For the Kids

Each year, on June 1st, we have done something different.

We seem to be falling into a consistent pattern when it comes to

Austin's birthday.  We like to remember his home-going day as well.

But, not in the same manner.

It's emerged as being a day to mark for its spiritual significance.

It was, in fact, Austin's best day.  He was called Home to Heaven.

What could be better than that?  It's exactly what we desire for all our children.

Austin just went ahead of our schedule.

June 1st doesn't always involve gifts for our other three.

However, the first year we gave our children each a

copy of "Trusting God ~ Even When Life Hurts".

We subsequently read it together as a family.

Last year, if I remember correctly, we listened to the sermon our

pastor preached the very next morning after Austin's entrance into heaven.
We may have listened to Austin's recorded testimony as well.
We most certainly would have reflected on where our son is and what he is doing.

This year, we gave each of the kids a copy of "Grieving, Hope and Solace". 
Three personalised photo books had been created which were given as well.  
 They were thrilled with them.  Which, of course, thrilled my heart.

Each book contains photos of their growing up years with their big brother.
The journalling which accompanies the photos was created specifically for each one.
Unique memories are mentioned and made note of in order to stir
up more memories, or to draw attention to those perhaps forgotten.

While I was putting the books together, there were tears as well as smiles.
It was most definitely an emotional journey.  But, one well worth the effort.

 

    We look back, and we are thankful.
The Lord has blessed us abundantly, and we praise Him.
His ways are always best, even when we don't understand.
Even when it is excruciatingly difficult.
 
We rest our hearts in His Sovereign plan.   
And, we look to Him.

It won't be long, and we will be together again.
Praising the Lord forever throughout all eternity.
 May the Lord give us grace to follow wherever He leads.
We know that He will be faithful until the day He calls us Home.  

With Love,

  Camille   

What We Did

This past Wednesday was Austin's birthday.

He is not here to celebrate with us.  And, that's not something to celebrate.

However, we do like to mark the day.  Make it special in order to remember.

It feels strange to let the day pass by without some acknowledgement.
And, so we don't.  We can't.  There is comfort in the remembering.

Austin's first birthday after being called home to Heaven was last year.

We took the children to his grave and shopped for something special

for each of them in honour of his memory.
We went to Austin's favourite restaurant for dinner.

It was hard, but, it was good.

This year, (the second without our Austin physically here), 
we decided to do something a little different.
And, this is what we did to mark the day.

At first, we planned to just walk around the Stanley Park Seawall ~
one of our favourite things to do.  But, then I remembered a friend's suggestion
to bike it ~ all the way from Granville Island (see map above), around Stanley Park,
and back.  It was a great idea!  And, the perfect day to attempt it.

So, we (the boys) loaded all the bikes on the
back of the van, and we were off.

This was where Howie and I had our fancy date
just a couple of weeks ago.

Before the ride began ~ still feeling fresh and energetic and optimistic.
(Next year, I think I will do a little training before attempting to tackle it.)

See the row of blossoming trees in the background?
That was where we were headed for the start of our journey.

It was a beautiful day!  Emma took this shot ~ isn't it pretty?

It took two hours to complete the loop (with a few breaks here and there).

Howie and I lost the children (on purpose) for a few minutes ~
it was a little bit like a date.  :)

See the Granville Island Public Market sign (above left)?
The yellow building on the far right (on the other side of the water)
is Bridges Restaurant ~ the location of our recent fancy date.
It's near where our van was parked for this excursion ~ we were almost finished.

Howie and I think this may be the start of a new tradition
in honour of our Austin's birthday each year.

It was such a lovely day together and a wonderful gift from the Lord.
We are so thankful for the prayers of our precious family and friends.
Thank you to each one of you who have lifted us up before the Throne of Grace.

All the love and kindness shown to us has been such a great blessing.
We sensed the Lord's strength and grace with us throughout the day.
How good and gracious He is!  We so appreciate His loving care
manifested to us in tangible ways through the love of His people.

May He bless each of you abundantly!

With Love, Camille

**Photos in this post are a combination of mine and Emma's ~
thank you for sharing with me my little love.  xoxo

On the Other Side

So, we stayed home this Christmas.

We were almost too busy to think.  It was a mercy, really.
However, the tears still came.  At random and sometimes inconvenient times.

But, those tears were good.  And, it was good.  All of it.

And now?  We are on the other side.

We survived our first Christmas at home without our Austin.

And, yet...we weren't without him.  We aren't without him.

He still lives.  Just not here.  

It's a comfort to remind ourselves of this truth.

He remains part of the fabric of who we are as a family.

Who we are as individuals.  He is missed and always will be.

Until the day we are called Home to Heaven.

The Lord graciously allowed us times of quiet in the midst of

the busyness of it all.  We were alone on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Things were different and things were the same.

We kept many of the old traditions.  But, some things were altered

or eliminated completely.  Some things were added in.

It was necessary and it was good.

Through it all, we were conscious of the prayers of God's people.

The Lord carried us through and gave us His comfort and peace.

Sorrow and joy were mingled together.  I imagine that is how it always will be.

From here on out.  And, we are settled with that.  It feels right.

It's a blessing to know that we don't walk this path alone.

I was reminded recently (by a lovely friend) of the fact that we all 
carry sorrows of one type or another.  Each one of us has grief to bear.

True, the vehicle by which it comes to us may be different,

but, the pain is real just the same.  It is deeply felt.

What do we do with it?  How do we cope?

Either it will drive us away from the Lord or to Him.

The key is to look to the Right Source for our comfort.

To dig deeply into His Word for the answers.

To fill our hearts and minds with His Truth.

Truly, it is the only way forward.

The only way to find lasting comfort and peace.

The only way to keep from crumbling completely.
The only way to rejoice in the midst of sorrow.

The only way.

May the peace of the Lord flood your souls
now and always.  May He be your everything.
Always and forever.

With love, Camille

Out of the Ordinary

The Lord has been so gracious to us.

This past Christmas, He gave us a gift of grace.

We were blessed to have had time away as a family.

We explored and saw new things and met new friends.
We had a change of pace and scenery.
Never have I wanted to be away from home at Christmas.

Never, that is, until this year.

In the weeks following Austin's Home-going to Heaven ~ I was altered.
I wasn't thinking straight.  I wasn't sleeping well.  
Everything seemed out of place.  I did things I might not otherwise do.
One of those out-of-the-ordinary things I did
was to invite us all over to my sister's home for Christmas.
We weren't sure if it would work out.  It was just an idea.  It was crazy.
But, I knew deep down that we couldn't do things like we always had.

A transition year seemed necessary and wise.

My sister said yes.  We booked our flights.  We went.
It was perfect and a blessing and just what was needed.
(Please don't misunderstand ~ going away was not a need, it was a blessing.
A transition year was what we needed and were graciously given.)

It truly was a wonderful provision for our grieving hearts.

We are so thankful that we were given the opportunity to go.

How gently and tenderly our Lord leads us along.
How gracious He is with His children.
We do not deserve His grace.  We do not deserve His mercy.
But, He gives them in abundance.  Over and over again.

So, we had a different Christmas.
A California Christmas.

My sister and her family opened their home up to us and welcomed us in.  Twice.
We began our trip on a little family excursion in a hotel for four nights.
Then, we were with my sister for five nights.
We scooted over to Arizona for four nights ~ two of which we stayed with friends.
The last four nights, we were back at my sister's for all the Christmas traditions.

We came home exhausted.
Exhausted, but blessed.  Very, very blessed.
Thank you SO much K and J and C and A ~ We love you all!

With Love,
Camille

**Photo courtesy of Calvin via Emma's camera and the tripod ~ 
Thank you my love!  XO

Six Weeks of Quiet ~ Merry Christmas!

Precious Friends ~ I am thankful for each one of you.
Your friendship and kindness to our family is such a blessing.
In the last number of months we have felt loved and encouraged.
Thank you all so very much.

This is a wrap-up post for the year.
Yes, for the year!  I cannot believe how quickly time passes.
I am taking six weeks of quiet in this space ~ I trust you will understand.

May the Lord bless you with His peace and presence

throughout the Christmas season and in the coming year.

May you know His loving hand upon you leading and guiding in all you do.

May you know Him as your Saviour and follow Him wherever He leads.

May He be your Everything!

Christmas has always been a very special time of year for us.

We have many family traditions tied into this season.

It's not all about the gifts ~ it's about The Gift!

We have sought, over the years, to teach our children

that our Saviour really is the best Gift of all.

If we do not have Him, we have nothing.

~ Thomas Kinkade Christmas Card ~

We love to celebrate Advent and refresh our minds

with all the wonders revealed about our Saviour in God's Word.

We have always enjoyed going to Burnaby Village Museum

and taking a walk around Stanley Park ~ together.

We enjoy decorating our home and making cookies and ornaments.

We delight in secretly making plans and wrapping and giving.
We gather with friends and family. 

We eat yummy things and visit by the fire.

Our Christmas Eve celebration always includes a special dinner
made up of appetizers and Devon cream tea.
We eat on that night in the living room and linger around the glowing fireplace.
Christmas Carols are sung while we gather by the tree. 

We have so many happy memories of Christmases past.
This photo is one of the last we have together as a family ~
It was taken last Christmas shortly after Austin's pacemaker surgery.
We've included it in our family's Christmas letter this year.

We do plan on returning to all our usual traditions in the future.
This year, however, we are switching things up a bit and 
making some changes.  It's a year of transition.
A year of firsts.  We are making new memories.

Without our precious Austin.  

We still plan to celebrate our Saviour's birth.
We plan to gather with family and friends.
We plan to give gifts and send cards.
We are not abandoning tradition altogether, but, 
we must have a year of transition.

Everything is still a little too fresh.

Since Austin was taken Home to Heaven, things have not been the same.

Christmas will never be the same.  We will never be the same.
As we ease ourselves into life here without our precious son,

we seek to remember that He is with the Lord.

Our Austin is celebrating his first Christmas in Heaven ~

with our Saviour!!  What a thought!

He is perfectly content and joyful.
He is praising the Lord constantly in perfect peace.
One day, we will be there too.
It truly is precious to consider these things.

By God's great grace, we will honour the Lord in the days to come.
We will remember Him and praise Him and worship Him.
Because He is worthy.  And, He truly is the best Gift of all!

My plan is to be absent from this space for the next six weeks.
Please do not be alarmed at the fact that any comments you 
may choose to leave will initially disappear, and then will take time to publish.
(Please do let me know you were here...it's always a blessing to hear from you).

I do not plan to check in at all until the end of December.

This includes publishing comments and visiting with you in your space.
It's just what I must do.  Thank you for always extending grace.
Please know that I value your friendship and do
hope to reconnect after this time of internet quietness.
May the Lord bless you as you seek Him.  Now and always.

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."
~ Isaiah 9:6 ~

Much Love,
Camille

It's a Tradition

Every year (for quite some time now), we make an effort to 

go to Burnaby Village Museum one evening prior to Christmas Day.

It's a tradition.  And, a wonderful one at that!  :)

We ran into friends on our way in.  In fact, these are the friends who

originally told us about this fabulous museum.

How fun is that?

We enjoyed going through much of it together.

And, when we parted company, we reconnected throughout the evening.

We couldn't have planned it better if we had tried!  

Since Calvin is our family photographer,

Howie and I get into more photos together.  It's a new thing.

We're Canadian...can you tell?

Our sweet friends rode with us on the restored carousel.

And, Calvin took photos.  In the photo below ~
Fraser and I are standing on the left of the carousel,
Austin, Emma and Howie are seated on their mounts!  :)

Even Austin was able to join in!  What a blessing!!

Here's our favourite house on this site.

It's in its original location ~ built about 100 years ago.

Yes, in Canada, that is old enough to be in a museum!  

Want to come in for some hot chocolate or hot apple cider?

Emma and I would enjoy hosting you here! 

Ah...there's Calvin!!

He did a self-timed photo and jumped into

it so we could all be together.  :)

We like to end the evening with a stop

at Krispy Kreme on the way home.

Dear me!  It's a dangerous thing to do!!

What are some of the special traditions you have

with your family in the days around Christmas?

It would be lovely if you would share!  :)

Many Blessings,
Camille

**Photos in this post courtesy of Calvin ~

Thank you my love!  XO

Getting Crafty

I like to have a few surprises tucked

away for the Christmas season.

This year has been no exception.

Wooden ornaments to paint were hidden
away for just the right day.

Even the *big* kids joined in ~ joy!

I had Christmas music playing in the background
while the creative fun took place.
I am not typically a *crafty* Mum.
Consequently, the *crafts with the children* department 
has been somewhat lacking over the years.
Sorry to say.

But, Christmas time...
well, that's another story.
Out come the crafts, and I turn a blind eye to the mess ~
At least I try to!!  :)

Gingerbread Men.  A Gingerbread House (usually from a kit).
Painting ornaments and making cookies ~
These are some of things I have tucked up my sleeve.
Some of these activities will get done, Lord-willing.  :)
One thing's for sure ~ the children always enjoy it.

Even my *near-men*!  

See the smoke?  ;-)

This kept them busy for at least two hours.
Time well-spent, in my opinion.

Are you a crafty Mum?

What surprises do you have hidden away
for the cold winter days that lie ahead?
Whatever you do, enjoy these special times 
with your children...
how quickly they fly by!

Merry Christmas!
Camille

Prepared

Sometimes, God prepares us for what is coming.

In the past few months it felt as though

the LORD was doing that for me.

Christmas was coming,

albeit, a couple of months down the road,

but, it was coming.

I had a photo of the children that 

I thought would be perfect for the Christmas Cards.

I got them printed.

In October!

That motivated me to get a Christmas letter written.

Which motivated me to write out and address

all the Christmas cards.

In October!

~ Christmas photo: taken in May 2012 ~

Little did I know that, just prior to Christmas,

Austin would be hospitalised for six days,

and then, less than a week later,
he would have a pacemaker inserted.

Little did I know.

But, God knew.

Our times are in His hand.

He orders our steps.

And, sometimes, He prepares us.

Always, He sustains us.
Always, He provides.

There have been times when I have felt unprepared,
even then, He gives the grace and strength needed.
Regardless of our circumstances, 
He is in complete and Sovereign control.

He is SO Good!

Having my Christmas cards done ahead of time
was just one of the ways

in which the LORD prepared me for this busy time.

I had meals frozen and put away, 

and my Christmas shopping was done early.

These things have been such a blessing.

They were not *necessary* things, 

but, they were blessings nonetheless.

Although I did have some meals frozen,
they eventually ran out ~
then, some lovely ladies brought us food.
Thank you P, L, and P!!  
Isn't it wonderful to have dinner cooked for you??

Thank you, E for taking my children to your home
for dinner on the day of Austin's surgery ~
What a blessing that was!

I stand in awe of the LORD's provisions

in these tangible ways.

And, I am thankful.

May the LORD bless you all!

Much Love,
Camille

Of Curls, Weddings, and Beginnings

Our niece was married last Friday.
Nearly 21 years ago, she was our flower girl.
Emma was given the privilege of doing the same for her.

Full circle.  A tradition.

Emma read while I curled her hair. It took over an hour!
The style had to hold for more than five hours ~
the photos were being taken prior to the ceremony.

Emma was sent off with instructions
not to move her head!  Poor thing. :)

The ceremony was beautiful.  The bride was lovely.
(I haven't had permission to post photos yet, so I will leave you to your imagination).

The vows and rings were exchanged.  The documents were signed.
The kiss was given and received. :)
The unity candle was lit.

The couple were introduced as Mr. and Mrs.
And there was joy all around!  As it should be.

Austin and Fraser had the honour of
playing the background music at the reception
as guests found their seats.

Calvin was our photographer. We forgot to get a family picture.
I am so sad.  But, as I told Emma prior to the big day ~
"It's not all about us!"  And it really isn't.

The bride and groom were sent off in style under a tunnel of love.
We were so happy to have been able to witness
the beginning of their lives together as husband and wife.

It's such a joy to witness two young people who
love the LORD as they are united in marriage.
May the LORD be glorified in and through them ~
And may HE bless them abundantly in the years to come.

Blessings to each of you as well!
With Love, Camille

**Last three photos in this post courtesy of Calvin ~
Thank you my love! XO