May 7, 2010

on the ledge

mangos riping up in the sun

i wish i liked them more.

i am not crazy about mangos. yet.

hopefully i will develop a taste for them

the trees are loaded with them right now!

this was taken at our lawyers apartment.

she just had a baby and isn't back at the office yet

but we needed some papers from her so she told us

to 'drop over'

only in roatan.

so we did 'business' at her dining room table

we need to renew our residency in a couple of weeks 

something we need to do yearly.

but the paperwork

oh the paperwork

it is agonizing.

isn't it so like me that while they are talking about 

passport photos, and letters from banks, and documents

that need photocopying that i am 

looking happily out the window and i spy this 

lovely scene

beauty  ripening on a ledge
to the sound of water cascading down.
so sweet!

:-)

May 6, 2010

saskatchenwanese, eh?

saw this in west end this morning.

had to laugh!

i lived in saskatchewan for about 4 years

and somehow i can't imagine someone coming

here to learn to dive.

(now that is a stereotype if i ever made one!!)

not saying that everyone there is a farmer

but i can say i haven't ever met someone from saskatchewan living 

here in roatan before.

oh i should say this just in case you don't know:

saskatchewan is one of our canadian provinces...

pretty much smack dab in the middle of the country.

f.l.a.t

praire

rapeseed fields

wheat fields

horses 

cows

combines

tractors

men wearing hats that say John Deer

Oh, of course some cities in between all that.

oh and WIND!!!

it is soooo windy there... it's nuts.

i remember once we left saskatchwan and drove to ontario

to visit bob's parents

our son matt, was a little guy and as little ones do

he woke up at the crack of dawn and so 

i took him out on the deck so he wouldn't wake up the rest of the house

it was so cute because he looked around

smiled and said,

"nice...no wind!"

*s*

have a great day!

May 5, 2010

try something new

i remember in elementary school there

were a couple of big no no's.

one was chewing gum in class

another was back talking the teacher

and the other was wearing

pink and red

together

that was just plain wrong.

ha..

well

this 

hibiscus 

proved

them

all 

wrong

*s*

today i went to sandy's to show her how to use her

canon 40D camera

sometimes manuals can be daunting so it is 

easier to shoot in 'automatic' mode

i have an aversion to automatic.

i find they do the best they can to figure out

what we are actually wanting to focus on

and the colors that will work best.

but in manual mode the creative juices can florish

i think she learned some things...

she learned she has a macro lens

*woot!*

she learned she can focus on one part and not the other

i taught her how to find bokeh

i taught to watch for backlight

watch for light

watch for light

did i mention

watch for light??

always

find the light

in photography

in life

everyday.

once we find the light then everything is fine.

it's true.

even in dark times 

like when i lost my mom

and i thought the darkness of grief would consume me

i would see a child laughing wholeheartedly 

~light shining~

or i would see the sun continuing to set

~light shining~

or one of my kids would give me a hug

~light shining~

or bob would make me laugh and in that minute

i would forget my sorrow.

find the light.

and don't be afraid to learn new things

like how to use a camera

or how to make a fancy dessert

or how to forgive

or how to drive a car again

or how to plant some seeds.

xo

and maybe just maybe

wear pink and red together!

May 4, 2010

 

ask Me

i made that mirror for buddy.

i was at the coffee shop with melissa and saw a 'curtain' of 

those mirrors hanging down and i had looked

without success for a little bird mirror for buddy so

i went to the manager and asked for a couple.

my friend thought i was crazy.

my mom always said, "no harm in asking!"

and guess what?

he gave me two.

so i glued them together, 

added beads

and as you can see little buddy is really enjoying it

he has been playing all day

i am happy to say that he is adjusting to his new cage

and getting tamer everyday!

"until now you have asked for nothing in My name,

ask and you will receive so your joy may be made FULL!"

John 16:24

May 3 , 2010

adios mi hija

(goodbye my daughter)

this morning we faced the inevitable

we knew that the day would come when emily would return

back to school in canada.

for the past few days i have felt my heart get heavier

and heavier

sadness is an interesting thing... like how does my heart
to know to squeeze so tight that it threatens to stop beating?

i love living in roatan.

i do.

BUT 

being so far from the kids is really hard on my heart.

it is just that we are sooo far away and it isn't easy to just drop in to see them.

and they can't get 'home' that easily either.

i have shed tears

unashamed today.

i miss my kids so much 

that it hurts.

BUT through it all

there would be a sweet calm that would sweep over me

every now and then
like a breeze and i would be assured that He
is near us all
helping us to lean in.

this day has been a mix of calm peace and a choking feeling in my heart.

it is a time of adjustment and i am grateful for the prayers of many of you
and for the peace that gently stirs my soul to believe
and
be grateful

 so
thanks. 

xo

goodbye sweet emily...
love will follow you home.

May 2, 2010

 

on the rock

i bought this hand carved cross as a gift for 

my mom from a little shop by the sea in 

nova scotia about 10 years ago.

when my mom died then 

it came back to me

i didn't bring too many personal things to roatan

but i wanted this with me

it reminds me of her

i reminds me to have faith

it reminds me that love should be

the fabric of my life

so this morning

i went for a walk by the sea

climbed this little rock face

placed the cross there

all to say

i believe

i do

i believe that He holds the whole world in His hands

He has me

He has you

He has my children.

Emily leaves for Canada tomorrow

she is in His hands.

the cross

 the cross means forgiveness

it means freedom

my life is not the same as it was.

He has changed me radically.

i believe.

no matter what you are facing

i hope that faith will rise up,

remind you of His love that pierced his soul

that took Him to the cross

for you

for me

happy sunday.

xo