Christmas Joy and Sadness

It is with great sadness and yet with great hope that we say MERRY CHRISTMAS! this year. Our dear Oma, Jason's grandmother, passed away last night on Christmas Eve after her struggle with cancer. Joan Little, or as known around these parts as "Oma," was a vibrant woman who loved people, loved her husband of sixty years with passion, loved being on the go and active, and most of all loved Jesus with a steady and confident faith. Oma was someone who would put her arm around you and say, "How are you doing, honey?." And she and Opa are probably the best 'Happy Birthday' singers I've ever heard. Holding the emotions of Oma's death and the joy of Christmas all in the same twenty four hours is a fitting way to remember that God broke into our world as a baby. That HIS life, death, and resurrection mean that we can sing with Handel the words of Scripture, "Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection from the dead." Amen, and come Lord Jesus, come. We love Oma. We will miss her terribly. But we are thankful for her faith which even in the end proved to minister the love of God to others.

Oma in her earlier days looking stunning

Oma-still radiant- with Rynn in downtown Portland - November'07



Christmas was celebrated by the Littles here in Portland in what was the whitest Christmas Portland has seen since the 1940s. My mom arrived yesterday to enjoy some snow, her grandbabies, and our dog who can't get enough loves from her.

Jason helps us carry on the Little tradition of iced butter cookies. Strict orders of business here. Got to get the icing just right...not too thick, not too thin...

Rynn says, "Daddy, these are the yummiest!."

...and I think Eleanor agrees.