summer holidays

Just returned from a fabulous week away with family.  Every summer, myself and my three sisters - and our families, and our dad - rent 3 cabins for a week.  It's so much fun and we make such great memories.  The families are mixed up between the cabins, the cooking and cleaning are assigned so we all get a chance to work together.  We have lots of traditions, tasty food, and fun activities to look forward to every year.  Lisa keeps us organized with a three page spreadsheet about meals and clean up, and Syd usually helps with the shopping.
Here are some photos of our time this year - we tried a new spot this year, Keystone Resort at Westhawk Lake in the Whiteshell.  It was a hit!! (beach volleyball on site, inground pool, ice cream store across the street, and gorgeous sandy beach just a short walk away - what more could you want for a summer vacation?)

Beach Volleyball was a big hit - especially early in the week when Joey and Dustin
 were with us!  Everyone played (even me, ONCE!). 
 It was super fun to watch, too.  
We have quite an entertaining family :)

We hug lots.  We're huggers.

A few of us on an after dinner walk.

Ted and Ally demonstrating dance moves.

The resort pool was part of the daily routine.  
I personally spent two FULL days lounging there. :)

Bren and I walked to Hunt Lake on a really hot afternoon.  
I had to give myself a make-shift shower before turning back for home.

The four girls - next year, April will be in this line-up :)

We had great weather and so much fun.  We need to find a new location next year - ideas, anyone?

poster from departika at etsy.com

We've really discovered this year that there is tremendous value in taking good breaks.  How do you take breaks?  comment and let us know!
Happy Summer,
kelly

summer conversations and holiday pics

here are some pics and an interesting conversation from the last couple of days ... I am up very early anticipating getting Syd from the airport. (and she woke me up with texts and calls from TO at 330am!)


niece: auntie kelly, lets go swimming.
me: OK!
niece: we have to put our bathing suits on first...and our life jackets.
me: K, I'll go change, be right back.
niece: I'm changing in the living room
me: I can see that...
niece: I'm gonna come change with you
(follows me)
niece: so you don't change in front of other grown ups, right?
me: ummm... ya, thats pretty much right.
niece: well, you would change in front of your sisters.
me: ya, I would.
niece: would you change in front of my dad?
me: no.
niece: but uncle brendan - you change in front of him?
me: yes, we're married.
niece: I change in front of anyone in my family.
me: yup...
niece: do you change in front of grandpa?  He's your dad.  He's in your family.
me: ahhhh, ... ummmm, .... Let's race to the dock!


Here's a few shots of our time in Lac Du Bonnet....

Just learned to walk!

 Summer fun!

about Holidays :)

A few weeks ago I started to feel those twinges of exhaustion and that sense that my energy just wasn't being replenished as quickly as it should - I looked at my schedule and realized I was pretty booked up at work and wouldn't be able to get any time away up til now - it seemed like an eternity back when I planned it.  But it has arrived, and I couldn't be more ready or more thrilled!  We've recently been relishing opportunities to travel or take breaks more than ever before in our lives, its become important to have times where the routine gets interrupted for a few days or even weeks.  And, it is so much fun to plan for and look forward to something. (Our trip to SF last year was such a treat, we still talk about it all the time - we all planned different parts of it, and I'm still so stoked about our public transportation abilities/courage!)

We were planning to go out to a farmhouse we know of for the next few days, but then our car was written off last week, so we weren't sure we'd even have a vehicle.  ... decided that we'd just do a few days of exploring our own city instead. (...and, we love Winnipeg that much!)  In the end, it turns out that we are picking up a new-to-us car tomorrow - a YELLOW one.  I don't remember the model, just the color :)
The plan for the next few days is to go to Lower Fort Garry, Ballet in the Park, take in an exchange walk and free concert, and then go to a cabin in Lac du Bonnet for Friday night and Saturday -oh, and the Folklorama kick off at the Forks on Sat. night (fireworks at 10pm!)
On Sunday, we pick up Syd, drop her in Regina and stay for a couple of nights at a bed and breakfast near Fort Qu'appelle. ( I heard that we should try hang gliding up there, but my husband suggested we just bike ride on the TransCanada Trail - its safer on the gravel path, with our feet and wheels firmly on the ground!)
Later on in August, we are looking forward to a week at West Hawk Lake with our family... and we've been saving for our first ever WINTER HOLIDAY  later this year, too!  That sandy beach and ocean image above IS going to become a reality!

Dear Ben: We are coming for a visit!

Our other big holiday news is that we just started a special savings account for our REALLY BIG plan - a trip to Europe in 2013 - the year my husband, our son, and I all graduate with various degrees and diplomas.  Its also the year Bren and I turn 40.  So, we're finally doing a little more than talking about that dream; and it feels SO good!
Hoping y'all are enjoying summer as much as I am.  If you're from Winnipeg, there is so much fun stuff to check out all summer long - free concerts downtown and on Corydon, folklorama coming up, jazz on the rooftop at the WAG, ... don't miss out!

daily life in community = FULL

I love living in community.  Being with people is very FILLING for me; I'm an extrovert and enjoy the daily interactions.  Today's 5 minute friday prompt is FULL.  So, here are a few unedited thoughts from the last week, just a few reasons I love living with 25 people!

Cake-off... a sneaky brendan decides we need a healthy dose of competitiveness in our supper team, so he challenges Colin to a cake off.  Very yummy, chocolatey fun!

Unloading groceries ... mundane, yes.  But every week the grocery shopper texts everyone who is home on friday and says 'spread the word, groceries arriving in 10 minutes'... and then we haul, sort, unpack, and put away a tonne (well, almost) of groceries together.  (It's no small feat to shop and store food for such a big group, we have it down to a pretty smooth running rhythm!)

massages ... i went for a massage last week (from a bona fide professional!) for the first time in a long time.  For the first time ever, she said that my neck and shoulders are in pretty good shape.  You know why?  Because I have a live in massage therapist (she's actually a designer, but she should make massage her day job!) who is willing to give me a great massage on a regular basis, just because she loves me and is wonderful.

returning housemates - tis the season for folks to go on holidays, and when they are away their absence is very noticeable. But then, they come home!  And things settle back into something that feels RIGHT, and we get gooey kisses and smiley 'good mornings' from happy little girls once again!

awaiting babies - Flats is in anticipation mode, waiting ever so patiently for the newest community member to make his or her entrance to the world.  It is very fun to be awaiting this new life and we are so excited about the ways he/she will enrich and change us!

  times up.. a little more than 5 minutes, actually!  Thanks for letting me share just a snapshot of  why it is so good to live communally!

5 minute fridays - the gypsy mama invites us to blog for 5 minutes - unedited, on the prompt she gives every week.
This weeks prompt was FULL.  JOIN IN!

summer reflections

Before I get into deep thoughts about summer at Flatlanders, this is my daughter ...  having so much fun during dance camp!  I cried at the end-of-week performance, which is a regular happening.  Yes, I am one of those parents!  ... but I wasn't crying only for the usual reasons of watching time slip by, being proud of my kids etc... mostly, I was responding to the amount of JOY that was present as she and her friends danced.  They were having so much FUN!  I'm so thankful for this influence in her life!

(So maybe this is a plug for her dance school!?!?)

I've been thinking of a post for a few days - it emerges from some reflections on ordinary stuff.   The other day, I was thinking about our garden.  Marvelling is maybe a better word.  The wildflowers grew without any attention.  Not a single weed was pulled or drop of water was ever given... just a combination of nature and our initial seed scattering.      The results are beautiful, inviting smiles whenever we drive into the parking lot.      The vegetables however, have required time and attention.  Pruning, pails of water brought out, pulling out the weeds.  And in spite of the attention, we still lost a number of plants.  Our tomatoes threaten to be more green and leafy than red and fruity.  A lot more tending could have generated better success.                                                                                     In my marvelling, I also felt a bit frustrated.  I was thinking about how these two principles - tending or letting go - are at play in life and in leadership.  I was wishing that there were instructions, maybe guarantees to  guide different decisions and situations.  When should we just back up and let things take their course?  When should we be diligently involved, gently prodding in a specific direction towards a desired outcome?  And why isn't our best good enough in so many circumstances?

Later on, I was playing Rummy - which, along with Cribbage, are the games of choice at Flats.  I was paying close attention to the discard pile, waiting on the Queen of Clubs.  I followed it's path into the hand of another player, and was focused on the opportunities I'd have once he discarded it.  I actually missed two other possibilities while I focused on only the strategy I'd decided on.  It was only later that I realized that I could have won the hand if I'd been less focused on my plan and more focused on what was actually happening in front of me.

After a while, I connected my thoughts in the garden and the developments in the card game.  Sometimes, we (I) get so focused on a desired path that we can be blind to other possibilities.  Beautiful wildflowers remind us how important it is let go and let things unfold - beauty that surprises us is somehow more beautiful.  And withered plants that were tended and cared for remind us that so little is really up to us.  Feeling like we're managing things well, that we're on top of the details might be more of an illusion than we'd like to believe .

After being in the garden, my hands look like this.  Grubby, stained and weary.  But in an earthy way!  A little scraped up, but revealing that they were working towards something, even if at the end of the day its uncertain how everything will turn out.  Somehow, that seems like the best end to these thoughts....   Happy Summer!

more valid ...

Do you ever feel totally 'invalid' as a person?  Like you mess up more than you contribute, like you're always having things to apologize for and you're always dropping the ball somewhere? 

I feel like that alot!

I had one of those mornings where you wake up and just know in your gut that your alarm hasn't gone off and you're late.  I teach aerobics on Tuesdays at 6:15am and my last task last night was to double check the alarm, but for whatever reason it didn't ring today.  I opened my eyes and thought ... 'its way too light to be earlier than 5:15!'.. then the mad scramble to get in touch with someone and tell them the 'leader' is not going to make it.  Not the greatest start to the day!

i chatted with a beautiful friend yesterday, and she was talking about how church sermons so often leave us feeling like Losers - we should be doing more, we should be more mature, we're not using our gifts... blah blah blah.  I don't know if I've heard a lot of sermons like that lately, but I do know that I don't need a sermon to feel like that.  It's my default mode.  it's ever present.  I don't need an external voice saying those things; my inner dialogue says them all the time. 

The two of us wished for more 'celebratory' conversations and messages.  Not an absence of challenge, but an increase of joy and rejoicing over the great things that happen in daily life and relationship.

(Incidentally, I stumbled upon a new blog recently.  The author has a campaign called I AM ENOUGH.  It's pretty cool.)

I did haul my sorry self out of bed shortly after I realized that I wasn't going to get where I was supposed to be.  I decided to go for a walk - not a run like I often do, but a nice, leisurely, prayer-y WALK.  I was gone for over an hour!  As soon as I stepped out, I knew I made the right choice.

I cleared my head of all the noise.  I heard the traffic, smelled the morning, felt the green of summer, and tasted broken but beautiful joy.  Somewhere on a walking path in Point Douglas, I stopped feeling like a loser and started to feel celebratory and blessed.  As I was 'rounding the corner to our building, one of our neighbors came out. Our chat went like this...

him - 'What are you doing out alone?!'
me - 'walking.'
him - 'I've told you before - I don't like you going for your walks/runs alone all the time.  You could get hurt'
me - 'thanks for caring.'
him - 'We got some extra food from the food bank over at our place.  No one can use it.  You guys want it?'
me - 'sure.'
him - 'k, see ya later, I'll bring it to the drop in.'

a  pretty simple exchange.  But one that reminded me that I'm known in my neighborhood.  And the caring for and supporting is not only going from me/us to them.. It's two way.  Thats is a beautiful ... maybe even VALID - thing in my book.

thanks for reading. 

Here is a photo I took today - I came upstairs to find one of our 'roomies' napping on the couch.  I couldn't resist the opportunity...

a few recent photos

Ms. Stone was played by our daughter - who made me cry with her amazing solo!

Beach babies!  Last week, I decided to take a day off and go to the beach.  My sweet niece, whose voice is so cute on the other end of the phone, called me at supper time and said 'we're going to the beach tomorrow, wanna come with us?'  Could you resist this sweet kid... especially with her sweet voice?!  (Its a little less sweet when she calls me 'missy' ... as in 'hey, you, missy, what do you think you're doing?')

We had lots of fun in the water, splashing and going 'really, really deep!'(up to my waist!)

This is the sweet youngest daughter of our good friends.  I really wanted to focus on thankfulness that day at the beach, so  brought my journal along help me think and pray... as I was writing, I looked up and saw these guys, and was reminded afresh about this baby's early days, including emergency heart surgery and being away from home for a few weeks.  Perspective, and reminders of how fragile and beautiful life is, were perfect for my reflections...

Wedding bells ringing... :)

A wedding at Flatlanders... 'Is this really my wedding cake?'

All dressed up, and we don't even have to leave for the wedding!

Is it time yet?

 beautiful -- no matter what angle!  (inside and out!)

We recruited some familiar servers :)

Not so interested in the tupperware, but this ribbon stuff could be some fun ...

wanted to try Dragonfruit as part of birthday weekend fun..

So, we walked to an asian market in the exchange and got some. 

 kinda like kiwi, but not as good... and don't eat the red stuff.

Drop in Dialogue 1 and Family Night

Each week on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, the Vineyard has a drop in for community members. Folks living in the local area may or may not have permanent addresses, many struggle with addictions and mental health issues. Each drop in morning, hot food is served, sometimes there is food to hand out, and there is always laughter and friendship in abundance - and coffee!

I thought I'd post some snippets of conversations from those mornings here every once in a while. (See right side bar)

Here goes:

• "I started drinking when I was 36. I haven't stopped ever since. Now I'm 43 and I've been drunk all this time. I went to Bible School once, though."
• "I don't know why I like living on the street better than where my family is, where I'm cared for. I guess I just don't want to be bothered with what they want from me. I just want to go my own way. But then sometimes, I wish someone cared for me. The people on the street, they only care for me when I have money and stuff. When I got nothing, I got no one."
• "I was in a residential school for 5 years when I was a kid. I ran away all the time, but they found me and brought me back. When I was 8, I started sniffing gasoline 'cuz I saw my friends doing it once when we were on the run."
• "There have been lots of times when I thought I'd seen it all. But I keep being surprised at what else people will do to each other."
• "I was jumped for my King Can." (in response to my question about bruises)
• "Do you know Jesus? I love Jesus."
• "I brought this empty container, can you put some more soup in here for me to take home?"
• "If you think I smell like sniff, that's just my smudge. I carry my sweetgrass with me... see?" (as we were shown some herbs that looked a little like sage.. roots, dirt, and all)
• "I keep a picture of the Royal Family in my room, because they fascinate me."

I really enjoy drop in. I had my first taste of it when I brought a team of students from Bethany College here to Winnipeg in January. The is something profound about the people, the ministry, the interactions. There is no complexity, and it is refreshing.

Family Night:
Tuesdays are Family Night here at Flatlanders. We all commit to hanging out together each week on this one night.
Tonight, we enjoyed some homemade soup with Ben and Ang - old friends of ours, but new friends to the Flatlanders. Then we had a bonfire, ate some s'mores, and laughed until our sides hurt. Oh, and of course, some people roasted chicken wieners.. which are very foul fowl. (Warren, that pun is for you!) I did not eat chicken wieners, but I did have a peanut buttery s'more!
We had lots of fires in Hepburn, always good times. (I have great memories of Dueck and Peters girls around the fire!) It seemed appropriate to have a great bonfire in the open space like our yard in Hepburn. But here, our bonfire pit is in the budding greenspace, behind a brick wall that separates us from Main Street just by the underpass between downtown and the North End. Its between two old warehouses - one that now houses a church and our community's home, and the other that will someday provide more beds for people needing temporary shelter.
Two very different settings could hardly be imagined! Good times always, though.

safely arrived!

Well, we are officially residents of Winnipeg again! We had an adventure filled day to start off our year of adventure :)

As I type this I am sitting in Nance and Sean's place in Westwood. They offered us their house while they were travelling in AB and SK for a couple of weeks. We had a good visit with them before we left Hepburn, and I was reminded of how special it is to have friends you've known FOREVER... as in since grade seven!! (I'm not exactly sure, but maybe dirt hadn't even been invented then?) We had good visiting while seeing a couple of Saskatoon sights, over peanut-buttery smores and grown up creamsicles, and while sitting in our very sparse living room. They got to meet a few of our friends in Hepburn and we loved every minute. Their little guy Ethan is a charmer .. I hope we can hang out more often with him this year! Their house is so welcoming and homey, we especially like their kingsize bed. I'm looking forward to going up there soon so that I can spread out all my journalling stuff and Brendan won't roll over and smush it :)

Our adventure-filled journey included a camper tire blowing and damaging the whole wheel casing and the floor of the camper. We ended up going to UHaul in Moose Jaw to rent a trailer and emptying our camper into that. This kind of hampers our plans to live at Birds Hill campground for the next two weeks, but we'll see what happens with insurance. Pics to come..

Today, we delivered our belongings to Flatlanders in preparation for our official move in on Aug. 15th. It was awesome to be there, can't wait to meet everyone and get settled.

This is a really fun and exciting time in the life of our family. There are so many questions in my head right now, and I can't wait to see what shape things take over the next weeks and months. It is so good to have experiences that build faith and to actually live out waiting on God's direction and guidance. Sometimes I feel like we don't have authentic experiences like that often enough. Each time our family has had times like this, we emerge a bit weathered, but with experiences that help us to know God better and understand life more deeply. It seems so ironic to feel so complete and secure at this time in spite of the big question marks in every direction.

As I sit here, I am incredibly thankful. Thankful for friends who blessed us so much in our last days in Hepburn, thankful for kids who had amazingly good attitudes as unexpected circumstances made a hard day even harder, thankful for loving and supportive family. Most of all, thankful for a relationship with God that somehow sharpens and clarifies all of these wonderful things.

Thankful! .... and photos

Our house is a disaster zone! Pretty weird opening sentence for a post about thankfulness, hey? But we are just coming up to our last week in Hepburn, and we have been sorting, packing, filing, and storing like crazy! The mess is necessary and even.. good! We moved to Hepburn in a mad rush, so this opportunity to be methodical and strategic is VERY welcome.
This is our bedroom.. how do you like my new cardboard dresser?!

Note to those in Hepburn: our shed is full of stuff we'd like to sell or give away.. feel free to stop on over anytime and check it out! There is still a porch swing, some shelves, some cookbooks.. all sorts. We're not kidding!

Here are a few summery pictures...

Syd and Abby at Martin's Lake. Ab as usual pretending the camera doesn't exist.


Owen, Trev and Braden with Eryka.


The sweet guy I've been married to for FIFTEEN years. :)


My very handsome nephew, Bradley!

The boys spent two days spreading gravel on our driveway. Our tenants will be happy not to contend with the puddles and mud after a rain!

Haily sharing (shoving?!) her food with Syd.

Eryka in my 'weed bed'.

This past week, my sister Karen and her husband Bryan helped us out. I am so grateful for their effort.. they drove all the way to Hepburn from Winnipeg because they are just that amazing. I am deficient when it comes to organizing. Once I have an idea I can run with it, but two of my sisters (karen and Lorrie) are MASTERS at figuring things like this out. I know we'd have done okay without them, and I know we have awesome friends in Hepburn who were very willing to help. But somehow, this was just the right thing. I am really, really appreciative! Thanks for the time, the drive, the fun memories, the heavy lifting, the sorting, and the great day at the BEACH. (Karen and I also had a fun night at Prairie Ink Saskatoon, where she bought their last copy of the 43 things book!) Both kids were super glad Karen helped them with their rooms, because I tend to just get annoyed with the mess. So does she, but somehow they're more okay with that.

And finally.. Owen and Joey at the speedway last weekend. An 'epic' shot, according to O!

15!

Its rather late and I really need to get to sleep.. but I had to sneak in a little post about Bren. It's our 15 year anniversary today. FIFTEEN YEARS since we said "I do".
This is a big milestone and we have a lot to celebrate.
We are both very much 'the same' as we were the day we were married - Bren is as laid back, easy going, and kind hearted as he's always been. And he never stops being so much fun!

At the same time, we're both very different people from who we were on our wedding day.. kids'll do that to you! Actually, its a lot more than having a family that has changed us.. but that is perhaps another post.

For now, a few photos of my wonderful husband:


(with a very ugly fish likely caught in the Red River.. with his beautiful daughter at Auntie Lisa's wedding... and with Linda Pauls and Monty Hall at a Variety event) (quite a random assortment, I know.. as I said.. its LATE!)

Who, being loved, is poor?
-- Oscar Wilde

As I think about these 15 years, the reminder to LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE, AND LEARN comes to mind. Doesn't that sum up the journey? We have lived through many wonderful seasons, we laugh til we cry often, love really HAS held it all together, and the learning never stops.

holiday pics

Couldn't resist putting some photos of our holiday on ... I only have one of our cameras, though, since one stayed with Syd who promptly used up all the room available at the Jonas Brothers Concert in Winnipeg on Sunday night! She had seats that were PRIME (thanks Uncle Jon) and had a great time going with Auntie Karen.


Cousins sharing guitar knowledge. Brad can now play 'the Final Countdown'.
The general craziness of a shared meal!


I AM Canadian.

Naw, I don't look like Daddy at all.

Lisa is always the Gourmet Breakfast Cook. This year's offering: French Toast with Brie and White Chocolate.

Four amazing husbands!

A little sniper action from the roof. Getting down was somewhat of a problem, though... :)

Our little girl on her last day of elementary school. Honestly, how is this possible?!?!?

Just one more non-vacation shot; Fathers Day lunch at Venice House. We laughed and acted a little silly this day, good times! On Mother's Day, we make charts, plan for the future, and evaluate our family priorities. On Father's Day we have food fights in public. That sums up our family dynamics!!