family weekend in Hope

Well it seems the autumn deluge has started. It's pouring rain this morning and to top it off we're headed to a funeral. But, what a wonderful sunny weekend we had in Hope. It was the four of us plus my nephew Noah who was staying with us for a few days. It was also Pentti's 50th birthday. He didn't want to celebrate at all, but he did want to spend it in Hope. He went golfing with the boys three times, so that was a gift. Otherwise, we just hung out and relaxed.

I can't believe that we have had the house in Hope for 20 years! Twenty years of weekend trips and so many memories. When the kids were small, it was the easiest place to get away. There were seasons of toys and a bouncy castle and playing in the yard. Now, our weekends there look very different with teens. Our noisy weeekends have turned very quiet. But we're together and doing our usual things and it's still the perfect escape.

September

September is a lot. I complain about it every year lol....It's still exhausting and I feel like I have been hit by a truck. But, here's a few of the highlights...

It's national forest week, so we spent a lot of time outside with my class looking for patterns, making nature art and looking for signs of fall.

 It was meet the teacher and the walkathon and just an overwhelming amount of time spent at school. But, I was with my favourite co-workers and we even accidentally dressed alike. The kids made Minecraft self portraits which obviously made me teacher of the year for planning such an activity, lol. We also talked a lot about courage and trying new things and it was actually a pretty good start to the year.

Discovered a new cafe with delicious coffee, went out for Indian food and nachos with friends. All in all, it's been a better September than most. I realize it's not over yet, but we are headed to Hope tonight and I don't work again until October, so I'm calling it.

Be Still

Theologian Dallas Willard was once asked if he could describe Jesus in one word. His answer might surprise you. He answered, "relaxed". When I first read that, I thought it was such a weird answer and surely it wasn't true. But then when I started to think about it more deeply, it fits. Jesus was never in a rush. He waited thirtyish years to start His ministry. He was always fully present wherever he was. He moved with purpose. He had time for people. He took naps in storms and welcomed children. He fully trusted God and that allowed him to relax.

I would like to be relaxed too. I would like to take a long deep breath and release all the stress, the worry, the anxiety, the fear....and just be still and know that He is God. I am going to start by taking social media off my phone for awhile ....

Numbers

Women's Bible study at my church resumed last week. There are 130 women registered between the Tuesday morning and Wednesday evening sessions. Wow! Today was day 2. We are studying the book of Numbers in the Old Testament. Sounds rather dry, right? You could not be more wrong. Already from the first chapters we can see God, how he creates order out of chaos, how he has a plan, how he keeps his promises....I could go on.

I really appreciate the discussions we have in our table groups. Every term the group of ladies changes but what stays the same is their commitment to study God's word deeply. They do their homework faithfully, they come prepared. What a blessing Tuesday mornings are to me.

Quebec City

I went to Quebec City for the last week of summer break with my friend Serene. It was wonderful. Quebec City is beautiful and has such a lovely old world feel to it. Just wandering the cobble stone streets, popping into shops and eating outside in little cafes was so lovely. There were street musicians everywhere and they were really good. We actually stopped to listen to them! The food surprised me. It was delicious!! I did not eat a single bad meal and the atmosphere in every place, although different each time, was also great. We went to an English style pub, to the Chateau Frontenac, to several Italian restaurants and of course multiple cafes for coffee and pastries. We wandered the historical sites, we shopped and we relaxed. It was a great way to end summer 2025.

Marina

My posts for the last six weeks are going to be completely out of order chronologically because I have so much to write about and I don't feel like starting at the beginning, lol. I am not even sure whether all of it will end up being published. I currently have 48 drafts in my blog account, so maybe not. We'll see.

Anyway, Marina, Matias and Sarah came to stay with us in the middle of August. We had such a good time and I love spending time with my granddaughter! She was doing the cute worm crawl where she'd pull her body along the ground. She reminds me so much of Matias and of course makes me ask that old lady question of where has the time gone? I was reminded of those times when we had a baby and leaving the house was carefully timed between naps. When you had to maximize your time out between juggling naps and feedings. When leaving was never quick, and you had to bring so much stuff and just when you were ready, the baby pooped or threw up. I sympatized with Matias and Sarah since they are currently in that stage of life. Anyway, we did manage to go out for dinner to The Keg as a family and it was a lovely way to celebrate Pentti and my 26th anniversary at the same time.

Azim

Azim was my sister's father in law. He was diagnosed with cancer last month and he passed away this week. I don't know how that happens and I have serious misgivings about our medical system. But, that's not what I want to write about.

Azim was such a warm, friendly guy. As extended family, we met up at many family gatherings. He was always interested in others, asking questions and genuinely engaging with people. In many ways he was very similar to my father and they got along great. They were both engineers, immigrants and all about family. He too was a wonderful, fully engaged grandfather to my sister's kids. But Azim was also into food and often brought persian food to gatherings and even had some of his own special recipes. He loved soccer and was still actively playing just a few months ago. 

He will be missed, but praise God, Azim is in heaven. He became a Christian this past spring and I am confident that he is now more fully alive than ever and completely healed. He was a good, decent guy but that's not why he's in heaven. He's in heaven because he believed. And that means that this is not goodbye, but see you later.