Comment of the day...

As we were crossing the Golden Ears Bridge, we were admiring the eagles sculptures attached to the vertical spans.

 

As we crossed the bridge, Brian said, "They get beautiful eagles and we get big raspberries."

I think he has a point!

Huckleberry Hound

I have the Notes app on my iPhone and it is very handy, especially because I am married to a very funny fella!

The other day my husband was reminiscing about the cartoons he used to watch as a kid.  He mention Augie Doggie, and Yogi Bear, but his favourite was Huckleberry Hound.  Saturday cartoons were sacred - it didn't matter that they were watched on black and white TV.  Somewhere around 1968, Brian's parents got a colour TV and that son of theirs went into shock.  Forty years later, the shock has turned into a rant.   WHAT?  HUCKLEBERRY HOUND IS BLUE? HOW MAKES A DOG BLUE? DOGS AREN'T BLUE! EVERYONE ELSE WAS THE RIGHT COLOUR! YOGI BEAR WAS BROWN AND BEARS ARE BROWN.  DOGS ARE NOT BLUE!

Bethany and I love Brian's rants.  He makes us laugh every day....and that is a very good thing!

Uncle Ed's Reminder

Growing up in my family of origin, I learned the very significant lesson that family is not restricted by the definition of blood relation.  There are many people in my life who are my family....Ed Barbin was one of these people and it is to him, I dedicate this post.

Uncle Ed is married to my Auntie Ruth.  I have known and been loved by them for 45 years.  Their daughter, Katherine, was my childhood friend, and their daughter, Janet, was our long-suffering babysitter.

I have had many gut wrenching, soul destroying moments in the last 9 months, and my guilt about the burden I am to my precious husband has weighed deeply on me.  Brian has been selfless...and I have been on the receiving end of so much grace.

I was bemoaning the fact that I was such a burden to Brian, and my Uncle Ed dealt with that guilt with 7 simple words.  He reminded me of a promise that was made 23 years ago.  He reminded me, "He made the same vows you did."  

And in the moment, I realized that Brian is in this with me.   Twenty three years ago, he vowed, "I, Brian, take you, Laura , to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part."

Thank you Uncle Ed for reminding of Brian’s promise.  Because of you, I will remember it always.  Enjoy heaven!

I love Lucy

Its funny how a child you have never held, holds a deep and special place in your heart.  Yesterday we found out that our precious grand baby was a girl.  Her parents have named her Lucy Margaret and she has become more real.  We already loved and missed her, but now we have a gender and a name - now I can see her in my mind's eye.

We believe in life after death so it is comforting to know that Lucy is not alone. Both my sisters-in-law experienced the loss of a child - one in the early stages of pregnancy, and one 2 hours and 11 minutes after giving birth.  We believe that those wee ones continue their existence in a place where there is no brokenness, no pain, and no loss - hallelujah!  Lucy will meet her namesake, Margaret was Lucy's great grandma.

Images of this Lucy playing, listening to stories, cuddling, flit through my mind. Her parents are not with her but her Heavenly Father is - and He will hold her close until her parents reunite with her, for this is the Hope to which we have been called.

Take a hug, Lucy.  Your grandma loves you.

Meccano - the Adult Version

Brian had tons of Meccano when he was a kid; in fact, we still have his Mecanno in our storage room.  He loved building things then and he loves building things now.  Brian's current project is building the best TV antenna possible.  We don't use satellite because we have Netflix and our Apple TV. We don't use cable because we have an antenna.  We have had several versions, and each one is better than the last.

We have a big antenna on our chimney and we get 8 channels on a regular basis and some of the are even in HD!

The latest revision is pretty artsy.  I love the look of it and it currently sits on the top of our TV student. I also love the way Brian makes practical things aesthetically pleasing....my builder-man is also an artist!

 

Salmon in the City

I have a doctor in Port Coquitlam, whom I see on a weekly basis.  While I am at my appt, Brian goes exploring.  Until this last week his favourite new discovery has been Summit Tools - I will write about this in another blog.

This week was a surprise for me!  We had Daisy (our dog) with us so Brian took her for a walk.  When I was done, Brian wanted to show me what he had discovered so off they went. We went across the street to Lions's Park and we walked across a small field, down a rocky path that was maybe 25 ft in length, and ended up on the edge of a very shallow Coqutilam River.  We were treated to the spectacular site of salmon going upstream to spawn.  I had seen this before when we lived on the Queen Charlotte Islands,  but Brian had never seen it, and he was so excited!

The beauty of that day stays with me - a beautiful river right in the middle of a high density urban area was full of salmon. I love that!

Here is the video...

Treasure

I have always known that I married a treasure - Brian is rare and I get to spend my days with him.  The cool thing is that typically for 7 of the last 9 months I would have been teaching.  Being on paid leave has allowed us to spend a ton of time together.

When we got married, I had an instant family.  We have never been without kids around. I am not complaining - it was and is a rich way to live.  Our oldest three are now married on their own and Bethany has graduated, working at Purdy's and managing a busy social life.  All of a sudden, we now have many days when we are on our own. What an unexpected gift!

And so we do things like visit my folks in the middle of the day, when I would normally be at school....or we drop off and pick up Beth from the Purdy's in Langley where she works, or we drive to Oak Harbour in the USA and get stuck on military base, or we go to Steveston to eat fish and chips on the beach.

I want to remember these days, some of them are pretty darn funny...and they are always rich because of my other self, the man you all know as Brian.

Tylenol 3

Today I had a backache.  Brian got me a Tylenol 3.  A little while later, he asked me how back was - I told him no change.  He then told me that he had taken the Tylenol 3 himself.  "I took the Tylenol - you should be feel better soon."

Test All Things

So I am reading Stormie Omaritan's book Light for the Step I'm On. Its a pretty easy to read and although I don't agree with everything she has written, I have been inspired to "test all things" as my mother would say. I am hoping that she will be a guest blogger one day, and expand on the story behind "test all things".

It is very hard when your character is defamed, your integrity is attacked, and your motives are questioned. David, the Psalmist, experienced all of these things. His son, Solomon, wrote about them. The verses below are so relevant to this day and I will ponder them as I sew many more things for my momma!

Proverbs 3:21-26

My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight, preserve sound judgment and discretion; they will be life for you,an ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble.  When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.  Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be at your side and will keep your foot from being snared.

The No-No

I am going to do a Christian no-no.  I am going to step out and say I don't know that this verse is true.  Psalm 37:31 says The word of God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.

Maybe the word of God is only in my head and that is why I have sliding steps.  I do know that I am not sure-footed. I do know that I spend time every day, reading and contemplating Scripture. I do know that I am not confident in what I am reading.

I am sure there are more verses of which I will doubt their veracity. Conversely, there may be some verses that I will know to be true.

There goes the double-minded man in me...

James is not for me

Brian and I are doing something novel - we are attending a bible study.  For many years, my faith has been eclectic and probably more liberal that the average Canadian church goer.  I have no issue with fundamentals such as "treat others the way you want to be treated"but currently I am not liking the book of James, the book we are looking at in our study group.

One of our assignments was to memorize a verse and I memorized James 1:12 - Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God gives to those who love him.

I don't get the whole suffering thing, in fact I really hate it.  I have yet to see the perseverance that James talks about in the first chapter - the perseverance from the testing of my faith.  I am more like the double-minded man, the one who doubts like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  Some days I am confident.

James seems to be a fellow that offers advice - he does not get the gut-wrenching state of a questioning soul.  On the other hand, David the Psalmist does understand.  Psalm 138:7 says "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of enemies, and Your right hand will save me.

I wonder if this will be true for me....