Rose

Today was a good mail day.  We got a flyer for industrial kitchen equiptment, which is always a good read for the hubby.  We got a magazine about Adoption, which is a good read for both of us; we got a letter from my parents, and we got a letter from one of our sponsored children in India.  No bills and no junk mail!  Sweet! 

Z was "playing hockey" in the backyard while I sat on the back step and looked through the mail.  I opened the letter from our sponsored child, and read the translatation of her note on the bottom of the blue page. 

   "Dear David and Shawn,
       Thank you for sending me a beautiful sticker and such a beautiful photo.  I have no sister or brother, but
       my brother Z is very handsome... God bless you, I love you.
                 From Rose... "

I burst into tears.  Z didn`t know what to do, so he burst into tears as well and then it was just a big cry-fest on the muddy step of our house.  Then, as if on que, the lady who had called to buy our exersize bike showed up early, and so I had to make up some excuse for why I was crying like a lunatic in my back yard.   
My heart longs to make my son a brother.  I pray every day that the Lord will send him a sibling to be in his life forever.  Sometimes the empty rooms in our house make me weak with sorrow, and seeing him playing alone in the backyard makes me sob into the pancake batter (we eat a lot of pancakes).

"my brother Z is very handsome...".  In my last letter to her, I told Rose that we think of her as our Spiritual daughter, and even though we might not meet her until Heaven, we love her and we hope that will do well in school and serve Jesus with her life.  Her letter touched my heart so deeply, that she would respond with such love for us, and for the little brother she doesn`t know.  Her words bring me comfort, in the depths of my soul, that regardless of what happens to us or if Z ever becomes a brother, that one day in Heaven he will be united with his older sister... and I will be united with my daughter. 

She has black hair and brown eyes, he has blond hair and blue eyes.  They are not related, yet in Christ, they are siblings.  She might never be in my arms, but she is in my heart.  Blessed be the Name of the Lord, for using a letter from India to remind me that I have not only a son, but also a daughter in Christ.  Praise the Lord.

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8 NIV

Z and a friend check out the ducks in our backyard

There are lots of children looking for sponsorship through Gospel for Asia`s Bridge of Hope program.  Check out the website at www.gfa.ca. 

Too much stuff!

One of the goals we have for this move, is to leave for YWAM without baggage.  We came to Homewood with a 17`truck of all our STUFF!  Where did it all come from?  I started going through our home in December, and weeding our the unused junk from the closets and cupboards.  As time goes on, we`re getting down to the stuff that we use more frequently, and having to make decisions about what of our household possessions are actually "priceless".

I`ve been finding it interesting to see the items that I struggle to part with.  Ugly Mexico vase... I don`t even like it, but I struggled because of the memory of when we`d bought it!  I hid it from myself in a box of clothes and gave it away without another thought.  My Star Wars book collection... oh, man, the emotions of getting rid of those!  Gotta have my Obi-Wan Kenobi!  Of course, the hardest items have been the baby stuff, thankfully it`s all been given to close friends so I know it`s going to good use.  I condensed Zane`s baby clothes down to one box, plus a box of his newborn cloth diapers... which I can`t even look at without crying... so clearly I`m not ready to part with them.  Other hard items that were difficult to decide about have been books we were saving for when Zane was older, but we`ve condensed them to a nice stack of Dave and I`s absolute favorites.  Pippi Longstocking is in that stack, of course.  

We bought six large blue Rubbermade tubs, and our plan is to keep only what fits in those tubs.  Ambitious, even for us... since to date, this will be our third time to "get rid of everything"... but, heck, everybody`s gotta have a hobby.  

Our hallway, lined with boxes of sorted items:  stuff to be sold, given away, and some to be put in the totes and stored.  

 

A Visit from Moma

A beautiful spring day on Quadra

My Mom came for a visit this week, and of course the first thing I did was put her to work.  I told her I needed some "help" to make a new skirt.  I`ve been trying to wear skirts every day lately, but I`ve only got a few, so I wanted a couple more so I`d have better selection.  Mom knew exactly what "helping" would mean, so in only an afternoon she had put together two beautiful (okay, one beautiful, one crazy) skirts while I did everything else around the house... and basically avoided the sewing machine.  Oh, my dear Mother... at least she knew what she was getting into when she came to visit me. 

Z watches his step on the rocky beach

Me and my Mom

  


On the sunniest day of her visit we decided to go and walk along the water by the lighthouse.  It was a beautiful day and we had a nice time.  Z hadn`t had a nap, so we spent part of the walk trying to get him to sleep, but after half an hour of him crying, "Z walk... Z walk!"... we let him walk and all was well with the world again.  haha.. 

Z very pleased with his walking stick.  :) 

We all had a wonderful time with Moma here, going for lots of walks around the loop, making skirts, and going to see the lighthouse... sure makes my life easier having my Mom here!  Thanks for coming to visit Moma!  We love you!  

 

 

Snapshot of 2013 so far...

Dave and his Dad out on the water

 

    This year began with my family here for Christmas, and then a visit from Dave`s parent`s.  We made the decision in early December that we will be leaving Homewood in August and going to YWAM in California to do a Discipleship Training School.  It was good to spend time with both our families over January and February, knowing that we might be very far away by next Christmas season. 

Nova and Crest

    Our ducks started laying eggs!  We were so excited to have been able to keep them alive (a hard job for city folk like us), and see all our farming actually result in yummy food to eat!  They both lay about an egg a day, and we use them in baking.  The ducks are very gentle and make great pets.  See, I told you we were country hicks!  

Dave`s Birthday Coffee Time!  :) 

 

    Z`s birthday was spent with family and he was given more cars and toys than he knows what to do with!  :)  Yay for grammas! 
  

Our beautiful island, photo taken during a hike. 

      Z was given his first "board game" for Christmas, and Daddy has been very happy to help him start a love for board games.  Mommy is not quite as sure... but at least he`s not old enough to play "Settlers"...   haha...

     Z`s been napping a lot these days, so I`ve re-started my hobby of creative writing.  I finished a story: 26,000 words!  Woot woot! 

   Other hobbies include house cleaning and my Rosetta Stone language course, Latin American Spanish. 

         
        Z enjoyed the cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Mom and Dad`s anniversary (also Mom`s birthday!)... unfortunatly, I was sick for my entire birthday month... so we will have no photos of that special day.  Thankfully, this cute photo of Z is better, wearing his "hockey bib" (shhh... don`t tell him the Lions don`t play hockey.) 

Spring is almost here!!!! 

Hello folks, Welcome to the Dave and Shawn show

     Anyone who has known Dave and I for more than a couple minutes knows how hard we are to keep track of.  We`ve been working here at Camp Homewood for the past year and a half, so maybe we`re slowing down... but before that it was a bit of a whirlwind trying to keep your address books updated. 

   We want to keep in touch with you all, and let you be part of our life!  That`s where this blog comes in.  Now mind you, I`ve had good intentions for starting a blog many a time.  Before we moved to Homewood I set myself up with a blog called "City Girl on Quadra"... not a single post.  I went through my entire transformation into a country hick and didn`t post about any of it.  Well it`s time to keep you all better informed I think!  The plan for this blog is to write at least once a week and let you know what we`re up to.  Hope you enjoy reading!  :)  

    So as Dave and I always say:  (insert fake English accent)
 
    Hello Folks, Welcome to the Dave and Shawn show!