A Mother's Love, Steadfast and Sure

A mother’s love is steadfast and sure, and come what may, it will endure.

    
The time we have with our children is so fleeting and sometimes we mothers wish we could turn back the clock and perhaps take better advantage of every passing minute. But as much as we would like to keep our children under our protective wings, we understand the necessity of letting go and trusting God to work out His will and His way in their lives.

Remembering Mom

Forever In Our Hearts

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

How Do I Cope With Having An Estranged Child?

I thought I was coping quite well...until I saw her picture on a relative's FB. I thought I had let go of the hurt...but that picture just brought everything back to the forefront.

I wrote last week about pregnancy losses, and as hard as those are, there is a greater loss...that of a child who is still living but refuses contact, as our oldest adopted daughter does.

Four Names ~ Giving Meaning, Purpose and Honour

Four names on a page...names that were carefully chosen to give meaning to lives that would never be lived...to give purpose to mourning for what would never be...to give honour to God, who always knows what is best for us.

I've never talked about these names...they were really just for me at the time I chose them, but when I came across that piece of paper I thought maybe it's time to share them.

A Love Story; How True Love Has Carried Us Through the Years

How is 'True Love' defined?

This is the Websters Dictionary online definition of love:

1.A feeling of strong attachment induced by that which delights or commands admiration; preeminent kindness or devotion to another; affection; tenderness

2. Especially, devoted attachment to, or tender or passionate affection for one of the opposite sex

As I read that definition, I thought,  that doesn't seem like enough to keep a marriage relationship going through all the struggles this life presents. 

A Life Well Lived; We're Just Passing Through

It's taken me a long time to write this post...Mother's Day 2018 we went to visit the home where I grew up...or what was left of it. I knew I wanted to write about it, but I couldn't get all of my thoughts organized enough to express in a post, so I set it aside.

My parents are an example of a life well-lived.

I mentioned on our About page that my parents were my inspiration for Living Our Lives Well. I wanted whatever I wrote to honour them and be a reflection of their lives and faith.

What I eventually wrote was...surprise...song lyrics!

No music yet...not for lack of trying, but nothing sounds quite right yet. Hopefully one day it will come.

Reflecting On 2019

  It's hard to believe we're at the end of another year! 2019 seems to have flown by, and yet the fact that just six months ago we were living in a different home in a different community feels like such a long time ago!

   As always, I've taken some time to reflect on the past year.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

...from our family at Living Our Lives Well!

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It's a Cavalier King Charles Christmas!

  It's that time of year when everyone shares their home tours, showcasing their Christmas decor, so I thought I'd share my favourite year-round decor, but with a Christmas theme!

Meet Raven, Avalie and Harley

Remembering Dad

I know that I know that I know that I know by grace I've been set free.

1 Thessalonians 4:13,14 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

 Dad asked the Lord Jesus Christ to come into his heart and save him in December 1985, at the age of fifty-eight. Dad went home to be with the Lord on Wednesday morning, December 16, 2009. The following is taken from Dad’s own words that he wrote of his testimony of salvation and was read at the celebration of his life.

Traditions of Christmas ~ Our Nativity Scene

 "Gingerbread and candy canes, cookies baked to give away; 

singing carols, Christmas plays, gifts and going to Grandma's place." 

 All of these have been a big part of our family's celebrations, but the most important thing to us has been to instill in our children and grandchildren the true meaning of Christmas. 

 "While some traditions come and go, others we hold dear"

  For the past 25 years or so, the center of our decorations has been our manger scene, depicting the birth of Christ. 

Traditions Of Christmas ~ Gift Giving Fun

  Giving is one of the most fun parts of Christmas! As a family, there are a few traditions we've had over the years to add a little more fun to our gift giving. 

 One of these traditions was started for practical reasons, and it seems to be a common one with many families. Every year on Christmas Eve, our kids were allowed to open one gift. It was never a surprise to find a pair of PJs in this gift, but we usually added a small gift to make it a little more fun for them! Most years we included a movie or a video game, and more recently we've started adding a package of hot chocolate and microwave popcorn. The best part for us is knowing everyone will look good for Christmas morning pictures!

Traditions of Christmas ~ Gift Trays

   This is one of my favourite gift ideas and one that we've done many times over the years. Some years have been quiet, with just my daughter Nicole and I getting together, while other years the whole family has been home to take part. No matter who is there, it's always a fun time of making memories.

Traditions of Christmas ~ Mini Gingerbread Houses

  Many years ago, baking cookies and making a gingerbread house before Christmas became one of our family traditions. The gingerbread houses didn't happen every year, but at some point, all eight of our kids had a turn at decorating a house with candy. 

Traditions of Christmas ~ Button Wreath

  

When I was a child, I loved playing with my mom's collection of buttons. Like many ladies of her day, Mom kept the buttons in an old cookie tin. Years later, when my parents were moving from the farm, among their possessions was a huge cookie tin full of buttons. Not the small tin from my childhood, but one that belonged to my great aunt. I'm sure that tin held not only Auntie Bene's button collection, but my grandma's and my mom's as well. I had no idea what I'd do with all those buttons, but I brought the cookie tin home, not willing to leave it behind for someone else to throw away.

My Isaac Part 28 Adoption Day

 By May 2012, we had completed everything required for our adoption home study and again we waited for other people to do their part. The day finally came in August! By this time, we were living in a camper trailer while building our house,  but we gladly took a break from work to meet with our social worker and sign the official documents. 

My Isaac Part 27 God is Still Good!

 Having made the decision to move back home, we got busy preparing our house to sell, purchasing property and making plans for our new home. We had also begun a child-specific home study in preparation for adopting our little Princess. It had been a long time coming and of course, that whole process took a long time, but we were almost there!

  It was a busy time and blog posts were few and far between, but I did make a year end post that summed things up...

 "In his time God will work all things for our good and for his glory, and even if we don't ever get to see the whole picture....well, God is still good isn't he!"

My Isaac Part 26 Wherever You Are

  I'm not sure what was going on at this time, or what was on my mind...I do know that Thanksgiving was difficult that year. I was missing our girls and our grandkids. Ten years earlier we had moved...we were only an hour away, but the distance was more than just miles. Perhaps everything had just piled up and I  needed to spend a few minutes wallowing in self pity! 

 I had said to Brian, "I want to move home." And wonderful man that he is, he agreed, and soon we were looking for property and planning our move.

My Isaac Part 25 Taking a Break

  Another year of waiting. Life went on. Eventually, we would be able to start our adoption home study, but in the meantime calls to take in more foster children continued.

  Another nine months had now passed.

My Isaac Part 24 Seek the Lord and His Strength

 We had been preparing ourselves for our Princess to return to her birth mom. They had been having regular visits and cfs was looking at extending visits. Because of some circumstances in her birth mom's life, transition home would probably not happen until springtime....several months away. 

From an email:
 During one of the visits, Danica was telling the social worker about some red leaves she took to Sunday School, and said, "It's amazing what God can do!" So....I guess we both need to just remember that..."It's amazing what God can do!"

 Then in November of 2010, there was a surprising change of plans. We received the news that her birth mom was giving up her parental rights. Out of respect to Princess's birth mom, I won't share all of the details of how this came about...we were just thankful for this amazing turn of events!

  There was one condition, however... That no adoption plan be made for one full year!