One Year!

A special milestone such as a first birthday is a time to look back on the year . . .

and remember the first time we held you . . . kissed your sweet little face . . .

 and dreamed about the years to come.

I look back on your first Christmas . . . an added special gift under the tree!

 And soon after . . . came the joy of welcoming you to life in Canada!

Another day you will not remember . . . but we will.

By Easter you had grown to be a handsome little man! 

Your clear smiles becoming a regular part of you!  

Koen, your one year has brought us much joy! You are a gift to your mom and Dad . . . your sister and brother and to all who know you! We pray God will continue to bless you with health, a heart that seeks Him and feet and hands to serve Him. May the sparkle in your eyes always be a part of who you are.

We love you,

Papa and Mimi

Homemade Dust Jackets

I’ve learned a new word that may apply to what we used to call book covers. When I was an elementary school girl, we were encouraged to cover our books . . . new or old books . . .  to keep them looking like new. Textbooks were covered so that they could be re-used by another student and sometimes notebooks were covered just to keep them looking nice too.

An email from Julene took me back . . . as she wrote . . .

I covered a book today ... it's an ugly little Indonesian dictionary that I want to put in the guesthouse.

I found a pretty picture in a Martha magazine and as I folded and cut and taped, I remembered you carefully showing me how when I was young. You had loved covering your books back in Brazil when you were a school-girl.

I was reminded about the book cover email when I borrowed a book from a friend. It was a book she’d had on her shelf for maybe 40 years … the cover looking worn and a bit tattered, with scribbles from toddlers who are now grown, adding to the old charm.
I thought I’d share this today . . . even if just to bring back your own buried memories of new pencils, notebooks and schoolbooks.

My thoughts take me to the idea that there seems to be more to book covering than meets the eye.
In one way, it’s a reminder of a time when we valued things because, not often, did we get something brand new. It was a time when our parents tried to stretch the dollar
by mending holes,
taking advantage of large hems
or giving something a good scrub.
Even when they did not have much, there was a sense of pride that caused them to make old things look cared for and beautiful.
I like that.

Life

Sometimes life is a balancing act of mostly planning, then some doing and so quickly it’s over! Between plans for hosting a bridal shower this week, an important wedding date looming close at hand, scheduling fall activities, playing with grandchildren, learning their routines, sending off  'little somethings” to Indonesia, making sure there is food in the fridge . . . and on the table. . .  and on the blog, trying to find time for walks, time with friends or with extended family . . . it gets a little full . . . but it’s good.

After Friday night's book signing a the MCC sale . . . where little visitors who come to sit on laps are especially welcome . . . and we smile at comments from older ones, such as, "are you the ones who do the recipes?" . . .

we spent a good part of Saturday in our back yard. The kids played for a long time with no toys, totally happy…
but when Papa decided to show them what we’ve been holding out on, they were overjoyed at what he hauled out of that old shed!

Thirty year old toys that still work and bring a smile to young and old alike.

Meanwhile, Koen sat in his swing, mesmerized . . . just watching.

On Sunday we joined about four thousand others at the Rotary Stadium for our Fall kick-off where all four services came together for one service. It was casual and wonderful! (this photo, taken in the stands was sent to me)

After the service we spread out our blankets and our family gathered around the icebox for a picnic lunch . .  also very casual . . . yet significant in the kind of way that I tuck away for the treasure it is. My heart wants to hold on tight to another first, yet, at the same time, I'm learning to hang on loosely and let God set the seasons as He calls them.

September Prayer

There is something about September that has a hint of the same feeling as January. With long summer days coming to an end, most of us get back into some kind of classes or schedules that begin fresh in September.

New beginnings often cause me to reflect, this time maybe more-so as I see a change in the school cycle that’s been kind of lost to us with our oldest grandchildren being home-schooled in far off Indonesia. That was until just recently.

This week our barefoot-running grandchildren began classes in a one-room schoolhouse, taught by a teacher from North America. And then, to bring it closer, we have an excited five-year-old, who just became a Canadian citizen, starting Kindergarten right here! Who would have thought that we’d have this pleasure?

It’s not only my grandchildren who are entering a new stage in life. I also want to keep learning . . . these days being convicted about the area of prayer.

On one of my flights, this summer, I was reading a short devotional on the importance and the power of prayer. So often I wait to pray until I am desperate about something and end up taking many things for granted. I wonder, how different my life could be if I truly took God up on His promise to answer prayers. How would things be if I did not wait until prayer is all I have left?  As a grandmother now, I want to pray  about my dreams . . . and practice the one thing that will eventually outlast me.

The writer pointed out how Abraham, when he learned that Sodom would be destroyed, “remained standing before the Lord” … he did not give up asking God to save his nephew until he had that confirmation from the Lord.

Jesus prayed. He prayed early in the morning. He prayed in the garden and He climbed a mountain to pray, He taught his disciples to pray. If Jesus needed to pray, how much more do I? The significance of prayer is emphasized by the fact that He did not call the temple a house of music, fellowship or teaching … but a house of prayer. He said, “When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my father in heaven goes into action.” Matthew 18:19

Prayer causes us to have to humble ourselves and admit that we need God and when God sees a humble and contrite heart, He hears. When we draw near to Him, He draws near to us because He made us for relationship.

There is so much more… but I’ll leave it for now and just pray . . . pray first.

Teapot Hill

A few years ago we decided to begin a tradition of doing a hike on Labor day Monday. So here we were last Monday, deciding on where to go this time. I had not forgotten the hike up Mt. Cheam . . . so the name Teapot Hill sounded like it may just be more my size.

We took the Hwy East, drove through the sleepy town of Yarrow, with its fruit stands and pottery barns on every other corner, past Cultus Lake, buzzing with summer activities, and found a parking spot.

I must confess the hardest part was the first ten minutes, just getting used to the  immediate uphill start, and then it was quite easy going.

The slope beside the path went straight down,

the path itself littered with roots and lined with trees that had all kinds of interesting root systems above ground.

Since I was small, I've loved the feel of being surrounded by tall trees, laden with moss and ferns growing everywhere. I have this vague memory that I may have climbed this hill, coming up the other side, once or twice  Before my teen years, and even as a teen, I attended a camp right below this hill and my favorite activity was hiking. Definitely more desirable than craft time or swimming.
I just know that somewhere in there I must have that valerie-valerah spirit, inherited from my dad.

Back to Monday . . . before we knew it . . . we were at the top. Yes, it was only a hill. Almost disappointing. I wonder what we can find that is inbetween a mountain and a hill.

On our way down we stopped to have some lunch

and tried to get a view of the lake through the trees.

At the bottom, we drove by the lakeside and wound through the small streets lined with summer homes.

We saw an open house sign and decided to look . . . because we could.

There were beautiful kitchens and baths

 

and views . . . but we were not shopping. 

For dinner we packed up hamburgers to BBQ and headed to our 33 year-old family lakehouse - re-done, content and thankful for so much!

Summer Savory

The other day I took Lovella up on her invitation to come by and pick some fresh beans in her garden. It was a beautiful day, leaving me feeling like one of her sunflowers adorning the patch. In no time I left with almost everything I needed to make bean soup. But, see the green stuff with the tiny purple flowers? It's called summer savory and I went to Neufeld Farms to get that.

You can't make a good pot of green bean soup without it.

 

Now is the perfect time to get it a farm or farmer's market. But don't wait too long. You can freeze it or dry it. I  have mine hanging in my pantry to dry . . . and once it's brittle, I'll put it into a container to use all year long. . . . just like other dried herbs.