BIG SHIFT

A new season has begun up here at the orchard.

It started in August when I seriously considered inviting a family to come and move in with me for the year since the kids have all moved to the Coast.

We set the date for the end of October since the extra bedroom wall hadn't been built in the games room and Ron was trying to find the time to do it.

Plus I wanted to enjoy one last peaceful quiet month with Anita before she took off to Iqaluit.

Meanwhile, I had discovered that my dear friend Lorabeth was in town and since I needed someone to look after the pups while I was in Langley I asked her if she could come and sleep here for a few nights while I was away. 

HOWEVER.

She happened to be here in a large trailer and she said she and her fiancé would happy to come and park in the back yard and look after the dogs.

With their friends and ANOTHER huge trailer.

I arrived home from my trip to find a virtual trailer park right next to my patio!

( I later convinced them to move a little further back so that I could have the lake view back...and they were most obliging!)

It has been an absolute delight to have Lorabeth back in my life along with her fabulous, kindhearted fiancé.

I love her to bits and am so grateful to see how the Lord has been leading her in the years since she moved to Alberta.

They are two peas in a pod and here's a picture of them getting ready to go out dancing together.

A passion they both share, among many others.

It does my heart a lot of good to see them together and to see the restoration that God has brought into Lorabeth's life.

Absolutely amazing.

She's here in the valley to connect with her sons, daughter in law and grandsons.

She and Norm have also been a tremendous help to me around the house and yard.

They've been washing windows, cleaning out my flower beds, trimming my bushes, detailing my car, helping with the reno downstairs, fixing my lawnmower and just being all around amazing friends.

I remember the days (years, actually) when Lorabeth was struggling and I would go and pick her up every week and we would drive up here to the orchard to pray for our marriages and kids.

Although everything seemed to fall apart for her, quite dramatically and sadly in those two respects, in the ensuing years she has found her peace in God and has become so much more whole.

Now she is able to minister and love on her kids from a place of health and hope.

Such a beautiful story in the works here.

Answered prayers indeed.

Just different than what we had been expecting.

So the games room has gotten smaller, the pool table has moved out and we now have a third bedroom downstairs.

I'll have to go and get an updated picture because when Ron does something, he does it very nicely.

It's kind of turned into the Taj Ma Wall...

Anyways, the lovely family moved in at the very end of October.

There have been boxes and busyness but it's all good.

Jennifer & Derek are wonderful as are their kids.

Super easy to get along with and very eager to keep the house in good order and share their lives with me.

They moved in just in time to deal with the big snowfall.

At first Brison was excited about the white stuff.

Being a missionary kid who was born in the Philippines, he hadn't experienced much of this kind of weather before.

However, the novelty wore off rather quickly and he was wishing for nice weather again so he could resume his skateboarding and scootering.