Fall Field Trip

  Hello ~ How are you? It is mid January and here there is STILL SNOW which is pretty much unheard of in these parts. Many of the roads have had thick ice covering them for a while and the sun shines in my window every day. It is so cold outside but so beautiful. My two year old was up with his first flue last night. It was pretty horrible. My house is a construction zone both upstairs and down. Today my house was filled with exhaust from 8am till about 7pm from a loud saw motor. It is starting to get me down. So tonight I thought I'd share some pictures with you from a little family field trip we took in the fall.  My husband, children and my two middle children's teacher all went. Their teacher planned the field trip. It was amazing. We drove out to a tiny, almost forgotten town, in our province that used to be such an important town. I felt myself trying to hold onto that for a moment...everything can change so quickly. When all the adventurers and explorers and workers filled that town living along the river in tents, I doubt they could imagine that one day it would be almost a ghost town. A town that you have to slow down on the highway to drive through but even with the slowing down you only take seconds to pass through it.
  The train goes right through the middle of the town. We were at their museum and it thundered right beside us quite often. Anyway I wont write much else because I have had little sleep and I cant think well but I hope you enjoy the pictures and get a good idea of what we did while we were there. Have a lovely rest of your weekend.

A Little Summertime Memory

   I have a husband with a very bright busy mind and so he is always thinking. Sometimes the thoughts he thinks gets him things and one of those times it got him a boat! He was working for a restoration company that restored buildings after any sort of disaster. This one time a cabin on a lake was damaged by trees falling on it and this cabin was only accessible by way of water. It was hard, near impossible, to rent a boat that would allow its' use to be one of construction tools and equipment hauling so...my husband did a bit of research and figured out what it would cost to rent a boat out for the amount of time it would be needed and then approached his company. He proposed he buy a boat and he would rent it to them. They agreed. He bought a boat for the amount he would receive to rent it out to his company and we all of a sudden had a good sized speed boat.
  Through my growing up years my grandpa had a sail boat he took us out on whenever he could and we were used to going out on this one lake. Naturally we gravitated to this lake when we took the speed boat out. Speed boat. Have you ever been on one? One that is quite big? Well I never had.
  It was a shock. It went to fast, it was so loud, the wind was so strong and I felt like my bones were being jarred out of my body. So SO vastly different then sailing across the water. We had it for a summer. Maybe we will sound really spoiled and it is probably because we are, but we didn't keep the boat. The destinations were exquisite and beautiful but the GETTING TO the destinations was so far from enjoyable that deep down we knew it was just not for us. So we sold the boat.
  However, it is wonderful outside right now. Winter wonderland. There are people cross country skiing in the field across the road from us as I write and earlier there were children sliding down the small hill in the field. I love it a lot, but today I wish I was on the lake in grandpa's sail boat. I don't know why but I do. The vastness of the water. The wind in the sails. The heat of the sun but cool of the breeze and the list goes on.... Here are some pictures from one of our speed boat adventures just to give you a taste of why we love that lake so much.

One of the islands has this waterfall my grandpa used to take us to to play and there was a cabin someone set on fire causing a major fire on the island. We went to explore.

I hope your January is going well so far. It is the the 9th already! The year is going to fly by. Each day holds promise and opportunities. Have a great  rest of your Monday.
Love Tansy

Dawn

   My house is filled with golden light. The wood paneled walls look warm and illuminated. I am so thankful for natural light. Today it gives me strength and hope. Last night the wind screamed around our home. I lay awake terrified. It was weird because I have not felt like that for a long time but I was so scared. It howled and screamed and crashed and I think I was worried a tree was going to fall on our house or just something bad was going to happen. The baby was up crying and could not seem to swallow properly. I could not see sores in his mouth and so I am assuming his throat is sore. My little six year old was up because of the wind and because she is getting a cold sore, and then at around three in the morning (I had already been up since at least two but not really gotten sleep before that either) my nine year old started vomiting. The first night we moved in this house the vomiting started with my six year old and through the weeks we have been here everyone but the baby and I and my sister have vomited. I have fought it tooth and nail but have still been sick (I just dont throw up easily) but no one was as sick as my son is right now in that department. His dad was carrying him to the bathroom as he couldn't make it there himself and I have been doing laundry and doing laundry and now the dark of night is gone. He is still so sick but the vomiting has subsided in intensity so he can rest for longer stretches. The baby seems to be in not as much pain and my parents are coming with groceries because my fridge is pretty empty and I no flue fighting hydrating supplies. This is the reality of being a mother and the more harsher reality. However I am so thankful today that it is not pouring rain. The sun is shining, the snow is being blown around shimmering and whirling in the light. A far off weeping willow tree dances in the wind and tall old trees bow in honor of the power of the wind but stand strong, roots buried deep. I want roots buried deep. I will not let everything that is howling around us right now physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally to break me. I will bend yes, my shoulders hunched, my eyes red with tiredness but I have weathered far stronger storms and onwards and upwards I will go forward today.
I hope you have a lovely day
xo

Happy New Year ~ 2017!!

  What is hope that fills your heart and lights up your soul - that keeps your soul flame burning? What is your hope? Everyone in some way shape or form finds the gift of hope given from different things. Sometimes it is that perfect cup of coffee, or the smile of a stranger, the light of a candle on a dark day, a gift from a dear friend that is totally perfect for you, sometimes it is the blue sky or a moment of beauty that sears you deeply, feeling truly loved, feeling safe, accepted and known. Hope is vital to life. Without hope we perish and it is visible in our eyes, the windows of our souls when this death is taking place. There have been times in my life where I felt that things were bleak and my outlook held very little hope. I was joking to my sister just the other day about how if she needed advice about cancer, miscarriage, children with special needs, adoption, marital issues, attachment issues, loss and grief...I had her covered and we laughed.. but it reminded me that there were so many hours I felt void of color. I felt so dark inside and dead and so very sad and it was awful.
  Right now in my life that is not the case. I feel like I am rising from ashes and it has been such a slow process. I am resting more easily inside, the anxiety doesn't grip quite as intensely and I feel like I am laughing more. I don't want to take this forgranted. I have no idea what this next year will hold. I usually dread what another year holds. I don't feel prepared for all the challenges and needs but as this new year arrives I am trying to focus on just today. I hope as this next year starts for you no matter where you are at in your life ~  that whether you are brimming with hope or there is just the tiniest seed buried deep ~ that this year will bless you with good. That the surprises, the challenges, the dark and light will not see you overwhelmed and hopeless. May the peace that passes all understanding guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.
God bless you and Happy New Year xo Tansy