Life
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*Kids say the darndest things!!
I remember very clearly (in fact, I will not forget), the year face-cleansing sponges came to the U.A.E. Though I do not remember the brand that brought it in, I recollect the big ad campaigns that took over all the supermarkets. Of course I was curious about it, but didn’t think it was something I particularly needed – and so ignored all the hype. We lived in Sharjah at the time and one Friday morning (our weekend), I found, along with our newspaper, a bag that had a small pack of complimentary face sponges. “Oh that’s fantastic! I’ll check it out right away,” I thought. Now our oldest daughter Becca…
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Holding Loosely
I have learned to hold all things loosely, so God will not have to pry them out of my hands. ~ Corrie Ten Boom As a family, it’s been tradition to make a celebration out of the evening set aside for Christmas decorating – and it’s usually around mid-November. Carols blare loudly, hot chocolate flows, and there’s happy talk, laughter, and friendly arguments as to who gets to put up the angel tree topper. However, over the past 17 years, there have been so many changes happening in quick succession, with moving to a new country, losing a parent each, our older girls getting married, leaving home and having babies,…
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The “Mum Code”
It might have been a year ago, or maybe two (?), that a friend of mine posted about a missing girl on Facebook. She was in a bright yellow Volkswagen, a little VW beetle, and should have been on her way home from somewhere in Northern BC. I don’t remember the details, but I remember that my friend had posted a picture of the car and asked for prayer. And I had been praying fervently that she be found quickly and safely. The next day I decided to take the scenic route to work and as I drove past an old, abandoned farmhouse, there parked out on the road, near…
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*As long as I’m living… my baby you’ll be
A few days ago, I was trying to find a picture of my mother and myself, and as always with pictures, it took me for a walk, way down nostalgia lane. I can spend hours there, rambling through long-forgotten memories… wistfully remembering times that went by far too soon! With all the pictures and albums on the floor around me, I came across one of Becca holding Sol, our first grandchild, with me sitting beside her. It was labelled, “Two mothers and two babies.” Two babies? I had to look again. Yes. There were actually TWO babies in that picture. And that thought triggered a memory, from 36+ years ago……
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The Rock of Ages
Autumn is my all-time favourite season. To me, it represents so much diversity…trees of flaming colours, gorgeous sunsets, bountiful harvests, and misty mornings. But this year, Fall came bringing with it nothing but storm after storm. I think in the past year I’ve heard phrases I’ve never heard before to describe our weather conditions. “Arctic freeze”, “heat dome”, “weather bomb”, and right now, our province, is experiencing something called “atmospheric river” caused by the “pineapple express”. These are storms, the likes of which no one has seen in over a hundred years. And it has wreaked havoc on our province – mudslides, flooding, evacuations, collapse of highways etc. The first…
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Out of the mouth of babes…
I used to journal a lot, and the joy I find in journaling is being able to go back in time… before the Instagram and Facebook era. This happened about 31 years ago… when our oldest daughter Becca was about 4 years old, and we had moved to Sharjah, an emirate of the UAE. We lived in a small apartment building next to the souq (a market place lined with beautiful small shops and restaurants), in a town called Rolla, and Becca was ecstatic to find that the apartment next to us had twins her age – twin girls named Ammu & Binu. The three of them soon became inseparable…
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The Cost of Love
Last week, Becca, our oldest daughter, and I were discussing life’s hard faith questions. And you know, as much as we discussed it, and quoted Scripture, there really were no answers to some questions. As Becca rightly said, “If we know everything about God, He wouldn’t really be God, would He? Some things we just accept in faith.” So, as I was contemplating these questions a few mornings ago, I realized that though there are many things about God that are a mystery and will be a mystery until we enter our heavenly home, there are some things He allows us to at least get a glimpse of – things…
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“Our” Father’s Heart
So, we as a family, have just been through a difficult time… when clinging to the Lord in tears, was all I was able to do. For someone who always likes to be in control, calling these past few weeks ‘hard’ is an understatement! Two weeks ago, I was sitting with my Bible, early one morning, but my mind was not on the text. It was with my child who had been admitted to the hospital the previous evening – after months of being unwell and in pain. It was hard not being there with her. And harder still that I could do nothing. My mind wandered to the time…
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Summer 2021 was for…
Climbing trees 60th birthday celebrations with my family, near and far Visits to parks, spray parks and sunflower fields Sleepovers & lazy days Family dinners Impromptu late evening soccer games And the cherry on the cake… three whole weeks with my 92-year-old dad, who travelled from Calgary to celebrate this special birthday with me. This kind of summer sums up my life. You see, simple pleasures give me the greatest joy. Looking back down six decades, I would say some days definitely were long and hard, but days of joy have always spilled over one into the other… and for that, I give thanks! To God be the glory for…
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Speaking Canadian… from duo-tangs to pasta
So it was a month after we got to Canada (and a few years before Google was the go-to research tool), that Abi, who was 8 at that time, remembered to tell me at dinner time that she needed a “do-o-tang” for school the next day. Whaat? Never heard of it. “Did teacher tell you what it was, Abi?” “No” was the swift response. And so all of us guessed at endless possibilities… Something for show and tell? Something to eat? Something to drink? Something to wear? Until… we gave up. The next day I went into school with Abi and confessed to the teacher that I had no clue…
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Remember, the “can’t waits” add up to years
Now over the past year and some, grandsons #1 & #3 have been attempting to bolster their weight to get to the 40 lb mark – because it’s their goal in life to get out of child car seat and into a booster seat. And whenever I visit or they come over, I’m regaled with stories of what they ate to get to that milestone weight marker, and I’m given the task of taking their weight, and recording it. The other day, I watched one of those mandatory ads on YouTube of a baby in a mother’s arms transformed into a toddler taking her first steps, to a little girl,…
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Toasted White Bread
I woke up with a nagging sinus headache on a stormy, rainy day [very unlike the usual misty rain we have here all year round], a couple of weeks ago, and all I could think of as I opened my eyes was toasted white bread… dripping condensed milk!! Okay. Before you throw up your hands in horror and get all judgmental, let me explain the root of this weird craving. Now, in the sixties and the seventies, we grew up on traditional south Indian cuisine that definitely did not include bread. So bread (and there was only white bread) was a treat when one was sick. And sometimes, on rare…
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Epic Mum Fail!
So I was chatting with a friend this morning about mothering techniques and we were laughing about the mistakes we’ve made over the years, when I remembered the horror of this… epic mum fail! 🥴 To give you a background history: my girls must’ve been 13, 8 and 2 around the time of my story, and Debbie used to fight with her older sister Becca all the time. It drove me crazy!! Though Becca was older by 5 years, Debbie was crazy competitive. So you see problems brewing immediately, right? Everything her older sister did/played/took/ate/watched/wore was the exact thing she wanted to do at that very moment. And you have…
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Treasures of my heart…
I am so grateful for treasured memories that come spilling out at the drop of a hat! And being a mother brings me great joy, and has revealed my heavenly Father’s heart… just a little more clearly. Here are three “treasures” that took place over the span of probably 20 years. And I placed them in this order only because they opened my eyes to this Word. The Lord your God… He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17 Treasure #1: He will take great delight in you…As usual I was racing up and down…
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‘Scenic route’ drives
Little did we know that we would end up driving hundreds of kilometres since Abi said, “mum, take the scenic route”, for the first time, 15 years ago. You see, the province we live in is huge and has been dubbed “Super Natural British Columbia and “Beautiful BC” for a reason. We know that whichever route we take, we are bound to see forests and mountains, bears, deer and other wildlife, rushing streams, and of course, the mighty Fraser River which runs through the centre of the province, and is one of the largest salmon spawning rivers in the world. Both Abi and I enjoy an aimless drive. No destination…
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The magical world of make-believe
*The time has come,’ the Walrus said, to talk of many things; And as I talk to our four little grandsons, I’ve discovered once again that the magical world of make-believe actually exists! You see, every time I’m with them, it’s a world of endless nonsensical discussions, games, and rules and laws that are enforced by 5, 6 and 7 year old minds. For eg. When we drive past fields that have a ‘marshmallow harvest’, we get ourselves a bag of fat white marshmallows and eat it immediately. That is non-negotiable! If we’re in a park or even just the backyard, we need to check out every single nook and…
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…he’s my brother! (part 2)
So, of all the roles in life that I’ve either gained by default, or taken on voluntarily, the one that tops them all and gives me the greatest joy is the title of “grandmother” (or ‘Gaga’ to my grandkids). And when we had 4 grandsons, almost one after the other, I was over the moon! Hence, it cannot be any surprise to anyone, that this post is solely to introduce you to grandsons #2 and #4. Though they are just 5 and 2, I’ve learned everything there is to know about dinosaurs and superheroes in these past 5 years. And having raised three very girlie girls, I truly did not…
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…he’s my brother! (part 1)
They don’t sit still for a minute. Grandsons #1 and #3 are 7 and 5. From the minute I see them, all I hear is, “I’m taller than you. No. I’m taller than you.” Or “I can run faster than you. No. I can run faster than you.” And this goes on and on. Until of course the claim that cannot be disputed comes up…”I’m older than you”. However, competition is at its peak when they’re at a bike park. Everything #1 does, has to be challenged and tried by #3. And so up and down hills and valleys and bumps they go until their little legs are finally tired…