I will wait for YOU.

This poem really spoke to me! I hope and pray it is a blessing you all also! 

Family, Friends and Finally Summer!

Last weekend, May long weekend was full of family and celebration! Aunty Bev married a wonderful man named Wayne. The wedding was held at Wayne's acreage beside the creek. God orchestrated so much for Bev's wedding. The Wedding was Sunday afternoon and Sunday morning around 11 it started clouding over, we expected rain. It rained at 1pm until 2:30pm when the wedding started. The rain stopped for the wedding and photos. After the wonderful meal and some goodbye's it started pouring rain. 

We camped out at Wayne's acreage for the weekend, we played softball, threw stones in the creek with Isabel and Amaia, enjoyed the sun and swatted mosquitoes. We celebrated Bev and Wayne's wedding, Luc and Anni's birthdays, It was so good to be all together. Emilee flew out from Quebec city for the weekend. It was the first time our family of 6 has been together since Christmas. Julie took a family photo of us, I think it's the first family photo we've had taken since Luc and Rebecca's wedding. It was wonderful to have a sleep over with my cousin Anni, to wake up and have breakfast out side with the Ron Poffenroth clan and Grandma.... who forgot the eggs... but found them in her van after breakfast was done. 

This weekend marked the first "summer" weekend. This morning I woke up to a clear blue sky and flowers and the garden planted. I got myself a cup of coffee and Dad and I (barefoot) changed the top on my Jeep from the hard, ugly winter top to the soft, convertible summer top. My bare feet didn't last too long, the concrete was so cold. Dad and I listened to Hawaiian music (thanks to Island Breeze and Uncle Peni) and talked about selling the house, packing the trailer, truck and Jeep and shipping it all to Hawaii. I would buy a piece of property and would just live in the trailer and climb coconut trees all day long. ooo and surf in the mornings, and go cliff jumping (ya right), and swim in the ocean every weekend, and lay on the beach... maybe sky dive... ahhh, it's good to dream!



Later on today Mom went on a stroll down memory lane. We went to a nursing home to visit an Aunt of my Moms. Aunty Elsie took care of my Mom when she was 2 years old and her Mom just had the twins (Ron and Don). Elsie told us stories of how they went to milk the cows twice a day, they took my Mom into the barn and put her in a cardboard box. The farm dog stood watch and every time my Mom would move the dog would alert the milkers, and if the cows dared to come to close the dog would put them in their place. To this day, my Mom is not an animal lover. I wonder why??

The brutal reality of living in Alberta is that after the beautiful summer weekend we have a frost warning tonight. This always keeps life interesting. Tomorrow is my Dad's 60th Birthday. This is the first time in 5 years that he is home for his birthday! We are just planning on relaxing and enjoying being together.

WorK wOrK WoRk...

Today is my 5th official day of work, (there was a weekend in the middle too) and I am exhausted. It has not been boring though. 


My 1st day on the job I was working with 3 wonderful christian guys. We talked about calling, vision, mission statements, YWAM, and living in christian community. It was a blessing to me to be weened from the environment in hawaii to the Tree Biz environment. A few days later I was working with a guy (from South America) who doesn't speak english very well and he was telling me that his wife is pregnant, well... He told me all about it in his broken english. I was just pruning away, laughing to myself. I want to "do life" with people, and be real... well, this was real! 


Yesterday was the first day when I got to take my truck out again. My Tree Partner (from Poland) and I busily prepared the truck, it was good to fill the truck with all the gear again. We had to go hunting around the shop for rakes, shovels, chainsaws (that work), snips and hedge trimmers, blowers, tarps, fuel and oil. It was routine. And most of the day was routine. We had a good day, we worked well together until we found out that the kind of music I like, he hates; and the music he likes, I hate. Needless to say, the radio stayed off in the truck for most of the day. But we found some other things in common throughout the day. The funniest thing that happened this day was when I was doing a small climbing removal. I had removed half of the tree and was working on a part above a deck. I put a rope in the top, had my partner pull the rope. Just when I was cutting the notch I imagined the whole tree coming down over on top of me. I finished the notch and tried to make a graceful and speedy exit from the tree. well, neither happened. I stepped down out of the tree, tripped on a branch that was on the ground and conveniently sat down in the whole brush pile (chain locked and saw turned off).  I looked up and my partner was laughing. He sauntered over, helped me up and said... "You still need to cut more"! I didn't want to get back into the tree so I stood on the deck and reached as far as I could... I cut it, he pulled it, over it went and we continued on with the cutting and clean up.

Today we were cleaning up a huge spruce removal, I was pulling on some branches when my hand slipped. I sat down on the grass and when I looked up, my partner was making the motion of taking a picture. the other 3 guys had a good laugh about it also. It's not easy pulling branches out from under the top of a huge spruce. Jenni understands me!

It's all in good fun though. I am blessed with great guys to work with. They are kind, fun, and they take care of me! what a blessing! well, it's late and I'm tired. :D

Surprise Quebec City!

I was blessed to be a blessing this past weekend. My Mom and I conspired to surprise my sister for her birthday (May 3rd).

I was so blessed because I didn't have to pay for the plane ticket at all, Emilee's employer's housed and feed me for the weekend... Emilee let me sleep on her floor! I was picked up from the airport by Emilee's employer, Kirsta and we went to the house, I was hoping to make it inside the doors before she saw me. But at least I had a chance to give Nicholas (the 9Year old Emilee nannies) my camera to video tape her reaction before she spotted me. :)

Emilee and I had a wonderful 3 days together. The (almost) 2 year old, Jackie, scowled at me the whole weekend. She was very protective of her Emy.

I was able to be a blessing to Emilee - to show her that she is loved and that we love her enough to lie to her. Mom and I both said many times "oh, no... no one is coming for your birthday. You should accept that now so you aren't disappointed...". Emilee and I were able to bless her friend Barb as she has been trying to move into an apartment for 2 weeks and there is hurdle after hurdle. Emilee and I cleaned some of the apartment and hopefully encouraged her that she will be moved in soon. It was an incredible weekend for knowing Emilee as a young adult and as a friend.

God has been teaching me some things lately, and I would like to share them. I have been reminded to involve him in my decisions, to listen and obey. Not to second guess. So, when I was choosing my seats on the plane. I asked the Lord where I should sit. He orchestrated it, 3 planes, 3 wonderful seat mates and some good conversations. On my way home, the guy sitting next to me saw me reading my Bible and asked me what I was studying, we had a good talk about Catholicism, Christianity, and how hypocrites have driven him from attending church. He was very open and honest, I appreciated that about our conversation.

I have been reading in Romans lately. God is teaching me about Sin vs Life. How we were slaves to sin but now because of our connection to Jesus, we are slaves to righteousness and life! Romans 6 (onward). I am also reading a book called "ROOTED. Reflections on the gardens in scripture." by Murray Pura. He says. "If we become like him (JESUS) in life, we become like him in death. There can be no separation. The things that enliven him, enliven us; the things that kill him, kill us. Whatever he died to (sin and death) and died for we die to and die for. In our spirit and in our body. ... Our bodies may fall to the ground like a pear from a tree. But our spirits are forever because they are one with the spirit of Jesus. I no longer live but Christ lives in me".

Romans chapter 7 and 8 are about the same things, but the perspective changes. It goes from talking about being saved by grace and the slave's master changing from sin to righteousness. Chapter 7 speaks about the law and how the law has changed because of Jesus' blood. Chapter 8 talks about the hope we have because that law changing and the great LOVE that God has for us and how nothing in all creation can change that.

OH HOW HE LOVES US!