where's the next...

speed bump?

It had already been a crazy week. On two separate mornings I drove one of the boys to college because either there were crazy transit delays or a wallet was lost en route. It was Friday morning and I had just returned home from one of these drives.

As I entered the house I remember thinking, how wonky does a week have to get before you can consider it a write off? And then the phone rang.

It was Florian's uncle on the other end of the line, bringing us the news that Florian's dad had passed away early that morning. It came as a surprise and we spent the day trying to wrap our minds around this turn of events.

Early Sunday morning Florian & I left to make the drive to Dauphin, Manitoba. We spent this past week making funeral arrangements, cleaning out the place that was "home" to his Dad, encountering legal red tape and consequent roadblocks, and finally, with much yet unsettled, making the drive home.

It was a week where we turned our thoughts to what had to be done. Now that we are back we need time to "de-compress" - to process that which we have seen and heard - to turn our faces to the Son and enjoy the blessings that He so richly pours out on us.

What are those blessings? a few of them are:
- years ago Florian had made the effort to become reconciled to his dad
- we saw Florian's dad in November
- our kids, left on their own this week, managed unbelievably well
- friends called them several times throughout the week to see how they were doing
- my sister came each day to help with dinner & driving
- my brother came to the funeral (a 4+ hour drive for him) - what a gift!!

But the greatest blessing is that, having experienced God's grace & mercy in our lives, love & reconciliation with others is possible. I am humbled and grateful.

it's been too long....

since my last entry. Thanks Suzanne for giving me just the nudge I needed LOL

Christmas. Why was I so "worried"? Florian had more energy those days than ever! To give you a glimpse of that energizer-bunny:

Dec 24.

Florian worked until just after lunch.
4:00pm napped
7:00 attended Christmas service at our church.
9:00 we're home and friends arrived for our annual Open House.
12:30am Florian went to bed

Dec 25.
3:00am Florian got up to mix cinnamon buns
5:00 the dough had risen, it was time to put the buns on pans
6:00 the oven was hot; time to bake the buns
6:30 buns baked; Florian started on bacon
8:00 everyone in the house was up, including Florian
He stayed up ALL day - no nap for him.
2:30pm Florian drove across the city to get his Mom who joined us for Christmas dinner
5:00 Florian drove his mom home
I don't remember what time he actually went to bed that evening but it wasn't before 9:00.

Dec 26:
9:00am we left for my parents' for the day. He drove. Once there, we visited all day. Again, no naps.
5:30pm Finally at dinner he looked at me and said, "I don't think I'll be able to drive home." well... that's not exactly surprising, honey.
But did he sleep on the drive home? No. While we were enjoying conversation & dinner, a snowstorm had come up which meant I had to drive through blowing snow, poor visibility and icy road conditions. He stayed awake to help me navigate, particularly those times where I could not see the edge of the highway, nor where the lanes were.

Wow. What an incredibly different week than what I was expecting. I am thankful that God blessed him (& us) with such amazing strength & endurance those days!!