"Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labour in vain."

October was a very full month with lots do to.  My husband and I headed out East for five days to visit with our daughter and meet a friend of hers...a male friend :)  We drove lots, the Fall colours were beautiful and it was good to see our daughter and meet her friend and get to know him a little bit.

It was also my parent's 50th anniversary so my siblings and I planned a party for them, their guest list included about 110 people.  There were times during the planning where we wondered what we'd gotten ourselves into and thought a trip away with mom and dad and all their kids and grandkids would be much easier and nicer :-) But you know what, when it was all said and done it was such a beautiful evening and I'm so glad we did it and so glad mom and dad were blessed and honoured by it.

I was blessed by my kids and nieces and nephews who were involved in some skits, piano playing and some videos, they were great.  Words were shared by some friends and family members and that was a blessing to hear as well.  Another really neat surprise was that we were able to share some video clips of mom and dad's wedding.  My aunt had had the old movie reels copied over to dvd and had just gotten them back the Thursday before the party.  For me that was a highlight, to see my mom and dad so young and just starting out on their journey together.  Their journey hasn't always been easy but God has been faithful and so have they.  My parents wedding text 50 years ago was Psalm 127:1a, "Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labour in vain."  I am so thankful to have grown up in a home with parents who have served the LORD and where the LORD has built the house, because even in the difficult times it was never in vain...God uses our difficulties to shape us and mold us into vessels He can use for His Kingdom purposes and what a gift that is.  

Some things I have been thankful for over the last number of weeks...

224. Photo-shoot with four girls and their horses.

225. Early morning thunderstorm

226. Rain, sunshine and rainbows

227. Heading East to visit Jocelyne

228. Vibrant reds and oranges along the way

229. Beautiful drive with my husband

230. Meeting up with Jocelyne

231. Gorgeous drive along the Bay of Fundy

Tide was out, this is at 9:30.

Same spot about 5 1/2 hours later.

Here we were checking out the sea caves, when the tide is out you can walk to them, it was pretty cool.

Five and a half hours later the tide had come back in and the ground where we walked was totally covered in water.

232. Laughter over a porcupine charging towards us while hiking down a trail

233. Picnic lunch overlooking the Bay of Fundy

234. Nice couple of days with Jocelyne

235. A good visit with Jocelyne's friend Dan

236. Beautiful Fall colours through Maine and the beautiful mountains of New Hampshire

237. All the driving my husband has done, so thankful

238. Home sweet home

239. My own bed

240. Finished a big project

241. Quiet afternoon at home with my husband

242. A belated Thanksgiving dinner

243. Sunshine on a Sunday morning

244. After two days of rain it has finally stopped - I can't imagine what it was like for Noah and his family - 40 days and 40 nights of rain.

245. Gorgeous sunshine after two rainy, dreary days is always a beautiful site

246. The smell of fresh cut grass in the Fall

247. Powerful and challenging message at church

248. My husband making the bed

249. Celebrating my parent's 50th anniversary with family and friends, what a beautiful night

250. Family - Jocelyne, William & Amy home for the weekend to celebrate their Oma & Opa's anniversary

251. God's unfailing love

252. Another power Sunday morning message

253. Beautiful Fall day

254. Evening walk with my husband

255. A new day

256. Good discussion with the girls at Youth Group

257. God's love never fails, never gives up, never runs out on me - a reminder not to give up or quit even when I feel I'm coming up against a wall

258. Vibrant yellow leaves on the Gingo tree in mom's backyard

259. Fellowship and laughter with community

260. Cleaning with Charissa

261. New season of life for Charissa, she's moving into her own place

262. Connecting with a neighbour I haven't seen in 27 years

263. The warmth of the wood stove

264. Stopping in at Charissa's and seeing her busy cleaning her new place

265. Matt's creativity

266. Beautiful wedding pictures from Will and Amy's wedding

267. Knitting by the fire

268. A new day, a gift given

269. A visit with Paul and mom Vanderlaan

270. My husband doing night chores with me

271. His sheep know His voice - John 10:1 - 21

272. Morning chat with William - joy in his voice

273. My kids, I feel so blessed to have them

274. The love of my husband even when I feel undeserving of it

275. Jocelyne taken care of while driving through heavy snow out East

276. Quiet morning by myself

277. Charissa out riding Amadeous

278. A friend's first time to church in over two years after sustaining a severe head injury

279. Quiet, peaceful morning in the woods doing chores

280. Beautiful morning sunshine makes my heart glad

281. Remembering those who fought for our freedom

281. The ducks Junior and Henrietta swimming in the pond, fun to watch

282. Out taking pictures with Matt

Matt's shot with a very slow shutter speed of 2 seconds to soften the flow of the water.

283. Beautiful pink and grey night sky

284. Charissa chatting away with her sister on the phone

285. Kayla and Matt hanging out