Thank you Santa!!!!

I'm so excited to tell you what I'm doing when I'm not blogging these days!!!! After much research, advice, and shopping around...the DeBoers now own a

Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS

It will be weeks before I have everything figured out but that's half the fun!

Non- Traditional

That kind of sums up our Christmas Eve celebrations and this year is no exception. We had such a fun day though!!! (Yesterday was awesome too, Craig got his G1, and had his first job interview!!)

Earlier in the day we were able to go see the Olympic Torch come through our town. It was so neat to see so many people downtown. It is fun to see everyone's Facebook status updates to say they were there. Afterward we came home, had some hot chocolate and got ready to go for a run. Ray, Blixie and I ran, and the boys went skating on the lagoons. Then home again, pop the lasagna in the oven and wait for supper. Write out a few cards..have a glass of wine. Joe made caesar salad. Yum!

We also had a fun movie night together, and watched "Field Of Dreams", one of our favourites. (The boys were skeptical that something on "tape" could actually be worth watching, but they ended up really liking it!)

It's hard to have traditions when there are so many "firsts" and "once in a lifetime" events occurring. Maybe our tradition will be to just continually embrace spontaneous situations as they arise, even during holidays. :)

Jammin'

I'm sure everyone has taken in at least one candle-light service over the past week or so...well maybe not the people who are camping in the back-country in Kenya, but almost everyone...

A few friends and I stayed after the morning service to transform the sanctuary from Advent purple to Christmas Day white. The tree is wrapped in white, we use LOTS of extra lights, and we bring in extra greens, reds, and grasses. We add candles to all the ledges, bring in lanterns and extra lit trees. It is one of my favourite transformations of the liturgical season...so celebratory and festive.

The service was lovely, mostly in the dark, the trees and candles glowing, the words on the powerpoint projector, and the kids were oh-so-cute. The coffee and cookies fellowship time was very gezellig and then people began to go on their homeward way. There are always a few people who stay later and chat which is such fun, unless I'm doing the chatting and Ray wishes we were done and ready to be on our homeward way:)

Just as the last dishes were being put away, the sound of "Shine, Jesus Shine" came out of the sanctuary on the piano....and some drums (I wonder who that could be....) and before long it was a duet. Joe and Jeremy playing alongside each other. It was so cool! And when they finished we all clapped...

Joe has always thought the school should have a praise band. Jeremy's mom thought it was a neat idea too....hmmmm.

On the Turntable Today

You will be pleased to know that there is now ...some...Christmas music being played at the DeBoer house. I really couldn't listen to "Let It Be" by the Beatles one more time. (Sorry Craig!). (See what happens when your kids grow up and get "good taste" and fiddle with your playlist!). I had an afternoon of wonderful quiet letter writing ahead of me...and it was time to change the tunes.

1. Disc One of WOW Christmas - fave track? hmmm...don't have one
2. Kevin Ramessar - Acoustic Christmas - fave track? #7 WhatChild Is This? (It has a really great mandolin part in it...)
3. Need To Breathe - Heat -fave track- #5 We Could Run Away (..Not because I want to run away...well, sometimes....but it has awesome keychanges. Craig & I both like it!!)
4. Disc Two of WOW Christmas -fave track? Definitely #15 Little Drummer Boy, by Audio Adrenaline. ( So NOT a Christmas rendition... the ultimate un-Christmas Christmas music.
5. Sarah McLachlan - Wintersong - fave track...the whole album...great to play when you have company over for a glass of wine!!

Blog Surfing

Have you ever spent a "few minutes" blog surfing....where you just keep clicking on NEXT BLOG? Wow! Somehow Blogger directs you to blogs with similar content. Not always but often. I've found some REALLY cool and some really disturbing ones. It's fun to go to your favourite ones...like a photography one and surf the ones that follow. There are so many talented people out there!!! Writers, creaters, crafters.....and especially do-ers!

I started a traffic feed widget a month or so ago and it's been fun to see where people are from when they stop by here. It's fun to see the international traffic, one friend of mine had a visit from "Yerushalim". How random.....maybe they were just surfing too.

So somedays, I am a random visitor on a random page, one day I visited Singapore...and they had such neat comments about life...partly in English.

It's actually not a great thing to do on a busy day....time flies by so fast....and the things on your to-do list are left undone. It is HIGHLY addictive...so I probably shouldn't be writing about it and sharing how FUN it is.

Sorry.

You HAVE to See My Cookies!!!!

We celebrated Sinterklaas this past weekend. Ray and I got the boys a little something, and each of them something for each other and for us. Joe and I got Craig a big clunky watch, which he LOVES, Craig got Joe a trucker's cap with Olympics 2010 on it, which he LOVES. And Ray and Joe got me new slippers.

Not just any slippers. Warm, fuzzy slippers with rubber bottoms, so they don't wear out so fast.
We call them my "Cookies" because they are fuzzy and blue like Cookie Monster. Joe wants red ones for his birthday. He's going to call them... his "Elmos".

On the Turn Table Today...

I am no where near dedicated enough to blogging to pull of the Lyric of the Day....

What I'm listening to today:

1. Disc One of WOW Worship 2010...
2. Need to Breathe - Heat
3. Mark Schultz - Come Alive (Yes Tineke! I agree with you about song #3!!)
4. Disc Two of WOW...
5. empty....
   

I can't quite bring myself to listen to Christmas music yet...just not there this year. I've tried and tried....decorated outside and inside, shopped, made some cards.... Nothing yet...

A Funny Thing Happened While I Was at the Arena Last Night....

Joe and Craig had the late game last night at 9:30pm, which is their favourite time slot! Our regular goalie wasn't able to make it so a friend, Cody, who played in net during the previous time slot, stepped in. Half way through the third period, Cody's leg came off. (He has had a prosthetic leg since he was a baby.) The players from the opposite team took a knee, which is what you do when there is an "injured" player on the ice. Joe decided that he would just sit on the ice and wait. The repair took a few minutes and Joe laid back, leaning on one elbow, and eventually....there he was.... making a snow angel at centre ice. Typical Joe.

A point to illustrate how full of thoughts my head is lately.....I proceded to tell Craig this morning about the funny thing that happened at the game. He said, "I know Mom, I was there. Thanks for coming to MY game!" He was smiling at the time.

I have a friend who said, "Wherever you are, BE there!" I'm trying really hard to practise that...

Best Day: Part 3

Have you ever experienced the feeling that God was talking directly to you? Well, I felt it the other day when I stopped in at a Christian bookstore and found this little book in the 1/2 price bin. (Meant to be!) Just the day before, and the post below, I talked about it being the "best" day ever for a lot of reasons.

It states on the back cover.....

The fact that God loves you, that He cares about you, and that He is on your side are three key reasons why today is your best day. "When your life if in God's hands, every day is your best day!."

I can usually find something to celebrate in each day. There is an occasional day when it is hard. Some days I feel like am being pulled in too many directions....and then it's so great to have a little book full of reminders to realign my perspective. It's not a great day because of what I got to do or what I had to do, but because of what God has done for me. Gotta LOVE it!

Another Best Day Ever.....

Many, many posts ago....the best day ever happened at our house. Today we are having another one! When Joe went to bed last night, he couldn't wait to go to sleep so that he could wake up for today. It is the best day ever because he played volleyball all day at the Woodstock District Christian School Tournament in London! Both the boys and the girls from Strathroy placed FIRST! It was such a fun day to sit and watch volleyball all day, chat with people you know from your present AND your past! This week someone said to me with a grimace on their face, "You have to sit there ALL day??" And I replied with my "looking-forward-to-it-so-much" voice, "I'm so excited to go and SIT there ALL day!!" It is such fun, but I guess it's not for everyone.

At the DeBoer house it has become a tradition to tune into the annual Lion's Club TV Auction and we often bid on a few things. Joe apparently thinks this is a lot of fun. Who knew?? It is such fun, but I guess it's not for everyone.

And last but not least....Joe can't wait to play hockey tonight! Fridays have been Joe's favourite day for a while now. Friday is band day, and he gets to play drums for the band, which he LOVES!!!! And today it had all these fun things in it....fun for us, but maybe not for everyone!

My Windows....

I wish you could see where I run. It is so quiet there, at least for my eyes. There are two "ponds", let's just call them that....surrounded by reeds and shrubs and the occasional tree. There is a gravel path all the way around with grass growing up through it. It is regularly mowed. An incredible variety of wildflowers and herbs grow here in this mixed habitat, some wetland species, some woodland species, and some that like to grow in disturbed areas like roadsides. It is awesome to witness how the seasons change here. You see the milkweed sprout and send out their big succulent leaves, then they bloom in the Summer. So many tiny miniature orchid like blossoms in one head, that eventually wilts and by Fall it will have formed a pod...3 or 4 to a stem. Inside the pods are rows upon rows of flat brown seeds with their white silky fluff. The seeds are designed this way to lift off one by one. I hope you take the time to open a pod sometime and see the wonder of the arrangement inside, and then marvel at God who created this marvel. A couple of weeks ago all the pods released their seeds at the same time, and I wanted to find one for a picture this week and there were none left, not a single dud that hadn't opened.

This odd area is also home to many species of wildlife. We've seen lots of groundhogs, rabbits, muskrats, deer, foxes, turtles, snakes, toadies and frogs....and lots and lots of birds. It is so cool when you are running in the fall, and wave after wave of migrating geese come in for a landing. It isn't unusual for there to be a thousand geese bobbing up and down at the same time. There are ducks, usually just plain old ducks, but the odd white faced one. Those are really skittish and I can never get close enough to get a good look at the markings to identify it at home later (it seems that they have a different comfort zone than regular ducks). The geese do not perceive me as a threat when I run by ( I don't go THAT fast!) but the ducks take off every time!

Today I saw a bald eagle. What a huge bird! It was on the right of the path, in the top of a tall tree, the water to my left and it took off without a sound....at least I didn't hear a thing from 100 feet away. So there it soars....and I just keep running, smooth path in front of me, eyes on the eagle....thinking all kinds of eagle thoughts.

It is very peaceful here. The sky is wide and sunsets are incredible. It feels like the wilderness, yet it is completely man made...except for the flora and the fauna. My brain loves the input I feed it here.

Maybe my eyes need this, it is said that eyes are the window to the soul. And as light pours out of a window when it is night, so light must pour in when it is day.

Yeay for Catchy Tunes.....NOT!

LOTD brought to you by Ray....

I was driving home from a run at the lagoons nearby and I was expecting another innocuous Aerosmith song to come on the radio. The tape that is currently stuck in the tape deck is a mixed tape from my beloved's highschool and college days.... Out pours a punk beat that launches into "Johnny B rotten tonight...." Thanks Hon, thanks a LOT!

An Apple A Day...

I was reading a devotional the other day that talked about the gifts we have. The entire book is about apples. This particular reading centred on the 1000's of varieties of apples that exist.

In a recent sermon, we heard about giftnedness, and how we use our gifts to serve . We ALL have at least one.

Just like there are many different kinds of apples, we are different people, created with different gifts, and because our gifts are different we bear different fruit. I thought that was sooo cool.

Sometimes we wish that we were like someone else, but God needs us to be who He created us to be. If you try to be like someone else, you will be an imposter. You have to be "true to your raw material" (John Ortberg). God created you the way you are, to bear the fruit that He created you to bear, to meet the needs in the circumstance He has placed you. No one else can fill that space but you.

You might not feel like you need to be in a certain place, but maybe someone in that place needs you....just the way you are.

Scars or Not

It so happens that I finished my book club book yesterday and while I read, I write down quotes. You know...sometimes somebody says something and you think...that's exactly what I mean!!! (We are meeting later this month to discuss "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls. )

I am not a philosophical anthropologist by any stretch of the imagination, but I am fascinated by what makes people tick, and what's behind some of the things that we do and the way that we act. I'm sure that's why other people write....

This quote is near the end of the book.

"...And when I first showed him my scar, he said it was interesting. He used the word "textured". He said "smooth" was boring but "textured" was interesting, and the scar meant that I was stronger than whatever it was that tried to hurt me." p.286

Scars aren't always on the outside. Often they are on the inside. I just encountered a situation where someone looked at a scar on their heart and to them it captured the hurt that they were STILL feeling, after 2 years. Why do some people overcome their pain and others are held back by it? Why do some people move on and grow, and others don't? Do people look at their scars and see it as proof of being hurt or proof of being healed?

It's not something one sits around and dwells on...but it comes up once in a while.

I've always looked at pain and struggles as moments of great growth in my life. We all have times like that. There are scars that people know about and scars you don't show anyone. I acknowledge that they exist. Once in a while I wonder if people would understand me better if they knew about some of those scars. But no one knows about them, and I am thankful to be a product of Grace. It is enough that God knows. Scars are also a sign that you have experienced healing; A badge that shows that you are stronger than the thing that tried to hurt you. I have a scar on my foot from a burn, but I am no longer a burn victim. I love how many people were involved with the healing process...but what about the hurts that no one knows about? When no one knows, no one can help, no one can pray for you.... When one other person knows, two people can carry it. Imagine the weight distribution when a whole community knows! Awareness frees, and acceptance encourages and builds up. Awareness also creates sensitivity and possibly pain prevention.

I don't let my "scars" hold me back but once in a while I feel a phantom pain. Then I cling to God's promises to me, and He never fails. When you ask for healing, you have to trust that you will receive it. Rarely instantaneous, healing usually takes the scenic route, and when you take time to savour the scenery on the way out of the valley... bask in the Presence...it becomes a beautiful part of your healing journey, but you'll only see it if you cast that look over your shoulder to see what you've come through. This becomes the balm for the soul, and that's something to share with others and hope that someday, they too will feel okay about their scars.



PS I was just driving home from Nancy's and this song was playing...so you get a LOTD afterall:
"..., no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His Hand..." (Keith Getty and Stuart Townend), 2001 Thankyou Music. So even when you experience pain, it can never wrench you out of God's grip. He will hold you in the palm of His hand.

Cirque!

Cirque was awesome!!! Although, Alegria was not quite as good as Corteo. The theme, singing, music and costumes were better with Alegria, but the acts of Corteo pushed the envelope farther. Still an awesome show...and the clowns were soooo funny.

LOTD (Lyric of the Day)

I thought it was high time I update this spot... I've been thinking for a long time that I should add a new feature. Often I have a song stuck in my head, sometimes somebody puts it there (Don't you love it when that happens!!!! especially if it's "I'm a little teapot" THANKS JOE!!.), and sometimes it's from a CD.

Always a little behind the times, I recently got the new U2 CD "No Line On the Horizon". It's awesome!! Feels like vintage U2, just Bono and the boys. My favourite song is "Moment of Surrender". One line says, "I did not notice the passers-by and they did not notice me"...sometimes that's just the way we like it, sometimes not. Sometimes you're just aching for someone to notice that you're about to lose it.... Sometimes you're so caught up in your moment that you don't notice what is going on around you....it's neat when that happens during worship....

Last week I played an old Switchfoot album all week. "Oh! Gravity"has the most awesome drums intro, and I love "Awakening", oh and my most favourite "Twenty Four" from the album "Beautiful Let Down"(and that's an awesome song too....)

Leave me a note...what song were you singing all day?

Today is going to be a fun busy day. Last night we attended the Goods and Services Auction at our school. We raised over $33,000!!! This morning Joe is playing in a volleyball tournament, this afternoon Ray and I are going to Cirque du Soleil, "Alegria", and tonight we pick Craig up in Mt Elgin at a friend's house. They went to The Royal Winter Fair in Toronto.

Look for a new link soon! Joe's teacher Mr W is going to Kenya for just over a month, where his wife will be job shadowing at a hospital in Kapsowar, 6 hours outside of Nairobi! So...lets all check everyday... :):) No pressure Kevin!

Be Careful Where You Place Your Faith....

Another lesson learned the hard way. WHAT is UP with THAT?

I had a real let down the other day. It took all the wind out of my sails. And where do you go to complain? I talked to Ray about it since he could relate to my situation, having experienced something similar recently. But complaining doesn't change the situation....

In hindsight, I had invested too much of my self worth in the outcome of the situation.... Dangerous territory. That let-down was a good wake up call for me to assess the "WHY" of doing things....for recognition, had that really crept in there? It sure feels nice sometimes, but then a let down feels twice as harsh.

Note to self: Next time, when you ask to be an instrument, just do the job for God's glory. (I know! I just wrote about that a few posts ago!!)

Ok, I get it now....

FYI
A friend of mine, who is a health professional, mentioned to me that the only flu going around right now is the H1N1 virus. So if you have had sick people at your house or driven with them in your car, you've probably already been exposed.
The seasonal flu has yet to come.....isn't that nice?!

Kinda Funny

This summer I bought a couple of pepper plants. The only ones left at the nursery were yummy sweet yellow peppers. So imagine my surprise at what took place on my kitchen counter this week.

My lime greeny peppers didn't turn yellow but...orange and then bright red!!

The funny thing is I've been eating yellow peppers all summer when deep down I wanted red peppers and the nursery had run out of red ones already. Too funny.

Perfect, Gorgeous, Dreary....

...that's what it looks like outside. I am perfectly content to sit here for a spell. There are so many fun things I could do today. I'd like to collate my notes from last night's board meeting. I'd like to write a draft or two of letters that need to be sent out. My book club book is just begging to be read (We're reading "The Book of Negroes" by Lawrence Hill.) I really SHOULD sweep the floor...don't we all. I ought to make a couple of desserts for Sunday. The latest copy of House and Home still sits in its plastic wrapper, and it's the Holiday decorating issue!!!

The first thing I did this morning was open "The Tender Words of God" by Ann Spangler. I'm reading this devotional for the second time, and boy was I in a different place last time I read it! There are two portions of scripture in one devotion, one for the morning and one for the evening. Occasionally I get a half day behind....don't we all. Last night's prayer ""forgive my complaining and help me to remember that there is never a time when your Grace is insufficient for my need." How awesome to be reminded of that this morning! God's timing is impecable! This morning's reading also had such a powerful statement in the prayer....I love the prayers in this book so much...it is based on the "Do-Not-Worry" passage in Luke 12. This is what the prayer says..."Lord, I need to relax-and to rest, to stop running so hard after the things of this world. Open my eyes to the ways you are providing for me right now. ( ...I love this last line...) Give me the freedom of heart to spend myself on you. When we can leave the details to God, knowing that his Grace is sufficient, we are free to just bask in His presence, no matter what is on our schedule that day.

So I think I'm going to go and make a card....if I leave that to the end of the day all the creative juices will have been spent.

Maybe This is Why...

I am reading a book I picked up at the Redeemer Bookstore when I attended the Refresh and Renew worship conference a few weeks ago. It's called "Seeds of Hope: A Henri Nouwen Reader". Henri Nouwen is a profound Catholic theologian. He spoke at a lecture series at Redeemer when I was a student there, but I had no idea...then...how much I would grow to love his writings.

One quote that struck me today was about writing. "Writing is like giving away the loaves and fishes one has, trusting that they will multiply in the giving." It occurred to me how any gift someone has is like that. If you have a burning passion to use and share a gift that you have, you should listen to that nudge. In the sharing....you give it away and in doing so, you bless many people along the way. It's not about bragging what you can do. It's about offering it to God so that He can use it.

Sometimes I'm unsure about whether to share something or not. Good old self-doubt. Yesterday someone reminded me that the way people receive it has a lot to do with how you share it. They look at the giver with a certain set of criteria, they know the motive and the heart of the giver, and that they can always TRUST the motive. When you read something here, you know who I am and where it's coming from. If I somehow find myself in a new situation where I have to offer something up, I am still the same person, offering from the same heart. There is no real difference, just the audience. And we should always live for the audience of One.

Back to "Normal"

Life, as we know it, has resumed it's school time schedule. "Normal" is not a static state. To me, "normal" is always changing, getting back to school routines THIS year, is not the same as it was last year. Things are always changing. I think I like change, most of the time.

I am stepping out of my comfort zone....again. Not just a little step...but three concentric circles beyond comfortable. If I look back on the past few years, though, some of my greatest accomplishments and things "I am most proud of" were the results of stepping out. I think when we step beyond our reach, God has us exactly where He wants us. Not confident in ourselves, yet willing to make ourselves available to be used. That's where He steps in and meets us. There is always a long list of reasons why we should stay within the boundaries of what we know for sure, and usually a much shorter list of why we shouldn't.... I have had enough experiences with saying "no" to know that it isn't always easier, even though the list is shorter.

It is getting to the point where stepping out is becoming normal. There is a real thrill that comes with the anticipation that God is going to do something great, add another "gift" to my toolbox, and use me to make something happen in His Kingdom. The best part is that it isn't about me, but that it's going to bring Him Glory! It's also neat to look back once in a while to take stock of what you might have missed out on if you had said, no, and limited yourself.

So look at the "normal" people around you, the ones that you look up to and are inspired by. My guess is that these people step beyond the zone on a regular basis, and exude a confidence that they can "do all things through Christ who strengthens [them]". My kind of people!!!

The Park

I Love Algonquin Provincial Park!
I just returned from 10 days in the park, complete with deer, moose, otter, mouse AND bear sightings. The last neighbour made for interesting nights, and some very early mornings (although we were never in any real danger....you just need to be alert, careful and cautious.)

I loved all the hikes, the paddles and all the buns I prepared.

The best part was spending all 10 days with family. Four days in Achray and the Barron Canyon on St Andrews Lake and 6 days at the All Ontario Camporee "the Algonquin Experience". The Camporee was in the Pog Lake, and Whitefish Lake group site. There we spent time with my family, 100 Cadets, almost 50 staff people and counselors. The Staff campsite became our"home away from home" for 6 days and we had awesome weather the WHOLE time. Not one activity was rained out! We had such fun around our campfire every night!

We had bit of rain in Achray when we paddled out, got a bit wet but had rain gear on, and all our stuff was bagged. It arrived dry. It was dry when we set up camp and cooked supper, but we had a bit rain during the night. Our tent area was under a bunch of cedar trees and it rarely got wet under there since the showers remained light . We had an awesome few days with the four of us... Our campsite was HUGE, and one of our favourite features was a waist high table that a previous camper had ingeniously rigged up with a small slice of plywood on two slender poles. Or else you end up balancing your "sink" on a log and you bend over it....now you wash, put the dish down and you dry. You can also set your stove up there and cook standing up. This is a HUGE luxury in the interior. If you look closely at the picture on the right, you might spot it.



I started this post yesterday and now that I have time to upload, there is so much more that I want to tell you. The first picture on this post is of St Andrew's Lake, the view from our campsite. We hiked over the ridge in the distance, in this picture on the left, one morning. It is a 4305m unmaintained portage to Tarn Lake. When you hike over a ridge, there is a long ascent and a long descent....which basically means it's uphill both ways :) Unmaintained means that there is no real interference from man to keep the portage open, free of blowdowns, nor is there gravel on the path to make it smooth. It was rocky, muddy, slippery, and had really boggy sections. We figured by looking at the trail that only one group had used it in the last little while. The portage is rarely used which means there are lots of plants growing on the path, and it had recently rained so you got this feeling that you were under the canopy of a piece of Canadian rain forest, trees still dripping, lush green growth everywhere, including on the path beneath our feet. We saw fresh piles of moose dung, and even two incidents of wolf scat. Amazing to know that they were probably nearby watching us, hidden in the undergrowth. I saw some plants, fungi, and mushrooms that I've never seen before. This is the biggest thrill for me when I am hiking and I took some pictures for later identification before the batteries gave out. The ghostly little flower in this picture is called Indian Pipe, and it is actually quite prolific in Algonquin, it was growing beside my tent in the staff camp site at the Camporee. It is really neat to see things like this, that I recognize from my plant book but have never actually seen. Real WOW moments, that are actually God moments. You become so aware of His amazing creativity and you are privileged enough to be able to see right at your feet, not just on a page. I think it is time to invest in a book of fungi, mushrooms, and toadstools:) My pictures do NOT do them justice, but gives you some idea about colour and shapes.

We made a day trip to a place called High Falls. These waterfalls are only accessible to people who are camping in the interior. There is a natural waterslide at this location as well, and Ray and the boys had an awesome time sliding down, entering the white water swirl at the bottom, and swimming back out. There was a rope fastened in the rock that you could use to pull yourself back up the sloped rock. The falls were quite a ways from the slide. This is a picture of Ray and the boys admiring a two foot watersnake. Yum. It was a beautiful sunny day for this outing, and I brought a book with me. BUT, I can't concentrate on a book, when there is so much to see!!! So for the past 10 days I have read all of 25 pages, and I really couldn't tell you what it was about. What is UP with that.


I loved being at the Camporee. We didn't have any rain , although a big storm passed through the area on Sunday before we arrived. We only had a bit of spitting.... The Cadets began to arrive on Monday....and the fun began. I really enjoyed meeting new people. There were a lot of people helping from our area, and we knew quite a few kids as well, but also lots of new people. The staff stayed together in one area mostly in trailers and some tents. The bikes that the kids used were parked right beside the staff area, which was a HUGE treat. They were at our disposal when there was no mountain biking session, and we used them to bomb around all over the place....to go to the car for something, the food trailer in the other campground, the flush toilets, and the swimming area. Our kids had an awesome time too. Craig helped Ray with Canoeing, and Joe was a Cadet attending the Camporee. The boys learned how to kayak (including a wet exit!), canoe, proper fishing techniques (and we had expert fishermen teaching!!), as well as mountain biking, and a service project. The Cadets' main reason for coming to Algonquin was to finish a rebuilding project at the Beaver Pond Trail that was begun at the International Camporee, but never finished, since that Camporee was evacuated due to all the rain. There is a commemorative plaque on the trail by the guest book. This is actually the first service project ever done by a volunteer group in Algonquin Park. And the Park staff was so impressed! This picture was taken at a scenic lookout on the trail...so beautiful.

So if you're ever in the area....you should take the time to look it up. Someday Cadets will walk that trail with their own kids and hopefully show their piece of history.

A few years ago, Ray and I went to Killarney Provincial Park, which is right on Georgian Bay. Beautiful place. Also bear country. I must admit that I was very nervous about that aspect of our trip. Almost as nervous as I am when Ray goes canoe camping in early May, where risk of a dunking could end with hypothermia. Since those days, my bear knowledge has grown and I have a healthy respect for the creature. The park is its home. I am the guest. Many people are uneducated and careless in the park, and in a sense abuse it. Bear attractants left out on your campsite overnight, like coolers of food, beer, even tubes toothpaste and sunscreen....are irresistible to a bear. A normal, wild bear, will eat mostly berries, grass and in the spring...fish. When it comes across easier ways to fill its tummy, it remembers and visits these same areas over and over. So once a bear discovers the taste of human food, and loses its fear of the smell of humans...you have a bear that regularly goes from campsite to campsite. Algonquin Park offers wonderful evening programs like the "Bear Talk" and the "Wolf Howl". So you gain respect for the animals that live in the park and learn how you can visit the park respecting their territory. The bear visiting our cooking area in the wee hours had visited it several times, always while we were away, and it is still afraid of humans, but the smell of humans alone is no longer enough to keep it away. The smell of humans is now associated with easy pickin's....it also visited the food trailer on the last evening. Unfortunately, this bear will have to be put down, since it has this nasty habit that people allowed it to learn through their carelessness. This is sad....and unnecessary.

Ray and I slept in a tent for 10 days, with no food or fragrances in our tent and were in no danger at any time. On the last night, I DID have a sleepover in the Martin's RV since Ray was away on an overnight canoe trip with all the junior counsellors.


But at the end of the day....this picture says it all. Sitting on the beach at sunset, drying off and warming up after a swim. Just looking out. This is a rare shot of Joe, content, relaxed, quiet.





(What the picture doesn't tell you is that there is a leech on his left foot. Moments after the picture was taken Joe found it and started flailing away at his foot and in his panic flicked it right off...there was much hollering...no more stillness. But...still, a moment he'll always remember....I'm not sure he'll ever swim again in naturally occurring bodies of water since there leeches in fresh water and JAWS in salt.)

On Turning 40

Yesterday, someone who hasn't seen me in years said, "You still look the same." We went to university together 20 years ago and haven't had the opportunity to spend significant amounts of time with each other during that time. It was a compliment and I LOVED the 30 minutes we got to spend together. I thought about that today and said to myself, "No, I don't. I have wrinkles." Wrinkles are inevitable but they are proof that I have LIVED, and not sat on display somewhere.

I am decidedly low maintenance and choose to embrace wrinkles and grey hair rather than resist them. Resistance is futile, as they say, and I would much rather spend my energy on other pursuits...although I have taken up flossing. (I'd like to have my own teeth when I'm 92... that, and my dental hygienist has put a holy fear into me!)

In these last 20-some years I have been married for 19 years and Ray and I can say we still love waking up next to one another. My husband thinks I look great, even though my body tells that I have given birth to and nourished two children, who are now strapping young lads. I'm not who I was 20 years ago, but I love who I've become. Having said that, I am excited that God is not finished with me yet.

I love being middle aged and knowing what I want and don't want. I want to serve as a volunteer at my school and I want to scrapbook and make cards for people. I don't want to waste my time on things that make me busy but not useful. I love being the mom of teenagers. I love being the wife of a nature loving man. I love my job taking care of the church. I love my family and they love me, and I love my church family...and they love me too... wrinkles and all.

Organizing .....I Kind of Like It

I haven't had anything profound to say in a while. (That doesn't mean that something profound is coming!!)

I am just kind of excited lately by having wonderful sheets of lined paper with schedules on them. Stuff is happening in my life again after some real down time. Let's just say that I have been giving my hammock regular workouts, complete with naps.... I think everyone should have a hammock, even people with vertigo...just keep one foot on the ground. I'd like to bring it on our holiday but Ray said it won't fit in the canoe.

He is actually heading out into the bush tomorrow with some college buddies. It should prove interesting since college lies about 20 years behind us. I know...I don't feel like I am old enough to have 20 years of "past" either....

But back to paper. I have had a grand time scrapbooking the past few family reunions. Great challenge!!! Can't wait to see everyone's memories and creativity. It's good to delve into your good memories, dwell there for a while, and document them. Not just describing a picture but trying to write down the atmosphere and how time feels. It was such a cool way to get excited about this upcoming reunion. (The Nieuwhof Family Reunion 2009!! We're even getting commemorative sweatshirts!!!!) I think I should suggest an appropriate field trip where we purchase scrapbooking supplies of some sort....because that would fall under "souvenirs"...very appropriate indeed.

In the preparations for holidays there are always things that must be organized:house sitters, dog sitters, grass cutters, church openers, church closers, church cleaners, etc... So now comes the fun part and writing everything down, making a schedule and filling up the spaces. . After having spent an appropriate amount of time relaxing...it is kind of fun to get to the busy part and see everything fall into place.

I'm very excited about spending time in Algonquin. We spent a day there last summer and it wasn't nearly enough time. We will spend a few days there by ourselves: Two sons, one spouse, myself, four paddles, two canoes, and a myriad of gear. Then we drive straight to the camporee and we'll be very busy once we get there ...but I can't wait!!! Then home again...unpack, wash, and repack and head out again.

Today....I kind of like it.

Not A Lot....

That would be the answer to "So...what's new with you?"

I should share that life is quite normal and very relaxed now that it is summer. August is going to be really busy and I was doing some scheduling and contacting people, today, to keep our world turning properly in the future.

It's been a bit of struggle the last few days. I'm not sure why that is. Once in a while you just get this feeling that a lot of life, and the things in it, are really insignificant in the Grand Scheme of things. There are so few things that are of eternal consequence and the rest....well it is just clutter. It's all important stuff, and God is in the small stuff. But...so many things can cause us to scurry around and lose sight of that. I was reminded today in one of my readings that worship is anything that gives God pleasure. So if I approach my day with the intention of giving God pleasure...then all of a sudden....the attitude I use to approach my work, changes. It goes from being a chore, to choosing to honour God and then it becomes a privilege....worship time.

I'm glad I read that today....and I'm glad I posted today or I wouldn't have remembered I read that.

PS I work every Sunday at church, and often you look at the whole day like that. Yesterday I honoured God by observing Sabbath rest all afternoon. I read a book in my hammock. I started out in shorts, too chilly in the shade, and ended up in pajama pants, my favourite hoodie, and an afghan. Then came the time that I just couldn't keep my eyes open anymore and I drifted off to sleep.... Woke up and finished my book. Ray barbecued a couple of venison steaks, I fried some leftover new potatoes, made a Greek salad and we ate supper together on the deck. Then the boys came home from hither and yon and we headed off to church.

PPS So...does anyone out there have ANY Irwin Lake pictures???

And Seo It Ends....

On Monday afternoon I received a telephone call, that the Seo family was in the parking lot at Bear Creek Golf Club. What a perfect spot to stop! They didn't have a GPS and wanted to know how to get to our house. We did things the easy way and Kevin and I went to fetch them. (Having been fetched a time or two myself...that is soooooo nice!!!) We arrived at our house, had a quick tour and quickly settled on the patio with a cold drink. There were so many things we COULD do but weary travellers often just like to sit. They found the shady patio with the breeze blowing JUST glorious... Everyone got a chance to try out the hammock, but it is not very relaxing with a five year old providing the rocking motion. I've been corresponding with Kevin's mom Jung-Ah since Christmas so we already knew each other. I think quite well....so it was nice to just relax, and it wasn't awkward at all. I didn't think the language barrier was a problem.

It was neat to getting a little glimpse into Kevin's life....switching from BEING the little brother to HAVING a little brother. Interesting to observe:)

After sitting for a spell....the ball and gloves came out for a game of catch and Kevin's dad got right in there! It was fun to watch the boys all playing and the moms just standing on the patio...typical Canadian afternoon:) The sun and breeze made it so nice. I presented them with a 3rd and final photoalbum and they loved seeing the people and places of this season in Kevin's life. In return I received a lovely Korean tea set with 5 little teacups. It's so lovely!

Then it was time to prepare supper. The boys and the dad kept playing outside and the moms went in for a bit. Kevin's little brother found a couple of Transformers and was sooooo pleased!! Kevin had ordered mac n cheeze lasagna and caesar salad. He spent the afternoon helping me make it, which tired him out considerably! (I explained that this feeling is common for moms who have had a busy day and then still have to feed their families....I think the point was lost on him :):) For dessert we had ice cream sandwiches (OICY!!) and off to baseball we went.

Baseball is such a relaxing past time....you just sit and watch while the kids do all the work. We enjoyed meeting some of the other parents and I know I will miss that part.... We talked about kids playing in Korea and Mr Seo asked who organized the baseball league. We also talked about playtime there and said it was impossible for kids to play this type of recreational ball in Korea. They are too busy with other academies and study programs. I wonder if space is an issue too? So, I think Kevin is very lucky that he will get a chance to be involved with hockey in Korea!! It will be a good balance to have some study academies and some sport academies! Kevin wishes he could stay until August to finish out the season. Typical Kevin! I don't think he will miss the chores though:):)

After baseball everybody was exhausted so we stopped at our house and picked up Kevin's toothbrush and he joined his family at the Gare's bed and breakfast. Kevin was pretty excited to tell us this morning that he got to stay up until 10 or 11pm. Way later than he would stay up here! :):) AND he got out of having his afterbaseball shower! I'm sure there was some strategy involved here. I think everyone slept well, and ate well, and arrived at our house at 8:30ish. (I think it was the second time they arrived since we were all still sleeping the first time...oops!!)

Kevin changed into his Niagara Falls clothes, we packed the last few things into the suitcase, I taped up the box of final belongings...and....off to the school we went. To see the building and fortunately, to meet ALL the teachers. They were in meetings all day and we arrived just before they were scheduled to begin sessions!! I think they liked being able to see his family too and say a final goodbye!! Then we stopped at the Post Office to mail away the final box...it still cost over $100 by surface mail....

Their impressions? They think we are very fortunate to live in such wide open spaces. Homes and yards are ideal places for children to live and play and grow. They think our country is VERY big and very wide, and very beautiful. Such space is unimaginable in a small country like South Korea. They think the school is wonderful. A beautiful big building, with a big beautiful play area. Wide areas and open air. Seeing it first hand really brought all the photos alive. Mr Seo said it was sad to say goodbye. There must be a lot of emotion involved with the anticipation of seeing your son, hearing about his life, then seeing the reality of it for a day, and knowing what he is leaving behind.

Are we sad? We thought we would be sadder. In our own ways, amongst each other, we have expressed the things we will miss. It is a different kind of goodbye when you release a child back to his family. You've been given the privilege and special honour by parents who entrust their child to you...sight unseen. And then you give him back. It is good for the Seo family to be together as a foursome, and it is good for the DeBoers to be a foursome again. The bonds of family can stretch to include someone else but they never quite assume the same shape. You are changed when you open up your life and let someone else in and it is not the same when they leave. Our kids learned some lessons about life, camaraderie, and sibling relations. Those are priceless.

My work here is done. Our part in raising him is finished and we've done all that we were instructed to so, and a little bit more. We knew at the beginning that there would be an end, and a whole lot in between. One has to embark on such a journey with the intention that there will be no regrets when it is finished, no things left undone, or unsaid, and especially unpacked!!

The View from Here....

So this is what I was looking at earlier this afternoon when I was taking a break. Well...this is what I would see if my eyes were open but I nodded off. Perfect day for the hammock....you recall that sci-fi looking contraption I got last summer. Worth every penny!!!!

It has been a busy few months and I seem to be falling into this posting once per month pattern. Work gets in the way of all my free time and the warm weather lures me out of doors. I also spent some quality time hoeing today. Actually swoe-ing is a better description. This is the "swoe" from Lee Valley and it is this most wonderful gardening tool EVER. My Dad would have loved it!! One can either pull or push with it since the blade has a bevelled edge all around. I have actually been looking forward to tidying the church flower beds this season, since it takes no work at all with the right equipment. Again...worth every penny!

Lots of new and exciting things are happening in our household these days. A few months ago I was nominated to stand for election to the school Board of Trustees and have since been elected by the membership and attended my first board meeting last night. Really neat! Before the meeting we were asked to assess our skill set and interests so that we could take on committee duties that suited us. I took on the interesting task of Strathroy board rep for the high school and will sit on the high school board as well. I have done a lot of praying about this and really felt that both these steps were directions that God was leading me to go. It is totally overwhelming of course, but I am confident that as I head into this, one step at a time, that God will give me exactly what I stand in need of. So there is a lot of peace to go with that overwhelming....

This morning I finished my work at church fairly early since I got so much done yesterday....and you know how some days you are WAY more productive than other days....so i was able to go home, get a few things done, and pack Kevin's first load! Kevin's mom asked me to send his winter things home and the things he no longer needs or wears. Kevin's parents and little brother are coming to Canada to pick Kevin up after school is finished at the end of June. They will be in Strathroy for one day and then they'll be on their way to tour the rest of the country, including the Rockies!! Kevin will only have to lug one suitcase with summer clothes around, with room for souvenirs of course!! :) I cleaned out his cupboard full of little boys things too, you know the things they pick up and collect here and there, little surprises, little fast food toys, hockey cards, prizes, and toys.... Lots of fun...but a little sad...because it also marks the end of a season for us. It is interesting because at the same time a new season already seems to have begun. Things begin and end all the time, whether we are ready for them or not. In the end it all depends what things you will remember and dwell on. You have a choice, you MAKE a choice. It is not a passive thing, it is something that you are involved in. You can dwell on the negative things or the positive things....and that is a key to finding joy and contentment in life.

That and a hammock.....

A whole month...almost

I can't believe that it has been almost a whole month since I last posted!! I have falled off the face of the cyberworld for a while. I shall be honest to say that it was a good thing. I haven't made cards or anything, but I did continue to make melon muffins! Finally made those fruit explosion ones with the berries, but they weren't quite as tasty as the melon ones:):)

We are heading into sports season for which all the lads are VERY enthusiastic. Craig has soccer and Joe and Kev have baseball. I am off to yoga tonight, which I've been going to for all of April and will continue to the end of May. It's soooooo good, my whole body feels good and I have much less pain. I don't have a LOT of pain for the most part, but my back can act up once in a while. The gentle toning and strengthening from yoga helps SOOOO much. Ray is paddling in Algoquin right now, surely getting a work out of his own!

So that's what we're up to....oh yeah...and the boys are planting a garden. Nothing of that nature is easy. They have been working at turning the soil, which is great, but what do you do with the sod once you have filled all the dead patches in the lawn? We don't have a shed to hide a giant compost pile behind and the composter is already full. Can you believe that we have to take it to the dump???? They have a brush pile there. Or else we have to put it in a garbage bag by the road.....I just can't send grass to landfill. Once the sod is turned you have to add some good earth, which someone dropped off out of the goodness of their heart. But....we are not alone in this neighbourhood. Many cute little herbivorous bunnies live here too. And they like gardens....a lot! So we need a bunny fence. I bought chicken wire and "step-in-posts" with hooks made just for wire. (I'd whip some up in my welding shop but ....you know...) $100 later..... Well, the boys are going to be able to do it all by themselves. (I'll be sitting on the deck with a coffee and a muffin!) And...this week in the paper they advertised a kids' garden contest put on by the Horticulture Society. They supply the seeds and you get to go to a meeting every month with a little field trip attached. Sounds like fun to me.

I'd take a picture but my camera is in a water proof case in the bush. The thousand words will have to do.....


I

How It Works Around Here....

Some of you may be aware of my recent affinity for baking muffins. I have a great base recipe and you can just add whatever favourite ingredient you like. Mostly...chocolate chips, a perennial favourite! The other day frozen fruit was on sale at Food Basics....I got all excited about the mixed berry mix and was all set to make "Tim-Horton's-Eat-Your-Heart-Out-Fruit-Explosion" muffins (sorry Janice!) and I went to the freezer and found.....melon and mango, melon and peaches, melon and strawberries. What am I supposed to do with that??? I never heard of melon muffins!!! Should have been more specific when I was writing frozen mixed fruit on the list. But....I thought, what have I got to lose. So....I took out the strawberries mix which also had peaches and pineapple, and yes....one melon ball, chopped them up and made muffins. They turned out to be AMAZING! So when life hands you melons, make muffins!

The Homestretch

I have come to the sudden realization that we are in the final 10 weeks of being homestay parents. There is quite a difference looking back over 3 terms than there is looking ahead to 3 terms. Where has the time gone? I was reading a book on the couch the other day. (It is noteworthy that I should record that activity on the blog, since it happens so infrequently... dat mei ek wol in de krante!!) ....and out of the corner of my eye I spotted the drying rack. I spotted little 10 year old sized sweatshirts and t shirts on there. In 10 weeks, there won't be any . I will miss that. There won't be any little "Kevin trails" throughout the house that are evidence that he was busy doing something, then got busy with something else and left everything laying where he sat. I will miss that (I think). There won't be a pile of lumps on his unmade bed of crumpled blankets, and his pajama pants won't be sitting in front of his closet with two perfect holes where his feet were when he stripped them straight down to the floor and stepped out of them. There won't be anything in that room and the bed will be made all the time. There won't be constant chatter and requests for playing a game.

Homestretch is a melancholy word today.

In other news....my tulips are buried under 10 cm of snow, and most likely Craig's soccer tryouts will be postponed again. I'm out of eggs and I want to make Bahmi, so I have to head out to the farm and I'll pick the boys up on the way home. I also need dog shampoo because the dog stinks. And I baked a cake today and don't have a meeting until Thursday!

Who'd Have Ever Guessed....

That right now there would be three 10 year old boys playing road hockey on my driveway, and two of them are from Korea! These are the twists and turns that your life takes when you open up your horizons. We just came back from skating at the arena for 2 hours, had cookies and hot chocolate afterwards. One of the parents from our school owns a finance company and sponsored free skating for all the school families for a small donation to the local women's shelter. So these three pals and their "big brother" Craig, chased each other around the ice for two hours and helped raise money for a good cause. It was such fun to see everyone again after being apart for the March Break. It was good for them to see someone besides the people they live with!! :):) Of course it was fun for ME to see all the other moms and dads too! For a little while it was just the 4 or 5 of them on the ice! All that wide open space!!!



We had some other really fun outings as well this week...after that crazy weekend!!! We made a trip into London to do some shopping. We began on one side of London and visited the Asian food store. This is a lot of fun for all of us. For Kevin, it was fun to be able to buy some treats from home, things he hasn't had in a long time (since he finished the care package full of delicacies from his mom!!) Mi-Chew, geem, shrimp chips, Shin-cup, Jin-Jin jellies, etc..... For us, we get to buy some of OUR favourite Korean treats, which we have come to love!!! We loooooove the sour lemon balls!! I love Cuttlefish chips, which look like Crispix but taste shrimpy...heavenly!!!! Then we drove across the city to go the Christian bookstore and bought a couple of CD's and used the bathroom. Then we stopped at EB GAmes and purchased some games and another guitar for Guitar Hero. One of the highlights of that trip was going to Tim Horton's!! Kevin always talks about the time that he had a coffee at Starbucks, which is almost sacrilege to every true Canadian. We would counter his story with the virtues of Tim Horton's coffee and donuts AND Timbits of course!!!! After helping all morning by raking and carrying wood, I treated all the boys at Timmy's. Kevin and I had a coffee and the other boys had hot chocolate. We all had a donute too. Joe's friend Logan came with us as well. Our family size varies on any given day.



The weather has been nice and warm. We visited the sugarbush this week too. The tree are very straight and tall. A few trees are actually outfitted with taps and pails but most of them are hooked up to a modern line system. We all dipped our finger on the tap to see what the raw sap tastes like. For the sap to "run" you need warm days and frosty nights, so this past week was perfect sap-running weather. A very Canadian outing. I went with a friend of mine who is also hosting a Korean student for the entire year. We made it a little educational field trip:) We enjoyed a horsedrawn wagon ride, visiting with friends in the sunshine, one of us did not particularly enjoy the horsedroppings, and instead of having pancakes with Maple syrup at the bush, we spent the equivalent amount on a large jug of Maple syrup and made french toast at home. We also picked up a package of breakfast sausages at the store to add to supper. I thought this was very thoughtful since Ray was at work all day and couldn't join us. McLachlan's has a great woodchip covered playground, the kids played outside here for an hour on the teeter totters and with the basketballs. They had such fun together and the weather was fabulous.


Of course....we werent' on the road everyday! This just shows the enduring appeal of Archie comics! Excuse the coffee table....I call it the lived in look. And if you ever come over...please put your feet up on it! We ALL do. (PS- I spy, with my little eye, something that is black and white....Joe made this fabulous little cow bowl in art class at school. He is soooo proud of it. It is has the cutest...Wallace and Grommit type of face on it. He talked about it for weeks, giving us the latest updates on it each Tuesdays and all things his teacher said about it to him. He even named it...that's just Joe.)

The Day My Sky Got Bigger

I've always been content with my little piece of sky. I have to look straight up if I want to see the stars in my backyard and then only if you're not standing under one of the trees. On some very convenient moon cycles, I can set up my telescope in the livingroom where we get a few hours of lower horizon....we even caught a lunar eclipse that way once.
Yesterday, the big walnut tree in our backyard was cut down. (Go Hughie go!!) I really love my tree and the abundant shade that it provided. I love any tree but by no means am I a tree hugger...well...I HAVE hugged that particular one, so maybe I am. But now it is down...not gone, that will be finished tomorrow....
It's passage saddens me somewhat...but I'm getting a bigger sky in return. I'll see more of the sunset, God's signature blessing that signals nightfall every single day. I'll see more of the same stars that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob saw. I'm trading off...it's a fair trade.


Inside though....the dog....was.....going....bananas!!!! You see, our roof was being replaced too. Two crews, three trucks, three trailers and all the vehicles belonging to the tree and roofing crew AND the ones that belong to this household. People walking in her backyard, people breaking trees, people pounding overhead and things shaking on the walls. It was time for an outing.

A two minute walk from our house feels like a million miles away. I'm a big fan of the middle of nowhere. It's the closest middle of nowhere I have access to at any given time, so I make do with what I'm blessed with. As we leave the house Blixie tugs at the leash with anticipation, knowing exactly where we are headed. I let her off the leash by the carwash where it always smells like cherry detergent. She is off like a shot.

We walk along the ATV trail at the edge of the stubble fiels. It is quite sandy there and she runs along taking in all the tantalizing fragrances that are unearthed as the snow cover recedes. So many fresh burrows. We follow the drainage ditch between fields to the still frozen bog in the back forty. We spot a deer through the thicket although she has heard us long ago. We slow down to savour the stillness. All you can hear is the distant drone of traffic, a robin, and a long freight train is coming, heading west, laden with double stacks of containers. We have to cross some standing water but there is just enough of the furrow sticking out, still frozen, that my feet stay dry. Blixie, on the other hand, has been places that I choose not to follow. She is covered with mud, sand and burrs(it's been much, much, much worse)....but this is what a happy dog looks like. My spontaneous outing will end with a bath and a haircut, so I stay out a little longer, not ready for chores. We step onto the edge of the bog, find skunk cabbage already starting to poke out, and climb onto the back of an old bent willow to see if we can spot that deer again. Eventually the time comes to round the furthest point of the field. This means that each step will take us closer to home. I slow down even more to stay in the quiet but we're dragged along the rows of corn stubble with its generous infringement of pokeweed. It will be even wider this coming summer since all the prickly pods have burst open scattering seed already. No matter, this dog is happy, she flushed out a ground hog....what's a little grime.