Scenes from the Northwoods of Wisconsin

*coming off of a holiday spent at my parent's home tucked in the Northwoods of Wisconsin
The home was designed and built by the hard working hands of my grandparents shown in the bottom picture. A labour of love years in the making and home to many happy family memories, this is not the only legacy they leave. They have lived a life of faith in Jesus and have walked 66 years of marriage dependent on His grace. They have modeled forgiveness to those that wronged them, rose up against a past of hardships with fierce tenacity and refused to be defined by circumstances out of their control. Always the first to volunteer at church, faithfully sing in the choir and eagerly attend midweek Bible classes, their priorities have been clear to those around them. Christ first. Despite their actions telling all around them that Jesus is important to them, this is not the legacy either. Jesus Is.  Jesus Is. This is the eternal legacy they leave to the generations after them. This is the legacy left to my kids.
 My grandparents - regardless of how wonderful they are - are still sinful human beings like all of us. As a child I didn't see that. I only saw how much they loved us through Grandma's cookies and cream puffs and Grandpa's riding lawn mower turned into a grandkids go cart! Now an adult, I see their struggles, their health continue to decline as only old age can bring - a reminder that this life is temporary. Death is dependable.
Jesus isn't confined to the pages of a good book. My grandparents are ordinary people made extraordinary through Christ. Jesus has been the one giving them the strength to forgive, to get up after falling and showing them they are defined not by outward circumstances, but by who they are in Christ. He knew they'd be lost on their own. And because death is dependable, they'd be lost forever. He overcame death by living a perfect life in their place, taking the punishment of their sins by suffering and dying on the cross and triumphantly rose again and declared His victory! His power is made perfect in their weakness. He sees them as perfect and worthy to live with Him for eternity. And because He did this not only for them but for the whole world, they passed this down to their children who passed it down to their children and I am passing it on to my children.

Parents don't only parent their own kids. We are parenting generations. Faith can be lost in one generation. It can become lost through spiritual apathy, disconnection from regular time in God's Word, a low priority for church attendance or any number of distractions this world and Satan has to offer. This is not an easy legacy to leave - even harder than the log home it took my grandparents years to build. This is a battle fought over a lifetime against real forces of evil that would have us give up. The stakes are high - souls connected to our biology, family and loved ones. But He promises to help, encourage and sustain us through His Word and sacraments. He loves us and wants us and future generations to be with Him forever. The legacy we leave can be a legacy of death or a legacy of life.
By God's grace, may it be life!

Birthday Bash

Every once in awhile the food put in front of me is so impressive I have to take a picture of it. This was one of those occasions. Wayne took me to Le Cordon Bleu restaurant for a fancy-schmancy birthday lunch. It was divine. And this dessert was so pretty it was hard to ruin it by eating it - but I did. Cointreau and chocolate creme brulee. Thank you, honey!
And then, to keep it real, for supper it was - eat whenever you're hungry and heat up in the microwave some frozen mini pizzas from Costco. 

On my "you are special today" plate used only for special occasions! Wayne even took a bite out of one before I could get to it. Keepin' it real.


It was a beautiful day outside. Somewhere around 27 and lower humidity than the last few days we've roasted in. The kids got out the sprinkler.

I've been a mother for over 12 years now and finally got around to making frozen fudge pops - you know, the ones from a box of chocolate fudge pudding? 
1 box instant chocolate pudding mix
3 cups milk
mix well and pour into popsicle mold. Freeze. Serve.
Win mother of the year award.

Strawberry Pickin'

May you make time, dear friends

to stop and pick the strawberries!

Many Memories

I haven't posted in awhile because it's been so busy! We've had company, celebrated important milestones and made many happy memories.
First up, Will turned 12. I know. I can't believe it either. I'm trying to prepare myself knowing that by next year at this time, I'll officially be the parent of a teenager. Yikes! 
To celebrate this exciting birthday, Will had his choice of restaurant and he picked one of his favourites - Red Lobster. He's not a cheap date! In the picture above, he's attacking his crab legs. And I do mean attacking - crab was flying all over the place! Oma and Opa arrived from Wisconsin to help us celebrate and we had lots of fun with them! Will requested a cake from DQ and we were all happy with that choice.

Will wrapped up some of the classes he had been taking this spring. He finished his SHEP (Science and Canadian History Enrichment Program), took his tests, finished his projects and learned a lot!

Instead of Canadian History this time, they did geography. As they learned different aspects of the subject, they applied it to the island they had made up. It was a great way to learn and a fun project to work on! 
He also finished up the junior Toastmasters class. There's no doubt he's not bothered by public speaking. Now it's a matter of having something worth speaking about. Future pastor? We'll see.

Here he receives his Toastmasters certificate

For the past month and a half, he and his team of 2 other boys have been preparing for the IEEE Lego Robotics contest. They prepared for many  hours and had two really cool and well designed robots ready to compete to show for it. They also prepared an i-Movie with graphics and music and information on their team and their robots. 

In the picture above, they are drag racing their robot with other teams. Ages of competitors ranged from Grade 5 students through high school so the competition was tough! Their team came in 2nd - just one point shy of being first! It was a great experience and we are so proud of them all!!

While Will was busy competing, I was up the street at our church taking part in our first Ladies' Tea. We had such fun and had quite the spread. Those who were hostesses decorated their individual tables however they liked. Mine had a bird theme.

A few days later, Grandpa and Grandma from Calgary flew in to spend the week with us! It had been quite awhile since they had visited last and before my father-in-law was diagnosed with his cancer. He's doing very well, and is managing it as best as can be expected. Golfing always makes him happy and I had fun doing errands, lunch and some shopping with Fran.

She even came along on one of our field trips - bird banding. We had done this last year so we had a better of idea of what to expect. We got a chance to see several birds banded but not any we saw caught in the nets. 

It's so neat to see them up close and learn the signs of how old they approximately are, male or female and how much fat they're carrying. 

Lastly, Zanna celebrated a very exciting milestone - Kindergarten graduation!

We had a special dinner while Grandpa and Grandma were still here. We're so proud of her!!

It's slowed down temporarily now that we're done with school except for a few fun things I've been meaning to get to through the year and never found time. A study of Shakespeare's stories and where his inspiration came from, time spent learning about Michelangelo and studying his art, Mathtacular videos and Mavis Beacon typing (thrilling, I know), talking current events after reading "God's World News", our last Eastern Hemisphere location for the school year - Central Asia (how 'bout them yurts?). Plenty of playing in the slip and slide, biking and trips to the park. Bring on summer!!

Ascension

We assembled in the backyard with Meditations, the Treasury of Daily Prayer, My Prayer Book and a half dozen balloons all filled with helium. We talked about Jesus' last words to his disciples and to us. We praised Him for finishing His work here on earth perfectly on our behalf. We found comfort in the knowledge of Him preparing a room for each of us and continuing to rule his creation. We asked for strength in this life, continued assurance of our salvation and grace and joy knowing that He rules all things for the ultimate good of His people. One by one we each took hold of our balloon marked with Jesus' words " and surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" and let. it. go. 

A Mother's Reflection

I have wanted to type my thoughts for awhile. I have thoughts. Most of the time they are a jumbled mess in my brain and sometimes it helps to write them down. Even if it's this new way to journal in the blog-o-sphere and record our pictures and the passing of our days. It goes so fast. And on this day set aside for Mothers - Happy Mother's Day! 
My family has left for the day. For this pastor's wife whose husband works all Sunday, my Mother's Day comes tomorrow!

The picture above is from Easter - already a month ago! We had a wonderful morning of services as we celebrated our Risen Lord. It was fitting that we also observed a Baptism - a couple from China originally, who have been taking doctrine classes with Wayne. I love serving a "foreign mission" on local soil. Our group of Chinese believers continues to grow through the grace of God and we celebrate the diversity of culture that is God's family! 

One of our Chinese members has been kind enough to offer her time in teaching us Mandarin and in learning more of the culture. It is such a challenging language to learn! We were able to practice a bit this morning in church when some members brought their friends to church who were visiting from China. We proudly (or foolishly, depending on your perspective) attempted a "ni hao" and tried to introduce ourselves in Chinese. Oh, well - hopefully at the very least they appreciated our effort!

These past few weeks have been pretty cold and dreary. We've spent a lot of time indoors! I really didn't know how much more I could take when finally it seems the clouds have parted and the sun has come out! During this forced hibernation I looked for ways to keep us entertained :

Zanna and I are enjoying "Anne of Green Gables" and I have to admit, I am loving the opportunity to reread this book with her after many, many years of reading it for my own pleasure! I was moved to tears when Zanna hugged me good night one evening and declared "you're my bosom friend!" to which I replied, "we are kindred spirits!".  I love good books......

We've also been studying Van Gogh (which I must admit is not my favourite artist) and most recently Monet. I love to see the kids interpret the art and make their own versions! 

Nothing soothes the soul like good music! Making music is such a gift! I love to have it in my house and I love the passion my own children now have for it. 

Zanna won't start formal lessons until maybe next year but she creates music on our "music maker". A beautiful harp sound and a great way to introduce the sound notes make and counting them. 
I myself have temporarily taken my violin lessons back up and am enjoying some fiddling! (too many Little House books?) 
My parents will be traveling this way tomorrow for their annual visit for Will's birthday. Could it be my boy is on the cusp of teenager? And oh, is he acting like it. I would go on, but some things are better left unsaid....

The Karate Kid

After years of training and practice and a long weekend of testing and being pushed, Will achieved his black belt in Karate! 

Congratulations dear boy!

He receives his official certificate.

Off with the old belt, on with the new!

The proud group poses for a photo.

He may look harmless enough, but don't get on his bad side!