Category: Family

Canada Day Celebrations 2016

7/2/2016

My boys and I had a lovely day together.
A slow start to our day.
A car show. We all liked different cars.

The tractor show put on by John Deere. Had me reminiscing about days past on the farm. Had the lad asking questions. Me and dad answering them. Convinced the boys to pose for me. :)

The lad helped Sensei Peter out at a Karate Demonstration.

Went home in the afternoon so I could get some things ready for the rabbit show tomorrow. Needed to print of pedigrees and think a few things through. I have organized the youth show this year.

We went back in the evening for the fireworks of course. :) The lad was very sweet and choose to buy us all glow bracelets using his own dollars, donated to the fireworks display for next year as well.

Oh, I almost forgot.. the lad and I enjoyed some sparklers too. Took me a while to find a way to start them as the matches didn't work. But... We got them going with the help of another sparkler.

Love In Action

1/29/2015

So, life is different now.
Dad has passed on to glory.
We have seen our community reach out and love up on us.
My mom was so surprised at all the people that our lives have touched. All the people that came out...from my brothers church, from my parent's previous and current churches, from the community around mom, the staff from the nursing home, friends from my homeschool group and church, from my sister's church and it totally blew her away. And that is good you know. She felt loved.

My mom will talk to and befriend most anyone and it showed.

four generations of ladies from my family

Friends reached out and made meals for us, brought my boy a gift, donated flowers for the service, and let us know that Dad's passing affected them because they loved and cared for us too. And one knows that we are all community and built for relationship with each other. It's how God designed us don't you know? :)

The service for Dad yesterday went quite nicely. There was much family participation in the service. Pastor Ralph preached an appropriate sermon reminding people of just how important God is and how he calls us to be HIS people and in that calling changes us to be his family.

Oh I almost forgot. A friend of my parents writes poems. And she has this poem that she wrote for my mom upon my father's passing away. It's entitle The Warrior.

THE WARRIOR

GOD, IN HIS GRACIOUS TIMING WILL SET YOUR HEART AT PEACE,
HIS GENTLE, LOVING PRESENCE WILL CAUSE YOUR TEARS TO CEASE.
SURELY, THERE'S GRIEF IN PARTING, THERE'S LONELINESS AND FEAR;
BUT IN THE MIDST OF SORROW HIS COMFORT IS STILL NEAR.

YOUR LOVED ONE HAS DEPARTED, PROMOTION WAS HIS DUE;
AND THOUGH LIFE NOW SEEMS EMPTY, GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU.
THE ANGELS ARE REJOICING! BILL'S JOURNEY IS COMPLETE;
WHILE EARTH HAS LOST A WARRIOR ,HE'LL TREAD THE GOLDEN STREET.

BILL WAS A VALIANT SOLDIER HIS TRUST HELD FIRM AND STRONG;
AND THOUGH HE'S NOW PROMOTED HIS FAITH SHALL LINGER ON,
IN HEARTS THAT KNEW AND LOVED HIM THESE MEMORIES HOLD HIM DEAR;
HIS PRESENCE MAY BE ABSENT BUT HIS SPIRIT LINGERS NEAR.

lovingly dedicated to Wilma in memory of her beloved Bill .

by Greta Zwaan January 24th, 2015

Wasn't that a lovely gift of Love to my mom?

Let Me Talk About My Dad.

1/28/2015

Yesterday was a long day. We had visitation for my father who recently passed away after a long battle with bad hip surgery, infection and Parkinson's disease.

My dad was a man "with a lot of life in him" one of the men said as they came by to offer condolences... as I found out for the first time that he used to help up TV aerials when he was a boy first moved to Canada. He and his brother Walter needed work to do so their neighbour said, this work you can do boys, and so they did.

I cannot say that my Dad and I had the easiest relationship.     Opinionated, with strong thoughts and not always the easiest manners of expressing them...we are just too much alike for that . :) So talking face to face was not always the easiest thing to do.   I discovered last night that I had better phone conversations with him than the rest of my family did. :)   We never had LONG conversations, but we talked best over the phone.   And it was good.

So much of who I am has been shaped by my father. The willingness to work, to save a dollar, to read, to think, to care for critters, to love God.   These are the things my father leaves behind in me.    Just as God molds his children, so my father helped to mold me.

Through my father I learned to say ACK when things upset me.   (it's a quick release you know)
Through him I learned to fight my natural tendencies to a quick anger.   (he had that too)
Through him I learned the importance of talking to God, and that by talking to God I get through most anything.   (God is surety in life)
Through him I learned a deep love of animals and of the land and working with what you have.    (and so I hope to pass that along to my lad).
Through him I learned a love of singing. (unfortunately I don't have his fine singing voice though).   But singing... ah.. that gets me through hard times in life.

My dad loved my mother. Do you know what a blessing that is? To have parents who are deeply committed to each other? There's was no temporary love. It wasn't always easy, but their love was strong for each other.

Dad would do anything for my mom if he thought it was please her.

I see that in my hubby you know... that desire to please, and strengthen and support. And it makes me realize what a treasure my father was for my mother and how DIFFICULT it will be for my mom in the next couple of months. To not have him there to talk things over with. And I wish I could make it better for her, but I can't. I think I will ever remember this picture of Mom with Dad. Talking together even to the very end.

It's a good example you know... of what to strive for in a marriage. To make it good and lasting. To respect each other and love them through word, action and attitude.

Today my son will read one of Dad's favourite passages. (psalm 117)/
Today the sermon text will be a on a passage of scripture important to both Dad and me. 1 Peter 2:9-10.
"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had no received mercy, but now you have received mercy."

Isn't it marvelous? Those verses speak to who we are in the eyes of God and it is GOOD!

Once when I was younger I would have rejected everything that made me and my dad similar. Over the years I have learned to embrace those similarities, to see my heritage and to receive the love offered. T'is a good thing that. :)
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Knowing that Dad and I love the same bible verses... is a comfort and a hope to me.

Dad... you will be missed. I will see you again.