Easter Observations from the Roof

This has been an Easter for our family like no other. You see, we have a very steep roof. We learned just how steep it was 10 years ago when we put new shingles on it. Chad and I did most of the roofing ourselves and for us that was before the day of nail guns - meaning that we didn't own one! It took us 2 1/2 weeks to finish the job. So when we had our major hailstorm two summers ago, the shingles were damaged which meant that they would need to be replaced. We chose to take a payout and do them ourselves so that we could upgrade to a steel roof....

We got the steel a couple of weeks ago (that was when the suburban suffered fire damage - another story for another time). With the kids off school, we took the occasion to work on our roof. Now just let me say, I am so thrilled with the willingness of my children to help with this project. They have been great, and let me tell you, they have worked hard!!! I am so very, very thankful to have such supportive and loving children.

Friday we started tearing off shingles... the forecast indicated a possibility of rain, be we decided to move forward anyway. The day was overcast but not too cold - at least not for most of it. By afternoon we were  beginning to put steel on the roof. It is called slate blue, and I must say that I quite like it, even though I had originally thought I'd like something a little darker...

As the afternoon progressed, the skies darkened. By 6:00 we had about half the roof covered and had ripped off a good portion of the remaining shingles, but it was raining and we were concerned about safety. We finished that piece and the rain mostly quit so we did another piece and then another.

While everyone was working desperately to get the roof covered, Beth made supper for the family. She was suffering from the beginning stages of a cold and didn't feel she could work on the roof, so she helped inside instead. At 7:00 we took a break for supper and then went back to work. When we had only two left to place the rain began again, so we stopped one sheet short of completing that surface. By that time it was 9:00 and the lighting was poor anyway.

Everyone was so very tired. My feet hurt and I never went on the roof. I had spent my day working in the yard, digging, cleaning up shingles, nails and tar paper, raking, mowing and shoveling compost.

With the clean up done, we came in and took warm showers, drank hot chocolate and then gathered for a short family scripture study time. Following scriptures and prayer, the kids turned on a movie... to wind down. Yes it meant they would be up late, but, they deserved a little relaxation time. As for myself and Chad, we fell asleep almost immediately.

Saturday morning was a little cold and we found that there was ice on the west side of the roof, so Chad and the kids took the occasion to go in to Bow Island and offered their serviced to a family they knew who was moving into town. By 12:30 we were back to work on our roof. The west side was completed and the larger portion was begun. They ripped shingles and strapped a large portion of the roof before beginning to place metal. After a couple of hours in the hot sun, it was time for a break again. Naomi fell asleep on the floor she was so tired. We were all feeling it. I had aches where I haven't ached for years!

As everyone worked outside Beth boiled eggs and made the meals. At 5:00 we began coloring eggs for our Easter celebration. Once by one, the kids came in and took a break to color their Easter eggs. The only ones that did not take time to do so were Naomi and Myles. They worked so hard. By 8:30, we had prepared the roof for sheeting and placed four or five sheets of metal. We were all tired and ready to call it a day.

Once again, we let the kids watch a movie after a short scripture study and prayer. I fell asleep faster Saturday night than I had Friday night!

I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have a day of rest!!! Sunday - Easter Sunday - loomed glorious and beautiful. But the beauty of Easter Sunday was magnified as we pondered the pains we had endured over the previous two days.

Getting Firewood

Last year we learned that there were stacks of free firewood in the Cypress Hills that people could come and help themselves to once they had purchased a permit. With that knowledge, we decided to look into how much was still there and if they still had it, to go and get as much as we could to provide heat for the winter.

We were delighted to discover that there was sufficient wood to meet our needs still waiting to be harvested. We made two trips to gather firewood for our winter heating needs. The first trip was made with just a small portion of our family. They brought back a huge stack of 3-4 foot logs which we worked together to cut, split, and stack for winter use. It looked so beautiful seeing neatly stacked wood in our woodshed, piles of wood that would provide the heat we needed through the winter. There is nothing like the heat comes from an wood fire.

The following week we rented a larger trailer and headed out as a family. It was a beautiful day, though there was a light snow falling. Arriving at our destination, we began to cut logs and stack them in the trailer. Some of them were huge in diameter and required four of us to lift them up onto the trailer. As we worked a light snow began to fall. It made the area beautiful. A little bit of a fog descended upon us, cloaking the woods in a softness and evoking feelings of peace and warmth within us.

We came home with a lovely large pile of wood. The second load succeeded in nearly filling our woodshed. As we worked together as a family to take care of the wood we had Myles and his dad cutting with the chainsaw, I worked at the splitter, and the kids fed the splitter and then carried the wood to the shed and stacked it. It was a very good and rewarding family work project.

I have heard it said that wood warms you three times. First when you cut it, second when you split it, and third when you burn it. But as I pondered our day, it is obvious that wood can warm you in a fourth way. For working together to provide for the needs of the family warmed and strengthened our family bonds. 

This project, this activity, warmed our hearts together as we worked in a unity, being one in purpose to succeed in completing this temporal task. I am so thankful for the supportive children that I have been blessed with. They seldom complain when we do work projects. And I know that this is a great blessing for in today's world many children are not encouraged or required to take upon themselves any kind of responsibility. My children thrive with responsibility. Responsibility helps them to know their trusted and valued. We always feel so good after having worked together, even on hard projects. Each time we burn some of this precious wood I remember the special feelings of that day, and my heart is warmed with joy and gladness.

Touch God and Live

This morning I woke up from dreaming with the phrase "Touch God and Live" impressed upon my mind. I want to put something inspirational on the living room wall under a painting of Christ that I have and this seems a likely candidate. 

How does one touch God? Certainly not in the physical sense, but our lives can touch His as we seek to develop Godly characteristics of love, service, obedience, kindness, humility, meekness, grace, patience etc. 

By allowing God to touch us, we touch Him. The Lord touches our lives daily if we let Him. We receive sometimes imperceptible promptings, encouragement, enlightenment, joy and happiness. As we embrace these moments, and allow them to settle deeply within our hearts we are able to touch God back in the simple act of acceptance.

We can also 'touch' God by recognizing His hand in our lives. We can look for opportunities to serve others and be willing to recognize and treasure the tender mercies that are ours every day. Service helps up to assist The Lord in His work of securing for His children eternal life. As we willingly put aside our own will and desires we are more able to feel God touching our lives and the lives of those around us, for to be His hands even for a moment is to touch Him.

Touching God is a daily part of the life of an individual who takes time to ponder on the words of The Lord through daily scripture study and prayer. As we make these things a priority our lives take on a greater purpose and meaning. We receive insights and are taught by the Holy Spirit helping us, encouraging us, uplifting us and strengthening us in our various needs and through the righteous desires of our heart.

There is yet another way to touch God. It is in the indescribable joy of repentance. True repentance brings us closer to God and we can feel Him smiling down upon us. To please God is joy indeed. True repentance brings us closer to God, helps us develop those Godly characteristics aforementioned. Experiencing the joy of repentance cultivates within our hearts a firm, quiet conviction that God is there for us, and that He will never leave us. It strengthens our faith and trust in Him. Truly repentance brings us closer to God as we extend our hand heavenward in acceptance of the Divine gift of His Son.

We also touch God by our choice to forgive others. To forgive another is to be merciful, to desire goodness for them, and to offer them the gift of the Atonement to be effective in their lives - not that you can take that gift from them for denying another the ability to use the Atonement actually leaves you less able to use it yourself - but denying forgiveness to another, even one who does not seem to deserve it or who does not desire to change their own life, is sin that takes us from God. We touch God by mercifully allowing others to extend their hand upward in their own desires to touch God, for He will turn away none. We touch God by emulating His example of mercy and forgiveness.

Simply put, to Touch God, is to come to know Him, to seek to follow Him, to love all mankind, and to be the best we can be. To Touch God is to submit our will to His, even in times of hardship and challenge, and to seek always to do what He would do. It is trusting in the depth of His love so much that we cheerfully submit and seek to grow stronger even when our burdens seem more than we can bear.  To Touch god is all of this and more, but as we truly desire to Touch God, He will bless and magnify our efforts even unto Eternal Life.

Four simple words, yet they say so much: Touch God and Live!!!

Switching Principals

It is tradition in our high school that when you are in grade 11 you get to participate in a dinner theater which is then used as a fund raiser for your graduation the following year. This year Beth is in grade 11, so it was her year for the play. We always enjoy the performances that these kids put on, but it is a lot of work and they prepare hard to be ready in time.

Usually the play is done in April, but this year our high school is being renovated and so the theater area would be unavailable in the spring so they moved it back to November. I actually liked having it over and done with earlier in the year, but they will probably go back to spring shows once the school is all put together again. Anyway...

Beth didn't have a huge part to play, but she did so good. This year the play was called 'Switching Principals'. Beth was a school board member. She looked so grown up in her costume.

THE PLOT:

School spirit has never been lower at Marvin Gardens High School.  When a new principal is scheduled to arrive, everyone is hoping for a fresh breeze.  What blows in, however, are George and Madge, two con-men who slipped in through the principal’s office window while hiding out from the law.  In a hilarious case of mistaken identity, vice principal Abigail figures George for the new principal, which suits George right down to his socks.  He introduces Madge as his secretary.  "She can do 80 words a minute," George tells Abigail.  "More when I get mad!," Madge adds.  Laying low after a car wreck which has the police on the prowl, our two con-men make the most of their situation and settle right in at Marvin Gardens.  They are tickled to learn that the other victim in the car collision was the very same principal who was due to arrive.  Laid up with minor injuries, he won’t be on the scene for a few more days.  This gives George and Madge the chance to double-talk and dodge their way past pushy school board members, a nosy security guard, overactive students and one superstitious lady who has to be convinced, by George of course, that her aura needs to be watched.  But somewhere along the way, George feels good about helping people.  His cold prickly conman qualities soften into warm fuzzies as he finds himself falling under the spell of the school’s spirit, much to the disgust of Madge. 

The kids began rehearsing a couple of months before their scheduled production and from the looks of the pictures they had a good time doing it.

The night before the play the kids held dress rehearsal and performed the play in full costume. Most of these photos come from what was taken by the photography group as we were not able to take photos during the play - especially since this year we were seated on the very back row.

I had a small role to play in bringing off the dinner theater. This year I volunteered to design the place mats. I also helped to decorate the Legion where the dinner was held. Below is the place mat before the kids all signed it. I also helped to serve the meal on Saturday night. It is so nice to be out in the community where I discover the talents of fellow community members. I believe events like this help to draw communities together.

It is always so rewarding for me as a parent to watch my children stretch out of their comfort zones and do something new. Beth had so much fun and the play was very well done. The lines were personalized to include Bow Island humor, humor that those in the audience related to. I love that there is good clean entertainment available and I love that our kids are involved in providing it.

Falling in Love Again

A week and a half before we celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary Chad's father had a series of 3 strokes that debilitated him on the left side of his body. Our fall began with weekly trips to Calgary to learn of his progress, offer our love and support and just be there to fill whatever need we were able to fill. This actually went on for about 3 months or so. Our 22nd wedding anniversary fell within this time frame. In the past we have tried to do something special, just the two of us for our anniversary, but this year was to be different.

We spent our anniversary weekend in the Fanning Center in Calgary with Chad's parents and a few visiting family members.  We stayed the night with relatives while in the city and went back and forth between their house and the Fanning Center for the two days we were there. I guess it's not much to brag about, but you know, looking back on it, we were together and we LOVE to be together. As I watched Chad care for his father, learning what his condition required, and also as he cared for his mother and her concerns, I couldn't help but marvel at this wonderful man that is my husband. He is so tender hearted and kind. He is dedicated and loyal. He treats me like a queen and watches over me so carefully. I feel so blessed to have him in my life, and so, now, on our 22nd anniversary, I found the love I have for him once again evolving to an even deeper, fuller love. It is a wonderful thing to fall in love over and over again, and that is the story of our relationship. It is hard to imagine and even harder to describe how love can grow even when you think that the capacity for it is filled, yet it does and each and every time it does, I am filled with such a profound sense of gratitude for such a blessing - especially in a time when so many marriages are faltering. I am so richly blessed to have such a love fill my heart, reflected back to me in the heart of my husband. This truly was an anniversary to remember.

Try, Try Again

Yes, our summer was FULL of tests! Nobody likes tests unless....  well I'll get to that in a few minutes...

First of all, in June I started experiencing a fair degree of abdominal pain again. So I went in to see the doctor and he scheduled an appointment for me with a specialist. So in July I went in to see the specialist and when I described my symptoms he was unsure as to why I was experiencing the degree of pain that I had for the problem that was diagnosed, so he decided to run some further tests to see if there was something more that hadn't been detected. Within the week came the first test - which was mine - a CT Scan. Now in case you've never had to undergo one of these tests, let me just say it was quite an experience. You have to drink this nasty metallic tasting stuff (pictured to the right) and then they give you an injection that activates it so they can see inside the body and detect any irregularities there. When they gave me that injection I felt like a wave of heat was washing over me. It was hot and it moved in a wave starting at the top of my head, down to the tips of my toes, just when I didn't think I could stand the heat any longer, I felt a wave of cool relief start at the top of my head and pass over my body until it reached my toes. Thankfully at that point the test was about over. I was quite happy to go home and hope I never need to undergo that process again. The results didn't come back until 5 weeks later. All was negative - so we proceeded with treatment for the obvious problems and hoped for the best that the repair surgery would also cure the pain and discomfort I had been experiencing.

In August we began the process of testing the kids. I scheduled Naomi, Beth and Myles at the Registration place for license exams all on the same day. Naomi took her driven test and PASSED!!! It was a thrilling and happy day for her! While she was doing that Beth wrote her learners test and PASSED!!! Myles passed a short time after that! By the middle of August we were actively teaching TWO new drivers to drive!

There are all kinds of tests in life. My test was not the kind you 'pass'. It was a test performed to assess a problem or condition that may exist. Thankfully for me, there were no further problems discovered. Life sometimes gives us tests that are similar to this in that they cannot be 'passed' but must be endured. To stop enduring means to fail the test. I recently read some wise words which said, "A man may fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else." (Karol K Truman, Healing Feelings ... From Your Heart) Sometimes it is tempting to blame the person that wrote the test when we don't get a passing grade because they made it too hard, we may blame a hereditary trait for our health issues, or we might simply blame whoever is the nearest scapegoat when things go wrong, but to do this is to fail the test completely. I am so thankful for a loving Father in Heaven who consistently gives me tests, and even when I do poorly, He continues to test and challenge me until I learn the principles being taught. Once those principles are taught, the joy is so very similar to receiving an operators license after a driving test, or negative results after a CT scan. It is a wonderful and liberating feeling that is so intensely worth all the struggle and challenge and effort that it took to get there! 

Freshened Up!

I think that over the last two days we have set an all time record - at least for us! On Saturday we decided to do a floor in one of the bedrooms that has actually never been finished. I must say that it really needed it but we had never determined just what we wanted on that particular floor. Well, on Saturday we found ourselves in possession of the required materials and they were PERFECT for that room! We let the girls know our plans and projected a couple of weeks to complete the project which would include a fresh coat of paint as well..... however...

Monday morning we woke up with the desire to do that room, it was 7:00 AM. I woke up the girls and communicated our desires to work in their room that day and that in addition to getting ready for school, we needed them to pack up their belongings as quickly as they could so that we could move out the furniture and begin the project. I was amazed! By 8:30 they had moved most everything out that needed to go so we could move furniture. And off they went to school - of course I did have two children stay home (Naomi and Charity) who continued to work on the clean-out process while I went visiting teaching. When I got home an hour later the room was empty except for one credenza. I took the two girls and headed for Lethbridge, for we had an exciting time planned....

Not only was Melodee and Charity's room getting a fresh look, but Naomi was to get her braces off that same day! It was very exciting, and jut let me add, Naomi has an absolutely beautiful and brilliant smile!!!

Before coming home we picked up a few supplies that would be needed to complete the room. Charity helped pick out paint for the walls and then I picked up a few other more hardware type supplies that would also be needed. Back at home, Chad had raised the portion of the floor that was low and was waiting for it to dry so that the flooring could begin to be placed. He also filled mail holes in the walls and worked to prepare the room for refinishing.

When we got home from the city, Chad and I decided that our weekly Family Home Evening would be a work project - we would all work together to bring that room as close to done as possible as fast as we could... for you see, everything had been moved into the TV room (which was already adequately furnished) and we had not much more than a tiny trail through it to get around. In fact, looking at the picture, it's pretty hard to imagine that a person can even get through all that stuff...

We announced our intentions for the evening to the kids and it was received with a chorus of cheers and smiles! What awesome kids. I made assignments to try to organize our forces and keep everyone involved as much as possible and then we went to work! We had the kids sanding walls, priming, sweeping, vacuuming, washing and more. Two hours later we had the walls painted, half the trim taped and the floor completely ready to begin laying flooring. We held our family scripture study time and sent the kids to bed and then Chad and I (with the eager help of Melodee and Charity for a few minutes) began laying the flooring down. We sent the girls to bed and then proceeded to do a little more than half of the floor before we too had to get some sleep.

One of the jobs we did, was to mount a mirror above the stairs where it can reflect the light. This mirror was an old dresser mirror that serves us better on the wall than on a dresser. Beth and Myles helped their dad with this portion of the project.

 Beth also helped with removing outlet covers and even a little of the painting.

 Chad and Myles worked on covering and finishing the trap door that is needed to access the sewer clean-outs should we ever need to get at them.

 Melodee, Charity and Breanna all took a turn at painting the walls. They loved it and all wished the walls were larger so that they could have done more. Myles helped painting the edges of the wall with a brush.

 This photo shows the colors and decor of the room before it was updated to teal. Here Breanna is working on removing the door knob and Charity is watching her dad work on the floor.

 Naomi did the awesome job of taping all around the ceiling in preparation for painting the ceiling trim. I tried to get her to show off her beautiful smile for the picture, but she was being bashful for the camera.

The trap door is finished and the finishing edge is being put on. What an incredible difference!!!

The following morning we finished the floor, painted the trim and then added a bonus feature - a 3" shelf the length of the north wall for holding pictures. We painted a 2x4 teal and then screwed it to the wall just as Melodee and Myles returned home from working at the school. 

By that time we were ready to put everything away back in the room. We brought in the furniture, stacked the bunk beds and mounted shelves and pictures on the walls. The girls worked until bedtime and had everything in order - the room is done!

The shelf turned out perfectly and the girls amazingly had more than enough framed photos to fill the entire shelf and then some!

I am delighted with the finished result, but even more so I am delighted with the excitement of the kids - not just the ones whose room it is. Everyone got into the project and we did it in VERY good time. As I have thought about the amount of joy it brought me as a parent to do this for my girls, bringing everyone together to get the project done, I can't help but think about the multitude of gifts that we receive from our Heavenly Father  each and every day. Just like the refinishing of this bedroom was not conditional, the gifts He gives us are so often just like that. He doesn't just help us when He will get something back in return.... the Lord blesses us because he delights to bless us!!! (Doctrine and Covenants 41:1) Both Chad and I recognized the good feelings that this project brought to our hearts. We got caught up in the excitement and fun of it and you know, it's funny how the cost of he project  is insignificant - for we got so much more out of it than just a pile of expensive materials. Even in the very act of blessing our girls, the Lord blessed us. I am so grateful for the great mercy and grace that the Lord extends to me each and every moment of my life. What a wonderful feeling it brings into my heart!

So, not only did we set a personal record for refinishing a room (1.5 days), Naomi also got her braces off AND we were blessed to feel, the delight of blessing others that the Lord refers to when he tells us, "Hearken and hear, O ye my people, saith the Lord and your God, ye whom I delight to bless with the greatest of all blessings, ye that hear me; ..." What a wonderful project this has been!!!