Monday 16 December 2013

One Thousand Gifts...Days 303 ~ 349

Six weeks have gone by since I've last blogged, there's been lots happening in this life of mine.  In early November my husband, daughter, son and I headed out to PEI for a few days.  We did the trip in one loooong day :)  Our daughter has a nanny position out there starting in January and the family wanted to meet her and we wanted to meet them.  So in two weeks she'll be leaving home, she'll be missed lots, but we're excited for her in this next stage of her life.

At the end of November our youngest son moved out to Alberta to find work and join some friends who went out there in August to work.  It was tough saying goodbye, he'll be missed lots too.  He's adventurous and this is all part of him growing up and becoming a man, finding his place and grabbing a hold of life.

As a mom I've entered a new season in life, by the end of this month three of my kids will have moved out.  Will's been gone for a while now, though he's only in Toronto so we see him lots but Jocelyne will be 17 hours east and Matt is 36 hours west, I won't see them for a quite awhile and that'll be hard. We'll only have Charissa left at home and it'll be hard for her too, suddenly the house is emptied out and so quiet...seasons of life...we all go through them.

One Thousand Gifts journaled for days 303 ~ 349
It's been a while so there are lots ;)

907. Working in the garden with Jocelyne in the pouring rain pulling carrots - seems funny reading that as the ground is now frozen solid and there's a covering of snow :)
908. Time and conversation with a friend
909. Knitting
910. The sound of the wind rushing through the trees
911. Jocelyne helping with freezing the carrots
912. The kitchen cleaned by Charissa
913. Heading out to PEI to meet the family Jocelyne will be working for
914. Beautiful landscapes and the muted colours of late Fall
915. Safe arrival at my husband's brother's place in Nova Scotia
916. A parrot named Huey - one of God's beautiful creatures and my sister-in-law's new buddy
917. Time spent with family hanging out
918. The strength of my husband, it gives me peace in times of change
919. Beautiful PEI - ferry to the island


We had this floor all to ourselves, not many people taking the ferry to PEI in November.


 It was pretty cold and windy on the ferry, definitely not a sit outside kinda day, more like a be careful or you'll blow of the ferry kinda day :)


920. Meeting the family Jocelyne will be working for - a couple who will really care for her
921. Laughter from Matt & Jocelyne - getting a long in cramped quarters




Empty roads...clear sailing.


922. My Oma - a life well lived, a beautiful godly woman
923. Meeting a young woman in PEI - a connection for Jocelyne
924. Beautiful coastline
925. Heading home - can't wait to get there
926. Flat tire - thankful for Mart & Matt and God watching over us - we got safely off the 401, the sun was shining, Mart & Matt changed the tire and two minutes up the road there was a garage and they fixed our tire.



927. Home - so good to be there
928. A beautiful service - remembering my Oma and the 98 years she lived



929. My dad sharing at his mom's funeral - beautiful words
930. Time with family - laughter
931. Grateful for my mom's help in doing our church photo directory
932. A day at home after being away for a number of days
933. Enjoying a Mars bar from the eldest son - these kids know I love chocolate
934. Meeting a friend of Will's
935. Help from my girls
936. Having fun together as a family
937. A powerful sermon/message on forgiveness
938. Having fun taking pictures of the couples and families in our church
939. Thoughtfulness of a couple in bringing mom, Nancy and I some snacks and drinks
940. My husband's help at home since I've been gone so much
941. Christ's love for the church His Bride
942. Another good day of photo shoots
943. Psalm 46
944. Help from Jocelyne
945. Community
946. Laughter from the older generation, as I've been taking pictures of the older couples it's been great having fun with them
947. Patience and understanding from people when I was having so much trouble with my lighting while taking pictures one night
948. Encouragement from my husband
949. Chocolate bar from Jocelyne
950. Coming home to a clean kitchen - what a blessing
951. Thankful that my husband is such a good father to our kids
952. Home cooked meal from Valerie for mom and I during our dinner break from taking pictures
953. Beautiful bouquet of flowers from Nancy and Dionne
954. My family for being so patient and helpful while I've been so busy
955. God stories - seeing where God is at work in certain situations
956. Blessing a woman by seeing the smile in her eyes
957. My bed at the end of a long day
958. More fun taking the directory pictures
959. Hot meal made by Mart and the girls - a blessing after being away all day
960. Worship
961. A gift from my husband
962. Laughter with the elderly
963. Supper from mom
964. Jocelyne cleaning the house today
965. So much help from mom doing the church directory - final day
966. Time with my husband
967. Encouragement from my husband
968. A house found for Matt and the guys in Edmonton
969. Good discussion time with the girls at youth group
970. Tea with a friend - a much needed break
971. Laughter in our small group at church
972. My supportive husband
973. Laughter with the girls
974. My mom's help with a wedding
975. A good nights sleep
976. Breakfast made by my husband
977. Beautiful bride - beautiful wedding
978. Prayer from my husband
979. To be used of God
980. Encouragement and kind words from so many people
981. Help from Jocelyne sorting through picture package orders
982. Water line fixed which means no carrying buckets of water for the horses
983. Dinner made by my husband, ready when we got home
984. A good laugh
985. Snow - I love snow
986. Out to a movie with Matt before he heads out to Alberta this Saturday
987. Waking up to a winter wonderland





988. A walk out in the Frink Centre with Matt and Jocelyne
989. God's beautiful creation
990. A gift
991. Chocolates from Charissa
992. Dinner out as a family before Matt leaves
993. Sparkly frost on a sunny - 20 morning



Frost flowers.


Remains of summer past.


994. The warmth of the sun on my face on a cold day
995. One last home made pizza with Matt
996. Good byes to my youngest, he's heading out on a new adventure - grateful to be his mom, he will be missed


Taken the day before heading out to Edmonton

997. Breakfast with Will and Amy
998. Matt's safe arrival in Edmonton
999. Beautiful worship
1000. Jesus the HOPE of the nations
1001. Transformed lives
1002. A phone call from Matt - it was good to hear his voice and chat for a bit
1003. Help from Jocelyne cleaning the chicken coop
1004. The LORD providing work for Mart
1005. Mom & Dad back from Arizona - they had a great week away
1006. Unity
1007. Encouragement for our church
1008. Chatting with the girls this morning
1009. Quiet day
1010. Stories of God at work in the lives of some of the youth
1011. Job interview for the youngest tomorrow
1012. Knitting with a friend
1013. A man's laughter
1014. The eldest in love
1015. A good interview for the youngest
1016. My husband and how he cares for his company, for his employees
1017. A beautiful couple getting married
1018. Help from my mom as I photograph a wedding
1019. Encouragement from people
1020. My church community
1021. Relaxing - knitting
1022. Another life/God story shared
1023. A wonderful, full nights sleep - slept through the night and didn't wake up until 7:00am - that never happens
1024. Girls chatting in the kitchen
1025. The Friendship Christmas Pageant at church
1026. A day at home
1027. Chatting with Matt on facebook
1028. The wood stove on a cold day
1029. Creativity in others
1030. Jesus Christ my Saviour
1031. Grace
1032. Beautiful, sunny, cold and crisp morning doing chores


1033. Help from Nancy
1034. Chatting with Matt on the phone
1035. The love and attention of my husband
1036. The way the sun hits the softly following snow and makes it sparkle
1037. Conversations with the eldest
1038. Quiet night
1039. Drive with my husband
1040. Visit with Will and Amy
1041. Great dinner and visit with friends
1042. The country side blanketed in pure white snow


1043. Girls having fun in the snow, seeing them hang out together touches this moms heart as Jocelyne will be leaving soon
1044. Girls shovelling the neighbours driveway


It was - 24 degrees Celsius this morning so I thought I'd try blowing some bubbles and seeing if they'd freeze.



Most of them popped before hitting the ground but this one froze.

1 comment:

  1. First, my condolences in the loss of your grandmother. I hope to live to my 90s and to be loved as she was!

    My, the nest is emptying fast and furious at your home! Best wishes to everyone in your new reality!

    One thing is certain, Tina - you're still an excellent photographer!

    ReplyDelete