on the road

 We've been on the road now for

one week.

We've enjoyed the road trip and have covered

a few thousand kilometers.

 We came through a severe storm

in Saskatchewan

but the skies it left behind

were amazing.

happy birthday to the man i love

Today is Howard's 51st birthday. 

On this day 26 years ago he graciously shared his birthday with me on our wedding day! 

That's just the kind of guy he is! 

He's been a gift to me all these years and I am so blessed that he chose 

to spend his life with me. 

Today will be a day to ourselves after spending the last few with many people. 

We are in Alberta visiting supporters and friends but today is Howard's day 

and our day and I am excited about it! 

It was in Alberta at a camp not far from where I'm sitting right now that I all began - 

27 years ago. 

Those were electrically charged days and it was hard to hide what we were feeling! Unfortunately the campers were well aware of what was going on. 

It was quite the moment!

So happy birthday and happy anniversary

my dear husband.

May God bless you on this special day

and may you allow His light and love to continue to shine

through your life and spread to

everyone around you!

 I LOVE you!!

within the house

Last year

on my 49th birthday

we were introduced to our new home.

We couldn't reach it from the front right away because of

street construction.

But after waiting (im)patiently

we were finally able to drive around

to the front of the house and get our first impresssion.

 We were shocked, thrilled and excited.

Our home.

 

 

A year later this is what it looks like from the back.

A lot of progress has been made...

 ...the garden has been sown and is producing at its own rate.

Much discussion has gone into this garden and its apparent lack

of energy - soil energy, that is!

We will deal with that in the fall!

In the meantime, we check its progress daily...

 ...and continue to enjoy the randomly wild flower garden which is now attracting

humming birds

and other brightly coloured winged creatures.

The house has stood now for over a year

and how blessed we are.

This house would not be a home

without the dear ones who make it that for me.

What an amazing year it has been of growing, adjusting and

"transitioning" together;

enjoying our new home and our new life in Canada.

On this my 50th birthday I can't help but marvel

at the gift of these precious lives

that have been given to me to 

cherish, serve and love.

I am blessed.

looking back

 A year ago today we were in Iceland on our way

back to Canada.

 It was a quick chance to take a breath after leaving our home

in Germany 

behind.

Great memories.

shoes for the d r

 Several years ago our brother-in-law started a massive project to build a

village in the Dominican Republic.
He has taken and sent many teams down over the years
to get the job completed.

 In October our nephew is going down with a large group

to finish work on the village.  

The final home (#200) will be completed as well as all the

landscaping and sidewalks for the other homes.

 He is on a "shoe drive" now to take at least 

400 pairs of shoes

with him when he goes in October.

That was my signal to visit the local thrift stores and see what little

goodies I could find.

I spent $22 and bought all but 3 pairs of these shoes (thank you, Terry!).

Crazy fun!

the deck

 So far so good.

I have to say that we are rather pleased with what

we've accomplished thus far.

It's a cooler and very smokey day today.

We think the smoke is blowing in from the fires in

northwestern Ontario

moody manitoba morning

After weeks of hot and dry weather

the skies finally opened up this morning and made

a serious impact.

It certainly felt like a real "Moody Manitoba Morning"

and we all liked it that way!

before and after

 

 I was thrilled when Bethany arrived home from the

greenhouse with a trunk full of

bedding plants.

This is what it looks like a month later.

It's wild and the flower bed still needs work as we continue

to make decisions about our yard,

but I love the explosion of colour and the

general chaotic look of it all!