Family Fete

 At a recent, long over-due Family Fest ~

  I tried to honour my promise to snag a photo

 of all the grandkids with their crocheted hat...

 The adorable products of Tricia at L'il Ones Custom Crocheted Creations ~

 (See facebook link in previous post)

 But...

 They were clearly NOT in the mood to have playtime trifled with...

 Pfft!

 *Sigh*

 I surrender all (of my agenda).

And submit evidence of the ... utter futility of the moment.

I think I need a nap.

Summer and Sundays

We've seen some crazy weather systems this summer.  

One early morning in June (and I mean '1:30' a.m. early) we found ourselves ~ a small band of the PJ-clad and the utterly fascinated, woken from sleep and standing slack-jaw in front of an upper story bedroom window.  

Slack jawed and naive I might add.

The violence & fury of thunder & lightning of that night (along with the hurricane force winds bowing our trees every which way) was matched, perhaps even trumped! 

at the end of August ~ 

a storm we watched from a basement window this time around.

Saner yes, but not near as much bang for your buck as the saying goes.

                            And yet ...

Who can watch such a display of power and might and not feel very small indeed?

This is what I've come to appreciate most about Storms in general, whether they be spiritual, physical, emotional or geographical...

they put me in my place and in a proper perspective.

Dependent and very much at the mercy of the Creator of the universe.

The same One who scoops the ocean in his two hands,

measures the sky between thumb and pinkie,

who marches an army of stars out each night, 

counts them off, calls each by name...

Calls each by name!

Seriously, who do we think we are?

Who even comes close to being like God?

We had a terrific sermon this morning covering 

the comfort message of Isaiah 40.  

What a great Word that is.

Need some encouragement?

You'll find it there in spades.

Happy Sabbath Rest to all.

Summer Sweeping By

Four grandchildren are heading off to school for the first time this September.  

Apparently, my angst over this fact shows up all over my face.  Now, when this delightful passel of pure innocence barges through the door ~ all tripping over each other in the mad crush to be the first to update me with the latest school supplies, they check themselves.  They even assume an apologetic tone and quickly assure me that they can still visit when they have holidays.
Pfft!!

      I am trying to put on a braver face and act more mature.

The grandkids are wearing their crochet hat creations by Tricia.
As soon as I can recover the name of her business, I shall set up a link here.

L'il Ones Custom Crochet Creations

Thanks Amy!  :)

One thing I AM celebrating with great pleasure

is the completion of my first ever blog book!

 A Once-in-a-lifetime trip to England in 2008 with my baby girl was encapsulated in my first ever blog which in turn has finally become my first ever blog book.
I had set aside July to get that job done and missed that deadline by a mere three days.  

160 high quality gloss pages showcasing more than 600 photos and accompanied with copious amounts of  journalling and memories.

 I am extremely pleased with the results.  And trust me, 

ANYONE can do this if I can.  

Look up Blurb Booksmart  and let your imagination go!

A fitting tribute to summers end may be a picture of my first ever sighting of the Cicada.

Who can even imagine the haze of those hot summer days without the piercing buzz of the Cicada? 

One of these locust-looking insects woke me up at 4am from its perch on the foyer wall a few weeks ago and I simply had to take a picture.  

Then I had to find some courage to 'dispose' of it somehow so I could get back to sleep.

This particular specimen was about two inches in length, VERY leggy and three dimensional.

 I could not stomach the idea of splatting it against the wall so I swatted it with a wad of wet paper towel and scurried it out the front door.

*ish*

It was minus two legs ~ carnage I found in the morning.  Ugh.

Cemetery Sentiment

The monument went up this week.

We quite like it.  Once the landscapers in my life have spruced up the grounds surrounding it, we'll re-post another portrait of mom's resting place.

To clarify, our sister's tombstone is flat and was right beside mom's 'plot' (that word just sounds strange in my ears) and it was moved to become the new foot-stone of a double side by side burial plot  * spot/place/grave?!    A headstone wide enough to straddle both spaces :) and engraved with Moms chosen scripture verse, turned out to be a convenient and meaningful way to respect our mothers' desire for a more 'family' oriented resting place.

I'd like to take this opportunity to publicly thank and recommend the services and staff of Kitching Steepe and Ludwig Funeral Home.   Respectful, compassionate, professional, amazing....these are the words that come so easily to mind in describing our experience with them.

Supply of monuments is a new and welcome complement to their many fine ways 

of assisting families with their final arrangements.

Union Cemetery in Waterdown is old, well-treed and now, almost at capacity.  

When our kids were young we would often end our family picnics at the Dundas Driving Park with a walk through the old cemetery up on the hill.  Many a pioneer cemetery in Ontario 

(and almost ALL the ones on the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia) have been traversed in quiet contemplation by myself and camera and usually accompanied by someone(s) I love.

Laying the body of my very young sister in the ground (and her still born child before that) was an experience of the soul-shaping sort; one that sparked a yearning 

to be found standing in a cemetery on The Day ~ that final day of this world as we know it.  

On that day, at the sound of God's command and a trumpet call like something 

OUT OF THIS WORLD, 

(uhm...Duh! :) 

I will see Jesus coming down from heaven and THEN...

all the dead in Christ will rise first!

And then, after that?   Those of us who are still alive 

and are left will be caught up together with the throng of rising dead in the clouds 

to meet the Lord in the air!

.... and so we will be with the Lord forever.
I Thessalonians 4: 13ff

Yep.  The Bible tells me so.  And I believe it.

A cemetery will be a front row seat to the unspeakably spectacular.  

The camera won't matter so much.
Being there with someone(s) I love, will.