Though
there is a bit of Christmas baking still kickin' around, the tree is long since
down, the stockings are put away and the University kids are back home, eagerly
awaiting classes tomorrow (am I right Cam? Car?). I always look forward to
their arrival and the little ones count down the days......and then the time
comes for them to leave, and I'm okay with that too! As a parent of children
ranging in age from almost 5 to 25, I have learned that it is great when they
come and great when they go, too. They are where they need to be, doing
what they need to do and I`m just fine with that.
We
celebrated New Year's 2012 in Florida. Eleven of us left Boxing Day and for 2
days in 3 vehicles, made the journey to Kissimmee. We had decided we were not
doing Disney, so there was time to enjoy our resort facilities, complete with
ice cream sundaes, poolside. We all had a blast at the amusement park in
Old Town where we had our pictures done "gangster style". Gatorland
was a hit, particularly for Declan and Rhys who loved seeing and hearing about
those ugly monsters. Meagan and I took the youngest three to the largest
petting zoo EVER, complete with pony, wagon and train rides; Tess and Rhys even
had a turn milking a real cow and they each got a stuffed toy when we left. Meagan, Alex and I enjoyed a day trip to St.
Petersburg too. Fun was had by all. A few years ago we added to our Christmas
tradition by taking time to stop and to encourage and speak into the
lives of one another and our evenings were spent doing just that. I so look
forward to these times and as the family grows, so does that time together and
that, for me, is better than any gift I may unwrap.
January
was relatively quiet, even in our house. We did celebrate with our friend and
daughter-from-another-mother&father, Alex, when she made the decision
to be baptized. Little did I know that her mom, Sandy, and brother,
Aaron would follow her lead and be spontaneously baptized. It was a beautiful
celebration of the decision each had made, and a beautiful memory for them to
share together.
We
celebrated Tess' birthday in February where dresses were the gift of the day,
much to her delight and a week later, on February 11, Noah and Casey announced
their engagement which meant TWO weddings for our family in 2012! We welcomed
Buhle to our family when she and Ben married on July 27. If I had to describe
their wedding ceremony in one word, it would be Holy. It was beautiful, she was
beautiful, and he was beautiful. Okay, so two words! It was indeed a celebration of
love: God's love for them, their love of him and for one another.
On
September 15 Noah and Casey were married in a beautiful outdoor ceremony
co-officiated by our dear Dan and Doug Stringer, Noah`s best friend`s father. Cam wasn`t able to join us as he was playing in a football game
against Purdue, but Brad and I caught a bit of the game online while getting our
wedding duds on. We ought to have won a "best dressed" award! Though
the big guy wasn`t there in body, he was in spirit and Casey ensured that the
green and white was well represented with the help and great photography skills
of our nephew, James. The weddings were as beautiful, unique and individual as
the people who were joined and spoke to the creativity of the One who knows each of them intimately.
Of
course with two Allison weddings, there were a myriad of showers to attend in the
spring and summer, and huge kudos to our Meagan who stood up in both weddings.
Not only did she not miss a shower, but she played a role in organizing
them as well as engagement parties. I may be a bit biased,
but you`d go a long way to find anyone as selfless as this young woman; she was
a huge support and encouragement not only to her future sisters, but also to her
brothers as she truly celebrated with them. I'm quite sure she's got her
wedding already planned. I recall several years ago someone telling me that
Meagan, as the eldest, set the standard for those that followed, and
indeed she has set a high one. She has the love and respect of not only her siblings and their
spouses, but her parents and those fortunate enough to call her friend. She is
a blessing.
Carleigh
packed up and headed to Peterborough this fall to commence another chapter in
her life. She is enjoying every aspect of University life and lives just a 10
minute bus ride to Campus. We knew that academics would not be an issue for
her, and had encouraged her to make Peterborough home. She found a church on
Campus her first Sunday in Peterborough, and has immersed herself in that
community. She attends weekly "hub" gatherings and has made some
great friends. She also has enjoyed spending time with James, Jen and the boys and we've appreciated the hospitality they've shown her. Carleigh has adapted very well and has certainly matured during her 3
plus months away, something we all noticed, but it is her spiritual growth that stands out
most. The teenager who once struggled with what to say to encourage a sibling
does no longer, and it was great to hear her encouraging her siblings. I'm very thankful for all God is doing in her.
Declan
is 8 and has had a love of all things reptilian. In the Spring he
adopted 4 baby, painted turtles that Brad found outside the house in Manotick.
Alex set him up with an aquarium and all of the right "stuff". When someone
came to the house, he'd take them to see his little turtles and tell them all
they wanted to know, and didn't want to know, about painted turtles. Much to
Declan's dismay, one of the turtles eventually got sick and died which caused our boy to question whether or not he was a good enough turtle parent. Ultimately he
came to his own decision to release the remaining three, so it was with tears in his
eyes he took his 'lil buddies to a nearby pond
and with the owner's permission, released his friends. He was quiet about it for a
long while, but has more recently started mentioning that he'd like another
pet. "Maybe a lizard" or some such thing. Declan is an amazing mixture; bright,
expressive and loving to those of his choosing; quiet, shy and reserved with newbies. I can't approach the child
without him telling me he loves me and giving me a "Declan hug" which
is somewhat reminiscent of big brother Ben's hugs when he was his age. Declan's
most recent passion is art; he is a self-proclaimed artist. I'll let you know
how that goes.
Rhys,
whom we lovingly refer to as "Eeyore" in his absence is the most sensitive of the
youngest three. At times our boy seems to carry the weight of the world
on his wee brow, particularly when his desire to play on an electronic device
is met with a negative response. He
enjoys theological discussions with his younger siblings and loves to pray....
and he is THE very best pray-er;
our very own personal crying prophet! There
have been days when I've tucked the youngest three in and not had words or desire to
pray; in those times I've
been blown away by the faith and simple trust of this kid. One can
learn a thing or two from listening to the prayers of a child. Rhys gives THE best little-boy kisses, and
Carleigh will attest to that. Where Declan is shy among strangers, Rhys loves
people and will wave or say hi and talk with anyone. The
boys are allowed one hour of xbox every third day and those guidelines have been great
for Rhys. He does not need a calendar to tell him when THE day is. If you were
to ask Ben, he likely wouldn't tell you that he's been beat by Rhys while
playing xbox.
And
then there's our Tess. She's our tom-boy princess who still refers to Declan
and Rhys as "her boys". She is never wrong and therefore does not
take discipline well and apologizing is a painful thing for her. VERY painful. She is bold and has been silly enough to take her father on (and the 5 eldest siblings
gasp). She declares her love for almost every boy she meets, though I think
Casey's brother Bruce and Thomas Stringer hold top spots there. We had a service repair guy in the house and when Tess saw him asked "who is that handsome man"? In 9 years, she's going to live with one of
her sisters; they've been warned. She is eager to learn, which is odd for one
who knows it all, and has many people fooled into thinking she is just the
sweetest little thing.....I could tell you stories. Actually, she is the
sweetest little thing, but she's got another side that is not going to be
pushed around by anybody, and I will choose to be thankful for that and pray
that she learns quickly and is not terribly hurt by her own strength.
Okay,
so birthdays, engagements, weddings....there`s something else. Yes! Football
Season! We eagerly await the arrival of football season every year, having
forgotten the exhaustion of the year before. This past season we made weekend
treks to Michigan, Ohio and Indiana where some combination of our family made
it to all but one game. Though it wasn`t a winning year for
our beloved Eagles, Cam had his best season yet as a starter on the Offensive
Line and this proud Eagle fan and football mom would point out that this year
was a much tougher schedule than last. We appreciate, very much, the tough role
of a Coach and we also appreciate that Coach English does not just train his young men to play football, but he trains them to be men of character. Men who don't quit. Men who value and appreciate one another. It's difficult to lose, but we all know
that there are great lessons that are only learned in the struggle. Declan, Rhys and Tess made it to several games and always
enjoyed meeting the “big boys” when we’d head to the bus to see Cam following
an away game. We enjoyed having our nephew
James and his new bride Jen and their family join us as well as Dan and Gerry
Courteau. People taking the time and making the trip to go
to a game means a lot to Cam who only gets home a few weeks a year. Being
parents to an NCAA football playing son has been....interesting; the culture is
so different than anything we see on this side of the border, including hockey.
A perk to going to all of these games is getting to know other
parents, and though we don`t see one another off-season, I count some of these women
among my friends.
There
are a couple themes that have repeated themselves in my mind as I've been
pondering what to share, and what not to share. One is "Fresh Start" and as I've shared, we've celebrated several fresh starts this year. I'm reminded that those of us who follow Christ have an opportunity at
a fresh start every day. The second theme is "home". In July we moved
from our rented home on the river back to "The Palace" and a
"fresh start" there. Both of these have been common themes not only
in this past year, but they've echoed throughout all of our years together as a
family. We, like you I've no doubt, have known difficulty, but I have chosen to
focus on the life celebrations we've shared as a family. It is far too easy for
me to get stuck in the muck and mire of difficult circumstances, so I must
remind myself of something a wise man said when answering how he had dealt with
a particularly difficult chapter in his life. He shared this:
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Philippians 4:8 ESV
On
December 13, Brad sent the family an email with the subject line "Fresh
Start". As a family, we'd been discussing for some time a transition that
would take us back to the place we'd once called home. Both Cam and Carleigh
were born while we lived on Manitoulin; Carleigh was about 16 months old when
we left the Island, Yellowknife bound. Brad and I had been in contact with
friends and colleagues and had arranged housing; the only thing we hadn't
nailed down was a timeline. We had planned a pre-Christmas visit to the Island
and on December 14 we packed up Declan Rhys and Tess with the thought that
following that trip we'd know more and would be in a position to finalize our plan. Well, we arrived and didn't return.
"After my 'history', home is not as much about a place you belong as people you belong to. I belong here," Cross Roads by William Paul Young
Many of you know our history; some do not, but when homes change for whatever the reason, it is the people who remain. It would have been great to say goodbye face to
face; to have that last visit or that promised coffee....rather than lament what we will miss, we will choose to look at all that has transpired over the past 4 weeks, to be thankful and to think on "all that is worthy of praise". We have much to be thankful for; we are together,
in a comfortable home where we are part of a community of people we know and
have a history with. We know that though we've lived here before, we are not the same; we have brought with us
all of the experiences, good and bad, and all of the lessons learned along the way and we're anticipating our fresh start and the adventure it is sure to bring.