Drama

Sometimes I think my life is so boring.
I look at some of my friends and they always have some sort of drama going on in their life.
Some good drama.
Some not so nice drama.
Some drama that makes me smile.....and say "Thank you God for my boring life!" :-)

But then,
then
it is winter in Canada
and I have D.R.A.M.A.

Not neccessarily what I would call the good kind of drama. :-P

But my life is not boring anymore!
{Am I supposed to thank you, God, for that? ....Sorry, still working on getting to that place!}





If you were within earshot of me these are things you might hear me say:
"well....we'll see"
"well.....maybe"
"well........IF so and so works out....."
"I H.A.T.E. winter" {this one gets repeated quite frequently, said to the tune of  "I hate 'toconut'"!! :-) haha}
"yeah, I think so...."



*disclaimer about the winter comment......I don't really hate winter. I just don't like blizzards and weeklong storms that change my plans--or worse, keep my plans all up in the air until the very last minute. :-p Yup, I'm kinda fussy. :-)
*I do have to say: "Check back hear in a year from now, and I will most likely have forgotten how bad a Canadian winter storm was, and will be wishing to see just a few snowflakes!!" ;-) ....So I am trying to enjoy this winter as much as possible. :-)

Happy Birthday, Sister!

 Hmmmm

Does Heaven have floral delivery service?

'Cause I would like to order the biggest bouquet of

 the most beautiful roses

 EVER 

delivered to my sister's mansion!

Roses of any colour would be fine.

{Well, maybe no yellow ones please. She wasn't fond of the that colour.}

But she loved roses.

And tulips.

And irises.

{And handfuls of weeds brought to her by her dear children.}

Happy Birthday, Sis!

Today you would have been 35 yrs old!

You know I would have teased you about it only being 5 more years until you turned 40! 

Wow! Can't believe you are that old!!

Seems like no that long ago that we were kids growing up together.

{nice "poof"! ;-) yes, yes, I know that's mostly to blame on the shadow.}

Wonder what cake I would have decorated for you this year?

A chiffon cake?

A Black Forest cake?

Just a pretty cake?

Or one baked for it's flavour?

It probably would have been chocolate somehow...we do like our chocolate. :-)

Maybe I could have got you a new pillow for your birthday?

Or given you the sisters photo frame that is sitting in my drawer.

Or a copy of the photo of us that I got drawn in Thailand...I know you would have loved that!

You never were a big 'gifts' person.

You cared more about relationships and spending time with people.

You never wanted people to make a fuss for you.

[Though you always went out of your way to make sure you cared for other people!]

This is your 2nd birthday you are celebrating in Heaven.

Wonder if the birthday celebrations get better each year....

Or maybe it's just another day of dancing thru God's flower gardens

and singing the Hallelujah Chorus [you would love that!!!].

For us here on earth, it's just another reminder that you are gone.

A reminder that we can't pick up the phone and chat for hours.

A reminder that we can't sit around your table with cake and laughter and good times....and YOU!

You are loved.

You are missed.

xoxo

Peace

the train is coming

well, not literally

tho at some moments it does seem like the train is waiting, 

ready to be boarded, 

& to take me away on many new [& possibly scary] adventures

ready to drive one place for a bit,

pick me up,

& drop me off at a new place
and then

repeat

repeat

repeat

it doesn't always feel like an adventure

some days it seems like a drudgery 

a task that just has to be completed

other times the fresh new page looks exhilerating!

new  place to visit

memories to make

the beginning of friendships 

life is like a fresh blanket of snow

new

clean

sparkling with promise

beautiful

I've been blessed recently with the reminder to just trust

to remember that God is in control

that He has already gone before me on this brand-new path I have to walk

and He is going to walk right beside me!

enjoy the beauty

it's time to stop

smell the flowers

enjoy the moment

.....He has it ALL in His control!!!

The Nephew's Birthday

He's 12!!

It's hard to believe.

My first nephew.

The first one to be spoiled LOVED! :) 

I saw him before he was 24 hours old......and I immediately fell in love with him. 

His bright bright eyes. His long fingers. His tiny little nose. His unique ear--that is now totally normal. :) 

I stayed with my sister for week after he was born. Just to spoil him--because my sister said "she didn't need any help!!" Whatever. I didn't care how it was said, just so long I got to hold him. :) 

I remember him as the long, skinny baby screaming at his mother and I as we tried to get "just one cute photo"....{okay, so it really was more like 50!}....*sidenote: After many many photos, he is turning into quite the pro at posing for photos! I'm proud of him. :)

Now he's growing up. Actually he's been grown up for quite awhile now. He always was a mature kid. 

And then life made him grow up faster than I would have liked to see. 

But he's a sweet kid!! :)

Compassionate. A perfect big brother---always looking out for and protecting his little sisters. Generous. Kind. Creative. Smart. Funny. A soccer player. A warrior for Jesus.

I love my nephew!! :)

We continued on with the tradition of letting the birthday person decorate the cake. 

The little sisters were kept preoccupied with decorating cupcakes.

This made for less arguments over who got to be in charge of decorating the cake....and for less hands trying to all decorate a 9x13 cake at once! ;-)

In keeping with Dutch tradition, the kitchen was decorated the night before the big day...after the birthday boy went to bed. A birthday banner was hung. And balloons were decorated and hung. 

All by his adoring sisters. :)

{A special thanks to the dear friend who started this tradition! You are remembered! And missed!!!}

The finished cake. 

A soccer/football field :)

The best part...in the eyes of all little birthday people....the gifts :)

Opening a gift from his little sister...of things taken from her collection of "special things".

[What a generous girl she is!!]

Happy Birthday!! 

May God give you strength, grace and His peace as you face the coming year!

Communion

communion

kəˈmjuːnjən

noun

1. 1.

   the sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially on a mental or spiritual level.
2. 2.

   the service of Christian worship at which bread and wine are consecrated and shared.

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   Ever since 2010, every time I partake in a Communion service my mind goes back to Nepal.

   That gorgeous country of beautiful mountains and terraced rice fields.

   And l.o.n.g. swinging bridges!!! :-)

In my mind I go back over that long BUMPY truck ride up the mountain to that tiny little apartment.

The one room apartment that serves as a kitchen, a dining room, a bedroom for 3 single missionaries, a church, and a meeting house.

 I picture the rice mats spread over the dirt floor. 

I feel the texture of the manure painted walls.

 I smell the smells of Nepal.

I miss that place.

The memories made there weren't all pleasant. 

But we look back on them now with fondness. 

It was a GOOD trip. :)

One of my favourite memories of those 10 short days was worshiping with my Nepalese brothers and sisters in Christ. I love being in a worship service where Christ is glorified in more than one language!

The faith of these Christians challenged me.

It still does today!

One of the highlights was being able to partake in a Communion service with the local church.

It was slightly different than the Communion service I attended last Sunday.

But the Presence of God was definately in that tiny one room apartment!

I will not forget the eagerness on the faces of all who came to that service....they were so eager to learn something new about Jesus!

The singing......

The crackers.....

The silver cup with the "wine"....

The seats of honour.....

Watching with interest at the way they drank from the cup.....wish I could learn that so I wouldn't have to  touch the cup that everyone else did. But, pretty sure that I would drop the crystal goblet for sure then!!

Wonder if in Bible times they ground their wheat/corn into flour in things similiar to what we saw cemented into the porches of the Nepalese houses??

 The chickens that attempted to see "if there was room for just one more inside the house"....

Oh the memories! :-)

 September 6th.

A day I will never forget.

 

Just last year on September 6th I was granted the blessing of missing classes and stealing away to cry, to journal, and to process what I had all been thru in the past year.

 All in one of the cutest coffee shops in Thailand. 

{Did you know that cute coffee shops, coffee, chocolate,tears & great friends are healing? Well, they are.}

Later that day, I was blessed beyond words to be surrounded by some exceptionally caring friends. There is nothing sweeter than being surrounded by friends that genuinely care! {You all go down in my book as heroes!! You know who you are!} 

 

Two years ago on Semptember 6th.....

It was one of the hardest days of my life.

It was the day I said goodbye to my sister.

 

Life hasn't been the same since.

 

They say the pain lessens with time.

{That is debateable.}

 

True, the tears might not be as frequent with the passing of time.

[But they are still there.]

 

Came across this quote again recently,

"I'm holding on for the day when Jesus wipes ALL my tears away."

Yup, that's me! :-)

What a day that will be!!!!

 

 

 

This year, I went out to watch the sunset over the lake.

I picked up a hot apple cider from Timmies. {The drink that my sister and I used to sip at to pass the time while we were in the hospital.}

It was good to have some time to think.
I was reminded how my sister and I would go out to the lake when we were younger. Oh the chats we would have. :-)
I miss those times.

I miss picking up the phone and calling her........just to chat.

                      Yellow goldenrods

 I remember a few summers ago when large bouquets of these weeds graced my sister's kitchen table....and the kitchen cupboards.....and any jar that was empty in the house. :-) My nieces loved to give their mommy flowers. And she loved to accept them as if they were a bouquet of a dozen long-stemmed roses!

 She was a good momma!

 

 

 

 

 

 "grief is life the ocean; it comes in waves, ebbing and flowing. sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. all we can do is learn to swim." ~Vicki Harrison 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So maybe I wasn't alone after all.

I've been thinking about "my" kiddos over in Cambodia lately.

Maybe it's because a year ago I was excitedly

{and somewhat nervously!}

 preparing to spend 4 months in Asia.

 

What an amazing [though not all easy] four months they were! :-)

How I miss those dear friends!!!

 

I threw these random photos of my dear friends together

and added Sara Grove's song

"I saw what I saw".

[the song rights belong to her]

 

My wish is that each one of us would be inspired to see God in those around us.

And that we would not forget the things God has taught us.

May you be inspired to love with God's love and to dream God's dreams.