Hosting Season

Although hosting guests takes a bit of preparation, the end result leaves you with some wonderful benefits. As we host family or friends, we give ourselves the chance to take a break from the everyday routines and be blessed by the giving and taking that transpires in these relationships.
Last Wednesday, Lovella and her Beloved were the fist to welcome Kathy and her family to this side of the border. We joined them for some time to relax in their back yard, enjoying some iced tea and appetizers.

After that, they all came to our back yard for dinner.

 

While the boys played bocce ball, the girls got re-acquainted . . . hardly believing that we were together once more.

 

The next morning we drove into Vancouver to show off our beautiful city. We spent some time in Stanley Park. Some of us cycled the seawall and some chose to walk.

 

In this photo I would like to point out the revolving restaurant that we had dinner at a few weeks ago.

It was interesting to look at it now from the vantage point that I pointed out while up there. From the seawall we took note of Canada Place (the building with the sails) with a cruise ship waiting . . .

 

and Lions Gate Bridge, which we saw lit up at night on that earlier post.

 

I just love that the plan to enjoy a sunny day here came true!

We had fish and chips at a picnic table at Prospect Point. This is the spot that was hit hard when Stanley Park lost thousands of trees to a windstorm, six years ago.

The beautiful trees in this park - known as the largest green space within any Canadian city, have always been a huge attraction.

We stopped to check this one out a bit closer.

Did the first photo really tell you how big it was?

Someone happened to have  a tape measure in the car and it got measured.  Any guesses out here?

Late afternoon we headed to the lake to share dinner with our kids and grandkids.

Kristal and Shaun are also hosting some special guests at this time. These girls from Japan are here to study English and experience some of our culture. I say they are brave girls!

After dinner we got out the Sea-Doo for the first time in a long time and our young guests, as well as Paeton and Tehya had their first knee boarding experience. I guess this was the first of many things they will do that I have never done. I'm being left in the dust  spray now.

Isaac and then Ben got on and stayed on for quite a while . . .

Tehya followed suit . . .

with Natalie spotting. They did Grammy proud!

Paeton  got swung around in circles several times and hung on, head held high, like he'd done this many a time.

 

He came back all smiles.

Landon found his own entertainment while we kept a cautious eye on him.

Our  evening ended with s'mores . . .

while Koen found a handy place to stand.

I am thankful our guests could get just a taste of this . . . our love of being with our family.

Bridge Update

A year ago I posted a few photos of the new Port Mann Bridge going up alongside the old one. At that time I had not been across the bridge for a while and it was a sight that took me by surprise as we came down that hill toward the river and saw, what looked like, massive parts of a sailboat going up.

This is what we see now . . . a year later.



The Port Mann Bridge has been a significant landmark for me for as long as I've lived in Canada . . . forty five years to be exact . . . and I always thought it was quite a sizable bridge.

Funny how one begins to see it in a different light with this majestic looking,
ten lane, suspension bridge going up alongside it - overpowering it in so many ways.
I'm looking forward to the day when we will be taking our first trip across the new one,
but for now we still just gaze at it as we drive by . . .
seeing a side we will not see once the old bridge comes down.

Speaking of which, this week we still have several reasons to cross it with our guests -
because there are a lot of great things to see on the other side.

We Meet Again!

Talk about friends . . . about three and a half years ago I responded in an email to a gal, who called herself  Menno Jeweler at the time. It was just a small way of recognizing her for some comments she had left on my blog. This story may well have a familiar sound to it, since I wrote about it last summer when we met in person for the first time. At that time I began my written thoughts with ...

There are episodes in life . . . . appearing as chance happenings. . . that, on that first encounter can never visually foreshadow the chain of events that will eventually change a certain course of your life. That is how I feel tonight . . . as I've reflected on what just happened!

 

It was Kathy who made that first casual, teasing invitation for some of us MGCC to come and visit Virginia. The interesting thing was that at the same time there was some comunication going on with our Publisher about a trip. I can't remember the details any more, but I think they were born out of certain dreams, when we found out that Kathy, who ended up being a great connection, lives in the same city as our Publisher . . . and the rest is history. A book tour was planned.

 

While in Harrisonburg, Kathy invited us to her home to meet her beautiful family.

We had a great evening with them over dinner and a relaxed dessert time on their patio.
Our online friendship was solidified in person.
 In the meantime we have, on both sides, been counting down the time
to their first visit to the Canadian West Coast,
 and today is the day we meet again!
 I can hardly wait to introduce them to my beautiful family!

The Gift of Friendship

Time and again I realize how blessed I am  with friends ...

Not because of the gifts received . . . but because of the things we share and learn from each other.

The small gifts we take home in our bags . . . but the large gifts are stored in our hearts. They are gifts such as encouragement, understanding, prayer and unconditional love.

Good friends truly are one of life's greatest gifts.
I'm thankful for times with just the girls
as well as times, such as yesterday, with like minded couples.
If laughter is good for the heart . . .
our hearts got a good workout!
Thank you . . . you know who you are!

Top of Vancouver

This is the night I'd  looked forward to for a long time! We took the elevator up to the revolving restaurant to our seven o'clock table reservation



where the most breathtaking views of the city awaited us . . . exuding a celebratory atmosphere that will stand out in our memory for a long time to come.



The window scene kept changing as the restaurant slowly made a full turn once every hour. This view shows off Brockton Point of Stanley Park in the Burrard Inlet. Lions Gate Bridge is faintly seen behind it and then the North Shore mountains. In the very distance (almost hidden by the window frame) are the twin peaks, known as the Lions, because they resemble two resting lions side by side.

Canada Place is the home of the Vancouver Convention Center, the Pan Pacific Hotel and serves as a  Cruise Ship Terminal.

 

The fabric roofs resembling sails are a prominent harbor landmark.

The feeling, looking out over the city really does make for a top of the world experience . . .
so befitting a special day.

The food was beautifully presented and tasty.



The special smiles  . . .



the funny stories . . .



the well wishes and the laughter around the table is what I will treasure in my heart for a long time to come.

 

On our second rotation and into the third we watched the skyline change color.

I was having trouble capturing the right look on my automatic setting here when Chris switched it up to manual and tried explaining to me (once more) how to change the settings.

I played with it for a while and got some clear photos by fluke. The bridge all lit up now . . .

the Lions in the distance . . . and Canada Place below . . .

 

with the changing colors of the sails.
Truly a night to remember!