My mother's hands..........

To me they were beautiful, to her they were gnarled and wrinkled.........but the fact that they were gnarled and wrinkled just spoke to me how hard she had worked all her life. And lots of times did not have the money to go out and buy clothes for her children (her and dad raised 12) so she would sew on a Singer treadle sewing machine often into the night creating beautiful clothes for us from hand-me-downs. I remember my Gr. 12 graduation dress. It was pink with white polka dots and it was my older sister's bridesmaid dress that she had worn for a wedding years before and my mom made it over for me. Do you know what? I felt like a princess. With her hands, she would create beautiful crazy quilts she called them.... from scrape material. With her hands, she scrubbed on a wash board heavy woollen underwear and pants and dresses and hung them out to dry and in the winter they would freeze on the lines and she would have to bring them in to dry. With her hands, she tended and nurtured a beautiful flower garden as well as a large vegetable garden and in the fall, we would can veggies and more veggies as well as berries of all kinds. Chokecherries, gooseberries, cranberries, raspberries, pincherries, you name it, we had it! Her hands made the best bread in the world, cookies would be just out of the oven when we would come home from school. I remember one time when I had the measles and was so sick ... how much comfort and love I felt from my mother's hands as she would wash my face with a cool cloth to take down my fever. O there were times too when I was naughty that I felt a hand on my backside, not very often but I knew that I had it coming and realized it was not worth it to disobey my mother. How thankful I am today that she not only taught me through example but wanted me to be the very best I could be so she was not afraid to discipline me. My mother's hands folded in prayer many times for her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. How thankful I am for that.
I held her hands in mine and they were very thin and worn,
But they held mine just as tightly as the day that I was born,
These tender and expressive hands etched by work and care,
Have folded o'er my bedside many times in humble prayer,
They've washed for me, they've fed me, they've helped me be a woman,
There's a little of our Lord Himself in every mother's hands.

And my dad said......

Another one that he would like to recite.......

Said the robin to the sparrow,
"I would really like to know,
Why these anxious human beings
Rush around and worry so!"
Said the sparrow to the robin,
"Friend, I think that it must be
That they have no Heavenly Father
Such as cares for you and me."

Then when he and my mother would come to our place, I would ask him, "Would you like some coffee?" and he would reply, "Can a duck swim?" Such precious memories!

"O what a beautiful morning!"

"O what a beautiful morning,
"O what a beautiful day,
"La, la, la, La, la, La, la, La,
"Sunshine is coming my way!"
O.K. so I made up the last two lines. I can't remember how it goes. Anyway, that song came to my head this morning as I looked out the window, seen a curious robin on the lawn looking for worms, seen the kids across the street playing in the warm sunshine, seen the blue sky and I can't see them yet but will later on, the snow-capped mountains in the distance. It is just a gorgeous day in this city and I plan to be outside as soon as I can going for my walk. When I came home from work this morning around 5:30 A.M., the birds were already singing their song anticipating the sunrise and gradual waking up of the neighborhood. This morning also reminded me of when my daddy used say to me when I would finally come downstairs in the morning, "Good morning Mary Sunshine, why do you wake so soon, You'll scatter all the stars above and scare away the moon." Do you have any idea how much I love spring!!!!! I love it, love it, love it!!!!

I can do all things through Christ.......

This one is for you, my Sus. When we feel weak, that is the time that God gives us His strength and His Peace!! Claim that verse that you love so much every morning when Eric is gone. Pray Christ's peace over the children as they go to school, as they play, as you go about your daily duties, when you are working both at the restaurant and at the Studio and at home. And we will be praying for Eric and Nanc and Wayne as they go with the students to Mexico that it will be a life-changing experience for them, a realization that God is with them every step of the way. I wish so much that I could come and be with you to help you at this time. Remember God is with you too. Take one day at a time. I love the verse to this song......
"All you may need He will provide, God will take care of you,
No matter what may be the test, God will take care of you,
Lean, weary one, upon His breast, God will take care of you.
Thru every day, O'er all the way.
He will take care of you, God will take care of you.
Love and so many prayers for all of you, Mom

Easter Weekend!!!

It has been a wonderful weekend starting with the Thursday night communion service at the church, then the Good Friday service in the morning. Friday afternoon, we went up to Gramma's to do her hair and to have supper with her. Aunty Ida was also there. My friend, Carol picked me up there and we went to Ken and Bev's for Praise and Worship practise. What fun!!! Ken on the guitar, AJ on the bass guitar, Ernie on the drums, Karen playing the keyboard and Carol playing the piano. They love to jam and it was great just to sing and sing! We practised 4 songs for Sunday morning all about "Our Risen Savior". This special weekend and what it means has to be the cornerstone of the Christian faith!! Then this morning was our Easter service which was awesome as usual. The choir sang, the children sang, they did so well. About 3:00, we went over to Heather and Duane's for an Easter egg hunt and a walk to the park. Got some great pictures. Then after supper, we spent some time with Gramma again. Got a phone message from our grandchildren in the States. We miss you all down there. We hope you had a blessed Easter.

Never in a million years!!

Never in a million years did I think that one day Jim and I would be flying off to the beautiful island of Oahu, Hawaii!!!! Yet miracles of miracles, we leave in exactly 41/2 weeks!!! I still can't believe it and probably won't believe it til I get on the plane!!! Our kids have encouraged us many times to take a vacation, just the two of us but you know how it is when your children live so far away and even if they are in the same city, that any chance you get - you go to see them!!! And we absolutely love it and have so much fun when we get together!! Plus in the last few years, it has been birthin' times in the Archie family and boy there was not any other place to be then..... than with our kids having their kids - our grandchildren!! How very special that has been!!! There is absolutely nothing more wonderful than seeing these precious children right after they have been born, in their mommy and daddy's arms!! My heart is full to bursting just thinking about it. And now to see them growing up - it is just one of the joys of being a grandparent........But back to Hawaii.......both if us turn 60 this year and we thought....that would be such a good way to celebrate so "Aloha, Hawaii " here we come!!! We have taken books out of the library, we bought the book "Hawaii for Dummies" ( a book just for us) and read up on the history of the islands - fascinating!!!! So we kind of have an idea what we want to do when we get there. There are lots of beaches, hikes, a zoo to see and explore, museums, all kinds of things but do you know what I look forward to the very most........ is getting up early, taking my good "Kona" coffee, slipping out on the "lanai" to watch the sun rise, smelling the air and the flowers and listening to the sound of the waves as they come crashing to shore!!!! Beachcombing, looking for shells, walking along the beautiful trails, just drinking in God's glorious creation.....We have one week in a condo on Waikiki and then we move up the Windward side of the island and there we have a cute little cottage right on the beach!!! I can hardly wait........

Still celebrating!!!

Last night my two brothers and their wives, my daughter and her family and my sister-in-law came over for cake and ice cream so we celebrated some more!! I made a "Better than _____" (and you can fill in the blank whatever you like) cake and it was yummy!!!!! Heather brought some Breyers ice cream and that made it even better!! German chocolate cake with carmel and cool whip topping and crushed scor bars on top of that!!! Not many calories at all!!! I just had a small piece!!! It is so good to get together and connect again with my siblings. It is hard sometimes to get together because my brother's kids and their families live close and they also have lots of grandchildren and the grandchildren have things going on that they like their grandparents to attend and that is very important! We all go in different directions and that is the way life is and that is the way it should be!!! Another great day!

Turning 60!!!!!

My husband asked me this morning, "Do you feel any different now that you are 60 years old?" I didn't even have to think about it - I said "it feels wonderful!!!!" Age is just a number and I guess I want to grow old like my mother - graciously..... full of fun.....interesting and interested in people..... with a gift of making every person that came into her life feel special and loved!!! She knew where her strength came from, she also knew that she wasn't perfect but knew she was special in God's eyes!!!! She did not have the education most of us have but was so very wise. I loved her so much and still miss her. Thank you, Mom for being my role model!!!!
I had a good day. First thing that happened - I came home from work this morning and here was a beautiful bouquet of long-stemmed red, white and pink roses - 14 of them sitting on the dining-room table and a card that warmed my heart.... from my husband. Now you have to know him - he was not one to bring me flowers every week so when I do get them, it is just so lovely and special!! The next thing that took place was my grandchildren coming to sing Happy Birthday!! What could be better than that, I ask you? Then the doorbell rings and here it was one of my best friends with a beautiful plant in her hands just for me!!!!!! So she and I had coffee together!!! Then another friend came by and finally my sister-in-law and in between all of this was phone calls from my sister from Saskatoon, brother from California, my mother-in-law, and my youngest daughter, emails from my daughter in Fergus, my cousin from Birch Hills and another friend from Okotoks!!! All this just made me feel blessed beyond measure so you see, I had a good day!!!

Camera!!!

We finally purchased a digital camera at Best Buy!! I don't really know how to use it yet but am learning and having a blast!!!! A Canon 610, 5 megapixal and that is all I know except that it has a flipout screen!!! So once I get more computer, camera smart and how it all works, I will post some pictures!!!!! Family and friends, HELP!!!

Crows are back!!!

I heard a crow this morning and I thought to myself as I was walking, "Yaaaay, spring is on it's way!!!" Even though crows are not the nicest bird around, they bring back memories of my childhood and walking to school in the spring, with the creek full of water, and the meadowlarks singing their hearts out and yes the sounds of the crows in the background. My brother and I would pretend we were explorers to a new land and we would have to survive the best way we knew how!!! We had a tall tree in the bush along the road to the one-room school that we went to. We would climb that tree pretending it was our lookout tower making sure there weren't any scary animals around!!!! The scariest would have to be a skunk!!!!! That day on the way home from school, we decided to make a campfire in an old can!!!! We were not allowed to play with matches but that day, Larry had some matches and made a fire in this can. I was not too bright, I picked up the can when it was hot and burnt the ends of my fingers!!!! Then to top it off, I went home and told my mother that I had burnt them on burning nettles (she knew better) but she did not say anything!! I did not want to get disciplined!!!! It bothered me for weeks that I had told my mother an untruth!!!! So one day I couldn't stand it anymore, I had to tell her the truth. She had been waiting for that!!! Guess what.....she forgave me and what a load rolled off my shoulders!!!!