Look Who's 92

The Beautiful Matriarch turned 92 on this 30 day in the year of our Lord 2019.

Isn't she just something?

That winning smile and a personality that shines like a morning star!

I could go on and on about the hundreds of beautiful attributes that are a part of my precious mother.

Or I could just quote the love chapter from 1 Corinthians 13 and that would pretty much sum her up.

I've been blessed to have this woman in my life for all of my 57 years.

We started the day with a bang -  birthday cereal!

Probably the first time mom has had special cereal on her birthday but it just seemed fitting.

She really liked those "roasted flakes" and wanted a second helping.

I think we're onto something here!

After breakfast and a short rest we called in the troops to party!

Mom's dear friends came bearing gifts and much love to surround mom on her special day.

They are all so lovely and so very loving.

There was a Black Forest Strawberry Cake and croissants and cheeses to much on while stories were shared.

Such sweetness...

These women are all superstars in their own right.

I'm glad they were able to come to bless mom.

Pupcake was here too as Oma is one of his favourite humans.

It was a lovely day for a birthday, but not quite warm enough to eat outside so we had a little family party in the evening and Daniel was here to represent the younger generation.

Fifty-Seven

The numbers on my personal clock have flipped to fifty-seven!

Two of my favourite numbers slammed together to send me into orbit for another amazing year.

I'm pretty much living a dream... Daniel is STILL living here and he booked off the day to spend with me for my birthday.

I think mom booked the day off for me as well so I'm pretty blessed to have the company of these two favourite people.  Daniel made coffee and prepared an amazing breakfast which we thoroughly enjoyed.

It feels surreal to have these extended times of just being together. Sharing moments and not feeling the pressure of a fixed time that will end imminently...  I am so, so thankful to my Father.  

Mom's hair has gotten a little long and wild looking if it's not properly tended to so we took matters into our own hands and Daniel finished off the cut I began since he's got a better angle on things.  I'll have to provide an "after" picture, as she looked pretty chic if I don't say so myself! 

Daniel very kindly did a bunch of yard work for me on this very cold and blustery day... Ladybug was checking out his work and helping along as she was able.  I was relieved to finally get the little Christmas tree my neighbours gave me planted.

May it grow and prosper! 

The tulips were out, standing tall and strong and beautiful.

I just LOVE having an April birthday, even if it happens to be a blustery cold day.

The colours and fresh life make my heart sing a happy song.

And the card below came to me from my friend Anima...

The words inside were incredibly touching.

Another gift - finding a long lost friend and having her remember your birthday with beautiful words.

In the evening the Gagnon's & Lisa came over for an impromptu birthday dinner celebration!

Fun when things just happen to work out like that.... here I am surrounded by the three "young ones" in our bunch. 

I'm still young enough to get excited about colourful candles and chocolate so that's a very good sign! 

Here's to another amazing year of walking hand in hand with Jesus.

In HIM I live and move and have my being.

Lakeside Cafe

I had yet another lovely surprise this week!

Marcy called saying they were coming down for the weekend so we planned a lunch together at the lake.  She wanted to treat me for my birthday.  Thankfully the weather cooperated so we had a delicious lunch on the patio down at a new cafe near the hospital and Daniel was able to join us.

We went for a little tour of the Occupational Therapy department where Daniel is doing his last practicum in the hand therapy area. 

It's a glorious season of color, sunshine, clouds and wind.

Every day I see trees covered with blossoms and fresh new leaves bursting out changing the entire landscape.

My heart is singing a very happy song. 

Unexpected British Invasion

I had the biggest surprise this week when Lorna (who was in Saskatchewan visiting her ailing father) suddenly needed to drive to Vancouver to replace some lost passports for herself and her sons.

Not wanting to rejoice in someone else's great misfortune and inconvenience, I was still the recipient of a completely unexpected and amazing visit.  

Thankfully Kelowna was en-route for the three "paperless" Brits so we had a surreal 24 hours together.

They were here two and a half years ago and I didn't have a clue when we would see each other again as I'm not easily able to travel right now while I'm in charge of Mom.

BUT GOD!!

Not like I want to blame HIM for their misfortune... but He does promise to cause ALL THINGS to work together for good to those who love Him, so we decided to party it up and make the best of their 17 hour long detour across Western Canada and their canceled flights!

Josiah & Caleb have gotten HUGE and are as handsome and fun as ever!!

It was such a delight to be able to connect with them and to have some beautiful one on one time catching up and praying with Lorna. 

She's had to be very courageous and brave to embrace her new life in England so far from everything familiar and comfortable but she's carved out a beautiful life with a wonderful husband and the three children that have been added to her family.

There's lots of rugby going on in their lives and Mark is now a curate of one or two churches and Lorna is working full time at a funeral home.  Not quite what she thought she'd be doing with her theology degree, but life is full of interesting twists and turns.

Their daughter Teya didn't get to make the Vancouver voyage as she had somehow held onto her passport and she needed to get back to Crowborough for important exams.  She's some kind of a superstar rugby player who has been offered scholarships to University next year.  Now she is in the process of deciding which University to attend.  

 I took lots of pictures to make sure to record this gift so that I would know in the days to come that it actually happened. 

24 beautiful hours.

February with Furry & Feathered Friends

I'm kind of working backwards here.  
It's October, but I'm trying to do "catch-up" on my blog by going through my photos to see what actually happened last winter.  I noticed a trend happening in February...the following photos were literally ALL taken during that month. (In fact, there were more, but I didn't include them all!) You will also notice that there is not one photo of the dogs where they are not wearing a wooly little sweater, evidence of the frigid February temperatures. 

So here's a blog dedicated to the fine furry & feathered friends who faithfully kept us company in February! 

Despite the fact that February has less days than any other month of the year, I think it felt longer than usual due to the ice box conditions that overtook us.

We were buried in snow and ice and the days were loooong. 

I was often out shovelling!! and Ladybug faithfully kept me company, often with shivering little legs.

Thankfully we had this kind of extreme cuteness happening as a happy diversion.

The birds sang and did their sweet birdie-thing, oblivious to the snow, cold and long dark evenings.  

We all hunkered down and endured, finding refuge in nap-time and hot drinks.

Ladybug was keeping an eye on the noisy construction that was going on as the workers were digging in pipes for a new water system.  

She also faithfully kept watch out the front window...waiting for signs of Spring!

Which did not appear to be on the horizon.

Winter cheerfully charged ahead with more snow and ice.   

January Looked Like This

I'm resorting to one post for the entire month of January.

Thankfully Patrice was around a little longer after the Christmas holidays.

It was a rather long, slow month of visits over kitchen table and looking out of the window and remarking about the weather or talking about the chirping budgies.

The window blind next to my bed was malfunctioning and I don't like a wide open window next to my bed at night so I asked Elsie to hang something over it until I got the blind fixed. She was over watching Mom while I went out to my prayer group. When I returned home I found that Elsie had created a beautiful artistic window covering out of last year's calendar! Elsie has such a creative gift of making places look absolutely beautiful.

Mom is generally a cheerful companion and we just loved our hot drinks together and got pretty excited whenever nap time rolled around.

Which was, of course, every afternoon.

It's the simple things in life...

We had a snowfall at the end of December which blissfully melted away during our mild January.

We thought we had gotten away with no real winter winter!  The roads were clear and the grass was even somewhat green... but then during the last week of the month the fury of winter broke loose.

So I resorted to looking at seed catalogues and dreaming of my little garden beds which were now tucked under a blanket of snow.

I've never been too successful at growing veggies, but hope springs eternal, especially as the winter winds howl!

We finally figured out a way for all of us to be able to attend our various churches on Sunday mornings!

Mom goes over to Tante Hilda's for a sleepover on Saturday night and they both get a ride to their church and spend the afternoon resting happily together.  (The highly anticipated nap time is also a big deal in Tante Hilda's routine!)

Elsie brings mom home to me on Sunday evening after I've had a restful day to myself. 

And together we get mom tucked in, hoping that she won't get up too many times having forgotten that she has already brushed her teeth and gone to the bathroom. 

I've begun to sing a little song to mom which repeats the phrase "you've brushed your teeth and gone to the bathroom and now you're going to bed...".

She even sings along to the merry tune but it doesn't always register. 

Ladybug continues to be a faithful companion.

She sometimes lays like a little human with her head on the pillow next to mine... 

Darling doggy.