A Season of Gratitude

The blessing of having family on both sides of the 49th parallel is that we get to not only celebrate Thanksgiving twice, in October in Canada and then again in November down in Texas, but we have over a month to think about all we are thankful for. It creates in our lives a season of gratitude. This week we are in Texas celebrating with our Texans and so it seemed like the perfect time to share some of the things that I am grateful for in this season of my life.

The first one, as always is our family. As you can see from the pictures our entire family was together in late summer. What an incredible time of making memories which we hold very dear! There is much laughter in the walls of our home!

 Having all of our children and grandchildren home provided us with a unique opportunity to get together with my sister and her entire family, which meant that all 15 of my parents great-grandchildren were together for the first time!! Heather is holding the youngest who was sleeping but I did manage to take this picture to remember the moment.

I'm so thankful that my parents are still both alive, and that we have been able to spend some extended time with them this year, due to a couple of funerals and then a health crisis. I took this picture of my mother with her three remaining brothers at my aunt's funeral in early July and then by September we were headed back to Calgary for my oldest uncle's funeral(to the right of my mother on this picture)

I'm thankful that in spite of my debilitating back issues that I can still have a meaningful ministry with our new staff as well as writing devotionals and mentoring others both in person and online. In a season of much sitting and quiet I am grateful that I am still able to impact the lives of others in this way.

And most of all I realize as I have been reflecting on this during these sunny Texas days, I am thankful for the gift of joy that I can choose every day. What an incredible blessing! Regardless of the pain or the physical restrictions my body places on me, every day is a day to be cherished and enjoyed.

Running for Water and to Remember

Today several of our family members joined over 4000 others to Run for Water,

an annual event that raises money to provide water wells 

for villages in Ethiopia that have no fresh water.

Our Northerners came down on Friday already so that Matt could run the 25 km Trail Run yesterday... it was hot and covered 1500 meters of elevation but we were all proud of him.

 First off this morning, it was Heather's turn!

She had been training all year for this her first half marathon,

and Matt and the boys were there to cheer her on!

 7:30 am and they are off....

 and there she goes!

 While she was off running the half marathon,

the next racers were getting ready.

 The race included hills and heat so the Fire Engine spraying water on the runners along the way

was a welcome sight.

 Next to get ready to go,

were Megan and Jaxon.

Jaxon was running the 10 km race for the second year in a row...

 and was definitely excited to do it again.

 At 8:30, it was time for them to be off....

 Jaxon stayed with Megan for most of the race,

 but once he knew where he was at,

Megan gave him the ok to take off without her...

and off he went!

He looked like he wasn't even running that hard as he approached the finish line...

....next came Megan...

...looking a wee bit more tired than her son. :-)

Also at the finish line were Heather's two biggest fans...

 watching and waiting for her to come in...

 before they took off for their 5 km run.

 And there she comes...

 ...hot and tired...

 but to she did it!! 

She ran her first half marathon!

 And off they went...

 Kai was so excited to finish ahead of his Dad.

 A family picture to remember an awesome day of running...

...but also remembering.

 As the medals proudly proclaimed, the run this year was for Letisha's Well,

in memory of the young girl from our church who was killed in November last year.

 Like our family, Letisha had run the race for the past several years

and she was passionate about serving others, making people smile,

and being involved in giving back to those less fortunate than she was.

What an amazing day to run for water and to remember.

Working Together

 We love our little corner of the world....

a townhouse complex but the end unit 

so sometimes we almost forget we have neighbours close by.

As Grandparents these days we often feel the need to entertain our grandchildren,

after all that's what we are here for right?

or maybe not!

 I've been thinking a lot these past weeks about our influence on the generations that follow us.

What will they remember us for?

What memories will they hold close to their hearts?

 Dave loves to work outdoors so guess what?

Our grandchildren will definitely have memories of that,

but not just him working,

but them working alongside of him.

 Friday was one of those days.

The boys had a Professional Development Day so no school,

but Dave had already arranged to borrow a friend's truck to add a load of bark mulch to our gardens.

 No problem!

The boys just got to help,

and help they did! 

They shoveled it over the brick wall into the garden,

raked it out and voila!

Everything looks fresh and clean,

no weeds,

and they had fun being part of the work team!

Not a bad memory at all!

Praying for your Preschool-aged Grandchildren

One of the priorities that God has placed on my heart for this season of my life, is to pray for my children and grandchildren. It's something I can do from my chair in the den, or my bed in the middle of the night when I can't go back to sleep or in my chair on the beach back in Maui.

A great resource that I have really enjoyed is a newsletter that is sent out from Grandparenting with a Purpose

 Last week, this was the topic and I was so excited about this list I just had to share it here. So for your Preschool-aged Children or Grandchildren, pray they will:

1. Develop a well-balanced personality.
2. Learn problem resolution skills.
3. Play well with others.
4. Learn to obey quickly, and to respect authority.
5. Explore and create without fear of failure.
6. Develop a soft heart towards Jesus.
7. Develop confidence and independence.
8. Learn to control their emotions and anger.
9. Develop an awareness of God’s love for them.
10. Build positive friendships.

Don't you just love those ideas? I know I sure do and will be using these guidelines in the days to come!

Taken from the book, Grandparenting with a Purpose: Effective Ways to Pray for your Grandchildren, page 84. Available at www.grandparentingwithapurpose.com.

Maui Memories

If wishing would make it so, 

I would be sitting in a lawn chair looking out at this right now!

 Or maybe beside Dave at this table,

drinking our morning coffee.

 This is where we spent a week of Spring Break this year...

 ...enjoying these beautiful grounds

 and the lovely pool,

  with our Abby kids.

 Planned for over a year already,

we had no idea it would serve as our 'Retirement Trip'.

 Jaxon was my pool buddy...

...always ready for his 'Mimi' to jump in with him.

And to be honest,

I was thrilled having swimming partners that were always ready to join me!

 You could walk for miles and miles along the beach...

 all the way to Ka'anapali Beach

 and beyond.

 Absolutely irresistable!

 Perfect for jumping, swimming and a variety of other things that we enjoyed...

 all wrapped up in our Maui Memories for now.

But oh the memories,

memories to last for a lifetime.

Twenty-three years earlier we also made Maui Memories,

when my parents took my sister and I with our families there for Spring Break.

And now we were back,

with our son and his family,

making a whole new set of memories.

Wishing I was there tonight!