Category Archives: God

God, Parenting

Be Having a Pumpkin Party

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What rituals or traditions do you have, intentional or unintentional?

I love me some traditions!

Yearly activities to look forward to.

Our God, seasons and people to celebrate.

Four years ago we started a pumpkin carving party with some very good friends. We have managed to make it happen every year, even during last autumn’s cancer journey with mom. Here are 2013 photos!

My heart overflows with gratitude for this incredible evening we got to share together carving pumpkins.

Simple fun.

Together.

Memory making.

Creating.

Laughter.

Competition.

Food.

Friendship.

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Look at these creative people:

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Proud boys.

Their very own creations (with help from Papa, Lizzie and Princess Penny).

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God, Grief, writing

Be Standing in the Light

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Me.

Yes, me.

I encourage you to stop.

Pause.

Stand.

Take one moment.

To be.

Watch your breath.

Listen.

Really listen to the sounds around you.

Right now.

What do you hear?

What do you see?

Why are you choosing to do what you are doing on THIS day?

Death is forever.

Life is now.

I choose to stand in the light.

Imperfectly me.

Humbled.

Vulnerable.

In His light.

Just being.

Me.

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I am not sure how I got this photo, but again it was through nothing that I did.

Just being.

In His light.

Boys, God, Jesus Christ

Be Gobsmacked

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Gobsmacked.

Flat on my face in awe.

Humbled.

Grateful.

Watching God’s miracles (coincidences) on a daily basis.

Living the presence of God.

This week, a friend was healed from months of pain in her foot. God’s touch healed her.  In one moment her pain was gone.  I have never experienced anything like this before in my life!

On Thursday, I took out a jacket that I bought for my mom last autumn to bring her warmth and comfort as her body shrunk during chemotherapy. I placed this jacket over my shoulders and I was overwhelmed that this beautiful jacket fits me.

20140914-102410-37450382.jpg How is this possible?

Last night, Sexy Neck told me that he wanted to keep a few large blue Tupperware bins that I was going to give away. I unpacked each of these bins. One of them had 0 to 3 month old boys clothing and at the bottom of the bin, I found a ring Steve bought me for our fifth anniversary that I lost SEVEN YEARS AGO! I am grateful Steve asked me to keep the bins.

20140914-102704-37624893.jpgThis beautiful ring now sits back upon my finger. I am amazed at God’s goodness. I grieved losing this ring when my oldest was a newborn.

And now this morning…

Often I leave colouring or activity sheets or notes for my boys on the table when they wake up in the morning.

This is the sheet I picked out for OC.

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Notice the scripture on the bottom of his colouring sheet?

As OC was colouring his sheet, I opened my bible to look up some scripture on a 40 day challenge I am doing from Igniting Hope Ministries. If you are curious, here is the website.
Anyways, I open my bible to look up the scripture I was wondering about AND IT IS THE SAME SCRIPTURE THAT IS ON OC’S SHEET! I had to underline this word in my bible.

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Flat on my face.

Wondrous God.

Gobsmacked.

Can’t think of a better word.

Family, God, Parenting

Be Introducing Sexy Neck

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This is Sexy Neck, aka Steve, one year before we got married. (1996)

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We met playing volleyball, living 785 kilometres apart, then dated long distance for four and a half years living 298 kilometres apart.  We had never lived in the same city until we got engaged.

Sexy Neck is first and foremost kind. Also very athletic.  Intelligent. Loves God.   Witty.  Sexy.   Artistic (most people don’t know he can draw and learned to play guitar by ear).  Hardworking.  Dog lover.  Gardener.    Handy.   He’s an idea guy.    I think he tells me about a new idea every day!

And he is incredibly “cool”.  He loved taking “Selfie’s” before selfies were selfies.

Here we are back in 1996!

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Full of gratitude for this man.

His strong shoulders.

The love for his boys.

His passion and care for me.

Sexy Neck,  are you blushing?

P.S. We ran into a friend’s mom that we had never met before, but she had been reading the blog.  She giggled when she saw Steve, called him Sexy Neck then asked to see his neck.  It was one of the sweetest moments in our new neighbourhood with an old volleyball friend’s mom!

Goals, God, Parenting

Be Talking About Money $$ (and Food)

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September should be the new year.

New activities.

New routines.

An almost new school year.

New lessons while cooking dinner.

And talk about money!

Sexy Neck and I have embarked on an intensive look at our budget.

Spreadsheets.

Bills.

Bank statements.

Daily conversations.

We have lived in our home for over a year.  Our boys are in the activities they would like to be in.  We have found our places to grocery shop and realized how our spending has changed. We miss our backyard rental suite that we had in our old home, but we have ideas.  STAY TUNED!

I have been working on our budgeting spreadsheet as well as listening to Youtube videos about budgeting.  I have come across a very interesting man, who was once bankrupt, who believes in God and now teaches others about finance.  His name is Dave Ramsey.  Youtube him and you will find out some interesting things.  I listened last night to a short eight minute video and here are some of the highlights:

  • God owns money, stuff, time and talents.
  • We are the managers.
  • These things (money, stuff, time and talents) are not ours, stop worrying about them.
  • God made us to be givers.

He also spoke about giving money to others or tithing.  He basically said that to tithe means one tenth.  We could give away one tenth of our income right at the beginning of the month.

Today, I was cooking dinner and thought about this concept of giving away one tenth of our income right away.

 

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When I was cooking dinner, I was stretching our leftovers from last night to feed us all dinner as well as make sure that I had leftovers for Sexy Neck’s lunch for tomorrow.   I decided to first put the food in Sexy Neck’s lunch and then serve the rest of us dinner.

Guess what?  When I served the lunch first there was enough for dinner, but I know if I served dinner first there wouldn’t have been any leftovers.

I wonder if we gave away ten percent of our income right at the beginning of the month… I bet there would be enough for everything else too!

 

 

cancer, Family, God, Grief

Be Midnight Me

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Last night I wrote the poem below at midnight, not because I wanted to but I am realizing that this is a good time for me to write.

Quiet.

Dark.

Completely present.

Being.

My mind zips along on its hamster wheel of thought.

Writing helps me grab words, themes, feeling and alas the wheel stops.

One year after my mom’s second session of crazy poison chemotherapy, my grief is deep. The benefit of living a year past this moment is that I know the waves won’t consume me, the grief won’t paralyze me and my sleepless nights will end.

Here are my midnight musings:

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Midnight Me

I am a northern girl.

A redneck to some.

I am six feet tall.

A woman.

Imperfectly perfect in His image.

Overflowing with God’s grace.

(Cause He knows I need it!)

I am a Jock.

And an artist.

A mover and shaker.

A beautiful outlaw.

A writer of words.

A bearer of my soul.

A sole bearer.

My heart hurts.

As I ponder.

Watching my best friend.

My mama.

Die.

She has gone ahead of me.

Leading the way to heaven.

My mom’s life and death has re-ignited the gift Jesus gave me at 19.

A reminder.

Freedom to the captives.

Hope.

Grace.

Love.

The rope is frayed.

Split.

Disintegrating.

Nothing holds me back.

Expectations.

Judgement.

To do lists.

I am free!

Glory to God alone who brings freedom to the captives and weaves EVERYTHING together for his goodness.

Boys, God, Grief

Be Holding Tightly to Little Things

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I sense a loosening of many expectations I used to have, a fraying rope.

My grip is also loosening on so many of the things in my own home as I watch my dad go ‘through’ mom’s things.

I am blessed as many of the fantastic clothes mom had fit me. A few of her shoes do too!

I must admit though, that I am holding very tightly to a few little ‘things’: 20140904-225644-82604106.jpgThis is the birthday announcement we put in the newspaper for mom’s 70th birthday on March 30th, 2013.

20140904-225743-82663234.jpgA grocery list from last November.

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The Christmas present tag my mom wrote for me last Christmas. She was very ill before Christmas but she always had her shopping done early!

As I look at the three little pieces of paper I wonder why they are important. I realized it is because they represent the little things.

My mom was excellent because EVERY DAY she did the little things well. She remembered my boys favourite foods and books. She celebrated every little thing – birthdays, first day of school, thanksgiving, Easter, Christmas, plays, practices…. EVERYTHING! My mom always thought of us, how she could help or what she could pick up or when we could get together. Our lives were interwoven. She thought about holidays and how to include everyone. She planned and organized all the details. Mom would often surprise us with beautiful handmade placemats or table runners that she had been working on for months before they were meant to be used.

She was very present for all the little moments. Sometimes, I would walk in my laundry room and find our clean clothes folded. Often she would clean out our hand vac. She always took the dogs for a stroll, just because she liked to think of the little things.

Right now there are a lot of ‘big things’ going on around me that affect our family profoundly (teacher’s strike, mainly).

I am taking a page from my mom’s book of excellence and I am focusing on the little things.

Boys, God, Grief, Parenting

Be Hearing Night Night from Nana

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I looked out the car window and saw the sun setting through the cloud. I exclaimed, “A slice of heaven!”

Almost three year old OC said, “Nana in heaven!”

Then we had a family discussion on what being dead means.

OC piped up, “Nana talk to me.”

Our seven year old added, “She talks to me too!”

I asked them what does she say.

OC said, “Night night. From her house in heaven.”

Enough said.

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