Farewell January

This has been the most Januaryish of January's.

No one can doubt that we have plowed through the middle of a very Canadian winter with the endless snow, sleet, rain, ice and slush that we have experienced.

Just for good measure the heavens opened one last time before this month closed it's door.

This morning I woke up to another amazingly white day - every bough on every tree covered with a cushion of white.

No little "white dusting" of snow here ,

this was a dump of major proportions.

Again.

It made my drive to church incredibly pretty.

On my way home I ran into these fellows.

I had to stop for a visit and they stared at me while I stared at them.

No words were exchanged...

They were chewing rhythmically, looking at me with expectation.

Perhaps I had a little something yummy to add to their culinary experience?

Days of grey and white swirl around me but January is now closed for business.

Bring on El Nino, a big melt and hopefully some colour! 

And warmth.

Moving Along

Moving day was truly a moving day.
There was snow, lots of activity, and there were tears for Sara and I.
Family and close friends were there to help her get her belongings packed into trucks, her room was cleaned and a meal was shared.

The people we do life with came to support and bless.
This is the bigger family we belong to and God knew exactly who needed to be a part of that for me.

There was even a bit of time to play...

Oh how I love these people.

Even if we don't live in the same house we will always find ourselves together sooner or later. 

End of an Epoch

So, tonight, for the last time I bid my dear room mate Sara "goodnight".  She has been so much more than simply a room mate to Patrice and I...

I hear the familiar sounds right now as I lay in my bed, the water running in the bathroom next to my room, cupboard doors opening and the final closing touches to another one of many, many days that have made up this epoch; the bedtime routine that has been a mainstay and a familiar companion to me.

For over five years now this lovely friend has filled this house with more activity and energy than I ever imagined could be contained in one slim body.

Her creativity and passion for life has been overwhelming at times and hugely inspiring at others.  Her art has covered the walls of this home and her presence has been felt and experienced in many beautiful ways.

She is a woman of intentionality and is driven by forces beyond my comprehension, but through all of this her kindness and generosity of spirit have touched me deeply.  I have immense respect for how she pursues God and walks in obedience to what she feels He is calling her to do.  Even when it's very difficult.

She is so very much like family to Patrice and I and the three of us spent a super sweet evening enjoying pizza, apple cider, chocolate and many laughs around the table for our last supper.   The puppies were part of the scene and the bird was being his comical self in the corner as we played a game of cribbage and decided that "we are smarter together."

There is so much comfort in this familiarity and I know that God graced my home and life with her presence for this season out of His great kindness.  I also believe that our prayers of agreement over the years have made a huge difference in our lives and in the lives of those we lifted up before the King.

As much as it feels sobering to end this comfortable routine and season, we both know it is time and are awaiting the new things that God has for each of us.  I feel a real peace, but I know I will miss this lovely companion that knows me and my life and Patrice so very well and has shown both of us immense grace and kindness.

I have known Sara since she was a child, but the depth of relationship that we have forged over these past five years has truly been a tremendous gift.  Having someone to pray with and to share the daily highs and lows of life with here on the hill has been a comfort and a strength for me on so many levels and this understanding and kindredness will be there for the rest of our lives I am sure.

So I'm trusting for God's grace to cover this season of adjustment and change for all of us.  It will be so much quieter up here, but interestingly enough, Patrice has entered into a new ability to engage in life in a far deeper way over these past few weeks which has added a whole new dimension to all of our interactions. She's been on a journey of healing for many years now and it feels like she is experiencing a long awaited and longed for breakthrough as well.

God is in our midst and is looking after all of us.
All His promises are "yes and amen" and we are recipients of His constant goodness.
He daily loads each of us with benefits.
Undeserved but received with deeply grateful and eager hearts.

Deep in Winterland

I've been skating through these January weeks, surrounded by snowy beauty and cold.  It's been a steady month, full of lots of snow and all sorts of life and goodness. Heading into this new year, I'm so grateful for the grace of God to help me with some changes that I wanted to implement.

More time in the Word has been so much easier since I started on the M'Cheyne Bible Reading Plan. Haha - it sounds like I'm being paid to do some sort of an advertisement, but it really has been such a blessing. Happily I just happened upon it at the right time and it will take me through the OT once and the Psalms and NT twice in the coming year. I just feel so much more balanced and grounded when I'm getting my daily "fresh bread". I'm amazed at the new discoveries and fresh perspective on old stories I've been getting. This combined with my "promise page" of scriptures to read and pray out loud (almost every morning) is such a huge BLESSING and BENEFIT! 

Less time on facebook is also working well for me. That can become a strange stressful world of it's own that sucks you in and leaves you feeling undone at times.  I do love keeping up with some faraway friends on there though, so I'm not completely off of it.  Plus there's a Scrabble game I dearly love that I can only access through that site.  These little pleasures make the long winter days more bearable.

Working on keeping my body healthy with my smoothies and the constant stream of supplements I keep discovering has also been good. I'm in a season of getting a bit of an overhaul with chelation and intravenous vitamin c to keep my cardiovascular system functioning as well as possible since I am unable to exercise effectively.  Feeling like a bit of a pin cushion this week since my veins were being sneaky and hard to access, but hopefully the benefits are outweighing the risks and pain!  Apparently arthritis can also be helped with this therapy so that is hugely motivating. 

There have been prayer nights, "unbook" club, meals out with the kids (below is a picture of Daniel with Leo during one of our "car" visits) and many coffees or lunches with friends after my mornings at work.  A couple of girls have even asked me to mentor them so I feel humbled and grateful for those sweet opportunities.  

Of course there have also been those wonderful prayer and praise drives with Mom, Tante Hilda and Elsie.  They are a priority and an absolute delight.  What glory descends as we zoom along in the little red car shouting out our prayers and singing songs as we worship our GREAT AND AWESOME GOD together!! The laughter emanating from the back seat where Tante Hilda and Pupcake are enjoying one another's company is simply heavenly.  We are redeeming these winter days and pulling heaven down onto earth - believing God's word where He says He WILL watch over His word to perform it and where He tells us that His Word will NOT go forth without accomplishing what He desires.  So we just remind Him of His Word, proclaim it over our loved ones and worship Him for the answers that are on the way. 

That's what faith looks like for these weary, broken little soldiers.  His joy is our strength and we are choosing to "laugh at the days to come".  

Winter's Beauty

On my way home from church and having lunch with Daniel I came upon this loveliness.

The roads were empty so I just sat and watched,

marvelling at the beauty before me.  

I rolled down my window and they stood 

in the winter stillness

gazing at me, 

quiet, unafraid.

So close

Such a gift

Masterpieces of

the Maker's divine imagination

Elegant, 

Vigilent

Works of beauty

He whispers His love in the silence of winter

Reminding me of seasons that are yet to unfold.

Perogies with Oma

Patrice and I had a  lovely morning brunch with Nicole and then we decided to drop in at Oma's to make some vereneki.

The cooking thing seemingly skipped my generation but thankfully Patrice is eager to take advantage of the experience and knowledge of her Oma.

She loves to work with dough and is not overwhelmed in the least to try new things.

These were one of my favourite menu items from my childhood!

Covered with the white sauce and served with Farmer's Sausage.

MmmmHmmm...

These beautiful hands, 

young and old,

working together.

I am privileged to witness these timeless rhythms unfolding.

Little Miracles

This here felt like a little miracle.

That this gathering could occur on the first day of this New Year.

I'm exceedingly grateful to God for this - that I could be with my kids and with this extended family was precious beyond measure.

That this generation that has gone before and forged the way of faith, forgiveness and love is still in our midst is simply amazing and wonderful.

And even though everyone wasn't here it was still so good.

This gift of flexibility and of letting go of expectations leads to the awareness of how much good is loaded into every day.  

I still need to do a lot of growing in this grace, but it's coming along.

The excitement it created in Tante Hilda - that we were all actually gathered around her table - was so evident and fantastical.

She was radiating with love and joy.

And this little fellow is completely at home at Tante Hilda's.  

He's the little King Tut who gets doted on and is even allowed on the table. 

That is when he's not watching cartoons or getting fawned over by his beloved 

Tante Hilda.

Yes, we are that family.

And that's just fine with me.