Thanksgiving Weekend

Yes, I know. It's been awhile since I've posted some pictures. I have a very good reason as to why. It has been bugging me a bit that I had no watermark on my pictures. If I am going to put my pictures "out there", then I'd like to protect them somehow. It made me uncomfortable that just anyone could take my pictures and use it for whatever. And yes, I know that putting a watermark on my pictures will not protect them completely, but hopefully better than no watermark at all.

But here's another thing: I use Picasa for my pictures. And it is either a choice of watermarking ALL my photos, or not at all. I am not sure if I want to watermark all my pictures because I make online photo albums for the kids. I don't want my watermark on those photos that end up in their albums which I get printed. I don't want this watermark to be on every picture I want to print. So what to do? What to DO?! 

So for now, I am editing my photos, one by one, adding "Helder Happenings". And this takes time. Especially when you plan on doing a whack of photos for one post, only to find out that you can only post 20 pictures through Picasa in one post. Sigh. Only 20 pictures?! How can I manage that?

The other problem is this: when I edit my photos in Picasa, I HAVE to go through Picasa to post my pictures on my blog if I wan the wording to appear. For some reason, whatever I do to my photos does not change the photo when I go to look for it under "My Pictures". The picture in "My Pictures" is there without the "Helder Happenings."

Confused?! Yeah, me too. But I am hoping that someone, just someone out there will read this and help me. You can either email me your wisdom (see "Contact Me" tab at the top of the blog), or type it out in the comments below. I would be ever so grateful.

Speaking of grateful, Thanksgiving weekend was what, 2.5 weeks ago?! It's hard to imagine that it's only that short of a time due to the weather. 2.5 weeks ago we were camping in shorts and T-shirts, enjoying temperatures in the low 20s. And not even 2 weeks later, the temps have plummeted and we've even woken up to *s. I can't even say it yet :o( I am so not ready to welcome that fluffy white stuff yet.

But back to our wonderful Thanksgiving weekend, our annual tradition of camping. And what a weekend it was!!! Full of badminton, biking, card playing, relaxing. It was so much fun!! 

The two highlights of this weekend over the years is definitely the biking and badminton. These two sports are taken very seriously, to the point that we even steal the comfort station rake in order to make the badminton court. Like I said, it's a serious game.

Resting after nearly killing each other in badminton. And if it isn't badminton that does these two guys in, it's the mountain biking. It truly is amazing how much you can push yourself when testosterone is involved.

K and K - spending every waking moment together. Here Keziah figured that she could blow up her tummy with Kathryn's help. That is what belly buttons are for, no?!

 

We start 'em young. She's got a ways to go.....

On Sunday, it did pour. It poured while we were in church, and then again in the afternoon. But thanks to our larger trailer, we had lots of room for everyone. 12 people to be exact! The bigger kids played a game in the back by the bunks (one of the bunks turns into a table and benches), the little kids watched a movie, and us big, big kids played Arizona Spaghetti at the dining table. We were all very comfortable. Except Nathan, who lost the card game BIG TIME!! hee hee :o)

 

 

Mmmmm, campfire suppers and desserts using pie irons! So delicious!!! 

 

One of us has an electric site. One does not. But don't feel too sorry for the one that does not have electricity! Let the picture explain!!! Do you see the extension cord?! If you follow it carefully, it goes across the road and into that yellow box way in the background. It was noticed once by the park rangers. After that we did contemplate hanging the cord through the trees.....

Me with my namesake, and my daughter. Blessings that overwhelm my heart.

The men weren't the only ones biking. Our road had a slight hill and so it was used a.lot. by these kids, flying down to see how long and far the brake skid would go.

Two munchkins and fast friends!

The day to go home is also the last day this park is opened. And so that means very long line ups for the dumping station. At one point we counted over 25 trailers waiting in line. Last year we were smart and hooked everything up by 8 in the morning, dumped, and then came back to our site. This year however, with our new trailer, that was not possible due to the slide-out. And so we stayed at our site as long as possible, until the majority of the trailers were gone. By the time we got there, there were only 8 trailers ahead of us. 

So while daddy did the dirty work, we went and had fun at the park!!

 

 

 

We arrived home around 5 in the afternoon. Apparently the kids missed their books, so much so that they looked at books the whole hour that it took us to empty the trailer. 60 minutes of just sitting there, "reading"! I was impressed!!

And that is the end of our camping adventures for the year 2013. As I've stated before, we have been so thankful for the memories made while being able to spend time as a family on these adventures. 

And now we buckle down for winter. Please wake me up in April. :o)

Prayers

The picture above shows many things: beauty, nature, power. Right now though, I see it depicting the many emotions that our greater church community is going through right now. 

Take the water, for instance. The water represents our lives. Sometimes life can be smooth sailing, and other times, life can be filled with trials and turmoil. You can see this in the churning of the waters, the waves that are crashing against the rocks. Lately, life has proven to be very difficult to many, leaving their lives crashing against some very difficult things to comprehend; the water is agitated, swirling all about, leaving a feeling of unrest and strife, wondering if the waters will ever cease their surging.

Then there are the splashes of water: the tears. The oh so many tears that are being shed right now; tears of grief, confusion, anxiety, and hope. Some droplets are large and will take awhile to dry up. Others are small yet still so wet. But they are there, falling fast and hard.

I see the rocks. To me, the rocks represent God, our Lord and Saviour. While the rocks may seem like an obstacle for the waves, I see it as the rock being there for the waves to crash into, a place for our tears to splash on to. It is this Rock that will not be moved, always steadfast, forever faithful, always strong, even when our lives roll and crash against it, trying to envision God's plan for each and every one of us; comprehending His reasons (if He reveals them) for how and why He takes His own to Himself in such painful ways. Just as the waves batter against the rocks, we may take comfort in knowing that our Rock is there too, to take the battering of our questions, of our hurts and fears. I see this Rock as reliable, knowing that no matter the trials in this life, when we turn to our Redeemer, our Rock, He is there. And that leave us with the hope of peaceful and still waters on the other side.

"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; 

my hope comes from Him. 

He alone is my rock and my salvation; 

he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. 

My salvation and my honour depend on God;

he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

Trust in him at all times, O people;

pour out your hearts to him,

for God is our refuge." Ps. 62: 5-8

And lastly, the smooth waters. This represents for me the smoothness of Life, the Life living with Christ in heaven. Lately we have lost some young people, which can leave us with many questions. Yet, we take comfort in knowing where these young members are now: walking the smooth paths of heaven, where there is no pain, no tears, no confusion, no hurts.

Please join me in praying for all those who are mourning the loss of a loved one, be that well in age or young in years. And let us all hold onto our confession, that our only comfort in life and death is this:

That I am not my own,

but belong with body and soul, 

both in life and in death,

to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ.

He has fully paid for all my sins 

with His precious blood,

and has set me free

from all the power of the devil.

He also preserves me in such a way

that without the will of my Heavenly Father

not a hair can fall from my head;

indeed, all things must work together

for my salvation.

Therefore, by His Holy Spirit

He also assures me

of eternal life

and makes me heartily willing and ready

from now on to live for Him.

(Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day 1).

On We Go...

After a brief hiatus, this blog will be a bit more active. I'd like to thank those of you who commented here, or emailed me or talked to me face-to-face about the purpose of this blog. To receive comments was not my intent for the last post. I just did not want to leave you hanging while I took some time to reflect on the purpose of continuing to blog. Yet, while it was not my intent to solicit feedback, it was definitely encouraging to hear/read what you had to say.

The one comment that stands out the most for me is this one:

The way you are so positive about life and what it brings to you and your family is lovely to read. Where do you get that positive energy from?

Me? Positive?? I have never really thought of myself as a positive person. I actually had to look up the word 'positive' in the dictionary to see what it means and how (if) it applies to me.

This is what I found:

Positive:

• constructive, optimistic, confident, hopeful, forward-thinking, cheerful, buoyant, assured, upbeat
• Synonyms: practical, useful, productive, helpful, pragmatic

Wow. That's quite the description! Does it actually apply to me though? Let me look at a few words there:

confident - well, it depends on how my clothes fit that day and if I can even match an outfit and do my hair that actually looks like I did it

forward-thinking - ha! No, not always; change and I don't always get along

cheerful - most times.....as long as things go my way

buoyant - only in water

helpful - yes, as long as it works for me

productive - not really. If I was, then maybe I'd have projects on the go, like maybe painting some rooms in my home, seeing as I still haven't done a thing to many rooms to make this home 'ours', which we've been living in for over 6 years

practical - this I can claim!!! Yes, I am practical. Just go shopping with me and you'll see how practical I am (I walked out of a consignment shop this past Saturday after going there to buy the kids some jeans. I had received an email from this store, saying that they were having a sale: buy 2 pairs of pants, get 1 free. Perfect! Or so I thought. I went there with high hopes, only to realize that my hopes weren't the only thing high! So were the prices!! They doubled the prices of the pants! $10 for a pair of used jeans?! No thanks.)

pragmatic - well, this requires another dictionary 'look up' so we'll just leave this one be

So back to that word 'positive'. Yes, I do love humour, which can come across as positive. I love to be around people, laughing and talking. I actually need to be around people, unlike my husband, who could spend a whole day not having contact with another human being - and still be sane at the end of the day!! 

But to be honest, being positive is something that can be hard for me. I do not roll with the punches well. I like things my way. I can't be around negative people as they can bring me down easily. 

Maybe I am confusing being positive with being content (now, don't confuse contentment with happy. Two totally different concepts). Being content day in and day out is one of my biggest struggles. I have always had this 'thorn in my side'. My biggest problem is that I am looking all around me for things to make me content, not necessarily material things (remember, I am practical :o). No, it is more that I am looking for contentment in my situation that day or circumstance that I find myself in. 

I forget that when I see the grass is greener on the other side, it's because, well, think about it: what makes grass green? A lot of fertilizer. Or in other words....well, you fill in the blank (crude term for fertilizer, if you need help). To get that green grass 'over there', am I prepared to go through what it takes to get it green?! To receive a lot of fertilizer?!

Content is more than a feeling. It is a state of mind. And when I am looking in my surroundings for my heart to be content, then you can imagine how quickly that feeling comes and goes. One minute I am up and the next minute I am down.

On this path of life, the LORD is definitely teaching me that if I want to be content, I need to look only to Him. He is the only One that can provide this state of mind. And being content does not mean having things go my way, or circumstances that only benefit me, or having all my prayer requests met (goodness me, can you imagine if He actually did grant all of our requests?! Oiy. We'd be in more trouble!! :o)

So am I a positive person? Maybe I am. Maybe I am not. All I know is I pray daily that I am content. In Him, only. This sure relieves the pressures off my husband, children and close friends, knowing that they do not need to provide my contentment!!

I pray that one day, I may confess confidently the same words that Paul writes in Philippians 4: 11-13:

"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have pleny. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength."

And who better to know what contentment really means than Paul?! What a life God has led him through!! Once again, pulling out His Word puts things into perspective. 

May you look today in the Right Place for contentment, knowing God's promises of 

"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13: 5; Deut. 31: 6

Quiet

Here we are, in the midst of the glorious season of Fall. The colours that are on display right now is just breath-taking. In my Bible Study, we were just studying up on the two ways that God reveals Himself to us. It is through creation and His Word. We focus a lot on His Word, as it should be. It is a place where He speaks to us. But He also speaks to us through His creation. And boy, is He ever speaking loudly right now!! He is showing to us that not only has He created this world, He is maintaining it as well. We can see that in the colours of the leaves, the way the squirrels are busy scurrying around, and how even the tiny mice are looking for warmer places to live (so far they haven't found that luxury in my home!). The birds are starting to fly south, the grass has almost stopped growing, the crops are ready to be harvested, and the nights are getting longer.

See? So many ways in which He is revealing His power and authority to us. May we continue to marvel at what He is showing to us through nature.

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This blog is a year old, as of October 11. I cannot believe a year has gone by since I've started!!

Knowing this date was coming up, it has brought me many reflective moments; time in which I have spent thinking as to whether to continue blogging or not. I spent a lot of September thinking about this, evaluating my blog, especially my motives. I've been giving a lot of thought as to its purpose.

I have come to the conclusion that my blog actually doesn't have a purpose! So really, why am I doing this then? I believe that a ministry blog, medical blog or a recipe blog has definite purpose. This blog is none of those. I am no ministry "gal", and although I love to bake and cook, the recipes I use are not mine to share. And as for the medical blog, well, as you know, I already have one of those.

So that leaves this blog. What is my intent? My aspiration? What is its function and objective?! Yes, I love to write and take pictures. And I have always done this without blogging. I write every day in a journal for both of my kids, of the activities we did that day etc. etc.; I also love to put pictures into photo albums, so it's not like this is the only place I put my pictures. Because I do all this, I can't even say my blog helps me to document what we do.

And so, seeing as I cannot come up with any good answers for these questions, I have and will continue to take some time to ponder my intentions for a few more days or so. And if I still cannot come up with a reasonable answer for its direction, then I have no qualms to stop blogging.

And that is why my blog has been fairly quiet over the last number of weeks and may be quiet for a few weeks.