Umbrella etiquette

I live in a rain forest, the West Coast of Canada.  8 months of the year it rains.  I've embraced the rain.  I've bought fun rubber rain boots to stomp in puddles, a bright green all weather jacket to keep me warm and dry, and a funky hat.  What I don't have is an umbrella.  That is because I'm usually pushing a stroller and/or holding little hands as we walk.  So, I'm usually soaked after a walk to preschool or work or shopping.

What I don't understand is the folks who HAVE umbrellas and their incessant need to also walk under the store awnings...thus forcing me, the umbrella-less one, to walk out in the rain.  Do they not understand the concept of umbrellas???  That if they step out into the rain, they will not get wet because of the aforementioned umbrella?

Umbrella etiquette people.  Seriously!

I think that I am extra grumpy about this because it is mid May and I am soaked to the skin slogging to preschool and back.

Spring, oh Spring

Wherefore art thou Spring?

Signs of blessings...

Muffins made with love and little hands, served to me in bed...

Books to read for me and books to read to little girls as gifts...

A husband that made it all happen...

Flowers from my youth...

Dinner with my mom...

It was a beautiful day.

Signs of mourning

People grieve in different ways.  Some hold it all in, others let it all hang out.  Some seek to comfort in the midst of their own grieving, others lash out.  It has been interesting to me to see how my decision to leave has affected so many people.  The reactions have been varied.  Some have been hurtful, people questioning our decision making skills, making disparaging comments about my ministry and casting doubt on my ability to adjust to "life outside of this community."  Some reactions have been heart wrenching, seeing the front row of my youth sobbing during the announcement.

But, today I was blessed by 2 women who I considered friends and mentors.  They are beautiful, intelligent women, who have a passion for life and ministry.  They sat with me in a coffee shop and just listened.  They heard what I had to say, they saw the struggle it was to make the decision and they affirmed me.  Ute reminded me that as mothers we can go through seasons of ministry depending on the needs of our families.  And that it is OK to let go and realize that I may be in a different season of ministry.  That meant a lot since her 2 sons are in my youth group!  It also made me realize that I've been a pastor for 9 years, and it has shaped me in so many ways.  I think part of my mourning may be the letting go of that "title" (which really means nothing to me in the whole grand scheme of things...but still is part of me like being "Pookie & Bear's mom...does that make sense?)

This should be an interesting few weeks!

Big changes afoot...

I don't even know how to start this post.  This has been the craziest month of my life and I am exhausted and very emotional about it.  The long and short of the matter is that I've resigned from being a pastor and we are moving out of our city to the suburbs.  There is no ONE reason that we are doing this, (though people keep trying to pin me down to one) it is a whole host of things:

• It is family and marriage, 
• work and play, 
• extended family and friends, 
• church and ministry, 
• camp and responsibilities
  
• new job and school dreams

See?  It is so simple...

My family longs for space and green, a new place to worship and connect with community, to be closer to grandparents etc.  I long for space and green, but I love my church and my ministry.  I love my community.  And it is tearing me up to leave.  But it is time.  Our season here is done.  12 years.  There IS joy mingled with sorrow.  We are moving to a good place, a bigger home near family and good friends.  Pookie will be going to a good school, and Bear will start preschool near us.  There is goodness in the move.  But first I need to mourn.

An update

Sorry for being missing in action.  Allow me to present the ever popular bullet point list of what has been happening these last weeks:

• Spring cleaning and de-cluttering.  This is so good for my soul.  I think I could live with less stuff.  
• Finishing all those little projects that we started when we first got the apartment. Patching, painting, closet doors.
• Sorting through the masses of clothes that the girls own.  It is ridiculous how much they have.
• Deep and profound conversations with Hubby.  I think that we are starting to really hear each other and develop some core values for our family.
• The ever-present job of mothering 2 highly active little girls
• 3 day trip all over Alberta.  The highlight was seeing a good friend and her 4 kids!
• Work and all that involves

I promise to post more around some big changes that are coming down the pipe for our family.  Stay tuned for that post this Saturday!  Till then, for those of you who read and know what those changes are, please don't comment on them.  Just pray!

Photography

I love taking pictures. I especially love taking pictures of the girls. What I'm not good at is printing the pictures and putting them into an album. The digital age of photography is great, but I have thousands (no exaggerating here) of pictures and less than 200 in print. This year I decided to print 12 pictures each month and stick them in an album. It's April. No pictures yet.

And I'm still wary of putting pictures of the girls on this site. I think I'm being a bit over cautious, but I haven't gotten over it yet, so I'm trying to take creative shots that don't reveal all of them...which is fun. Here are some shots from a recent getaway to the Sunshine Coast.

The view from our cabin

Hubby's creation

Pookie building a rock tower

Rocks and water at Hard-to-come-by Bay

****Literally, 2 minutes after I posted this, I got a creepy comment from an unknown person! This is why I don't post pictures of the girls!!!!****

Night Hike

I just got back from an amazing night hike with some of my youth. We headed up to the North Shore's Deep Cove and ended up on this great lookout that overlooked the river and city. The best part of this hike was that it was fully organized by one of my youth.

I've been teaching my youth that we are all uniquely wired to interact, encounter and worship God. Which is why Sunday mornings in a pew don't always float some peoples' boat...you aren't wired to worship that way. Luke is wired to engage God in nature. His mom is the same way and actually inspired a doctoral thesis which turned into a book called 'What's your God language'. The first Friday night of every month has been an exploration of worshipping in different ways. We've done prayer and quiet reflections, singing, playing crazy games and sharing a feast around a table. It has been so encouraging to see these teenagers try and figure out where they encounter God and how to incorporate that into their lives. The last 2 Fridays have been run by youth that are excited to share with the others how they see God. Luke had planned the hike, found verses that he shared along the hike and just taught us how he walks and how he sees God in creation. For some inner city teenagers, that is some good stuff!

I love my job.

FYI: For those that know the saga of the Achilles...it did pretty good on the hike. Feel strong and stable.
My lungs, however, begged to be torn out of my chest and laid to rest on the side of the trail!