Birds Hill Park - Cedar Bog

Today was a perfect day for a winter walk.  Perfect for walking and talking with my friend, at least.  And that was the priority for today.  But I can't go without a camera, even on a gray day.  I am inspired by other photographers - including my nephew - who can take incredible pictures in any weather.  I'm not there yet... I have much to learn.  But it was a lovely walk with a few surprises, and I did get a few photos.

A very pleasant surprise was this bird-feeding area.  One day I'll have to come back alone and just sit here long enough to get more close-ups.  The birds didn't seem shy, but we weren't there to sit quietly.

There were two snowmen on the path we took.  I'm grateful for my Manitoban friends who are willing to show me the places to go here in my new neighborhood. 

From MorMor's Journal - December 1985

Apparently I haven't scanned any 1985 pic's yet... so there is something to look forward to.

Saturday, December 7, 1985
My entries are getting fewer all the time.

This has been an interesting year. From Jan 14 to Aug 22? I worked full-time at McLeods as an inventory clerk. I really enjoyed my job most of the time, but from about March to August, Rachel had a hacking, gagging cough that kept us awake most nights unless I followed Docotrs orders and gave her half a 222 before bed. We took her to a pediatrician who thought she had a milk and dust allergy. Dr Raymond was not willing to have her tested and was not eager to have anyone else look at her so finally (after being told she had tonsilitis, bronchitis, a middle ear infection, possible whooping cough, etc) we took her to Emergency at the Children's Hospital. Within three days she had all the tests I had asked for and more. When we found she had no allergies and there was nothing wrong with her, Einar & I decided it was psychological and I should quit work.

Best decision I've ever made! Finances are tighter but I love being home. And Rachel is just fine.

Kirsten is in grade one and loving it. She is doing great - as usual. Still a bit of a perfectionist, but a little less serious than she has been.

My 1985 Christmas letter repeats much of this, but I'll post it anyway:

Hi Folks:
Another year has passed and there seem to have been many changes here at the Sandland household.
This summer was very busy and tiring. We spent much of our time taking Rachel to different Doctors to find out the cause of her hacking, gagging cough which had been keeping us up nights for several months. It was finally determined that there was nothing physically wrong with Rachel. The problem ended when I quit my job and became a full-time Mother again.
The Lord really looks after His own. Since I quit, Einar has been out of work for a total of one and a half days. Right now he is working for a siding contracter in Whistler, but it looks like he will be able to return to Forestry in March again next year. He will also do the Christmas Tree Patrol for them this month.
Kirsten just loves grade one and is doing very well. Her favorite pastimes are printing and drawing. She is a very mature six-year-old and sometimes a bit too serious. She expects a lot of herself so nothing makes me happier than to hear her giggling with her friends.
Rachel and I are thoroughly enjoying her last year at home. Both girls are involved in our AWANA club at church. Rachel also goes to Wee College at the Pentecostal Church and is never quite sure which is her favorite. Both require a fair bit of memorization and she is doing very well with that. Since Kirsten is big for her age and Rachel very small for hers, Rachel gets babied by everyone - to her delight. She is very affectionate and loves being the 'baby' of the family.
Our family has expanded. Just over a week ago, our 15 year old foster daughter came to live with us. We have all grown to love her very much....The girls are very proud of their big sister.
We will be spending Christmas here in Squamish with Gerry & Susan and their boys so we anticipate a quiet, relaxing time.
Love,
Einar, Debbie & girls

Books

I do love a good book. A while back I posted 15 of my favorite books/authors on Facebook, and my list looked like this:

1. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson (given to me at my MCC orientation - this book has done more to make me a pacifist than all my Mennonite training.)
2. The Bite of the Mango by Mariatu Kamara (I met Mariatu while working for MCC - a delightful young woman with quite the story.)
3. A Long Way Gone; Memoirs of a Boy Soldier) by Ishmael Beah (story of a child soldier in Sierra Leone - a recommend of Leah's)
4. Stolen Angels: the Kidnapped Girls of Uganda by Kathy Cook - (the story of girls abducted by the God's Liberation Army in Uganda - While working at MCC, I met Angelina Atyam, one of the Mom's of the abducted teens,who was instrumental in starting Concerned Parents Association.)
5. Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza (about a woman locked in a bathroom with 7 other women for several months during the Rawandaan massacre - a recommend from my brother Tim who heard her speak.)
6. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (about a boy growing up in Afghanistan.)
7. Captivating by John & Stasi Eldridge (Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul - recommended by Kirsten)
8. Author Orson Scott Card: Especially the Enders Series and the HomeComing Series. (I think Matthew got me started with these books.)
9. Following Christ by Joseph Stowell (this book struck me because he is very strong on the point that Christian institutions are all about creating Christian leaders, but Christ was all about creating followers.)
10. Nineteen-Eighty-Four by George Orwell (a recent read... one of those that I had to read because it is referred to so often, but I hadn't read it... Both fascinating and depressing.)
11. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (about a girl growing up in Afghanistan.)
12. Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency Series by Alexander McCall Smith (a fun, light read.)
13. Author Jan Karon's Mitford Series (also a light read; very refreshing.)
14. Author Max Lucado (easy to read inspirational reading.)
15. Author Chaim Potok

I went to my bookshelf to check out one of these books for information, and found more that should have been on the list. There are many, many, many more, but some of them I don't own, and some I have lent out, and my memory is short, so I can only add the ones I have and/or can remember.

How Sleep the Brave by James Hunter - a very old book about the Scottish Christians back in 17th Century and a hero called the Black Avenger, who could whip anyone, and often did rescue people from the soldiers. Kind of a Christian Superhero! Definitely not pacifist... but I loved it as a teen.

Favorite authors that I read to my girls: Enid Blyton (Boy Next Door was a favorite) and Frances Hodgson Burnett.

This past year I read Little Bee by Chris Cleave - thanks, Kendra for that recommend.

Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan - short stories about children's lives in Africa. Very dark, but one of those books I'm glad I read, and am not wanting to repeat anytime soon.

Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb - a story about Ethiopia

I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctors Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity by Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish - an excellent book about working toward peace.

As you can see, I love to read about other cultures and countries. I have been reading a lot of fluff lately. While I don't think that's necessarily bad, there is so much I want to read that might actually be of benefit spiritually and mentally, that I'm trying to pick my reading material more carefully once more.

I recently picked up "Stolen Life: the Journey of a Cree Woman" by Rudy Wiebe and Yvonne Johnson. I have read so much about atrocities in other countries, it was time to read about one in my own. I thought this would be high on my list of recommends... and it is. It is well-written, and sometimes hard to put down. But it got to the point where it was too hard to pick up. I couldn't handle all the abuse, and pain that one person could suffer - at the hands of the authorities, and of those who were supposed to love and protect her. Read it if you can. We need to know what is happening in our own country to people around us.

I have just picked up a trilogy called "Kristin Lavransdatter" by Sigrid Undset. It was the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928, and was translated from Norwegian. Since it is about a woman in midieval Norway, and I have read so little about both that time period and even about Norway, I was fascinated when I heard about these books. I think they will take some time to read - I will have to renew them a few times, or maybe just find my own copy. Thanks to Reg for the recommend.

From MorMor's Journal - 1984 Pictures

Playing with cousins Paul & Kevin

The second picture is Rachel spinning for honey at Kirsten's Outdoor School field trip. Rachel had to come along if I wanted to chaperone, and no one seemed to mind... except maybe Kirsten. I think Rachel got to do more than most of the kids who were supposed to be learning from that field trip... since she was so little, and cute, they worked hard at involving her.

Christmas dressup? Visiting with Bestemor and cousin Shannon.

3 sisters. Auntie Sandra with Kirsten, Kevin, Rachel & Paul

Were we in Nipawin for Christmas? I don't seem to have it in my journal, but these pictures I had tagged as 1983 first, but we definitely didn't spend Christmas there that year. So maybe 1984?

Christmas in our townhouse.

From MorMor's Journal - November 1984

These pictures are not from November... but since I don't have a post for summer, I'll have to add them here. The girls remember many camping trips in the summers, and I have a harder time recalling as many as they seem to think we did. But I'm glad for the pictures that verify that we did, indeed, take them camping. Some of our camping trips were basically free, since we stayed at Forestry sites rather than Provincial Park sites. Less amenities, but no cost!

November 23, 1984

Rachel - it's a good thing she likes being laughed at - she's so funny. She is very observent. She notices anything new in the way of jewelry, clothing, hair-do's, etc, and I often get a compliment from her. She also is fussy about pronounciation. I'm always hearing, "Mommy, (so & so) says 'kleenax' and it's not 'kleenax', it's 'kleenex'. (or 'Aman' vs 'Amen', etc) Now that she can say 'th', she's picky about that too. She sticks her tongue out to say it. Occasionally she'll say, "I sink..." (meaning, 'think') stop, roll her eyes, and just laugh.

Yesterday she was a fish. Fish don't have any arms so she took hers out of her sleeves. Then she climbed up on a chair and played the organ - with her nose. It looked so funny, I just laughed.

Today she came in from watching Daddy build a bird feeder and ran to the bathroom. Then she came to me and said, "Mommy, somebody wet my pants." Trying to keep a straight face, I asked, "Who do you think did it?"

"Well, probably Jesse or Shane could have. I think it was Shane."

So I asked, "Who is wearing your pants?"

"I am," her eyes started to roll.

"So who wet them?"

You could see the grin coming long before it arrived fully. "Maybe I did. Yea, I think I did."

Kirsten can be fuynny too when she's in the right frame of mind, but she'd hardly be described as funny. She's dependable, cheerful, helpful, and a real blessing to have around. I often wish I could be home more to instill the right values into my children, but I don't think I really have to worry about Kirsten. On her report card today she's described as self-reliant, cooperative, creative, well-adjusted, etc.

She came home from kindergarten recently and told me that someone had told her to punch another girl. "But Mommy," she said, "I didn't listen to that dumb thing. I don't have to listen to kids, only adults like my Mom & Dad and teachers."

She's a fun kid to be with. I like going shopping with her. Other kids all seem to like her. She makes friends easily and as far as I know has no enemies. Her faith in God is unshakable, and I pray that that, above all, will never change.

We have sold the trailer and are living in a townhouse on Diamond Head Road. The room is wonderful and we haven't missed the trailer at all yet.

From MorMor's Journal - 1984 Begins

January 7, 1984

We had a wonderful time in Bellingham. Yesterday we went to Vancouver - the girls were so good. They were in such goofy moods. They just wanted to sing and at London Drugs, Rachel was singing "Toilet Paper is Coming to Town."

March 24, 1984

Where does the time go?

I rocked Kirsten for a while tonight. She was coughing badly and couldn't sleep. She's so big! Wearing size 6 & 6x clothes! I can hardly remember her as a baby - it seems ages ago. Yet I sometimes feel I'm still too young to have children.

Tomorrow Kirsten graduates from Wee College at the Pentecostal Church. She is saying the welcome, "It is my joy... and I hope I do it right. Welcome to you all on our graduation night." We invited Einar's parents but they can't come.

A week from Wednesday, Kirsten & Angela are going to Kindergarten for one morning. They ca hardly wait!

Today Kirsten helped me to make pie dough - she mixed most of it. Then she and Rachel each made six miniature pies in their tart tins. Each pie had 1 blackberry. Kirsten also dried dishes for me. She's growing up!

Rachel will be three this week. She's having a tough time with obedience right now, but she is learning. She is as affectionate and sweet as ever and gets along very well with her little friends most of the time.

I babysit Angela, Jesse & Shane 2-3 days/week and I'm often surpried how seldom Jesse & Rachel fight. Rachel seems to get along with kids of any age. She loves everyone. Kirsten has a bit of a mean streak in her - like me. *

*I don't write down my journal word for word. My journal includes my prayer times with Sue and the prayers we were praying for our marriages, etc. Some of it is far too personal to include. I also believe that we can choose our focus in life. We all have good and bad in our lives, and if we focus on the bad, we make ourselves miserable. So I wanted to remove the statement about the mean streak. But I don't want to candy-coat our lives to the extent that my kids will wonder what happened to this generation when they discover they have a disobedient or mean child. Yes, my children had issues with disobedience and with being mean. And the adults they have become make me realize that God is all about grace.

From MorMor's Journal - December 1983

December 24

A strange Christmas! Einar worked all week and so did I with the exception of Thursday. Our neighbor Gary babysat for us on Wednesday. On Thursday Sue & Jerry came for a chicken dinner (which Su made.) Yesterday Trudy babysat, then had us over for a turkey dinner! Today she'll babysit again. I'm hoping to be home from work in time to go to the service at church tonight. I'm working Christmas Day and the 26th and 27th. Then I have three days off and Einar & I are going away alone for a few days - probably to Bellingham.

We both have babies...

It fits, Mom! (Everything 'fit' from Kirsten's much larger clothes to the ones Rachel had already grown out of. If she could get it on, it fit. And here, my pantihose.)

With Span.