Baby Shower Blessings

This post has nothing to do with Canada Day

but I could say that I'm thankful for my dad bringing us to this country

so that his children could have a better future.

This will be dad's and mom's 20th great-grandchild!

He only met the first three.

So we are back to my side of the family and

a baby shower for my youngest niece was a fun excuse to get together!

Kristal offered her home and, among other things, 

made the most amazing brownies.

Julene filled pretty fruit tarts, hosted and planned games . . .

and Kari brought over a car-load of decor to set up

as well as bunches of sweet scented roses from her dad's secret garden.

The huge coffee table held a display of tiny thrift store jars filled with roses (to take home)
as well as an array of vintage baby toys and books.

A mirror from her Oma made a pretty table runner.

And since I had the camera in hand when  everyone started coming . . .

I clicked away.

Mom with grand-daughters . . .

sisters (in-law)

and daughters (cousins)

Mom with her oldest great-granddaughter   

This day was about moms and daughters in many ways.

There was cake  . . .

Carmen's favorite

and a variety of other treats!

After we ate, we played a game

and watched the gifts being opened.

It was sweet to have Carmen's sister-in-law and mom-in-law join us.

As well as Carmen's mom, who is not usually with us.

Naomi (married to Carmen's brother)

 came from Seattle with MacKenzie for this occasion.

Weddings and babies are a such great time for families

to celebrate what we have in common.

May the Lord bless you, Carmen and Pierre

as you welcome your little one

and may he/she always know the blessing and the love 

of uncles, aunties, cousins and grandparents.

Jakob's Clan

 It was time to catch up with siblings and their families on my H's side -

something we did a lot more when mom and dad were still with us.

The lakehouse, which my side of the family has been happy to share,
seems to be the best place to meet -

and when it comes to hosting anything there, we have it down to a system.

After sending out the invitation and organizing the meal,

most of the hard work is done for me.

Setting up the tables, arranging flowers 

and seeing it all come together is just fun.

 His work involves mowing the lawns, cleaning up the yard

hanging swings and hammocks and setting up chairs.

It's like a little quiet buzz, while just the two of us work.

I love it because it involves a lot of happy anticipation.

 Soon enough the carloads arrive.

 Happy greetings 

 smiles

sister-in-laws and cousins come together.

It doesn't matter who is family and who is married in

but those who share childhood memories do have something unique.

Rosemary (second from the right) came with Jeff and their five daughters from Prince George. 

 

Some of the guys just got on with the show and immediately started a game of bocce ball.

 Some watched, others chatted.

The dock that has stairs leading down to the lake

(and a steep slide too)

became a good place for a game of Jackpot.

while young ones enjoyed the hammocks and swings.

 Hannah loved helping with the little ones!

 We set up the buffet that everyone brought together.

Everyone loaded their plates.

 and in the end there was hardly a bite left of anything.

This Mennonite girl would have liked to see a bit more left

just to be sure! 

 Oh . . . and of course there will always be someone to make it a bit more memorable.

These girls enjoyed the show.

and one more here . . . I think it was a worm.

 What can I say? 

It was wonderful to see everyone catch up with each other 

and marvel at how the family has grown.

 A poster of the family tree set up by the door

was a great conversation piece. 

There are just over 150 people listed in this family tree

(some have passed on and some names were filled in after I took the picture)
A few interesting facts for the fam:
9 children born to Jakob and Maria (1 more, stillborn) 1938- 1956
27 grandchildren (two more died at infancy) 1961 - 1988
62 great-grandchildren and counting 1986 - 2016
7 great-great-grandchildren and counting 2012 -

While only about half of us could be here this weekend,

we had a way to remember everyone who was not.

I believe my H's dad, Jakob Friesen,

if he were still with us today, would say, 

 "These are the children God has graciously given your servant."

Genesis 33:5

Confident Sweetness

Something this girl has shown me is the wonder of good self esteem.

One day here she donned a cheap sparkly tutu over what she was wearing

and went up to my full length mirror.

I happened to see her from the hallway,

smiling at her reflection, quietly saying to herself, "beautiful!"

And off she went.

The picture is a priceless moment I don't have a virtual photo of,

but a moment that spoke to me of how wonderful

if we could all see ourselves just like that.

Beautiful!

On a random day this week, she invited herself for dinner.

She even offered to help make it!

Who could refuse? 

"Papa will be 'prised I is here," she said with delight.

At the dinner table she is first to offer to say the prayer -

with confidence, asking God for whatever is on her heart 

right then and there, with thanksgiving.
Simple, sweet and bold,
No matter whom she talks to.

Such a prize she is!

Father's Day

 On this Father's Day I am reminded 

of how the torch gets passed on

from one generation to the next.

And I am thankful for these dads -

men who became brothers as adults with

different backgrounds and experiences

to each bring something unique to their own family
and our family as a whole.

I am thankful for their desire to honor God

and to guide their children in the right way.
For looks on their faces that say
I did not know it would be so much fun and
I did not know it would be so hard.

I am thankful for the time they take 

in small and big ways

to have fun as well as to teach.

And always, I am thankful for their faithfulness

and love for their childrens' mom, 

May the Lord continue to guide and provide for each dad -

wisdom, patience and a love that never lets go.

Whisking them off to Whistler and More Happy Wishes

 So while their mom and dad are off on some needed time alone, the kids moved in, bringing with them a lot of energy we have forgotten about. I'm sure that if houses could keep memories, this house would have smiled. I won't make an excuse for this long post.

Friday, we took the beautiful highway toward Whistler, stopping in Squamish. 

This old town, just at the north end of Howe Sound, 

has its beginnings in the CN railway construction, milling and mining. 

Today it is an extension of the tourism industry that Whistler Village has brought about.

Here we took the Sea to Sky Gondola to take in the breathtaking views from the top.

At the top we walked the suspension bridge and beautiful trails.

It was not a very clear, bright day, a little on the chili side and I spent some time

in the cafeteria with Paeton, who was not feeling so good, 

while Papa went out and about with the girls.

By the smiles here, you would not tell that anyone was sick. 

Paeton is our boy who will never want to make us feel bad.

He said it was still fun,

At the hotel in Squamish, the girls swam while Paet sat in the hot tub. 

The next day we drove the rest of the way to Whistler. It was a bit of a drizzly day,

so we left the packed picnic lunch in the icebox 

and headed to a little sidewalk cafe in the village. 

Everyone was feeling good again after this cozy time 

with tasty food under an umbrella, by a heater.

Back in Squamish, it was the perfect kind of day to stop in at the Britannia Mine -

which we have often passed and never gone to check out.

The mine was an important source of copper ore for 70 years, closing in 1974. 

We donned our mining protection and got on a mine train that took us into some of the old tunnels.

The guided walking tour was an eye opening experience 

into the back breaking hard work and dangers that miners face.

The part of the tour that really surprised me was the sight behind the impressive and massive stepped building with all the windows. It looks nothing like it on the inside with its wooden stairways, crushing equipment and never ending intertwining pipes involved for the processing of the ore.

We ended with a little bit of panning for that illusive gold,

before heading for dinner and home again.

At home, one day we went to visit Oma

who was so happy to see these, her oldest great-grands.

She whipped up  slowly got around to making her much loved crepes

and they did not disappoint. 

Our back yard also kept calling them out.

Bare feet are a must for these kids

and trees were made for climbing!

They enjoyed finding their perfect perches!

Last night we took the round trip to Victoria 

to hand them over to the grandparents waiting on the other side.

There were smiles all around!

If only it were such a mini overseas all the time!

MORE - Being the Operative Word

MORE

Do you know just how much this one word can convey?

I tickle Jade's tummy while I change her - and she signs "more" 

. . . it's so cute I can hardly stand it. 

I hand Evy one felt marker - thinking I need some control

but she says, "more."

Hand them over, Mimi.

More conveys,

affirmation . . . I'm not done yet . . . I like it . . .  do it again . . . 

additional . . .

Evy calls her sister Sissy and her big brother, Bubba

The next brother she's dubded
More Bubba!

How the mind works!

I was singing in the car -

trying to keep her from falling asleep before getting home for her nap.

Anything that came to mind for the 20 minute drive . . .

ABC

Heavenly Sunshine

Jesus Loves Me

Quietly she sat in her carseat - her only interaction . . .

More NLP

More Sunshine

More Jesus

To be honest, that last thought has come back to me over a few days now.

In my innate nature to keep wanting more of one thing or another - always more -

I have to ask, "do I show a desire for more Jesus?"
It's not just children who always want more -
we all want more of something all the time!
More time . . . more money . . . more sleep . . . more affirmation
There is a verse in the Bible that has intrigued me.
It talks about how God has set eternity into our hearts.
And I wonder if that is the ultimate longing for more -
a longing that will be fulfilled with no more want.

More about Jesus would I know,
More of His grace to others show;
More of His saving fullness see,
More of His love who died for me.

Eliza E. Hewitt