow falls creating a powdery cloud in the woods.

It was our plan to be here in Washington with our family for Christmas even before I broke my ankle. Still, I have found myself thanking God for allowing me to be here from the time of my surgery in October. We have had lots of time with our children and grandchildren, as well as our church family.

Stonewater Ranch

This last Sunday our children and their families joined us at Stonewater Ranch for 3 days to celebrate Christmas early and enjoy the snow.

Laura, Marilyn's sister, and our granddaughter Elisabeth enjoying hot chocolate

Monday morning we ate our traditional Christmas morning cinnamon rolls, the kids opened presents, and then we went out to play in the snow while the turkey roasted.

Sarah our little princess always in a dress

Kai with his first tricycle

a lot of clothes needed....it was cold, especially for this Mexican born baby!

Grace sledding, the Lodge in the background

Laura making snow angels

Isaiah trying to snowboard on a sled with Eddie's help, Kai in the cold with his poppy, Jay


We ladies planned the menus but when it came time to cook, Josh and Micah took charge

PreChristmas dinner

Hanging out together

Jay, Isaiah, Faith, Kai and Elisabeth TenBrink

The next day, we drove over to Leavenworth, the Northwest's famous Bavarian village. During the spring and summer we do much of our whitewater rafting in this area. It is beautiful in the winter, reminiscent of the Bavarian Alps.

Laura, Grace, Marilyn, Josh and Sarah

Amanda, Kaitlyn and Micah (plus new baby boy due in March)


These are taken from the bakery where we retreated to eat our sack lunch of left-over turkey sandwiches, and drank hot cider. Outside the bakery they decorated a tree for the birds.

The morning we drove back home the snow had returned with a gentle vengance. The weather service predicted 2 to 3 feet of snow over the next 24 hours so we had to get going.

So the snow continues...

Oaxaca on New Year's Eve

My ankle has been on the mend, and I have been learning to walk again. Physical therapy has been helping, still I use a cane occasionally, and wear a brace to help with the swelling.

We fly from Seattle to Acapulco on December 31st and will be met by Laura and Dave Nelson. It will be different to go from below freezing temperatures to the mid to upper 80's, but we are ready.

Still, Christmas is coming.

Celebrating with gifts and Christmas dinner on December 15th has kind of taken the stress out of Christmas for us. Next Sunday is the children's program at the Gathering. Christmas Eve we will have a beautiful candlelight service as well.

I would like to invite any of you able to join us to The Gathering Church on Christmas Eve at 7:30.

We pray that you and your family have a special Christmas. May God's faithfulness show itself as you review the year, and may His mercy cover you and comfort you every day.

finally part 2

Well, I thought it was time to finish my blog on our trip to Spain before Christmas comes and we leave for Mexico.

Dad and I at Plaza España

Sevilla maravilla! The last blog left us in Sevilla. I am reminded of how Guadalajara, Mexico is called the most Mexican of all Mexican cities...in my mind Sevilla is like that. But then, I have much more to see, like maybe Barcelona.

I think the most thrilling of all the things we did on the whole trip was the Flamenco performance. It was more than I could have imagined it would be, wild gypsy music, flying polka dots, pounding feet, castanets and the fascinating hand movements!

Sitting with fellow tourists waiting for the show

It's all about polka dots! They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but in this case you would have to feel the music and the pounding, and well, just be there to appreciate the spectacle!

Gambas, or as we say, prawns, stuffed in an avocado. Dad and I enjoyed wandering, as best we could with me in a wheelchair, the narrow streets and relaxing with tapas (small portions of a variety of Spanish foods).

Gibralter Rocks!

The Rock of Gibralter
A special feature of our trip was pulling out our passports and crossing over into the British territory of Gibralter. We had an amazing tour guide who drove us up and down the rock, making us laugh and fascinating me with history... all in English.
We also enjoyed real British fish and chips!

Barbary Macaques aka Barbary apes are all over Gibralter

Dad found this outside of a pub!

Torremolino, on the Mediterrean Coast

Here I am by the pool in Torremolino...that is my casted foot in the foreground.

One of my aspirations of this trip was to swim in the Mediterrean Sea, sigh. The best I could do was escape solo in my wheelchair and amble down the side walk next to the beach. I developed some skill and strength and was able to climb some pretty impressive inclines when left to myself. Okay, there were a few times when I got stuck and needed help getting up curbs, but people were so friendly and helpful and sympathetic.

Policia patroling along the beach, it was amazing how good looking the Spanish men were!

My dad and I worked out a system of him offering to help when he thought I needed it, and I trying to do as much as I could. It was always a pleasure when out of the blue one of the people on the tour offered to help.

Vincent from Toronto helping me enjoy the Alhambra, the famous Moorish palace in Granada.

The Alhambra

The Alhambra, aka the red fortress is probably the most visited tourist site in Spain, and it is amazing.

The foundations were laid around 1240 and it was completed around 1350 or so by a Moorish sultan. It was later a palace of Ferdinand and Isabella when they drove the Moors out of Spain in 1492.

Unlike the Moorish built cathedral in Cordoba, there is no lollygagging around here. You make an appointment for a tour and you stay with that tour, because there are lots of people behind you....

The tour guide had to have a lot of patience with me as there were lots of steps and I had to keep getting in and out of the wheelchair, aided by crutches, and my many helpers had to drag my wheelchair up and down.

Moorish art and architecture is a breathtaking thing. Everywhere I looked I realized that my mouth was hanging open in amazement.

As we left Granada we drove through the city and I thought, I could spend a week here! Perhaps someday.

Our Last Supper

I had to take a picture of this plate. Little tiny clams, as many as you want, roasted red peppers, and olives. Oh, did Dad and I enjoy the olives!

And then they brought these little fried fish. I have watched the girls in Oaxaca eat them and said, "no way!" But then my dad said, "they're like french fries!" And I called for some mayonaise...that's how I eat french fries in Mexico. Those little fried fish were great, bones and all!

Our tour guide MariLuz, who worked so hard to make our trip enjoyable. She obtained the wheelchair and crutches, and demonstrated how to climb up into the bus, and get down. I don't know how we would have managed without her.

This was the group we traveled with at our last supper

Here is Jesus, who was quick to get my wheelchair out as soon as we stopped so I could get out and try not to slow people down.

It was a wonderful experience. My dad and I talk often and reminisce, we talk about tapas, and olives and Flamenco...

As you know that when we returned to the U.S.A. we had to return to Washington rather than continue on to Oaxaca. It was 3 weeks after my injury that I had surgery. The doctor said that it hadn't begun to heal, and that it probably never would have really healed. I would have lost my mobility if I had not had surgery.

I am now starting to walk, still with crutches, but I am bearing weight, and going to physical therapy. We have reservations to return to Oaxaca on December 31st!

Holy Toledo, Sevilla maravilla and Gibraltor rocks! part I

Starbucks is not only expensive, it can be a dangerous habit!

At the Starbucks where I had my accident.

Well as most of you know, my father and I went on a tour of Spain a couple weeks ago. I had never been to Europe, though my dad had many times, and I was very excited. The flight proved not to be the ordeal I imagined, and I definitely prefer 767's to 737's or MD80's.

The tour started off with a bang, or should I say, thud. While waiting for the Welcome Dinner, and while my dad was taking a nap, I thought I would step into the Starbuck's on the corner.

Well, it was a wrong step. I lost my balance. And rather than the humiliating fall that we all have had from time to time, the kind that we hope no one notices. It was quite public and resulted in the calling of an ambulance.

I knew at the moment I fell that I had broken a bone. I could feel it break. And never had I felt so much pain. It is interesting to note, dear nursing friends, that in Spain they use the 1-10 pain scale just like in the U.S.A. I told them it was an 8 to 9! (It was a 10 actually, but I have always thought that 10 was an exaggeration, now I know better.)

My poor dad, he was awakened by a phone call and the words "hija" and "hospital". He was surprised by how well his "little Spanish" served him. He spoke and understood enough to get into a taxi and find me. I am sure that he was relieved that it was just a broken bone.

For my part I discovered that the Spaniards of Madrid are very easy to understand, much easier that most Mexicans I know. I got good care and was seen by a traumatologist, who set my broken bone. They were so kind and empathetic. Of course afterwards, not having a discharge planner, they told me to leave the wheelchair I was using when I got in the taxi, and literally put me out with no crutches or means of getting around.

I got my "Welcome dinner" by room service at 11:00 at night. But good, but good!

Sparing the pitiful details, let it be said that office chairs with wheels can prove useful in a pinch, and a simple chair can be used as a crutch and offers a place to sit when you get tired, which happens quickly when one is hopping around on one foot.

Our tour guide, Marie Luz, bent over backward to obtain a wheelchair and crutches for me to use, and in the end I saw Spain as best as one could in that situation.

Dad and I at Plaza España in Madrid, with Don Quixote and Sancho....before my fall.

We also toured the royal palace in Madrid, and I was amazed by what we saw, mostly on the ceilings. My dad took this picture and a guard quickly pointed out that there were signs everywhere prohibiting the taking of photos. Fortunately, she didn't smash his camera and I have this reminder of the palace's beauty.

Holy Toledo!

The tour of Toledo was a fast walking tour over cobblestones so instead my father and I toured the town square. While enjoying thick hot chocolate, best eaten with a spoon, and churros, I began to make a list of the places I want to visit with Eddie one day.

Toledo was the Visigoth capital prior to the 8th century. Wikipedia says that under the Moors it came into its Golden Age and Jews, Moors and Christians lived together harmoniously. It was taken by El Cid, famously played by Charlton Heston in the movie! It is encircled by the Tagus River as well as an ancient wall. And is very cool.

To Cordoba, and a bit of history

We enjoyed first class dining on the AVE train. By the way, if you wonder how Spaniards eat...less food, more wine!

The AVE high-speed train took us to another great city reconquered from the Moors. It too had winding streets, and a fast walking tour, so I went by taxi to meet the group outside of the Cathedral of Cordoba.

Enjoying my first taste of independence in a wheelchair, I did some window shopping in Cordoba.

Cathedral of Cordoba

Wikipedia tells me that the site had been a Roman temple, then in the 600's a Christian Visigoth church was under construction when the Moors took over. It was completed in 784 A.D. and was at one time the second largest mosque in the world. It was reconsecrated as a Catholic church/cathedral in 1236 by King Ferdinand III.

hard to get good photos due to the lighting

When I entered this mosque turned cathedral, I felt the wonder of being in Spain fall in on me. I was always being encouraged to keep up with the tour, I tried to avoid being pushed in the wheelchair. I knew I could get the info on Wikipedia, I just wanted to be there, and take it in. LOTR fans...it was like being in the Mines of Moria, the halls of Khazad-dum. The pillars of marble, onyx, jasper and granite went on and on in such an eerie light.

There were many kind members of our group that were eager to help me keep up. I discovered how nicely wheelchairs move on marble, as opposed to cobblestone!

The tour guides and other Spaniards have no qualms about discriminating against the gyspies, and warning you to stay clear of them. Something about being quite adept with sticky fingers. This gypsy hounded Dad until he gave her something, (she said she was hungry, but wouldn't take the food I offered). I had to teach Dad to say "Acabo de regalarle" (I just gave you something), as she and her companions kept coming back to him.

Sevilla maravilla

We spent the next 3 days in Sevilla. I was set free from the tour guide and got to enjoy the marble floors and amazing sights of the cathedral, third largest in the world. The sights included Columbus' tomb and well...too many to describe.

I love the ceilings!

Hard to see, hard to photograph, but this tomb, with 4 kings carrying the casket of Columbus is impressive, and severe. Apparently Columbus has graves all over the Caribbean...seems they kept digging him up and moving him, possibly leaving parts as they went. They say he traveled more dead than he did alive!

One of many views of the cathedral

The cathedral was built on the site of a mosque which was torn down, and inside the tower is a minaret with a ramp that circles round so a horse could be ridden to the top. Of course I only heard about it, but Angie and her mother, Mary Ellen, from Calgary, made the climb!

Mary Ellen and Angie from our tour group, I really appreciated their company! Angie learned her Spanish in Oaxaca, down the coast from where we work.

more cool photos

outside yet another royal residence

inside the same royal residence, the Alcazar

I also admire floors and walls...

I had fun taking these pics. I was on my own, no one pushing my wheelchair, I was able to mount the ramps and that gave me such satisfaction. Of course, when you need help, you need help and you are very grateful for it! Thank you so much Dad!

but wait, there's more....

obviously there was more to the tour, but this is longer than I wanted to go today.

Coming Soon, Flamenco dancers, Gibraltor rock...and Granada!