Our Queen Mama

It's somehow fitting that these gorgeous trees would burst into bloom for Mom's 90th Birthday!

Here she is wearing a crown as she so rightly deserves!

She's the most beautiful woman.

A treasure indeed and we children rise up and call her blessed! 

Elsie prepared the most scrumptious feast of spaghetti with mizithra cheese and meat sauce, one of our family favourites! 

She doesn't cook much, but when she does it's a big deal and super delicious.

Mom LOVES spaghetti, and since they weren't up to heading out to the Spaghetti Factory, we had our own better version in the comfort of Mom's home.

Seems fitting really.  

After all those years of Mom cooking scrumptious home made meals for us, we may as well celebrate her 90th year of life in her dining room. 

Tante Hilda baked a cheesecake fit for a queen and we sang merrily away while the candles blazed.  

Anyone over the age of 90 got to wear a crown for the occasion, so Dad gamely put on his mark of distinction.  

What a lovely bunch and what a very fun evening.

We spent some time telling stories about what was memorable for us as kids and we had some good laughs.

(Here's mom and dad holding hands.)

Dad spoke up saying that our camping trips as a family were some of the best times.  He didn't know it at the time, but he says he does now.  

It was precious to hear him recount what mattered to him and once again he asked forgiveness for any ways that he may have let us down.

We affirmed him heartily and expressed our gratitude to these two wonderful parents who poured out their lives to make ours as good as they could. 

Vic & Marcia are obviously in the royal family line, wearing these crowns with such distinction.

Getting ready for their 90th, or at least their 65th =) 

There was lots of visiting and coziness in the living room.  

Just happy to be together.

Our presence is the greatest gift we can give our parents at this age, and it is an honor to be following in their footsteps.

They have set the bar high with integrity, solid character, generosity and so much love.

I'm grateful that this is the legacy I was born into and that God chose this family to be mine. 

Loved

I find I get a little anxious in the days preceding my birthday.

Afraid of not feeling loved enough or something... it's an unfortunate reaction to the "special holidays" of which I am the focus.  Mother's Day is the other one and I wish I did not buy into the ridiculous musings and fear. 

Obviously I'm far too full of myself.

It's not fear of aging - I don't mind that because I now where this is all taking me.

However, there's no getting around a birthday so one must bravely wake up on that day and proceed through it with grace and dignity, come what may.

And good things came.

Starting with the day before when Leanne treated me to lunch at Red Robin where we have discussed many life events over the past many years.

We went all out and each had a burger!  Usually we split a salad, but obviously we needed to break that pattern for this special occasion.

There was even a free piece of mud pie which I had to bring home for future consumption as we had no room after all those FRIES! 

It's so amazing to have over 28 years of shared stories that continue to unfold in sometimes difficult and sometimes incredibly wonderful ways.

Our roots have gone deep into Jesus and He has held us firm through the trials and the joys.

My actual birthday morning arrived, cool and grey, but I awoke to this lovely scene.

My darling Patrice decorated the breakfast table and made me the most delicious waffles with decadent toppings.  

Oh my, pure bliss. 

And a perfect verse to meditate upon as I enter my 55th year.

A year of double grace!

I was halfway to work, and would have arrived there very late after the long, luxurious breakfast and visit with Patrice who just arrived home from her A Rocha working retreat the night before.

We had so much news to catch up on.

Plus, there is a guy...

So I turned around and headed home so that I could have the energy to party on, starting with lunch downtown with Marcia, Elsie and Patrice.

Pretty flowers from Elsie's garden!

Tasty little morsels were enjoyed after the pizza and I even happened to be downtown where I was able to pick up a free birthday drink from a local coffee shop.

Extremely satisfying and delicious day.

From there we headed back to school where my lovely colleagues had a bouquet of flowers, a card and earrings waiting for me! 

My supervisor knows how to make the workplace into a second home! 

The evening was dedicated to family, and since mom and dad don't have the energy to go out, we had Chinese food together at their place.

It's all about being together.

Celebrating the preciousness of family and life.

Generations coming together.

Grace upon grace.

With birthday cheesecake compliments of Nicole.

She's an incredible cook and baker!

And a pig containing succulents was her unique and lovely gift to me!

How cute is that?!

My heart is full.

My cup overflows.

I continue to wait on the Lord to strengthen me for this next leg of the journey.

55 in 2017

So many happy numbers for me in this year of Jubilee.

Cool & Colorful

I have a lovely peacock feather on my dresser that was given to me by my sweet British friend Sue last year this time.  Sue picked it up on the property where Pride & Prejudice was filmed when we were visiting there last April.  It brings back such sweet memories.  

I can hardly believe the detail and exquisite beauty that makes up one single feather.

Speaks to me of God's infinitely wild and wonderful creativity and of the eyes and wings spoken of in Ezekiel.

The afternoon sun reflecting on this piece of artwork is indescribably gorgeous.

Iridescent rainbows and terrific textures...

This month has been cool and wet but that has created so much COLOR!  Life is springing up everywhere I look.

The earth is declaring the glory of God in living colour.

Vibrant green shoots, new leaves and fresh grass is covering the land and blossoms are bursting forth! 

It's always a season of celebration and there was a HUGE reason to go out with Daniel and Nicole to celebrate him writing his VERY LAST EXAM of his undergrad.

Ron met us at the restaurant and the four of us had a good time marvelling at the joy of a job well done and the sweet potential and promise of future adventures as Daniel prepares for his OT course in Vancouver this fall.  

His relief was palpable while Nicole is trying to adjust to the thought of leaving her well loved job and cozy little home for a time back at the coast. 

She's so amazing when it comes to putting down roots in new places though so I can't imagine that she'll be missing her job for too long!

I'm very relieved for Daniel and excited for him to realize his goal of becoming an occupational therapist.

There was a lovely birthday luncheon for my dear friend Dawn and I was so happy to be included in this rendezvous at the lakeside.

This precious one and I have known each other since our boys were tiny so there's lots of history under our belts and very many prayers have been prayed over the years.

More green landscapes and fabulous skyscapes color my world as I make my way up and down the hill.

And work looks like this.  Trying to complete the reading program with all these beautiful kids.  

The race to the finish line is on...

April Bits and Bites

We've been praying for "rain" this month at church, more in the spiritual sense, but there has been plenty in the natural as well!

The grass is unusually green and lush and those heavy clouds have been creating a dramatic backdrop for the season.

There's also been enough sunshine to bring out the blossoms and to allow for a sweet little picnic with Mom and Dad in their yard. 

Teen burgers were on special for these two young pups.  

It was so lovely to find a new easily accessible place to be outdoors.

It's actually been there all along but we haven't taken advantage of it.

I know that there's a little nudge from God in that scenario.

How many beautiful blessings are just under our nose that we don't notice?! 

Better late than never!  

This will be happening more often...

Easter Sunday was really beautiful at the Anglican Church.  Patrice had the idea to go there and I was all in.

Plus I love the coffee and snacks afterwards with the opportunity to say hi to some friends and do some connecting.

Patrice left for her A Rocha Community and some time at Galliano Island in the afternoon.

These two cutie pies continue to fill our home with music,conversation and the occasional spat.

Tremendous cuteness.

I feel endlessly privileged to live with God's precious little creatures up close and personal. I'm sure my yard is going to be full of animals in heaven.

And they will be talking. 

Ha!  I think CS Lewis got the whole idea right in his Narnia download.

These Spring evenings smell so fresh and the sky is proclaiming the glory of God.

Over and over and over again...

I'm on auto pilot when it comes to taking pictures of Moose.

Unfortunately Ladybug isn't nearly as photogenic and her features get lost in the black furry mass that her head has turned into.

Time to head to the Salon.

I recently received a beautiful pot of Spring flowers from my lovely friend Gayle.

She makes the world more beautiful wherever she goes with her kindness and generosity.

Here's a picture of my work mug which was being used for coffee this week as I had two migraine mornings.

Ugh. 

So glad for medication.

While waiting for my healing to manifest...

Today I went up to Mom and Dad's to join them for lunch since it was pouring rain outside.

Look at that cozy little scene.

It was Mom's first day of being able to prepare a more "normal" meal together with Dad.  She's daily gaining strength after that stroke and isn't needing to sleep as much.

Pretty Much the Best

Artwork by the Kids at School

The story is told in a myriad of ways

And never grows old.

Artwork by my daughter

Good Friday Service 

The cross is shrouded, but the story isn't over.

Which is pretty much the best news around.

Preparing for the Friday Feast while the big bird baketh...

Wrinkled tablecloth and mismatched napkins

Chocolate eggs and empty goblets await the cheerful crowd.

A birthday and an anniversary thrown into the mix,

blessed to be together to celebrate.

A fresh cool breezy Spring evening and a Pupcake to snuggle.

Blue skies and sunshine

 father and son time

A heart to heart on the trampoline.

Looks like an Amish invasion

Sunday's coming.

 Resurrection is imminent.

Where O Death is your sting?