Home!

Home! What a good feeling. I was born in Steinbach and spent my first 15 years in Kleefeld in a house that my father and brothers built. Then was a longer stint in Squamish, B.C., and an even longer one in Calgary, AB. Both of those locations became 'home' at one time or another. But now I feel like I'm really home.

I've been asked more than once if this felt like 'coming home.' After all, my roots are here in Manitoba. My answer was generally something about having been gone so long, that Manitoba isn't really 'home' anymore. Today, however, as I drove the country roads from Ile des Chenes to New Bothwell - where the best cheese in the world is made - I realized I was indeed home. Where does that feeling come from?

Is it because our children live in Winnipeg and are just a call away? I can babysit for an hour or an evening very easily. They can 'drop in' for supper when we have family or friends visiting. We can share the produce from my daughter's garden, or from the market.

Or is it because my dad and several siblings live only an hour and a half away, and visits are much more frequent? Or that I'm running into cousins frequently... at church, or especially at The Back Porch - the coffee shop being run out of my grandma's old house?

Or perhaps it is our home... we've unpacked and hope to be here a very long time... The view from the couch where I frequently sit is our deck and the trees beyond. The green of the Manitoba Maples and the Purple of the Schuberts. Beautiful!! With a 70' wide yard, I can hardly even imagine that half a year ago our view was the siding of our neighbors house. Our neighbors are the friendliest people around.

Or maybe it is being back in the country. Not quite 'country' like the farm where I grew up, but at least it's not city. I can drive 10 minutes and be in the city, or, if I choose, as I did this morning, to drive in the other direction, then I can find a cheese factory, meat & sausage market 10 minutes away along country roads, and 10 minutes from there, a vegetable stand, bakery and grocery store, and friendly conversation in every place. The drive takes me past beautiful green and golden fields (I must add that I am not speaking as a farmer here - they would not say the fields are beautiful this year. The rain has made things grow poorly and the fields are patchy.) But it is still scenic; everything green and yellow and golden... pair that with a blue sky full of fascinating cloud formations.

Today someone told me we've had terrible weather here in Manitoba... so terribly wet. But it mostly rains at night, and when it does rain, it is still warm. The mosquitos were bad our first few weeks, but even that has settled down. We have eaten many, many meals outside.

There are some serious flaws in our yard. There is no lilac bush, nanking cherries, strawberries or raspberries. That will need to be fixed. But I feel like I have years to make this place perfect. And for now, I am home.

Josiah Simon Budala

June 10, 2010

Our big news that day was supposed to be the possession of our house in Manitoba.

Josiah trumped.

It is an odd feeling to have your daughter in labor and to wish that the pains would increase. That's really not what I wished for, except that I know that it is necessary for the completion of the task ahead.

We spent the 8th together - going for coffee at the Back Porch near Landmark (once my Grandma's house) while she counted the time between contractions. Stopping at our lawyer to sign one more paper for our house. Running errands. Then, checking in at the hospital to see if we should be concerned about the closeness of the contractions. And back home to wait it out.

Late in the evening Rachel and Paul headed back to the hospital and she was admitted around midnight. All the next day we waited... sometimes at the hospital with Rachel, and sometimes with Kirsten & Matthew & Haley.

Our kids all opted to be surprised at the birth with the sex of their babies. That makes the wait both harder and more exciting, I think. Would Haley end up with a girl cousin? Or would we have one of each? I changed my mind frequently as to what I thought she'd have. But I think I really expected a girl.

Josiah Simon was born at 2:33 in the morning of the 10th. He was about 2 weeks early, and was tiny - 5lb 2oz - and very very cute.

Today we pulled out Rachel's old photo album and discovered that he does indeed resemble his mother as a baby. He does have black hair, though not a lot of it.

So now we have a granddaughter and a grandson. 2010 will be a memorable year for having gained 2 grandchildren, and 2 new homes. I'm hoping for many more grandchildren... but, no more moving...

Packing Day

Wow! It's here. Packing day, that is. So why am I taking the time to write in my blog, you ask. Well, one of my criteria for this move was that Interstate provide movers, and they complied. So now my house is being packed while I sit on the couch with my laptop. It is really a very odd feeling.

We have enjoyed our home in Airdrie, though not as fully as we expected to when we bought it. Now we are hoping for many, many years in our new place in Ile des Chenes, Manitoba.

With this move there is such a load of mixed feelings. Our church, Abbeydale Christian Fellowship, has been a haven for us for 19 years. We have many dear friends to whom we will be saying goodbye tomorrow. Hopefully we will see many of them in Manitoba in the years to come, and in our visits back here. Keeping up with friends is so much easier these days with the Internet as well.

My job at Mennonite Central Committee was a dream come true in many ways. I was able to be a 'missionary' of sorts in my work in Material Resources, and through both that position and the Thrift Shop Coordinator, I learned to love so many generous folks who volunteer time and money to help those in need all over our world. To top that off, the office atmosphere was one that many people only dream about. I had to say goodbye to all of that.

The bonus in all of this... being close to our kids and grandkids. I use the plural even though there is only 1 grandchild yet. Rachel & Paul's baby is due in a few weeks. We are so thrilled that we will be able to be close enough to watch the babies grow up. At least until one of them gets transferred... We'll deal with that when it happens.

I leave behind a sister and brother-in-law and their family. I hate saying goodbye. But they have ties in Manitoba too, and who knows if they will join us there one day. And I look forward to being closer to the siblings and my father in Manitoba.

Yes, we will be further from BC and all of the family there. But, as Einar reminds them, we usually fly there anyway. We haven't driven to BC in a very long time.

So we will look for a home church that will one day feel like home. We will look for new friends - not to replace the old - but to make our life in Manitoba feel like home as well. We will welcome all our Alberta and BC family and friends when they have reason to go to Manitoba.

And, hopefully, we'll be done with winters in June!!

A Temporary Home

8 years ago we built a new house, or rather, had Excel build it for us. We chose the floor plan, the colors, and anything where we actually had a choice. It was a fun process and we had a house we liked.

Unfortunately, there was no yard. And it was in the city. Late last year I was able to convince Einar that we needed to move. Out of the city. To a place with a view and a yard.

When we found 68 Sun Ridge Place in Airdrie, we felt blessed. It has a lovely dining room with a view and a large back yard. I looked forward to the move and we both thought we had found our 'dream house' - a place we could enjoy for many years to come.

The move itself was much more stressful than I expected. The stress was compounded by the information we received after we had loaded our truck but before we unloaded it a week later. Interstate bought the Manitoba operation. That may not mean much to someone else, but when we heard that, we knew there was a high possibility of a transfer for Einar.

Of course we could always say 'no' to the transfer. But we wouldn't. Our children and grandchildren live in Winnipeg. We wouldn't 'follow' our children to Winnipeg, except for reasons such as this.

I'm not always sure what to think of the timing. Einar's company will move us, so the major work won't be an issue. Living in Airdrie (out of the city) has been, for both of us, a breath of fresh air. We will definitely consider living outside of Winnipeg as well.

Meanwhile, there is a lovely home in Airdrie for sale...

Haley Dawn Kroeker

What a precious bundle! Although our kids thought they were having a boy, no one was at all disappointed at Haley's appearance. She is one beautiful baby.
I was struck by how it felt to hold my own grandchild.
I remember being surprised by the amount of love one could have for one's own child. Then when the second came along, my biggest fear was that I could never love the second like I loved the first. I was wrong.
And now, holding our granddaughter, those same feelings washed over me, and I was overwhelmed. This beautiful child was given in care to our children, and in some ways, to us as well. And there is nothing she has to do to earn our love. Although we think she is perfect, that wouldn't have made a difference either. At least I don't think so.
I am so grateful to have had these days with her - almost a week when we leave. I will miss you, Haley! But hopefully we'll see you soon.

Waiting...

Back when Kirsten & Matthew first discovered they were expecting their first baby, and it would be due in early January, they were hoping it wouldn't be early - they did not want a Christmas baby! They got their wish - though I suspect the wish has changed a wee bit... it is hard carrying those extra pounds for so long!

Here we are, on January 17, a week after the due date (though she was given three due dates: the 8th, 10th, and 12th), and the baby seems content to wait. Already over 8 lbs according to the midwife, we are now hoping it won't need to wait much longer. I use the word 'need' very deliberately. She gets all kinds of advice on how to bring it on sooner. And much as I want to see and hold my grandchild, I do want it to have all the advantages that it may get from staying in the womb as long as possible.

So I work on looking at the positive. Hopefully this extra time is an advantage for the baby - apparently late babies live longer than early ones! I also have time to be with my kids and observe their pregnancies... something I've missed out on by living 2 provinces away. I'm taking time to meet a few friends here in Winnipeg that I haven't seen in years. I had lunch with my Dad and 3 Manitoba siblings yesterday.

The picture above is taken in my Grandma's house in Linden, which has been turned into a coffee shop. What fun to have time to do this with my daughter.

Now if only junior would show his/her face...

Blessings?

Have you been blessed this year?

I have begun to wonder, recently, if I know the meaning of the word ‘blessed.’ I use it so loosely. Finances are healthy – I am blessed. I am expecting grandchildren – I am blessed. When things are going well in my life, I feel the Lord’s blessing. Or at least I think I do. Maybe I have it all backwards!

In rereading Matthew 5, there is no verse that conveys you are blessed when things are going well. In fact, quite the contrary. Who is blessed? Those that mourn. The meek (down-trodden?). The poor in spirit.

If I am being persecuted and insulted for Christ’s sake, then I am blessed. Wow!

If you were to ask a group of Christians if they would like to experience the Lord’s blessing, you would probably get a strong affirmative reaction. Some might see more than dollar signs – some might even think beyond a good feeling.

Now gauge the reaction of these same folks if you were to first point to the homeless man who is there because he lost everything. “He is blessed,” you say, “Would you like the Lord’s blessing as well?”

We don’t have to lose everything to be blessed. We can be merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers – they are all listed as blessed as well. But I think that it is through loss that we learn best and come closest to the One who gave everything for us. Maybe it has nothing to do with ‘things’ at all…