Hi House. Remember me?

"So, what are you doing for Mother's Day, Melody?"

"Painting the kitchen cabinets of my old house."

Ha ha.  So here's an update on our former dwelling.  We had tenants in it for one year and they moved out at the end of April.  We went up the first weekend of May to check the place out and see what needed to be done before we put it back on the market.  During the month of May we made two more trips to do some bigger projects, like the kitchen, and now we are getting our marketing materials together.    We had some amazing help from lots of people and that made all the difference.  We couldn't have done it alone.

The house is a bittersweet thing.  It was really hard to invest all that sweat and time in something I would never get to enjoy again.  But being there reminded me of all the wonderful times we had in that house.  Bringing home babies from the hospital.  Entertaining family for holidays.  Watching our girls take their first steps. 

So here are some recent photos for those who might be curious.  There are during and after photos of the kitchen, plus a shot of the basement bathroom and rec room which have new paint and flooring since we lived there.

We'll let you know if there's any news.  :)

Vancouver

Here are my photos from the trip I took to Vancouver for the CRC pastors spouses' conference in April.  The funny thing was that I kept track of all my stuff quite well but ended up loosing my camera during the ride to the airport.  My friend, whose truck I was in, graciously mailed it back to me so it was a delight to pop in the memory card and open up these beauties. 

This was my first solo trip (more than one night!) in 6 years and I had not flown since before having Isabelle, so needless to say I was very excited.  It was a short trip - two nights there and then a red-eye back - but it was well worth the expense and effort. 

What I love about these spouses' gatherings is the common ground.  It's your chance to instantly open up and ask questions about living situations, boundaries in ministry, ideas for household management, etc.  And to see old friends!  Plus the setting for this event was beautiful and it was great to see mountains and water.  Another highlight was eating out. 

We were two blocks down from Stanley Park so there was quick access for an evening stroll.  Along this street I frequented Starbucks for free wi-fi and good coffee. :)

My hotel roomie Brenda and Heather - the two ladies I was most excited to see!  I "met" Heather at the last conference but we realized that our paths had crossed during college via our siblings.  Long story. 

 So here is where I admitted I hadn't watched a single moment of the Olympics.  Sigh.

Thursday evening we had a night to eat out in the city and my friend Joy steered us to this great place where I gobbled REAL fish and chips. 

The icing on the cake was meeting up for the afternoon with my elementary school friend, Christa, and her kids.  We enjoyed a fun afternoon at the Aquarium and then she drove me to the airport.  I hadn't seen her in years and we both exclaimed the same thing, "You look exactly the same as you did in grade eight!". 

This last photo is taken of North Vancouver, shot from Stanley Park.  This was where I stayed on my last visit to Vancouver in September of 1992 while on my way to Hawaii with the Lowry family.  Fond memories.

The red-eye flight was tough on the way back.  I connected through LAX and on my flight there I was seated next to a woman from the conference that I had not met.  We enjoyed a three hour conversation about ministry, family, Detroit and LA.  It also was an unexpected blessing.  My awesome mother held up the fort with Ben while I was gone.  And then, surprise!  My sister Joanna was asleep on the couch when I got home from the airport.  My dad had brought her along for the weekend.  Awesome to see family.  Bummer to be so sleepy while they were there.  :) 

Great trip. 

65 years, people. 65 years.

I'm trying.  Really, I am.  It's been quite the time since Easter.  And considering I kept telling myself that things would slow down after Easter, it's been rather full since after Christmas.  No one thing in particular but just lots of things at once.  Truth be told, I'm exhausted.  And I've had a bad cough since well before Easter that still won't go away.  Somehow finding a doctor is still on my to-do list 18 months after we moved. 

However, something happy to read about!  In April, my dad' parents - Ed and Jean - celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.  65 years, people.  That's a lot of time.  We were blessed to be close enough to travel over the border for a special family dinner and have dessert at my aunt's afterwards.  I continue to be in awe of how much change Ed and Jean have seen in their lifetime and yet they are still so chipper.  They are special, wonderful people and I feel very fortunate to have know them for so long. 

We were caravaning from the restaurant to my aunt's house and I snapped this picture of Grandma and Grandpa's car, plus my sister's rental Toyota.  It was a beautiful evening.  

Happy 65th, Grandma and Grandpa!  You are loved. 

Road Trip

April 2009 brought something to look forward to: a trip to Toronto by myself! My sister Joanna graduated from Humber last year and she had an evening in which her class was presenting their final thesis designs. I was overjoyed to be able to come and take part as if I lived close by. Ben graciously watched the kids for 2 days for me to make the trip. I rented a car and laughed out loud when I saw the electric blue PT Cruiser. Not exactly the compact I had envisioned, but oh well. I remember the border guard asking me why my trip was so short, to which I replied that I had left my husband alone with the kids and this was all the time I was given! :)

Jo’s project was beautiful, thoughtful and full of great ideas. It was wonderful to meet her teachers and classmates. It was a fun evening! My older sister Alison and my dad were able to make the trip as well so we stayed together at a downtown hotel. In the morning we went out for breakfast with Jo and visited a few familiar streets on the U of T campus before heading our separate ways.

Having that much time in the car alone, visiting my family whom I was missing desperately and coming off of some stressful months caught up to me at a rest stop near Woodstock. I was parked in the parking lot after fueling up and brought to tears by a new version of “Great is Thy Faithfulness”. That song has never been particularly meaningful to me, but the words set to new music spoke right to my heart. I had a good, good cry and then got back on the road again. I finished the trip thankful for the time away and precious moments with my family. Here are my pictures from the trip set to that song by Fernando Ortega.



April seems to be a good month for these excursions as I am about to depart for Vancouver next week alone. I am attending a pastors’ spouses’ conference for my denomination for 3 days. This is my third event like this that I have attended and I really appreciate these times to connect with other spouses who experience the same joys and trials in ministry as I do.

Last Winter

The winter of 2009 was a long, snowy winter. It felt as though it began the day we moved from GR to GP. It was a blizzard, which complicated both the packing of our truck and the drive to Detroit. The day was a blur but I remember the hurry in which we left the house to beat the truck to the new location, as well as leaving Ben behind to stuff the van with whatever he could fit. It didn’t feel like a great end or beginning either way. It was more like ripping a band-aid off. You know it’s going to happen and that it needs to happen, but it still stings badly.

That winter I appreciated the empty calendar and minimal responsibilities. The only event that I was required to show up at was church on Sunday morning. The kids and I explored things in the area but our normal ability to foray on foot was hampered by the snow. I dutifully dragged them out in the bike trailer many times but by mid-February I was, as a friend once said, ready to throw all of the winter stuff in a pile, light it on fire and do a happy dance around it. The days were long.

Isabelle began pre-school at our church in March. It was a reward for potty training and also a good social outlet for her. She had been used to being around a lot of kids in GR and she exhibited signs of really missing people she was attached to. She loved school and had no problems with separation.

I remember that we spent a lot of time listening to music and having dance parties in the living room. We went through a long Elton John and Abba phase, with Isabelle requesting “Yellow Brick Road” over and over again. We would go places and she would recognize any Elton John song in muzak. Ha ha.  I also remember driving around a lot, both to get to know where places were, and also just for something to do. My favorite stretch is along Jefferson which offers a spectacular view of Lake St. Clair. Even on a day when I felt low, driving along there and seeing the lake always gave me a special lift.

March brought our first visit to the Detroit Zoo. We used Christmas gift money to buy a membership and we went A LOT last year. I’m in the process of making a special photo book for Isabelle with all the zoo photos we’ve taken, but here are some from those initial March/April visits.

Resurrection Sunday

After Friday's events, we had some time on Saturday to decompress and do final preparations for Sunday.  Our church has an Easter breakfast at 9am so we had to leave for church around 8 for set-up and choir rehearsal.  The girls were excited to wear matching outfits. 

We were on our own on Sunday so we decided to make it a relaxing day with simple meals.  What the kids were most excited about was the cake we were going to have for supper, so I went easy on the main courses.  Lunch was Barb Banaszak's creamy chicken soup and supper was homemade burgers.  After lunch the kids took naps and then we headed out to Patterson Park, one of our city parks.  Here's one of our top ten things we love about Grosse Pointe:  the parks.  We have access to two waterfront parks with lots of open space and good playgrounds.   One has a splashpad and the other has a pool.  When we're at these parks, we feel like we're on vacation.  :) 

Isabelle spent most of the time tearing around the green space and hunting for sticks and pine cones, while Charlotte ran up and down the big sledding hill.

We finished up with a walk on the board walk.  That's the Windsor area on the right of the horizon.  
A gorgeous day, all in all.