Ramblings....

I'm always in a bit of a quandry as to what to write on a blog. My thoughts, I suppose.... This morning in church I decided I should sign up for the Women's Retreat at Stillwood in November. I said to myself..."Heather, you need to get to know some new people" and what better way than a conference in a beautiful setting, with great music (co-led by my talented daughter, Kat !!) and inspirational speaking !! Then during the announcements I heard that the conference was already full and there was a wait list !! What is that???!! I decided however to put my name on that waitlist (#18) and hopefully I'll be able to go for the day on Saturday. They are looking for a larger worship setting so they can accommodate everyone. Unfortunately there is no more room for an overnight stay as there was a misunderstanding and so the camp is full with 3 other group besides ours. So be it !! I'll know the week before the conference if I'll be going but they tried to assure me that they felt it would work out. So I wait!

I'm doing a lot of waiting lately. I would like to be more challenged in my employment and so far nothing has happened, despite my attempts. Patience is not really a huge virtue of mine (no need to comment on that one!!) but I am sloooowwwwllllyyyy learning to be more content in the situation I find myself in despite the frustrations. Maybe once I'm content.....I'll be ready to move on??? It's a thought.
Let me post some recent pics .......


Thanksgiving Dinner at Mom & Dad's - Wonderful Family Get-Together

Heather, Richard & Ruth (recent sibling pic)

Little baby Aubrey, Brian & Jalene's daughter, born Sept 18/08, 4 pounds, 14 ounces!!

So cute and light as a feather... wonderful display of God's creation !

Trip to Calgary

We decided to take an extended weekend and visit family in Calgary and Pincher Creek. We flew out on Wednesday night and spent the night at Ken and BJ's. Thursday a.m. we headed off to the farm after a lovely breakfast. The drive was lovely with little traffic and beautiful weather. Near the farm there were many wind generated windmills which were all new on the horizon since the last time we were there. Quite the change. We had a leisurely day and then on Friday the three of us drove to Waterton National Park and visited Cameron Falls. Dan and I were engaged at this very spot almost 29 years ago so it has some very special memories.

We continued on our way and spent some time up at Cameron Lake and enjoyed a Haagen Daaz ice cream bar!! Yummy!!! Shortly after our visit to Cameron Lake we decided to head up to Red Rock Canyon. On the way there we encountered a momma bear and two cubs....very cute !!!

Red Rock Canyon is amazing with all the red rock and I'll post a few pics for you to enjoy !!

This will be all for now as I'm having some technical difficulty...hopefully I'll be able to get some more pics posted soon. Til then.......

Contemplations....Thankfulness....

I have daily been checking Jenn & Dan's blog, Jess's blog and Kat's blog and it occurred to me that occasionally they may check my blog and if they never found any entry they may never return...so, here are my thoughts about 'their blogs' and a little 'heart to heart' !

Kat inspires me with her contemplative/creative thoughts and expressions. Jess touches me with her sensitivity to others and her awareness of the smallest detail. Jenn impresses me with her love of learning and her ability to strive to learn and achieve to higher levels. All three of our girls have many of the same qualities and characteristics but reflect them differently depending where they are in life. We are in a great place of observation and a wonderful time of life to look at those around us that we love dearly and watch them as they learn and grow where they are (Jess in Abby, Jenn & Dan in Winnipeg, & Kat in Ont/Guatemala) They are all experiencing life in different ways and yet still touching each other on a regular basis because of one thing....we are family....and that to me has become very special
....... important,
....... vital,
....... and something not to take for granted,
....... but to hold in my hand and tenderly nurture,
....... mold,
....... heal,
....... hug,
....... hold ...... but most of all ... THANK God for these special gifts He has given to me.

As I have a lengthy conversation with Jenn the day before her 26th birthday, as I talk with Jess and encourage her after a long week, as I miss Kat as she serves and leads with a servant heart in Ontario....I contemplate and think about three of the most special people in my life....my daughters!!

As I reflect on recent weeks, I can see glimpses and whispers of God's presence as He speaks to me through family and friends.

It has been good.....God is good......very good!

For this and much more....I AM THANKFUL!

Holidays Over - Back to Work!!

Oh, my goodness....jet lag certainly does hit when you come home! Not sure if that is because you are 'anticipating' the upcoming day of work...or if you just need to adjust to a VERY long day!!! I think it's a little of both! We arrived home on Saturday, April 26 around 9 p.m. - it was really the middle of the night! We stayed awake for a bit and then went to sleep promptly to wake up about 3 a.m....went to sleep again, woke up at 6, 7 , etc,etc. I got my first headache in 3 weeks (hmmmm, maybe I'm supposed to live in the Middle East???) I got rid of it by noon and we were off to Jess and Kat's for a lovely lunch. Kat is leaving for Ontario/Guatemala on Tuesday so it was great to spend time with them. Went through all our pics (600 +) and they weren't even bored (great kids!!) Went to Mom and Dad's for supper and showed them 600 + pics as well (great parents...they weren't bored either!!) Went to work on Monday and by the afternoon was feeling a little fuzzy....saw Kat for the last time in the p.m....said our goodbyes. It is now Wednesday.....we look forward to seeing the new baby pics...CONGRATS Rachel & Jeff. Life is getting back to normal...we are getting rain!! and we are almost on the right time! I am going to try and attach a bunch of pics....so enjoy!! Talk to you all soon! Love, H & D (the top pic definitely has a story!!! Pic 2 is in front of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul)...More to come...gotta go to work!!

Alexandria,Cairo, Camel & Pyramids

Well, family ...you would have been impressed with the four of us all on camels! What a hoot! We were sitting quite high and the temperature was probably about 35 degrees celcius! We were going along the desert and I managed to take quite a few pics. I suppose it was a bit from Disney land but it was fun nonetheless and it lasted about 45 minutes which was long enough for me. Alexandria is quite the city....quite dirty and very poor. We have taken lots of pics (over 600 already) so you can all see the sights and sounds and smells that we have experienced. Some of the smells from the last couple of days we won't bother sharing!!! We had a lovely dinner in the Grand Pacific Dining Room tonight and will be sailing to Corfu and will arrive there on Monday morning. Our trip is quickly coming to an end and we have enjoyed every minute of it. Girls, you will be pleased to know that I haven't had one headache yet and haven't been seasick at all!!! It is making my trip! Well, Dan and I will be going on a special date to the French restaurant tomorrow night so we'll tell you all about it later. Love you all and hope you are all well. Richard, happy 50th....we didn't forget!! and yes, Rachel....have that babe soon!! Bye for now, Dan and Heather, Mom & Dad

From Santorini to Iraklion

Wow! That's about all we can say about Santorini! It was totally incredible. We loved it and had a fabulous time. We took some movie footage x 2 so you can get the magnitude of the place. We've never seen anything quite like it and it is definitely worth seeing. Going back an island we must share with you our time on Mykonos! Melissa & girls, you would have been proud of us! We rented quads for the day and had a blast! We drove all over the island and saw tons of stuff. When we hit the highways it was hilarious with all the trucks and buses passing us on the narrow roads. But we tried to stick to the 'side streets'. We have lots of pics and can't download anything while on the ship as the bandwidth isn't large enough. But we'll see what we can do sometime in port. Not sure what's up in Cairo. This is about all for this posting...we are off to explore the island of Crete...who knows ....maybe we'll end up on a scooter or something!! Love you all, Dan and Heather, (mom and dad)

Travelling aboard the Jade

Well, this is quite the experience! We have been to Istanbul and visited the Aya Sofia which is TOTALLY AWESOME! We have experienced Turkish cuisine which is unusual to say the least...not quite sure what I think about it! The Blue Mosque is not quite as nice as the Aya Sofia but still outstanding. We had the pleasure of being in Istanbul during the tulip festival and everything was in full bloom which was beautiful. We boarded the Jade the other day and are having lots of fun exploring the ship. Today we are in Izmir and it was to be 24 degrees but they were a bit off as it is currently 31. We walked for over 10 km. (at least it seemed that far) just experiencing the sights/sounds etc of this country. Currently back on the ship waiting for it to leave Izmir to go to Mykonos which will be our first stop in Greece. Looking forward to not being harrassed by carpet salesmen.....unbelievable to say the least (and no, we did not buy any carpet!!) We are still trying to figure out how to get pictures on here so keep posted and we'll get it figured out. There are no connection ports for doing this so we may need to do it at an internet cafe at our next port. Hope you are all doing well.. Bye for now, Dan and Heather (mom & dad)

We're joining the blog world....

Well, friends and family...we have succumbed to the blog world! I thought this might be a good idea since we are going on vacation and it would give me some time to get used to how this will all work. Don't really have a whole lot to say except that we are SO EXCITED about taking our vacation in just a few short sleeps! We are going to Istanbul, Turkey with Jake and Gerda and will be away for three weeks. A mediterranean cruise is in the cards and also a camel and jeep safari in Cairo....keep checking back to get some updates.
Allaha ismarladik, Dan & Heather (this is Turkish for 'goodbye')