Also in October

Coffee downtown with a good friend from long ago, and this little fellow sitting not far from our table.

Sunny days perfect for drying laundry outside.

This lovely pastoral view on my way into town.

A walk along the creek with a good friend ( who has moved in with me for a couple of months)...

and the puppies.

Dropping in to see the kitchen reno's,

my dear son, and his cat Leo.

Autumn Afternoons

Colourful cool days.

Carpets of leaves cover the ground...

The parks stand silent and empty, puddles of water pooling in parking lots.

Clouds hang low threatening more rain and closing in the valley.

I took Mom and Tante Hilda out to admire the changing colours...

Ahhh, the glory of fall! 

Visited a nearby farm and laughed at the alpacas.

Tante Hilda found a bit of grass to tantalize them at close range. 

We stopped at a fruit stand and Tante Hilda popped out to buy some local pears while I admired the fading flowers...

Still so much beauty and it's almost November! 

Drinking it all in, with so much gratitude and delight. 

And of course, the view down the road from my home, sweet home. 

Passing the Baton

God continues to show Himself faithful on our behalf.

This picture below is a testimony to His goodness and a celebration of His kindness in regards to the ongoing saga of "the apartment".

Here are the super stars that God has provided in the past two years to oversee the "gift" that we have been given.

My dear sister is a constant, beautiful support in my life. She took her turn at managing things, passing the baton to our "interim" managers and now we have some new faces and beautiful hearts to work with.

This issue has continued to keep us on our knees, in a good way and sometimes in a hard way.  What started out as a huge rescue last year in the management department came to a rather sudden and somewhat disconcerting stop. 

However, we are believing that the season, as short as it was, was for good and we are so very thankful for all of the updating that got done and that our tenants were looked after.  

God's ways are truly not our ways, but they are always good!!

Friendships were established and we parted with prayers of blessing.

Amazingly the Lord has once again provided for us in a kind and generous way.

We have a another beautiful couple who were willing to step into the management position with very little notice. 

They are real, genuine pastors and already there has been prayer in the laundry room with one of the tenants who has rather a rough and crazy past.

I'm trusting God that there will be a whole lot more of that in the future.

The challenges continue but we have a great God and I am once again thrilled to be doing teamwork with fellow believers. 

So grateful for prayer and for a family that is so encouraging, loving and united in the effort to use this blessing for our provision and for the furtherance of His Kingdom and Glory.

I have felt fragile and overwhelmed with the workload that has resulted with the very sudden changeover, but it's nothing that God can't handle so I put my trust in Him!

In fact, my brother is arriving soon to help with the switchover, computer work, meetings, prayer and all the other odds and sods that are part of being a landlord. He is our knight in shining armour and we couldn't be more grateful for a brother like him. 

Autumn Palette

Arriving at school one morning I looked up from my parking spot and saw this.

The colours of fall are just mind blowing, especially against the stunning blue backdrop. 

Thankfully my shoes match the season and when I saw these cute runners on one of my student's I had to stop and capture the moment.

I am having so much fun this fall with the kids even though I've got more students than I had last year.

And that was almost too much.

But somehow, it all works out in the end so I just move ahead and do my best trusting God to look after things.

When I go into the classes to call a student out, there are often others who eagerly put up their hands and ask if they can come too.

I guess they've heard about the TWO jelly beans that the student's get at the end of the session (which can often be quite gruelling for some of them).

So I let one gal come along on this particular morning as she was begging me with outstretched hands and such an imploring look. 

She is a very good reader so there was no need for her to get extra help but I just incorporated her into the session and let her do some of the teaching.

The girls were both thrilled and I get to enjoy watching the sweet interaction.

I love that it is viewed as a "treat" to come out for extra help instead of a drudgery.

Seriously.

I get to look at these cute little faces four mornings a week.  

I'm also getting to see this on the way to school...

Changing daily, corridors of golden glory.

My drive to work is beyond beautiful...

A sacred time of praise, prayer and worship.

Forever Thankful Amen

It's getting to be one of my favourite holidays...

Thanksgiving

It's everything good and lovely and wonderful in a season that is beautiful in a way that renders one speechless.

Also, my son's birthday is in the days leading up to Thanksgiving which is a reason for the most profound gratitude that I know of.

So I took Ron and Daniel and Nicole out to celebrate a rather significant milestone in their lives.  

They both turned 30.  

A number worthy of a pizza feast if there ever was one. 

Daniel was somewhat heavy hearted as he attempted to celebrate the occasion since he had just found out that one of the courses he wasted his summer season on doesn't count towards his degree so now he has to add another course to an already very busy semester.

He's a month behind in the reading for this new course which is a tad overwhelming.

Anyways...I felt his pain as only a mother can and I will believe for him that God will use this for good.

Thanksgiving also meant a big turkey and here I am trying to extract the bag of innards which were frozen in place when I first put the turkey into the oven.

Everything came out fine in the end and the aroma of the wonderfully browned bird filled our home.

Twas a slightly smaller crowd this year but it was ever so cozy and the feast was over the top amazing thanks in large part to my talented daughter.

We also celebrated these two as a family.

With apple pie and pumpkin pie with loads of whipping cream that came out of a spray can.

Such fun!

On Sunday we popped over to our friend's place for the evening to join in with their festivities.

So many wonderful people!

And it was so lovely to have Patrice home for the long weekend.

My cup was so very full.

After Patrice headed back to the coast on Monday evening my dear friend Lisa joined me for a delicious plate of leftovers, communion and prayer.