Abbu

Montreal for a night

Abby and I have made our annual pilgrimage to Mecca....

Last December we came to a hockey practice at the Bell Centre....

Today we came to Montreal to watch the new movie about the Montreal Canadiens...

It will be released on December 4th but they are premiering the movie tonight at the Bell Centre...

We are soo excited!!

we have an hour and 50 minutes to get there...... we're gonna leave now....... it's only 21 from the hotel in Pointe-Claire... but we don't want to be late!!!

Don't waste it....

do you ever wonder ... when you're going through something horrid... WHY you have to go through that kind of muck??

me too!

Back in 2000, I had the deepest darkest walk through life that I have ever had...
before or since....

Interestingly, the thing I wanted most during that time, was for someone to be able to look me in the eye and say.. ." I know how you feel"

but for whatever reason, nobody could....

I vowed, if I ever got to the other side of the crap, to spend my life sharing those very words.....

"I know how you feel"

someone shared these verses with me a while back... that brought it all into perspective:

II Corinthians 1:3 & 4

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,

⁴who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God



I feel like I've been to the edge.....and back.... But I can honestly say that I'm not there any more....

and I'm committed now more than ever.... to not waste that experience....

Maybe you've been to the edge....maybe you're at the edge....

know this... that somewhere, somebody knows how you feel...

Tomorrow will be better....

Don't waste the trip

Rainy Days....

Today is a nasty rainy day....

I'm sitting in a hotel room in Huntsville... soaked to the skin from inspecting in the pouring rain...

I got home.... and saw this cartoon and cracked right up.....

so maybe it's rainy outside...

but it's sunny in here!!!

H1N1 Vaccine....

so................... I got the H1N1 vaccine.......








They promised there would be no side effects....





so far so good.....

Toronto

I inspected in Toronto today... I had a late afternoon appointment.....

Traffic was NOT my friend today....

the GPS told me.... that the trip north from Gardiner up Avenue Road... would take 6 minutes...

The GPS was wrong....

and since, with this new hands free law, I couldn't use my PHONE to , you know... pass the time... or maybe call the client and explain why I was late, I had to just sit there patiently and drive...

In order to pass the time, I resorted back to my old pattern of behaviour....

I took pictures out my sun roof !! Hands free of course !!!

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

My Dad.....

son of a store keeper and a teacher....

raised in Bury, Quebec......

then moved to Cookshire, lived on a dairy farm...

grew up delivering milk with a horse and buggy!

Married in 1962.....Lived in Montreal til mid 1963..... then moved to Randboro.....

Moved to Belleville in 1977 and is still there!!

a dad to 3 kids and papa to 8 grandchildren.... loving doting (obedient ) husband to my mom!

my dad.... a farm boy.... an auctioneer .... an insurance broker..

my dad.... and my friend!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Save me a seat at the table

I have been soaking up a lot of music this week..... Dad bought me the webcast of the National Quartet Convention... and I have had it on every evening from 6 pm til almost midnight every night since Monday....

I can't even begin to tell you how it has touched me this week....
maybe this story will show you.....

tonight a group that is not usually one of my favourite groups, closed the evening program. It was almost midnight when they walked onto the stage.

I was about to shut the computer off and go to bed... and then thought... well I've waited til now, I might as well finish.....

I'd heard them sing Monday night.... noticeably absent was their bass singer...Jeremy LileHonestly, the only reason I noticed was because one of my favourite bass singers ( Jeff Chapman ) was filling in for him.

They explained that Jeremy was at home ... his dad was on his death bed, and they felt it was a matter of hours....

That was Monday.

I honestly never thought about it again... until tonight... when the same group took the stage... Jeremy Lile was back with the group....

Incredibly...

His dad passed away on Wednesday..... the funeral was today.....

In spite of the fact that he'd been told he was free take as much time as he needed,
as soon as the grave side service was over, Jeremy and his wife drove all the way to Louisville Kentucky.... They arrived 45 minutes before taking the stage....

In the midts of all of that, they featured Jeremy on a solo song...

the sound of his voice.... the sadness in his eyes..... and the powerful message of the words... will show you why I love this music....

Listen to these words:

I picture you there where you wanted to be

Finding your chair and then taking your seat

At the table where the Marriage Supper is about to begin…

I imagine the banquet that’s waiting up there

That the saints of all ages together will share

How I dream of that moment when I’ll finally see you again

Chorus

And I know there’ll be millions of millions who’ve gone on before

And together we’ll sit down to feast with our Saviour and Lord

And I know you will be there looking for me

And I believe that somehow if you’re able….

You will save me a seat, right next to you, at the table

I’d love to be sitting right by your side

Holding your hand when the Bride Groom arrives

And then standing to our feet to worship as Jesus appears

I imagine our voices and sweet harmony

As we join in the chorus with all the redeemed

How the thought of forever helps me live life without you down here

And I know there’ll be millions of millions who’ve gone on before

And together we’ll sit down to feast with our Saviour and Lord

And I know you will be there looking for me

And I believe that somehow if you’re able….

You will save me a seat, right next to you, at the table

Please save me a seat, right next to you, at the table.

Listen to the song HERE

sigh.

just some pictures.....

Coping with heat and Traffic

so how do you cope ..... in a traffic jam..... with a car that has no air conditioning???

Airing Dirty Laundry.....

I don't normally air dirty laundry...... in fact, almost never!!

But I do enjoy when others do !!!!






















Taylor spotted this sign on the way home from the Jays game Sunday

it made us laugh!!!

Sweet Sixteen - Happy Birthday Abby !!!

Sixteen years ago today…

T’was Nineteen Ninety Three….

A precious gift arrived to us…

Your mother… yes, and me…

Twas such a tiny gift, you know

All cradled in my hand….

That God could make this tiny thing.

A precious baby grande.

Amazes me, e’en to this day;

How wonderful God’s plan

For on that day so long ago

Your precious life began.

A little sister, you became

For Anna, and T-Mac…

and oh the joy you brought us…

sigh

my memories go way back….

We named you Abby, that’s not news!

But let me clarify….

I’ll try to not be shallow

As I share the reason why!!

We saw it in a movie…

Goodness gracious, that’s so lame!

Cause giving names to babies

Surely’s not a silly GAME!

But really it was not

a shallow game we played that day….

Because the meaning of your name

Lives out in you each day!

For God knew then ,and we know now,

Just why we chose your name….

Twas not a movie star or theme

Though special just the same…

It’s who you are.... Miss Abbigail

You ARE who you are named…

You are a “Source of Joy,” you know

And this I’ve oft proclaimed.

You’ve often been the glue that kept

This fam-i-ly intact

Its hard to think you’re able

Since some think you’re just plain CRACKED!

But know this, on your special day

How much to us you mean

You are a special source of joy!

My baby….Sweet Sixteen!

I love you Tigger,

When You Come Home

When You Come Home
By Mark Schultz



My first day of recess
They all laughed at me
When I fell off the swing set
And scraped up my knee

The nurse called my Momma
To say I'd be late,
And when she gave me the phone
I could hear Momma say
"I'm so sorry, son.
Oh I think you're' so brave"

And she was smilin when she said:

When you come home,
No matter how far,
Run through the door
And into my arms
It's where you are loved,
It's where you belong
And I will be here
When you come home

I waved good-bye through the window
As I boarded the plane,
My first job in Houston
Was waiting for me

I found a letter from Momma
Tucked in my coat
And as I flew down the runway
I smiled when she wrote:
I'll miss you, son,
You'll be so far away

But I'll be waiting for the day

When you come home
No matter how far,
Run through the door
And into my arms
It's where you are loved,
It's where you belong,
And I will be here
When you come home

Well, I don't think
She can hear you now,
The doctor told me
Your mother is fading,
It's best that you leave

So I whispered,
I love you
And then turned away.
But I stopped at the door
When I heard Momma say,
I love you, son,
But they're callin me away

Promise me before I go

When you come home,
No matter how far,
Run through the door
And into my arms;
It's where you are loved,
It's where you belong,
And I will be here
When you come home,
When you come home


you can hear the song here

eeny meeny miney mo

For the last 5 years, I've bounced back and forth between two places...... home is a rented townhouse in Brantford...... WORK is either a room/board in Peterborough... or my parents in Belleville and sometimes my sister's house in Oshawa......

some Friday nights..... I am torn as to where I'll go home to.....

Every other weekend, I spend with my kids, so that one is a no brainer.... I head home.

But on the off weekends, sometimes I have farm appointments booked for the Saturdays.... and sometimes I just stay at my folks house and do paperwork from their basement....

Often, I don't fully decide where I'm gonna go until I've reached my last stop for the day.....

and when I get back into my car, I have to choose:

do I go back to Belleville..... or do I fight Toronto traffic on a Friday night and go to Brantford....

I usually let the GPS decide.... which ever is the shortest trip, that's what I pick.....


Friday night, my last stop was a farm at the North end of Pickering....... I wasn't sure whether I'd fight Toronto traffic and go to Brantford, or just go back to Belleville, sleep there and go home Saturday.......

so I did what I always do..... checked the GPS ...... Here's how helpful it was............




The Trip To Brantford :

I'd arrive home at 8:23 PM

The trip would take 1 hour & 51 minutes....

Total Distance - 155 kms





The Trip To Belleville :

I'd arrive there 8:28 PM

Trip would take 1 hour & 56 minutes....
Total Distance - 155 kms....




no REALLY!!!!!