Victoria Day

We just celebrated Victoria Day here in Canada with a long, sunny weekend.  Graham also had his eighth birthday.  His party will be next weekend but he wanted to go kayaking this weekend and try out his birthday presents. One thing we really enjoy about living in the Greater Toronto Area is being so close to Lake Ontario.  The park we went to on Sunday was just 5 minutes from our church.

We fixed our camera and got a new computer so now I can post pictures with greater ease.  Spring has finally arrived in Canada, and after the long Winter, we are enjoying it so much.  Graham got a kids' sized kayak for his birthday, and he got to try it out this past weekend.

Happy Birthday, Tim!

Happy Birthday to my man!  

Tim, you are an amazing daddy, a loving husband, and a noble and godly man. 

I am so blessed to be your wife.

Happy Easter!!

Thinking of Good Friday

Where would we be without Your love?
We'd still be lost in darkness.
Where would we be without Your cross?
It made a way to save us.
O, Your love! O, your love!

We couldn't escape the sin and shame that kept us bound.
We couldn't break through, we couldn't reach You.
So You reached down.

Safe in the arms of Your embrace
breathing in Your freedom.
Lifting a song of highest praise,
breathing out your anthem, O, Your love!

Where would we be without Your love?
We'd still be lost in darkness.
Where would we be without your cross?
It made a way to save us.
O, Your love! O, Your love!

words by Matt Redman

Ice Crystals

Sometimes an ordinary occurrence passes without recognition of what it truly is intended to be: a message of love from the Spirit of God.  But at those special times when our hearts are longing for the Spirit's whisper, we catch it like a delicate snowflake landing on our tongue.  It's brief, but it can leave a lasting impression, one that you don't want to forget.

Today is the first day of Spring.  It is 20 degrees (Fahrenheit, I should add). As I struggled to help my youngest child into her snowsuit, mittens, boots, and hat for our walk to school this morning, my heart felt as cold as the frozen ground outside my front door. We recently returned from the land flowing with milk and honey, Nashville (I exaggerate for effect), and I have been working through some disappointment of realizing our move back home is not happening as soon as I would like.

On the way to school, I noticed a girl ahead of us holding a chunk of ice.  She lifted it up above her head and peered through the ice noticing the way the sun's rays were captured in the crystals.  I watched and smiled at her discovery, at her delight in the way something so ordinary and dull could be transformed into something magical.  It was then that I heard Him ask, "How are you viewing your life, Jo?" I've been discouraged and discontent.  I've been fighting resentment and frustration, yet when I hold my life up to His radiance, His glory shines through.  He makes the ordinary and mundane shine and shimmer in His light. He even can take something cold, hard, and void of warmth and make it beautiful.

Today I'm holding onto this truth, this idea of "uncomfortable grace". A guest speaker at our church spoke on this a few weeks ago, and his message has been resonating in my mind ever since.  He said sometimes God takes us to places we don't want to go to accomplish something in our lives that we could not accomplish on our own.

Uncomfortable grace...God's way of bringing blessings through suffering, of teaching, molding, and shaping us through difficult circumstances.  His way of taking our ordinary lives, shining His light in us, and creating something beautiful.

Lidiyanna is three!

Happy Birthday to our sweet girl!

lovable, friendly, beautiful, energetic, charming, loud, adventuresome

You bring so much sunshine to our lives.  We love you, Lidiyanna!

A weekend with our small group

I got to admit, I am tired of Winter. Ever since last weekend when I returned home from Texas, the dreary clouds have been hanging over my head.  We've had more snow this year which has been fun, but I'm ready for sun and for warmth.  The winter blues have hit and I'm fighting hard to resist the melancholy mood that has seemed to take residence inside me.

It has been good to look at these pictures and remember that Winter can be fun and God has given us some really wonderful friends here in Canada.  At the beginning of February, we were invited to join our small group for a weekend in Muskoka, beautiful "cottage country" about two hours north of the big city.  While there, we got lots more snow, and the scenery was breathtaking.  As we took a hike to a frozen waterfall, I remember thinking, "This is why people enjoy living in Canada."  The Winter is so long and dreary, yet it can also bring with it a lovely and inviting playground.

Over the weekend, we enjoyed God's amazing creation and we refreshed our souls through prayer, worship, and just enjoying being together.  I am thankful for these memories, for these friends, and for the beauty in the midst of the Winter.

The Table

We buried the body of my grandfather last Saturday.  As I mourned the loss of my Granddad, I felt the heaviness of my grandmother's death all over again.  I was closer to my grandmother.  Maybe it was all that we had in common: our love of cooking, crafting, teaching and our name, Jo.  And as I said goodbye to my grandfather, I said farewell to their home which housed so many of my childhood memories.  My grandparents lived just a few blocks from me, so I saw them quite often.  We went to the same church, and not many Sundays passed by that I did not get my hand squeezed from my grandmother as I said hello to her and my granddad in their familiar seats in the sanctuary.  The way her fingers felt in mine as she tightly grasped my hand in her own is a memory that lies in the forefront of my mind.  It is a fond memory that stirs up the love I know she and my granddad had for me.  All of my cousins gathered around my grandparents' table this past weekend along with my dad, aunts and uncle.  We reminisced, remembered, and recounted many happy times we were in that house and under the umbrella of Cecil and Jo's love.  I miss them both.  I appreciate the love and legacy of godliness they leave behind.  And as I sat at that table surrounded by such warmth, I saw a glimpse, just a taste of the glory and joy, the saftety and comfort we will one day know when we are all finally at Home feasting at our Father's table.

my sweet grandfather, his brother, Dewey, my cousin, Andrew, and Wesley in 2008

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body...

Philippians 3:20-21

Our little Beta fish

We thought we had lost our beloved beta fish, Sammy (short for Samar i) .  We had just returned from a trip to a friend's cottage (more on that in the next post) and were quickly trying to get the kids in bed when I noticed the lifeless body laying limp on the leaf in the fish tank. When I gently gave the tank a nudge, the fish fell to the bottom of the tank and remained there showing no signs of life.  Both of the boys burst into tears when I told them our fish had died.  I knew Sammy could make it a few days without food as Betas are very hardy fish, but I had forgotten that the house would get quite chilly as we had turned down the heat while we were away.  It was just too cold in the house for the fish, and I felt horrible that my actions had caused the death of this poor creature.  Graham cried himself to sleep that night, and after he finally fell asleep, Tim and I contemplated removing Sammy from the tank and flushing him down the toilet.  We decided to wait until the next day to perform the funeral.

On Monday, after I got the boys off to school, Lidiyanna and I were in the boys' room cleaning up a bit.  Lidiyanna asked me, "What's Sammy doing?"  I looked in the tank expecting to see the body laying motionless on the tank's floor, but instead I saw Sammy's bright blue body swimming around with his little fins flickering in the water. I started laughing and quickly gave Sammy some food which he gobbled right up. Our little fish had not died but was in some type of lethargic state while the water was cold.  Once the water warmed, his energy and vitality returned.  I couldn't wait to tell the boys that Sammy was still alive and kicking (or should I say swimming?).

I was telling the story to Kimberly later that night and she was reminded of a song she had heard in which the lyrics were "everything sad will come untrue".  One day, Jesus will return and make all the sad things untrue.  What a beautiful picture little Sammy gave us of how God will one day turn our tears into laughter and our sorrow will be replaced with joy.

It made me think of another song by Matt Redman that says,

And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
A glorious light beyond all compare
And there will be an end to these troubles but until that day comes
We'll live to know You here on the Earth
Yes, I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
And there will be an end to the troubles
But until that day comes
Still I will praise You, Still I will praise You

Oh, no You never let go
In every high and every low
O, no, You never let go 
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh, no You never let go Lord, you never let go of me

Good Morning Snow!

O Canada

One thing I will really miss when we return to Tennessee is the beautiful snow in the Great White North.

Just look at that face.  She was thinking, "No, Graham.  You cannot just throw a snowball at me and get away with it."  This girl can take care of herself.

We have been having lots of fun around our house this week as my cousin, Andrew, was in town.  Somehow he always seems to make me laugh.  By the end of the week, Graham kept looking at us and telling us to stop laughing.

Unfortunately, Tim had to be out of town most of the time at two different auto shows, and Andrew had purposely picked this week to come so he could help me while Tim was gone.  Just shows you what a great guy he is!

We have gotten some snow which has been fun.  I was glad Andrew got to see some of the white stuff.  We also had a fun adventure going into Toronto last night and ice skating at an outdoor rink that overlooks Lake Ontario.  It is such a great place with a live DJ on Saturday nights and the CN tower glowing in the background.  We were having some mild temps so the place was very crowded, and we got a few giggles from watching a lady who was very serious about practicing her figure skating among the rest of us who were just trying to keep from falling.  Andrew, Graham and I skated although Lidiyanna would have been out there too if they had skates in her size.  Graham is finally getting the hang of it and but still spends lots of time laying on the ice mainly because he thinks that's fun.

We are continuing with our motto: If you gotta live in Canada, you might as well embrace the Winter and enjoy it.

 Love those rosy cheeks!

 Put this picture in so you could see Tim's "authentic" Canadian hat.  We are prepared here!!

Bringing in the New Year

After Tim's family went home and we came back from Blue Mountain, we quickly did laundry and repacked our bags to head to Tyler to visit my family.  What a challenging day we had trying to get there.  We got up at 5am to make our 8:30am flight that did not leave the ground until 1pm.  We sat on the run way for five hours because of some problems involving the deicing fluid.  Thankfully the airplane had TVs and movies to help keep the kids entertained, but I got especially annoyed by the long delay.  We finally arrived in Houston late in the afternoon only to have more delays.  We had missed our connecting flight and there were no more flights to Tyler that day.  So, we rented a car and arrived at my mom's house exhausted and a bit grouchy around midnight.  To top it all off, our bag was lost and remains lost to this day.

Oh, well.  We were finally there and I was very glad to see my family as I had not been back in a year.  Earlier that week, my dad had passed out from the flu and damaged his eye so badly that it required two surgeries and several more procedures.  I am thankful he is doing much better now and his eye is healing.  He's had to be very patient as he's been on strict bed rest for over two weeks.

I was glad to visit with my granddad and spend some time with him but I was saddened to see how much his body and mind have gone downhill.  His short term memory has really declined so that it is no longer safe for him to live independently.  After I left Texas, he has been moved into an assisted living home.

Unfortunately, I took no pictures while in Tyler.  We did have a great time with my family, and I loved being pampered by my mom.  She cooked delicious food and helped so much with my kids.  She also watched the kids overnight so Tim and I could enjoy a night out on New Year's Eve.

It's always hard to say good-bye to my family and I felt a bit disappointed that our trip ended up being a bit stressful.  Canada is a long way from Texas and it is very challenging trying to travel there with three kids.  I think I have a greater appreciation for living in a place where I can drive to see my family in one day.

And, if you are wondering about when we will move back to Tennessee, we still don't know.  We could be moving back this coming summer or the move might not take place for another year.  We are still waiting.

Christmas in Blue Mountain

It's hard to believe my last post was at the beginning of November. I guess December was so busy that it just flew right by.

Tim's family came up to Canada for Christmas and we spent our time together in a condo in Blue Mountain, a ski village a few hours north of where we live.  They had a little snow when we arrived and a lot of snow when we left, so the kids enjoyed lots of sledding and playing in the snow.  Graham, Hayley, and Davis took ski lessons one afternoon while I took Wesley and Lidiyanna swimming.  It was a different way to spend Christmas and I think we all enjoyed our white holiday together.

Road 2 Hope Race

One thing I like about parenting is that your children sometimes push you to do things you would normally not do.  Although I have always tried to have some type of exercise in my weekly routine, running was never something I enjoyed.  I have never had the desire to run, never participated in any races, and never really even tried to run.  This changed a few months ago when Graham and I heard about Road 2 Hope from a friend.  Graham is naturally a pretty good runner and has been interested in running and finding a race to try out.  I think it's the boundless energy inside his little body that helps him excel in running.  When we heard about this 5K race not far from where we live and how it raises money for an inner city kid's ministry and orphans in Haiti, Graham and I both became interested in it.  I encouraged him to run it with Tim, but since Tim has had an issue with his foot, I was drafted into running the race with Graham.  My dad has gotten into running over the last six months, so I asked him if he'd like to join us.

Graham and I started practicing a month or so ago and would just run/walk for about 45 minutes on the weekends.  Yesterday was the day of the race and after seven days of rain, we finally saw the sun.  We had such a great time participating in this race together.  I was amazed at Graham and how he ran the entire race with a smile on his face.  My dad was one of the older participants and Graham was one of the younger, and I was inspired by their diligence in running.  It was great fun running alongside my dad and my son.  I think it's a neat activity to do with family, and I'd like to see us participate in more races in the future.

Halloween at our house!

Despite the chilly, rainy weather, we made it up and down a few streets in our neighborhood.  The boys were ninjas and Lidiyanna was a fairy princess.  Unfortunately, her outfit was a little altered by her coat and rain boots, but I still think she was the cutest fairy around.  As the boys were making their ninja poses, she looked over and decided she needed to make a pose of her own.  Too cute!!  We were happy to have my dad with us this week to share in the fun.

Jack-o-lanterns

Tim helped the kids carve their pumpkins in preparation for Halloween.  Graham loved getting his hands messy, but Wesley was content just to watch.  It has been raining here since Saturday, and we are hoping we will get a break tonight so it will be dry for the trick-or-treaters.

 Does she fit?