I didn't stay over....

at the Harry Jerome Track last night. I was in bed by 1 a.m. .....sleeping whilst my team mates weathered the cold night air and the constant wind. I trust it settled down by the early morning hours for them all. I managed to sleep in until after 8:30. Woke up with aching joints and sore limbs, nonethless.

I still haven't heard the financial results of the Relay for Life but I'm trusting they made a pile of cash.

Today we just did errands after we went for breakfast.

The breakfast conversation consisted of thoughts of the man who used to sell his wife's baking at the Farmer's Market here in town, Bill Ewashko. Bill died last year of cancer. Husband and I recalled going to their home to pick up some of his wife's great buns and bread, stopping in for a chat and them telling us about their daughter having cancer too. She died this week.

I don't know about you, but I'm not sure just how folks manage to pick up the pieces of their lives when they have such tradgedy. I know God sustains us....somehow. I've been there. But a husband AND an only daughter.....well, that is what we talked about over breakfast. When we think on these things, wondering what would happen if those kinds of things befell our family, and when we wonder about the hows and whys, we say "no, I could never survive that, nor would I want to!!!"

But you know what??? We do survive. We do go on. Somehow, within the deepest part of our being, comes tiny shards of hope, like the first slivers of light at day break. There is a different look to the sky just before sunrise. There are no rays, just an ability to see things around you a bit more clearly and then as the earth progresses on its path, the first rays touch the tips of the highest buildings and trees and then it shines full force, right into your bedroom window.

That is how I could describe facing the pain of death. It's like God only allows our hearts to take in minute amounts of pain at a time, slowly (probably to allow us to get the details of funeral and burial over with)....ever-so-slowly and then in a flash, it hits you full force, hard enough to blind you. Well, you're blinded with the pain for a time but as the sun rises and the earth continues on it's path, away from the sharpness of the noonday light, it becomes less harsh once again until it reaches the softness of the night.

The earth may make it's orbit once every 24 hours, but the pain of death can make it's orbit every 24 seconds..........or less........

I'm glad that God lives in that beating, inner part of me, the part that offers the hope of a new day...of a new moment.

Sometimes a moment is all we can handle.

Tonight's the night....

Yes, it's "RELAY FOR LIFE" time, ladies & gentlemen. The Canadian Cancer Society is hosting the walk-a-thon this evening....that's walk-a-thon.....NOT "walk a thong".....as a retired co-worker put it..... so, we won't be walking our thongs, as some would have it, but we will be walking around the Harry Jerome Track tonight....with or without our thongs.......

Our team, the Forest Service "Studs & Peelers", will be out there in full force...a bit smaller team this year, but we'll be putting our efforts forth nonetheless.

As most teams do, we raise money all year long, so it's not a "one night stand", as it were. We host Wednesday Bistros, Pie Days, Cheesecake Bake-Offs, BBQ's and other miscellaneous fund raising activities. We work hard to raise money for this event, to put some much-needed cash into the Cancer Society for their needs.

I would like to publicly thank our captain, Val Nicholson, who is one great person to have as our team captain. She organizes, goes to extra meetings, does a million other little things, most of which go unnoticed to encourage us onward and upward towards this night. So, thanks a kazillion, Val. You're the very best captain we could ever hope for!!

This will be the first year I didn't stay overnight, I think. My body says I should get my sleep, so I shall leave the long wee hours of the morning to the rest of my teammates. They shall be walking and I shall be sleeping...I feel like I'm letting them down but I know my limits!

So, here I go 'til midnight or so. I managed to personally fund raise just short of $300......down from last years total for me, but I suppose when you put all the monies together, we will have done well.

Had better get husbands camouflage rain jacket....just in case it pours.

Thanks for supporting this great cause everyone. Three years ago, our co-worker died of cancer, while we walked the track....brings back memories..........

May the Lord watch over those who are suffering this night, for those who also will die this night and for their families.

Community....

There's so much about living in community that I enjoy.

For one thing, when we say "potluck tomorrow night at so-and-so's house"....the response is usually, "great, let's see what's in the fridge to bring.....maybe I'll stop by KFC or I probably could whip up a salad and cut up a watermelon. I think we've got some nacho chips in the cupboard and salsa." When community all thinks like that, it's a smorgasborg to delight even the most finicky of eaters. People bring buns and breads of various descriptions, hotdogs, Trifles, cobblers, hamburgers, veggies and dip...more than we all can eat, certainly.

People came when they were able. Some worked later than others but still there was plenty for all. We sat around and laughed and talked. We watched with praying hearts as old and young children tried their skills on the trampoline...yikes!!!! Babies wandered about, learning to walk up steps, falling and walking again. Everyone helped everyone else.

The host and hostess were generous, kind and gracious too....along with their children.

Community also means sharing in the needs of others, sharing in their joys and sorrows, their accomplishments and their disappointments, their hopes fulfilled and their dreams that have been shattered.

I hugged a friend tonight. I felt her and her husbands disappointment for their hard working son, and it saddened me greatly. I felt for all of them. Some experiences in life can never be taken back or made right for the moment, when the dream should have been fulfilled but wasn't, through no fault of their own. I cried for my friends.

There is a place in community to share those times in life. I'm so glad I am a part of that, where my life is not really my own. I am accountable to my friends but I also I depend on them for their support and encouragement.

Yes. I am blessed to live in a caring community, a community of Christ followers who are learning the lessons of how to love deeply and unconditionally......... and freely.

Gateway Covenant Church is a great place to be real, to have fun and to eat big meals together. The early church was like that too....a place where people wanted to become a part, where they were loved and where people really knew who they were.

It talks about it in Acts 2:46, 47:

"They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved."

So, you want to become a part of a community??? Do I have the place for you.......

An experience...

A beautiful May spring day it was.

When I came home at lunch time, I brewed a spot o' tea and took it outside with me to sip.

Put my chair facing south...into the sun.....sat back, feet up.....and sipped.

The tea was ever-so-fine.

The air was breathtaking....as in, when I took a breath in it was like breathing in a 3 dimensional virtual canvas that swallowed up your senses into one gigantic, passionate nature high.

Fragrances from the flowering blossoms near by, along with the scent of freshly cut grass, budding leaves and newly cultivated soil, all made for a moment in aroma paradise.

Green surrounded me, flowers gazed proudly out from their various sized pots, anxious to strutt their stuff. I didn't want to be the one to tell them that that was as far as they would be going but a few were hanging out and over their confines to show me just how daring and bold they could be.

Sun burst over me, warming my bones and my eyeballs, toenails and lips, bathing me in Vitamin D.

Too many more of these half hour erotic experiences and I'll have to stay indoors...........

I wonder...

I wonder if people look at me and the things I do and think to themselves, "So, that's what she's really like...not the person I figured her to be, that's for sure. I think she tries to impress others by the way she speaks and if she's trying to impress others, she probably doesn't have much confidence in who she is as a person. I think she's a total fake!"

Anyway, if you find out things about me like that, just whack me over the head with a 2 x 4. It would be better than me being superficial and trying to look important.....and it might even knock some sense into me. It could be a good thing.

There are just some events in life that make me shake my head and really wonder about folks.

But I wonder about myself too. I think that even if we do have Christ within us, changing us into His likeness, we still can become arrogant, perhaps a bit self-centered, thinking more highly of ourselves than we aught. Perhaps we could still attempt to make ourselves look better than the person sitting across from us, as a way of being superior to that person. Have you ever witnessed a person really taking over a conversation, attempting to get others to think they are very intelligent and highly educated and really on the ball about everything.

Ya, it makes me sick to my stomach too.

Christ says that our only confidence should be in Him.....not ourselves.

I shall attempt to remember that a little more often. If I don't like to see it in others, I surely do not want to see it in me!

May the Lord have mercy on me......

Let's try that again....

How difficult can it be to go to the cinema?

Well, seems like there's always something that comes along to take you somewhere OTHER than the cinema.

Tonight, we have a one track mind.

We'll see Indiana Jones if it kills me! ;-)

He has such a nice looking, gentle face that Harrison Ford.....not that I'm going just to look at him, or anything.

Grab the sheets.

By the sounds of it, we may get a degree or so of frost tonight.....soooooooo, grab those sheets and get on outside to cover all your sweet little darlings up so they won't get cold.

Most flowers will perish if we don't do our part to save them.

Up and at 'em. Here I go.

It's worth the effort.

Just wished I could cover Ms. Appletree whose lovely blossoms are peeking through.

I'm off.....sheets in hand.

Of course, it may not freeze either.

But, I'm not going to chance it.....my flowers were a Mother's Day gift, afterall.

I'm dependent.

Out from the bush comes our son. Seems like these two sons (one an in-law, but our son, nontheless),in our family kind of appear and then disappear.

One flies farther north than I care to think about for three weeks to work and comes back for three weeks.

One flies/drives into bush country hither and yon and who knows where for a few weeks, more or less, and then appears again out of nowhere for a day or two, before disappearing again.

It's one of those seasons of life for our family, I suppose.....not only for the two leaving, but for those of us left behind - to pray for them, for their safety and their provision.

I depend on God to safely keep them.

At least the one who flies north has a phone and email to communicate.

The tree planting son has a phone that does........oops....does not.....oh good, does......dang, does not.......have cell phone coverage......depending.........now you hear him......now you don't.....kind of thing.

Ya. I'm totally dependent.

On God.....good thing I don't need cell phone coverage to talk to Him!!

I'm pumped....

We're off to see the action-packed adventures of Indiana Jones.

Ken likes action.

I like Indiana.

Hope we end up in the same theatre.;-)

A small miracle.

I'm one of those "weirdos" who believes in the power of God. His healing power to be specific.

Jesus and his disciples all performed miracles....real miracles as in raising the dead. I believe it happens in these days as well. Faith has a lot to do with it....even if it's the size of a tiny mustard seed, the Bible tells us.

My Aunt today, moved the fingers on her paralyzed hand. It may be that healing is slowly taking place within her body, and so, I shall give credit where credit is due.

I thank God for this small, and very encouraging miracle in her life.

It sometimes is the small things in life that become the most meaningful and this is one of those things. It made us laugh and be thankful together...something we hadn't done for a while.

Psalm 126:2-4 captures our emotions this night:

"2We celebrated with laughter
and joyful songs.
In foreign nations it was said,
"The LORD has worked miracles
for his people."
3And so we celebrated
because the LORD had indeed
worked miracles for us.
4Our LORD, we ask you to bless
our people again,
and let us be like streams
in the Southern Desert."

Sore head....part deux

That should read more like "soar" head.....as it seems like my head has soared above my body and is attempting to get itself under pain control.

That being said, it was a much better day. Headache not totally gone....just those twinges left to remind me that yes, my head is still attached and yes, I am very much alive.

I trust that I may be afforded the opportunity to be at my job in the morrow......

Ta ta for now dear friends.......enjoy the lovely eve which is upon us...........

(It must be the drugs............)

Sore head.

It was one of those nights.....and days.

The dreaded migraine.

Makes one a mite out of sorts.

Looking to a better tomorrow????.....

Good times.

It's been some weekend. Between planting flowers, traveling to Waskesiu, hearing the Watoto Children's Choir and today celebrating good old Queen Victoria's birthday, it has been a good, (very good actually) long weekend.

And now to tie up some parcels to send to two bushwackers who are sojourning in various forests throughout Canada. Tree planters need to be encouraged....somehow. Various candy and trail mixes will have to suffice.

Work tomorrow too.

Aunt Connie seems to be making small advances in her recovery. That's always good to see. She now has TV, at her request, and will, in the days ahead, be practicing the art of dressing oneself with one hand. I think she'll do it too!

So, Happy Victoria Day...................when's the next long weekend anyway?????

Ice and melt-down.

We took a quick trip up to P.A. National Park to check out a few camping sites.

First, breakfast at the hotel. The best omlette I've ever tasted!

Checked out the campground. Looks like many sites need a lot of repair before the summer starts!

We sat on the boardwalk and gazed out to the lake.

She was one big ball of mush. I walked right down to the edge and listened to the crackling and dripping of the ice melting and moving and heaving.

Now I know why it's always so cold in that lake during the first part of our vacation....the blasted ice has been out only a few weeks by then.

There were a few piles of snow lying in various stages of melt-down. A couple of snow balls landed next to my feet. Good thing husband has a pretty good aim. We were saying that by July, we would be wishing for that snow bank!

The sun was warm. The breeze was cool. The smell of pine was everywhere.....and the beach was deserted.

I should have staked out our little section of beach while I was there, for when we arrive in late June.

I wonder if it ever will get to that point.....renting your beach space???

A flower day...

It began on Mother's Day. Daughter and family gave me a gift certificate to a local greenhouse/nursery.

Today, being +24C, it was the day to purchase my flowers.

It was a feast for the eyes after a very long, cold winter. Color everywhere. I couldn't decide.

OK. One bright orange begonia....one angelic white one...one soft peach one...and a vivid red one.

Some delicately light pink cascading petunias.

A few of those tiny flowered plants than hang nicely out of the pots but also spread out in all directions for good ground cover.......in lilac and purple and pink.

Several hanging lobelia (or however you spell it). I like how they look, I just don't know much about them nor how to spell their names.

Many bags of potting soil.

Went home. Potted the flowers. Had a bottle of beer....so good after working hard.

It was a most lovely gift certificate.......to enjoy the entire summer. I am very grateful!

With a fitting end to this day, I watched "Lilies of the Field" on TCM.

Then I read in Luke 12:27 where it talks about flowers:

"Has anyone by fussing before the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? If fussing can't even do that, why fuss at all? Walk into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They don't fuss with their appearance—but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never even seen, don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?" The Message

God makes good things......

Well, that was fun!

Too bad there wasn't a dance floor!

We had supper at Grand Central Cafe on......you guessed it, Central Avenue and 20th Street.

A buffet. Good old fried chicken, mashed spuds, gravy and about 5 various salads.

It was seniors night. Well, you had to be over 65 if you received the reduced rate. I guess they figured anyone younger than 65 still had good appetites and would have to pay the full price.

And they were right, of course.

Husband and I were the youngest ones there, if white heads were any indication.

It was a hoot!

AND they had a real live three piece band - rhythm guitar, bass guitar and an accordion (with a fiddle thrown in now and then for good measure).

Not only that, I knew every song they played.......after the first few bars I'd announce to husband what they were playing and I'd start singing along.....ya, while eating. I just couldn't help myself. I remember my mother singing all of those songs when I was very young and she'd be dancing in the kitchen while she sang (sometimes it would be on the radio) and I'd join her. We'd sing and dance.

I love music. It's in my blood. I could dance 'til the cows come home.....note I said "could".

It was a great way to begin a long and beautiful weekend.

Tree planting tip #652

For those of you out there trying your "hand" at tree planting during these marvelous summer months, in order to make those all important buckeroos to pay back all those government induced loans and credit cards and lines of credit, do I have a tip for you.

Yes, tip #652 in the handbook for tree planting newcomers reads this:

"Should one not be wishing ones hands to be shredded into tiny bleeding shreds of skin/tissue, whilst in the arduous process of placing tree seedlings into the ground at faster-than-lightening speed, take one role of DUCT TAKE (or as some call it DUCK TAPE), wrap ones individual fingers and whole hands with said tape up to ones wrists."

That should do the trick. These are just little facts taken from various former "star" performers in the art of tree planting......back in the day.

Here are some famous thoughts on the infamous product:

"The epigram "duct tape is like The Force – it has a light side and a dark side, and it binds the Universe together" - Carl Zwanzig. Red Green of The Red Green Show refers to duct tape as "the handyman's secret weapon" and says that, "If you have duct tape and you need money, you're better off than if you have money and need duct tape.

and of course, Tim 'The Toolman' Taylor says "if you can't fix it, 'duck' it!".

Well, that's all I have to say about that.

Have a ducky night.

It's hard to understand.

It's difficult getting our minds around spiritual things, isn't it. Today, we attended a funeral for a former co-worker. I didn't know Les when he worked with Forestry. I knew him only as a fellow Christian - outside of the workplace. Les experienced God in his life. We had quite a few chats about how God had sustained him throughout his illness and all the difficulties that life threw at him over these past several years.

I sat there in the service wondering what others were thinking about it all.....about what the pastor was saying about believing and knowing there is something much better after we die.

I know many would try to be reasoning it all out by saying that some people are simply strong people and can go through difficulties more easily than others and that Les just kind of took the bull by the horns and said "I can do this".............or to reason that some people are simply weak and need a crutch like "Christianity" to hang on to, as a good luck charm because they can't be strong in themselves.

Well, Les understood (as much as we humans can comprehend) that there is definitely another world out there. The Spirit world where reasoning takes a back seat to experiencing. Les experienced God. Can't explain it. Can't reason it out. Can't write it down or take it out for coffee with you. It's an experience.....of the heart.

It IS difficult to understand. How does one understand things one cannot see. How does one comprehend those experiences in life.....like being healed of a disease or a marriage that is mended back together, or of broken relationships with children being restored.

Yes, I agree, that usually it takes humility on our part to begin these painful but necessary processes but there are unseen powers and forces working to enable us, to help us along in life, to allow these things to happen. God is an unseen power, an unseen help in time of trouble, an unseen love that allows us to love those who are unlovable. It is God's unseen spirit that allows us to give sacrificially, it helps us to not be judgmental or critical, and it allows us to give a homeless guy our coat when he asks us.......well, not just our coat, but Jesus said we should give our sweater too.

Nope. I don't understand it. But like Les, I believe in it......with my whole heart, mind and soul.

Promises...

Pastor yesterday mentioned an instance where in February of 1992, he experienced God in a profound way. When he mentioned that year and month, I remember writing something in my Bible around that exact same time.

I looked it up.

There it was. February, 1992 I wrote the words "Promise", beside the Scripture verses from Jeremiah 29:11-14a. Looks like God was speaking into our hearts around the very same time. I needed to hear from God at that time in my life. I was wretched and thirsty for a drink of hope. I found it in that passage. I noted in the margins also, that this very same Scripture passage was Pastor Randall's first sermon he preached to us at Gateway in 1998.

Here is the promise from Jeremiah 29:11-14a

"I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. 12"When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen. 13-14"When you come looking for me, you'll find me. "Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed." God's Decree. "I'll turn things around for you." The Message

I love promises from those whom I can trust to fulfill them......and I DO trust God.

It's Mother's Day....

I remember as a little girl, making my Mom beautiful cards for Mother's Day. Don't you?

My Mom kept a card I made for her. I must have been around 9 years old when I fashioned it. I found that card when we moved from the old house last year. I remember decorating it with special things, making a little poem to write inside and then making this enormous kleenex carnation which was glued to the front. Remember making those flowers? I thought it was the most beautiful card in all the world and it was on blue paper. I guess my Mom thought the same, since she kept it. It was the only way I could find to express to her how I felt about her.

Cards can do that. I received Mother's Day cards from husband and son/girlfriend as well as from daughter and her family. I think by now, around 7 p.m. I have read those cards at least a dozen times. They say things to me. They let me know that even with all of my imperfect ways and disasters at being a mother, there were things that God allowed them to see in my life to encourage them and to let them know they were loved. In those cards, they expressed their love and appreciation to me as their mom in their own words. Husband too.

What greater joy in all the world than being appreciated throughout ones life by ones children. And I say this with all humility. Without God giving me wisdom and guidance and understanding, I could never have given my children what they needed from a mother.

I know there are some moms out there who are not as fortunate as I, and my heart goes out to you....really. I feel your pain deeply. But I have found that there is always time for forgiveness and repentance and new beginnings. I believe that because I have experienced that.

God, may you restore relationships this night. May you be the giver of life. May you allow us enough grace to show that grace to our children, no matter what the situation is today. Teach us God what it is we need to know, and to accept life on your terms....not ours. Amen.

"Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name." Psalm 86:11

2 blocks over and 3 blocks down....

On our way to visit Aunt Connie each day, we take the bit longer route...down the hill and over, as the roads on that route don't have as many holes. (That's a whole other story!!)

On that longer route, we travel past the "other side" of humanity. We drive past those places that look as if the world has forgotten....and all just a couple of blocks from where all the neatly landscaped, well taken care of, 3 vehicle families live.

Two young boys we drove past were in another world, literally....where drugs and violence and hopelessness live. Where those things are the norm. It makes my heart sad to think that there are so many young people who live right close to me, take drugs to simply get away from the reality of their despair.

There must be something I can do..........well, perhaps there is something we, as community, can do. Not sure what, but helplessness and hopelessness seem to go hand in hand and something or someone needs to offer a glimpse of hope.

I think Jesus and his followers would be right in there pitching for the "other side".

Come to think of it, I do call myself one of his followers too. I don't think I'm measuring up.

Just plain tired....

Busy at work. So busy I'm exhausted this evening.

I feel void of anything but tiredness.

If warm weather doesn't come soon, I may simply hibernate until next summer.

And I think of my children and all they are doing and their physical ailments and all of their own personal responsibilities and that just makes me feel more tired.

And Aunt Connie will continue to be in hospital for a very long time and when I think on that I get sad.........and being sad for any length of time makes one tired too.

And a friend died this week. I'm sad for that too. Sad that he was ill for so long with such a debilitating disease. Sad that he couldn't live what we would call a "normal" life for the last several years. Sad that we won't meet him in Humpty's again and have a chat.

In the midst of all of the sadness and tiredness...........Jesus comes.

He says, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Today, those words are my strength.

You know you've had a good day...

...when a person who gets presented with "The Golden Spatula Award" for best cheesecake also wins the Mother's Day Basket.

...when you can laugh about people who tend to be much too serious but to also feel sorry for them.

...when the day ends with drinking a glass of wine with people you love and care about.

...when a beautiful Texas cousin, who has recently completed rounds of chemo, says when leaving my house to go back home, "come on down for a week sometime".

...when I can hug my cousin, tell her goodbye and leave her in the hands of Jesus.

Yes. All in all, I would say it was a very good day.

How's the weather out there?

There's a tinge in the air....a cold tinge.

I don't like it.

Preferably I would like warmth and sun and sweet smelling grass.

We'll see what the week brings.

Hopefully, no snow.

Some days I dream about being in the tropics with palm trees and beautifully flowering shrubs, a soft warm breeze, and the ocean lapping at my cabana door.

Like I say.....I dream.........

Full days......

Yes, I can just imagine what is going on in son's life these days.

Will tree planting be all that it is cracked up to be? Or is it cracked up to be anything to begin with? Will he find himself planting with lightening speed? Will he enable himself to think of his new position in life, as being a sustainer of the world ecological system? Will he be ready for combat (against the mosquitoes)? Will exhaustion overtake him at some point and he will simply be another casualty left by the tree planting roadside?

I'm thinking about him these days.....and praying for him to be tough in the midst of adversity!

I'm praying that for daughter's life too. Perhaps Spanish class will simply have to wait for a while until there is more time to tackle it. I pray God allows her wisdom in what she does in the next couple of days as there are times to do certain things but there are also better times to do certain things. I know she will choose what is best for her and her family.

We are also enjoying having my cousin, Sue and her husband, Joe here to visit this week. Joe had hoped to see a blizzard, but alas, he and Sue arrived a few weeks too late. There just aren't very many blizzards in Texas to speak of but we have tried to tell him what they were like. He can just imagine..........

Today has been a mixture of many things. Busy at work. Visiting Aunt Connie in hospital. Speaking with daughter on the phone. Having guests for supper. I enjoy a full day. It's a gift from God to be able to enjoy it.

"This is the day that the Lord has made
Let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

Good weekend all around.

I'm done.....

Tired....

Totally laughed out....

Exhausted.....

..............'nite

Our son's birthday.....

It's Todd's 32nd birthday today. He's the husband of our daughter and the father of our grand-daughter. Ya, I know he's a son-in-law, but we love him like our own son. He is precious to us and we pray that God would bless his life with everything wonderful and good and beautiful and that God would also watch over him and care for him as he works that underground diamond mine a trillion miles away from home. He does well at providing for his family and we are so very proud of him and thank God for him.

Happy Birthday Todd. Our lives have become better because you are a part of them.

Our son, Matt, is away today tree planting in southeastern Manitoba to make some money to live, and go to school in the fall. That's a difficult job that tree planting stuff. Through snow, sleet, hail, rain, wind, wild animals and the dreaded, giant, blood-sucking M.M.............(Manitoba Mosquito). May the Lord have mercy on him!

Son's lady friend is leaving this week too,to tree plant in B.C. Oh my. She's one brave woman! God, would you take care of Kim and make sure the bears don't infringe on her territory (or maybe that's the other way around)......anyway, keep her safe God.

Daughter begins her summer Spanish class tomorrow too. It will be good to rid herself of this one language requirement. May the Lord give her much knowledge, wisdom and a tongue to speak those new sounds into a good grade.

A great way to end the weekend. With the "Benson Mini-Reunion" the 18 of us gathered once again to eat and drink and laugh and chat and reminisce. The afternoon found us at the cemetery, looking at my parents and my brother's grave site as well as Aunt Connie's husbands grave. Then we all went and visited her at the hospital. Each of us spoke tenderly to her and she in turn asked everyone about their children and grand children and about how good it was for her to see each of them again. It's been an emotional weekend and another day yet to come. That will be good too. As I said before, I love my cousins. The fellows all remind me so much of my dad.....especially their laughter.

We are very fortunate people in this "Benson" family of mine. Not many families love so deeply and with such abandon. One thing we did find though, as much as we love each other, that not many of us enjoyed talking on the phone......me included. I would rather write a letter or email or talk in person. Funny eh? Ya, I thought so too!

So, I will go to bed this night being so grateful for a son(in-law) whose birthday was today, for a daughter who, tomorrow will go to school again; for a beautiful granddaughter who means the world to me; for a son who will be living on the edge of hell's half acre for the summer; for the girlfriend who is leaving to also plant trees somewhere in B.C.; for my cousins and their spouses and especially for my dear Aunt Connie, who must stay hospitalized while we all have fun.....may God grant her peace this night.

I'm thankful too, for all of YOU..........my friends at work, at church, wherever you find yourself this night.....I think one of you is at the lake (EC)!!!! I am one very fortunate person indeed.

Go with the flow.....

That's what this weekend is like. Nothing formal. Just easy.

Our guests this weekend are like that too. We help each other out with whatever needs doing. We chat and laugh between times of drinking and eating and preparing and dishes and whatever else needs doing with 18 people.

It's just a lot of fun.

I really like my relatives!!! They all have such a great sense of humor.....and many of them have a weird sense of humor too, like me! They are selfless people, always putting others before themselves. They all love hugging.....like I do, and we all love reminiscing. Stories of my grandma Benson. She was quite the lady. Giving, caring and kindly...... and how she loved to laugh too. I remember that about her.

We made Aunt Connie a part of our festivities this afternoon with a few people at a time going in to visit with her in the hospital, until at the end, she was played out. I trust she will sleep well tonight because tomorrow will bring an encore of today.

Wished this could happen every weekend.......well, maybe every other weekend.;-)

More of the same....

So, my last post was talking about a lot of fun and frivolity last night at the retirement function.

Well, this night is more of the same. My sides hurt. My (face) cheeks hurt.

My Benson cousins are totally fun - 3 brothers and 1 sister (children of my dad's oldest brother and their spouses - all from B.C.); plus a daughter of my dad's oldest sister and her Mexican husband;) - from Texas; another sister and brother cousin; and husband and I and plus Aunt Connie's late husband's niece and her husband from Saskatoon and my brother and his wife who will join us here tomorrow!

Eighteen of us. I think we made some noise in dear Aunt Connie's condo!!! She is still in hospital but she wanted us to have our first evening of fun at her place - without her.

I have so much fun with those guys and gals. We laugh hard and we laugh loudly and we laugh a lot! It's in the genes. Some drink wine and some drink beer and we eat more than we should and talk about what has happened in our lives since we last were together - 7 years ago.

So it's more of the same tomorrow and the next day and the day after that.

It's good to have sore cheeks! ;-)

Another one out the door.

Carman's retirement function was a good one.

We celebrated him well.....as he did with us also.

Lots of laughing.

Lots of joke telling.

Great food, great wine, and superb fellowship with folks, many of whom we hadn't seen for some time.

I like times like that because we have a chance to tell the person how much they are loved and appreciated.............unlike at a funeral where it's too late!

May God walk with him into these retiring years. He'll be missed around the office!!!!