Exciting busy day! My daughter Sarah had a baby boy, Logan, at 1:30 am on 3 June!

So I spent the majority of the day rushing about: cleaned house, packed, laundry, practiced my nonnie (grandma) skills by babysitting my grandson Marcus, cleaned up my computer stuff (going to take a . . . → Read More: new grandson! I love family!]]> 3 June 2010 to 14 June 2010

Exciting busy day! My daughter Sarah had a baby boy, Logan, at 1:30 am on 3 June!

So I spent the majority of the day rushing about: cleaned house, packed, laundry, practiced my nonnie (grandma) skills by babysitting my grandson Marcus, cleaned up my computer stuff (going to take a break from it, mostly, while I’m gone!).

Climbed on the Greyhound at 5 pm, and hit the road. Interesting night! The gent sitting in front of me hacked all night (literally)… and I neglected to bring a pillow… so mostly I dozed rather than slept! But did enough dozing that I was ready for the day when we finally pulled into the bus depot in Leduc, Alberta at about 12 noon next day!

My daughter’s hubby, Daryl, picked me up from the bus stop, and we drove to the hospital to meet daughter Sarah and grandson Logan. Of course he is absolutely adorable! After doing the check-out stuff, we drove to their home. Family and friends dropped by all afternoon to see the little guy and congratulate the parents. My son-in-law made a wonderful supper of salad, twice-baked potatoes, and barbequed chicken for supper. I was so impressed! (lol… it turned out my daughter had made the twice-baked potatoes and frozen them before the baby arrived; thus they were actually twice-baked-then-barbequed! And she herself made the salad while I was admiring my little grandson, and I hadn’t even noticed! Still, as the next few days would prove, I do have a son-in-law who is talented in the kitchen!).

Sarah is a wonderful mommy! It is interesting to watch my kids take care of their babies. Seems that the rules for baby care constantly continue to change, just as they did while I was having my own babies (for example, I was instructed to place my first baby on her tummy, the second one on her side, the third on her other side, and the fourth and fifth on their backs – though the fifth quickly determined to lay curled up on his front no matter what the rules said!). I see that scheduled feeding is apparently in vogue again, as is offering epidurals and other pain-reducers to moms in labor. I gave birth in the “natural birth” heyday – five babies with no pain meds, just lots of huffing-and-puffing! And breast-feeding on demand, of course. I have to laugh at all the ever-evolving rules and regulations, as the majority of babies seem determined to make the rules themselves anyway!

Over the next few days I have mightily enjoyed the little one. At 6 pounds birth weight, he is much smaller than my babies were – but pretty much par for the course, relative to most of his cousins! My nights have been full of waking hours – but it is so worth it when I get to cuddle the little guy after he and mommy have had feeding time. Times like this, I can sure see the joy of living as extended families – or at least close enough together to be “on-call” at a moment’s notice.

Just being together as family is awesome. No need for “planned activities.” Caring for the baby together, cleaning, cooking, laundry, sitting and chatting, sharing memories, asking for and giving advice, going for walks around the neighborhood… together! That’s family! Oh, and of course taking dozens of pictures to hold those memories. I love my digital camera! I can take countless pictures, and not worry about the costs of developing and printing! Yes!

Little guy’s eyes are quickly turning dark brown – and he has long dark hair – just like his mommy when she was a baby!

After a few days, we went to the home of my daughter, Taryn, and her hubby Andrew, and I stayed with them for a couple days. Had a wonderful time with my grandson, Tony (age 9), playing table games, going to the park together, having a rental-movie-and-popcorn-sleepover in the living room. We also did some crosswords together – Taryn, Tony, and me. The cross-word book was British, and the clues had a definite British-English slant, which threw us for a loop! We cheated! And laughed! And cheated some more! Such fun!

Back in the day, Tony lived with us the first 6 months of his life, and then we spent many, many happy hours together as their little family lived close by when he was pre-school. It was fun to be together again and do the simple family things we’ve always enjoyed.

I also got to spend lots of time with my 8 month old grandson Apollo. I only saw him for a day or two when he was new-born, and he has grown so much. It was wonderful to be family together with him too – and of course with his mommy and daddy.

We did “go out” one evening for supper at an Indian restaurant. I had a kind of mild curry with lots of spinach and cream sauce. It was awesomely delicious! I have been craving Indian food ever since! Time to get a cookbook and give it a try! Taryn and I did some shopping (mostly window-shopping) together … another of those family traditions! Of course, mostly we talked while we wandered the stores, snacked in the food court, and rode the LRT! No matter what the activities, just being family together is the awesome thing!

Back to Sarah’s place. Taryn and family came along for a visit, and we had more family-together-time, going for a meander to a campground nearby where we might get all the family together next summer for a reunion – and wedding! Exciting possibilities – but mostly, just looking forward with joy to all being together, as family!

Spent a couple more days with Sarah and Logan (Daryl had to go out of town for a couple days), and we just, well, enjoyed being together!

Caught the Greyhound bus at Leduc at 6:45 pm on the 14th, and arrived back in Penticton at 9:15 am on the 15th. This time I had a pillow with me, and the bus was quiet, so I actually slept quite a bit! Hurrah! And happy to be home with my dear hubby, Lionel, and my son, Peter!

Later in the day got to spend some one-on-one with my wee sweet one-and-only grand-daughter, Hailey (1 month old), while my daughter, Wendy, and her hubby, Gavin, rushed my 19 month old grandson, Marcus, to emergency at the hospital, to get his scalp glued after he bounced himself off the couch and hit a sharp edge! He’s fine! That’s natural-family-togetherness too!

And in a couple months, I’ll be off to Campbell River to meet yet another new grandchild, baby of my daughter Robyn and her husband Alex, and sibling for my 20 month old grandson, William! I love family!!!

Sometimes it is better to be a bit flexible rather than totally stuck to a schedule (no matter what the wise men say!) This morning for example…

I “should have” gone straight to my “focused time with Father” this morning. BUT…

I did dishes first (there were a lot left from yesterday when I . . . → Read More: “should have?” … but didn’t and I’m glad!]]> May 22, 2010

Sometimes it is better to be a bit flexible rather than totally stuck to a schedule (no matter what the wise men say!) This morning for example…

I “should have” gone straight to my “focused time with Father” this morning. BUT…

I did dishes first (there were a lot left from yesterday when I was feeling too sick to do them!)… and that made hubby happy when he got home from a long night of work (happy that the dishes are done, and happy that obviously I must be feeling better!).

And then I decided to check my email first (the entrepreneurial guru-types always say to leave that stuff till after your “work” is done!). As I did it, I was “feeling rather guilty” – and yet I was really okay with it at the same time! And – well, I ended up having a wonderful time with Father, reading the “Words from the Creator” as well as some other things posted on the daily Tribes of Christ e-group email. Some of the postings are perhaps more “traditional native beliefs/ connection to Creator and creation” understandings… and I was thinking, well, Father could probably use those as stepping stones of understanding for those He is drawing, those who are seeking Him.

Some folks might – okay, do! – think that stepping stones like that are actually dangerous, because the people on them might just stay there (or even fall off into something “worse, wrong, evil…”). But Father, You are in charge, and You know when stepping stones are helpful, and You are there, holding our hands and helping us find the way.

I’m thinking maybe I’ll copy a couple or three of today’s postings into my facebook notes, and share them with my friends… [which I did, after actually getting to my more formal "time with Father in His word"! And then thought more about this whole matter! Readers can check out my thoughts at My Church Journey].

Oh! And I even had fun reading about how to prepare kidney beans, posted on another e-group I belong to – a short article which inadvertently provided some great examples for enjoyable writing… as Words From the Creator always does, as well).

So what else have I done this morning? Some Stumbling (and updating my profiles and friends there. Removing my Posterous from a couple of my sites, where I discovered it really doesn’t fit in (but I still have it here and elsewhere). Did some social networking stuff on my Twitter and such. Uploaded a plug-in to this blog to allow readers to make social network connections from here (see all those sweet little icons in the top right corner? Give them a try!).

And then I watched some really scary “7 Figure Networker” video (no, I am not going to give you the link!) and wrote a huffy email about it! What a blow-bag! And waste of time to watch! And checked out video of the deepwater rig explosion in the Gulf. Can you believe it’s already been a month plus since it happened? And the really scary part of this whole thing (beyond the environmental damage and all) is that Canada is allowing off-shore deep-water exploration and development to go on without putting into place the preventative measures that we now know all too well could have prevented this particular disaster!

Posted via email from penandpapermama’s posterous . . . → Read More: new penandpapermama theme!]]>

Check out my new theme at penandpapermama.com!

Posted via email from penandpapermama’s posterous

So much for my daily blogging habit! Here I am, 4 days later! I have been jotting notes in my journal, but not getting them typed up. Anyway, here come . . . → Read More: catch-up!]]> May 17, 2010 (Monday)

So much for my daily blogging habit! Here I am, 4 days later! I have been jotting notes in my journal, but not getting them typed up. Anyway, here come the updates!

Interesting fact: Estimated number of death’s in Haiti’s earthquake: 200,000. Number of children worldwide who die each month from malnutrition and disease: 200,000.

(quoted from Servant magazine, . . . → Read More: interesting fact]]> April 10, 2010

Interesting fact: Estimated number of death’s in Haiti’s earthquake: 200,000. Number of children worldwide who die each month from malnutrition and disease: 200,000.

(quoted from Servant magazine, issue 84)

Wednesday I went home early from work, feeling sick… and I slept and slept and slept! Thursday feeling quite a bit better, though still tired and a bit wobbly.

BD came by on Thursday afternoon for coffee, and while we were trying to visit, the people next door were having a big to-do, and . . . → Read More: Noisy neighbors, family visit, writers group, facebook, website improvements]]> January 23, 2010

Wednesday I went home early from work, feeling sick… and I slept and slept and slept! Thursday feeling quite a bit better, though still tired and a bit wobbly.

BD came by on Thursday afternoon for coffee, and while we were trying to visit, the people next door were having a big to-do, and finally I went over and asked (gently), “Do you really want the neighbors to hear this?” The lady just looked at me and shut the door. Then Friday night there was crashing and banging and loud running up and down the stairs into the wee hours of the morning… and it has started up again early this morning. Wondering what is going on?

My daughter and her family traveled to visit for the weekend. They are staying over at my other daughter’s place here in town. At first I felt sad, because I miss them so much and was looking forward to them staying with us, but then I realized that we will of course see them a lot anyway while they are here, and it is good for the sisters to have time together, and the two little cousins (my grandsons) to have time together, and the guys to have time together (my son is over there almost non-stop, too!). Also hubby has been ill all week on his day’s off, and he had to phone in sick for the next couple days too. And then with all that noise next door, it would be really hard for the kids and my little grandson to sleep! So even though I was having a pity-party for myself, I realize now that You had it all under control, and things really are working out for good!

I went to Penticton Writers and Publishers (PWAP) group on Thursday night. We all made suggestions for group activities and goals. I suggested an email group – and right after the meeting one of the guys told me it was a great idea – so I set it up at 6 am Friday morning! And the facebook group I set up the other day, for people who attended my high school back in the day, is going well, with 21 members signed up already. Yay!

Friday morning, one of our nephew’s passed away. It was very sad. Normally I would have checked facebook when I got up, but I was busy setting up that yahoo group and getting ready for the kids coming – and so I didn’t get around to it. Finally, we received a phone call with the news from a family member – and a few minutes later I finally got around to my morning facebook check, and there it was splashed all over facebook. I was so grateful we heard it from family before seeing the comments on facebook. One young woman commented on there that for things like that, people should respect the family, and at least wait a day or so, until family members can be contacted. One girl who is a cousin of the young man who passed away actually found out on facebook, and she took it hard. Of course some of the people who posted were kind of incensed that their hasty postings weren’t taken joyfully by everyone. Hmmm…

This morning, waiting for the kids to call, I fixed up my Hill Gang family story site – it really needed it! And I added links to my sites on the new Penticton Writers email group I set up, and did a bunch of similar stuff. If I am going to be serious about getting some of my writing out there, I need to make things look “professional” eh!

Oh yes, last night we ordered take-out from Boston Pizza for all the kids and ourselves – and hubby was shocked at the price! LOL! Good thing I had lots of juice and pop on hand that I had bought early at the store on good sales; otherwise he probably would have had a heart attack at the price if we’d ordered that stuff from BP as well! ?

…. So I went over to my daughter’s place to visit everyone, and I took loads and loads of pictures of my wonderful little grandsons (they are just one month apart in age, 16 and 17 months, and great pals). I love hubby’s digital SLR camera! Then it was naptime – for babies and moms-to-be-again – so I walked home in the beautiful sunshine, and then set bread dough for buns and fry bread.

A friend wrote, “Somewhere, deep inside you there is a Quiet Presence of Peace… If you are like me, you do not find that quiet Presence to be your ‘normal’ experience; you find a million pictures that play like a video through your mind, robbing you of the quietness you long for, stealing . . . → Read More: somewhere deep inside, a quiet Presence of peace…]]> December 13, 2009

A friend wrote, “Somewhere, deep inside you there is a Quiet Presence of Peace… If you are like me, you do not find that quiet Presence to be your ‘normal’ experience; you find a million pictures that play like a video through your mind, robbing you of the quietness you long for, stealing your sleep.”

And I replied: You’re right! It’s something I have to be aware of all the time… It just seems so many things (ideas, “causes,” “important” activities etc etc etc) are constantly stealing a corner here, a corner there… like a beautiful, complete jigsaw puzzle, with pieces being covered up, one by one, by splotches of black ink.

And then my friend gave some examples of things that distract us from His Presence, and ended up with: “But behind them all, if only you could see it again, is the Picture of His Presence, the one that takes you back to Him, the On Who promised never to leave you, back to peace.”

And I responded: Yes, this is the point, the key!!! And why, I wonder, when is His Presence is so incredibly wonderful and perfect, do I keep allowing so many silly things to distract me? And how do I know what is silly, what is necessary, what is just dreaming, what is priority? When I had a house full of kids and life just went 100 miles an hour every minute every day, it seemed like I didn’t have time to waste time (and in some ways it was easier back then to consciously set aside a solid block of focused time with God… because I knew that otherwise it wouldn’t happen… but now it seems like, oh well, if I let it go this time, I can make it up later because I’m not so overwhelmingly occupied… but then I don’t… and sadly ha ha, I run out of energy “later” a lost easier than I used to…) (on the other hand, back then it more like seemed that I had to really focus on recognizing God’s Presence, and so that “focused” time was necessary… but now I am a lot more aware of His Presence throughout the day.. and I think sometimes I take that for granted or something, and maybe begin to think I really don’t need to set aside “focused” time… and yet, I really do need to!!!)

I do think that each person has to find the “technique” (which changes!) that Papa has (at any given time) for the relationship between Him and them. He has made us all different… and “The Daily Bread” (or whatever) is therefore NOT for all of us! For me, the journaling thing is really helpful. And early in the morning is really important (because my brain is dead about 5 pm, and the middle of the day is full of demands from work and family and such that seem unavoidable…) (and that used to be “my time” … but now, it seems like God has led me into involvement with “street ministry” … and 4 days a week I have to be there EARLY … and I just keep missing out on my time with Papa… and the street ministry activity, “important” as it is, seems to me to be more DOING FOR than BEING WITH Him… hmmm…. That just really hit me while I am writing this… that’s what happens when I’m journaling, just like that Papa speaks to me… but when I’m “doing” I just don’t seem to hear His voice that much… but we’re “supposed to” “love in action” aren’t we? But I NEED that focused time… when my mind is fresh and clear…) (See, it’s the “good” things, the “right” things – apparently – that seem, to me, to end up most easily being distractions).

My friend wrote: “I am convinced that when Jesus withdrew to His quiet places He did not fill the ether with verbiage. He simply shut off, for those hours, all the pictures and all the cries. Just for awhile, he ‘clicked away’ all the scenes of all the lepers, the half, the lame and the blind. For a few hours he forgot about the training of the twelve. He experienced the Father, the Presence behind the pictures and gained His strength from Him.”

Yes. I need my early morning time with Papa. Now what? Oh dear. Was this letter a wake-up call to me from Papa? If so, why would He have led me into a “ministry” and a job that take up those wonderful, clear, morning hours? I need to have a long, focused talk with Him about that… right away!