Then Sings my Soul

Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder,



Consider all the works Thy hands have made . . .



I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder



They power throughout the universe displayed.



Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,



How great Thou art, how great Thou art.



When through the woods and forest glades I wander



And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees



When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur



and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God,  to Thee

How great Thou art. How great Thou art! 

 words taken from a hymn based on a Swedish poem written by Carl Gustav Boberg (1859–1940)
photos taken at Downes Bowl, close to home.

You Choose

I was paging through a magazine while at the hairdressers and,
in looking at this poll about jean preferences,
I thought it would be fun to poll another set of readers.
Can we have some fashion fun?
Now. . . I really do not know what age group was polled,
but I tend to think that being at the stage where nothing is new any more . . .
I can look at styles from exactly that perspective and choose on assortment of different styles
according to my mood, the setting, what top I want to wear etc.



What's not to like about flared jeans?
I remember when they came into style in the 70's . . . at that time, the bigger the better.
I like wearing them with a smaller style t-shirt and a belt, of course.
Just plain comfy in summer.
I don't like that you can't tuck them into boots without looking awkward.

The boot cut could possibly be my favorite. Not sure.
Just a nice classy go-between for shirts tucked in or out.
Easy to wear with ankle boots.
 

 

The skinny cut looks good with the right tops . . . there has to some kind of balance.
Sometimes I'm not quite sure if I can pull them off right, but other times they
feel so good with a long soft pullover (sweater dress) or shirt.
I prefer tall boots with them . . . so easy to slip into in winter.
So . . . what do you think?
What do you like about the style you like?

Playground, Faspa and Games

Shaun and Kristal dropped off Natalie, Landon and Koen so they could attend the Mercy Me Concert.
I'm listening to I can only Imagine as I type . . . and it's all good.

We enjoyed our time with the kids as we walked to the park,
watched them on the monkey bars and run home trying to catch the falling leaves in the wind.
For Faspa we had ham and cheese pinwheels, veggies, apple salad, buns with jam and cheese,
cream puffs and oatmeal chocolate fudge bars.
They ate with gusto . . . can you believe that?
After we cleared the table they brought out the cards they had brought
 to play King's Corner.



It's a game they taught me recently and now Papa had to learn it too.
Natalie dealt the cards, put a stack in the middle facing down and and one on each side, facing up.
When a player had a king, he got added on the corner.



The goal of the game is to place numbers in consecutive order going down,
alternating black and red.

It sure is fun to see their number skills developing!

Our evening ended with Chinese Checkers
and then the usual bedtime routine
of getting comfy, story time, sips of water . . .
I don't want you to kiss me on the ear, Papa etc.
. . . moments that play back with a smile
when all is peace and quiet.
 

Love in my Mailbox

There are not too many envelopes coming to my mailbox that make me smile the way this one did.

I cut open the side - mindful not to destroy the carefully placed stickers nor anything inside.

I'm sure mom wondered if she should send the whole collection . . .
but I'm glad she did! 

When I have a bad "long distance feeling" day
 I will remember these precious words.
 

Blogging Friends Face to Face

After I posted about our weekend earlier this week,  I got an email from Anneliese . . .
yes . . . her name is Anneliese . . . that I could post the picture of us if I wanted to.
That made me happy, because now I can tell you how we met.
She came to our table in Victoria with a book to sign and just smiled.
I was the second in the line and asked her what her name was.

 Now, if your name is Julie or Marg or Kathy . . . it may not be a big deal to
hear your own name like that . . . but to me . . . it was pleasantly unusual . . .
and it just happened to me me asking!
Immediately I remembered that someone with my name
had left a comment recently and she hesitantly confirmed that it was her.
After reading my blog for quite some time, she finally had had the courage to comment 
. . . . still with a feeling of . ..  what have I done?
Does anyone else feel like that?
 

We became immediate friends as we chatted.
She was named after her two aunts  . . . Anna and Liese
I was named after my two grandmothers . . .
Anneliese, thank you for coming to the book signing!
It was so nice to meet you!
I loved how you shared why you have gifted the cookbook.
 

Another blogging friend, Lorrie, is someone I connected with
when I found out she had lived in Ecuador for many years.
She and her husband worked for a Christan radio station that
I immediately recognized as one my parents used to listen to
when I was young, living in South America.
In fact, my dad used to do translation work for the same radio station.
It's a small world.
After raising their kids in Equador, Lorrie and her husband now live on the Island
where she is a teacher on call, I believe.
She enjoys sewing, writing, crafting and being a Grammy.
 

Happy Birthday, Chris!

Although I don't have photos documenting your first steps,

your first day of school, your toothless grin, flying kites,

birthday parties or Christmas mornings . . . not even school graduation . . .

I do have a special memory of the first time you entered our front door,

when you brought our daughter home from a New Year's eve date.

Not many more times through that door -  

and you came in announcing, "Hi, I'm home!"

 

 

We enjoyed how you made yourself at home, almost moving in for a time . . .

at least for dinner and laundry . . . and

 appreciated this time of getting to know your free spirit . . .

pounding out a melody on the piano and singing Keith Green to your hearts content

or popping into the kitchen to check out the pot on the stove.

We knew the big question would be coming and it did.

 

Your wedding was a celebration of two dreams combined.

  There was no doubt that your passion to fly and her passion to teach

 would make a perfect combination

and your determination to make it all come together within a few years was astounding.

 

Chris, you had a dream and followed through.

Looking back over these years that have brought you to this day,

we are so proud of your accomplishments as a pilot and the relationships you built while overseas,

but most of all we thank God for the faithful, loving husband and father you are.

To see your commitment to your family and your love for God

 is what makes this day wonderfully complete!  

 

These days, continuing on with your fascination for things that fly,

your garage is beginning to get lined with remote planes built in your spare time,

as you assess what is to come.

We pray God will lead you as you make decisions for the future.

May your desires continue to fly near to the heart of God,

and be wonderfully realized as God's plan unfolds for you.

 

Happy 40th, Chris!

Love, Mom and Dad