Celebration of Life .....

Pain is inevitable .... Suffering is optional.  It was tattooed on Kris's ribs after he was healed from burns he received when he was learning to be an electrician 8 years ago.  The transformer he was sent in to clean, shocked him so bad that it threw him across the room and burned his body so bad.  He recovered from this massive trauma, and went on to make a difference in the lives of many kids at the burn camps .... from what I could see from this amazing evening, was how loved this boy was, and what an unexpected horrific moment in the lives of everyone who loved him.  Kris died in his sleep on Sept 27 after he came back from the dr because he was feeling strange ... his heart was feeling weird.  He was sent home and went to sleep it off...and never woke up.  His sweet girlfriend, who he had purchased a ring for, and they had big future plans, found him. 

Paul is the only one with an honest look on his face in this picture .... quite respectable really considering how brutal this evening was.  Why are we smiling?  It is interesting to watch how people deal with this.  I found that I tried to be positive in the face of the sadness when having moments with both Paul and Sharron.  There were moments we had, and as soon as they walked away from me, I would be hit with such sadness that felt like a punch in the stomach.  I really believe that there is no such thing as other peoples kids .... it could happen to any of us. 

Our family had a table at the very back and throughout the evening, both Paul and Sharron would come and sit with us.  At one point, Sharron was sitting between Carrie and I ... and said 'its nice to have a little reprieve'....like we were hiding her, for just a little while ... to breath.

My mom and her older sister ....

My two sweet cousins .... there is something about blood and family and history and stories that bind you together.  We've known eachother all our lives and we have all gone our separate ways since Winnipeg, but at the end of the evening, Paul looked me in the eye and said 'I know we don't talk much, but you are so important to me'  I told him I loved him and that I was sorry this happened .... I left this evening feeling sad but at the same time deeply happy to know that I have family with deep roots.  First and foremost, I have the best sister in the world.  She is wonderful.

Oh Paul .... looking lovingly at this new soul ... who came into this world, just as his son went out of it.

Dad and I .... just taking it all in ...

So that night, we stayed with Jeff and Gina ....  another form of family .... we aren't tied by blood, but we have watched eachothers kids grow up and have known eachother for over half our lives ....

It was quite the day .... full of emotions. Life is weird .... and hard ... with inevitable pain ... but optional suffering ... according to Kris ;-)

Getting dinner and Making mugs ...

Kelly was in the office the other day and suggested that she would like the camp gals to get together.  So .... dinner at Jakes and painting mugs afterwards ended up being the plan ..... this first pic I know is super blurry ... but whatever .... gotta love the iphone selfies ...

 This was my mug .. I am pretty excited to see how it turns out!  We get to see it tomorrow!

Here is my mug "after":

 This girl is super creative and she did such an intricate design on her mug ... it was very cool.

 Always a pleasure being in the presence of this girl ... we didn't get ANY time together on this night but perhaps another time.  She made her daughter a beautiful little ladybug box ....

 Jinny's birthday was the night before, so we were kindof doing all kinds of celebrating!

 See what I mean?  Look at that design!!

 The crew ....

Stairs and eyes and Tuesdays, oh my!!

Nic had an appt in town and was wanting to get stairs done before Amara's nap, so I threw on my runners and met her.  I was keen on getting them 'over with' too.   Here I had been craving a brioche since a new coffee shop that just opened put in their Instagram that they were fresh baked and waiting for customers.  When I texted this pic to Nic, she writes "nothing's tastes as good as skinny feels"...... I laughed but it's a lie. Lol. Let's do these stairs. 

Oh, did I mention that I had done stairs yesterday too? I like to get them done early in the week so I can enjoy the rest of my week. 

Then it was back to work, piano, and eye appointments. 

Turns out Isaac and my eyes are excellent, roughly 20/20, but Elliot is going to need glasses perhaps next year. He wasn't excited about this, and because we were all also starving by this point in the day, he got a bit teary in the car on the way home.  He recovered quickly and we picked up Brenna on the way home as she was spending the evening with us. Jim has appointed me her 'mentor' for this Auxano year.  She had requested pasta, which was great since dinner was ready quickly. But lucky girl, she got to hang out with an exhausted family who are and crashed on the couch after to watch AFV for the evening. Lol. Lucky girl hey? Chris had taken them caving today so I think she was pretty tired too .... Nice girl. 18 .... I remember being 18.  

Elliot photo editing ...

He's completely correct. 

Intermediate Carnival Night!!

Chris works for weeks getting ready for this night!! And it sure pays off when you see the campers faces as they race into the gym as the doors open!!!

Got home from driving mom to the airport and found Chris explaining a game to the campers ....

I miss Isaac .... He came over for a hug before heading back with his friends....

Had to test the cookies from the cookie castle (Chris set up cookie decorating in the castle!! So fun for the kids!!)

So here the staff are just pre-campers!! 

Flood gates are open!!

Every year my favorite spot in front of the fire!!

Finding one of my favorite camp friends!!f

Best part of camp: here Chris got this seemingly moody kid in grade 8 to open up and start talking about heart stuff with him. I had to take a picture because this is what we are here for.  I loved watching this conversation and this kid open up to Chris about his thoughts and struggles with God and faith.  

And then Isaac came and joined in by the fire. 

Deanna, Glen, Chris and myself hit the hayride and after we got off, Elliot came to find us with super tired eyes on, saying "I'm tired! Need to go to bed"

So a quick picture with Elliot and then I snagged a quick one with Isaac on our way out. 

It's a fun life!!

Paradise Meadows and road trip home!!

We had a pretty low-key morning, with coffee in front of the fire.... Learning the news of Kris was a sad start to the day..... We packed up the car, her was a random sweet lab who kept me company while I waited for mom to come down.

Our home for the evening .....

We took in Paradise Meadows, a beautiful little walk before we headed for home.

Here was a quick picture before we started our walk. You can tell here how sad mom is but smiled for the camera.  

Coombs!! Had the best fish taco there..... Third day in a row of fish tacos for lunch!!! Lol. It was like the "taco trip"!!!

Getting home, Isaac left for the intermediate retreat and Elliot stayed home and entertained mom and I.

It's been such a nice week ....