I Have a Friend...

... that in itself is a huge joy and wonder!  To have someone that shares a part of your soul.  I have someone I can tell anything to, who still loves me.  Who can pick up in a moment, months gone by and say, "that's not who you are", "this is why you do that", because they know you, or "what I see is...".  That is a gift!  I don't have a sister who has seen everything about me from birth to now, but my life is full of sister friends who take that place.  I realize today how much we need to encourage each other, that we need each other so desperately much, to know we're on the right road, to pick us up when we're stumbling around.  To give wisdom from something we've already learned and pass it onto someone else who needs it.  To give our hearts to our daughters.

I have been restless, so restless for months now.  Stumbling around, not really knowing where this life is headed.  Wanting a cause, a purpose outside of myself.  I don't want to just fill a day with things to keep busy, or interested, or heaven forbid to stave off boredom.  There needs to be more, more purpose filling the moments, more life giving interactions.  But I feel so ill equipped to do that. And it seems so hard to find right now.

The thing about turning 40, is realizing how little I really have, how much I need a Savior.  In my 20s, I had the world by the tail, was confident, directed, a leader, led a campus ministry, and didn't doubt so often.  But probably stepped on a few more toes and hearts.  Didn't know the bits of silence that God gives to draw us.  He knows we can handle Him turning His back for moment, a blip of time that feels like way too long, but to Him is a way to test our faithfulness.

If God never spoke, would you still trust Him?  If you never again heard His voice, would you still love Him, want Him?  There was that 400 years of silence where no one heard from Him, what was He doing all that time?  Preparing a gift, a breakthrough, spending time with the Son He was going to give away?  Ignoring our pleas, or in some way drawing us out of ourselves?

It's easy to see how I need Him when I've had the lack of Him.  So I am thankful:


298.  Depth of friendships over the years, sharing, confessing, laughing
299.  Skies that look a lot like Alberta
300.  Oh I wish I had my camera.. the rich navy/black storm clouds gathering over the dark, Emerald  green of Kalamalka Lake with golden grasses dancing in the foreground
301.  Jacob's big schedule change and class shuffle ending up to be a good thing in the end, and his friend joining him there at the end of last week.
302.  A new window that KD has been working so hard to get installed
303.  Tomatoes overflowing their vines
304.  Mom and Dad going to Romania to visit missionary friends
305.  Feeling appreciated and good at my job
306.  Love this acoustic feel

307.  A delivery of books

Sharing Gratitude with Others

 

I'm going to lose all my readers if I keep up this blogging pace.  All 10 of you :)  September gets little busy, you know how it goes.  We've had a pretty smooth adjustment to fall, except for the fact that after 2 1/2 weeks of school Jacob had his entire schedule, classes, teachers, everything changed. He seems to be flowing with it right now, which is very mature of him.  He makes me proud and makes me laugh, his one liners lately have been really good!

Finally got my peaches canned!

 .

 Had a couple birthdays that sort of flew by with not enough recognition.  

Maybe we should re-birthday, is that allowed?

 Erin saw this awesome shirt online and ordered it!  It came, it's awesome she wore it to school and got comments, good ones.

The Pregnancy Care Center, of which I'm an avid supporter, is celebrating 5 years today.  I need to run and pick up some big cakes!   Hope fully I won't drop them.  That would probably about top off the kind of week I've been having!  Chat to you later with much more love and depth!

Write your own Caption:

I'm sorry, this just had to be posted.  Any clue as to what's going on?  I'll take guesses.

And They're Off!!

Who can believe the school year has started again?  2 more years and my girl will be deciding what to do with her life!  And poor Jacob, slogging through the middle of middle school.  Oh, I hated grade 8!  This is the first year in so many that he hasn't been plagued with anxiety about the first day of school, where for days or weeks before, physical symptoms creep up showing how he's really feeling on the inside.  In that way, it's a bit OK with me that he's growing up.  I can't stop it anyways. And plus having teenagers is a hoot!

First day of school photo:  They were a little uncooperative and running late, but still managed to smile.  And who can beat 32 degrees here yesterday?

Home

My girl and I are back from a cross country trip to Ottawa that was full of fun, sightseeing, friendships, old and new, and living country farm life for a little while.  Collecting fresh farm eggs and chasing horses that escaped across hay fields, riding through the fields for hours and picking fresh apples off old, weathered, homestead trees. Makes me wishing to come home to a quiet few acres rather than a neighbor who decides to pressure wash at 10 pm last night.  But... I am reminded of the full blessings that fill my life to the brim and overflowing.  Not to wish away all that is so good right here and right now.  How I miss my boys, who are waiting patiently for us to come back to them. Another morning of crepes on the table, and a house full of love, a fresh flush of new red roses out back, and a fridge full of food when so many have nothing.  For health... when friends so close are crying the pains of those trials daily.

We had a rich and full time, lots of laughter, good memories and making new ones and new friends!

By the pond that Greg built:

 Across the hay fields:

 100 year old barns:

 E and Soley, the Icelandic:

 Parliament:

 At changing of the guard:

 Jack Layton's casket going into Parliament:

 Me and E:

 Erin and Kirstin:

 Me lifting a bar of gold- 28 pounds, $450,000:

 At the Royal Mint:

 Kristin and Greg's place, so lovely:

 Erin giving Dr. Kirstin (literature Ph.D) a serious run for her money at Steal a Word:

 K and Vigo:

Old homestead apple tree:

 Erin and Greg after a 3 hour ride:

 Kirstin and Soley heading out bareback:

 What's a century farmhouse without a real window seat?

If You're the Praying Kind....

...and even if you're not, He'll still listen.  One of my closest girlfriends is having a really BAD birthday today!  Her Mom is in the hospital having everything scanned and MRIed to see if what they've found in her brain yesterday is really what they think it is.  If you could take a few minutes on your knees, in the quiet of your bathroom, or while you're cooking dinner to pray for healing and peace and courage and strength.  I believe in the power of prayer!

Some Erin Awesomeness

 

I finally had a chance to sit down and look through Erin's photos from Oregon 

(there are over 700).  Here's a few highlights of things from her perspective!  I just love looking at photos of beautiful places, especially ones I've been to. She's getting really good with her Nikon D3000.

 See the whale in the one below, we waited a long time for him to do something interesting, but he didn't.

 Do you see the feet popping out, or imprinting in?

 I'm glad she has one normal parent, I have no idea what I'm doing!

 And one crazy brother! 

She loves taking pictures of water.