Bucket List

Do you have a bucket list?

Over the Thanksgiving weekend I was chatting with my Aunt.  She was telling me that her and my Uncle are writing their bucket lists.  They are each going to write a list and then compare the two lists and start working towards checking off the ones that they have in common.

What a great idea! 

I have never written a bucket list, I have thought of a few things but when you make a list that involves checking things off, you are more likely to do them.

So I am now working on my list, and my husband is writing one as well.  We have taken it another step further, our daughters are also writing lists and we are going to start checking off things that all four of us have in common. 

My youngest came home from school the other day tell us that she had learned about the 7 wonders of Saskatchewan.  So that became our first item to conquer as a family.  As a family we have already visited or experienced some of them but next summer it’s camping at Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park next summer.

What would be on your list?  Leave me a comment and let me know, and it will inspire me to add to my list!

Have a beautiful day,

Exciting news!

Well, exciting news for me.  I won a local photography contest!  I just love taking pictures.  Last night I had a half an hour before I had to pick up my girls at youth (I can’t believe that they are old enough to go to youth) so I thought about what errand I might do.  Then I looked in my new awesome bag from Jo Totes……

and saw my beautiful camera!  So I drove down to the riverfront and starting snapping pictures!  So much fun!

I am so thankful that I purchased a new camera that I can documents these moments.  So are you wondering about the photo that won the contest?  Here it is…..

This is our Provincial flower and it is actually growing in my flower bed!  I do not have a green thumb, so this flower is an accomplishment all on its own!

Have a beautiful day my friends, enjoy each moment that presents itself.

 

photography adventure

What do you do when your husband takes you on a trip to the middle of nowhere Saskatchewan?  You bring your camera, hop on a quad and go on an adventure taking pictures!

I have to admit that it was so much fun running around the farm taking pictures.  I am in love with exploring life through the lens of a camera.

I took another amazing photo that I have entered into a photography competition, I will post that photo later when I see the results!  I am so lucky to live in Saskatchewan and have such beautiful scenery to take pictures of.

The River

An event that I look forward to every year is when the North Saskatchewan River breaks up.  I cross over the river everyday, I live along the edge of the river.  I love it! 

As the river broke this year I was driving home from work and I saw how fast the river was flowing and how high it was.  I raced home and picked up the girls and we found a safe spot to watch the river flow.

What an incredible sight.  It was racing by so fast that it was giving me motion sickness!

Here is a video that my daughter made while we were at the rivers edge.  Enjoy listening to our family banter.  Yes, we are quite entertaining.

Our riverbank is extremely under utilized.  It was great to see so many people gathered at the river to check out this annual event.

As we watched the ice flow by it was just mesmerizing.  The rush of the water and ice, flowing with a vengeance.  The flow was so strong that it was stripping the bark off the bottom of the trees.  Envision the rush, now read these words: “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” John 7:38

Imagine that the rush of the North Saskatchewan River is flowing the love of God out of our hearts and blessing those around us.  That the ice that sometimes forms in our hearts breaks down with the warmth of God’s love and it explodes out of us that we can’t hold it back and others can’t help but notice. 

Oh, if that is the life that I could live each and every day……..  Lord, help me to fill my heart with your Word and may it overflow with living water.

the sunrise

If you have been following my blog over the last few months you would have read about some issues I was having with going back to work and the fact that I was turning into a monster.

My morning drives are very different now because I have changed my perspective.  Every morning as I am driving to work I take a moment to enjoy the sunrise. 

The colours that spread across the sky as the sun starts to peak out of the horizon just warms my soul.  Many times I have pulled over to the side of the road, even in the recent freezing temperatures that we have had just to capture the beauty of a sunrise.

As I was walking through the parking lot to go work the other day, I stopped to take a picture of the sunrise.  My heart was heavy that day because we had been dealing with a family issue the night before and I didn’t feel like I handled it with the Godly wisdom that I continuously pray for.  I was tired and grumpy and dealt with it the quickest way I knew how so that I could get everything I needed done that night so I could go to bed.  Obviously, it wasn’t the best decision because here it is a day later and I am still haunted by it.  As I paused to take in the sunrise I thought – Today is a new day, I am going to rejoice and be glad in it.  It is a new day to start fresh and I can choose to do things differently starting each day.

Look at that sunrise!  How could you not pull over and capture the beauty of a new day and a fresh start.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

Lamentation 3:22 & 23

Trees

I love trees, I love looking up into the trees and admiring the strength of their height.

In order for a tree to stand with such magnificence it needs to have a strong root system.

The roots need to be down deep and wide spread in order for a tree to stand tall during the storms that may come and try and knock it down.

Sounds like life.

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk with him rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”  Colossians 2:6 & 7

I am a work in progress, I am learned to grow my roots deeper and wider.  When storms hit I need to know that my roots will hold me up, stand tall and proud.  We never know when a storm may hit, so we need to be prepared for when they hit.  Because in all of our lives there is a storm coming, it is up to each of us on how we choose to prepare for that storm.

I choose to be ground in the Word of God. May these verses in Ephesians reach deep down into your heart:

Prayer for Spiritual Strength

¹⁴ For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶ that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹ and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

A new family favourite….

Last fall our family travelled to Waskesiu (Prince Albert National Park).  We haven’t been there in years and after our first visit we travelled back a few times while the weather was still nice just to keep exploring.  It was something that we all enjoyed as a family and I can’t wait until the weather warms up again so we can return.

Her crazy curls are usually out of control and her teddy is always within arms reach.  Love this.

Life is a road that we all must travel, full of ups and downs and twists and turns.  I will choose to enjoy each moments of it!

Skipping stones – love the memories this brings.

Sisters- creating memories.

Saskatchewan is a beautiful place, you will learn more about it over the year through my photo journal.

I love looking up through the trees.  I love trees!

I wonder what she is thinking?

This is the daughter that I can not get a picture of.  She was a flower girl in a wedding and it took a lot of pictures before they could get one with her eyes open.  I snuck up on her as she was going down a slide and when she reached the bottom I called her name and got this amazing shot!  What a true beauty, inside and out.

I love taking pictures!

I took a photography class in college and my pictures didn’t turn out very well.  Technology has definitely changed in the last 20 years.  Did I just type 20, oh my. 

Anyway, I love taking pictures.  I have been carrying around my camera more and more and I take a zillion pictures with my iPhone.  My employer (more about that in another post) even bought me a better camera because taking pictures is now part of my job!

I posted a few of my pictures from the last event I did with Chef Jenni, well she let me come and take pictures again at a wedding at the Flora Bora yurt camp and she even paid me!!!  Here are a few for you to enjoy:

 

A check off my Bucket List

Do you have a bucket list?  I don’t have an official list (maybe a summer to-do?) but I do have a few things that I would like to accomplish in my life.  My list would be more like the book ‘Twenty Wishes’ which is part of the Blossom Street series by Debbie Macomber.  I have really enjoyed that series, its all about a yarn shop!  My dream!

Anyway, something that I have always wanted to do is be a photographer for an event.  I love looking at blogs with great photographs and I have been a part of an e-course that gave a mini photography class.  And I also took a course with Little Fashion Diary as well.  So when my friend said she need help with her event by taking photos I was there!!!  My husband ended up being busy that night as well, so I brought my girls with me and they were awesome and well behaved.  I am a lucky Mom! 

Anyway, here are a few of my pictures from the Chef Jenni event…..

 

 

Saskatchewan

When people first see or hear the word Saskatchewan they wonder who on earth would want to live on a flat barren wasteland.  In school I didn’t like Saskatchewan because whenever I had a geography test I would always spell it wrong.  And now this has been my home for the past 13 years, and it is not what people perceive it to be at all.

Our daughters have been involved in Brownies for the past year and at the end of the year they took part in a weekend camping trip.  Since I had not been that involved in events throughout the year, I thought I would help with the camp out.  My husband and I booked a site for our trailer at the same camp ground that the girls were camping at.  I had been to Struthers Lake years ago but I didn’t take the time to really explore what the campground had to offer.

As it turned out, they didn’t need extra help for the camp out so my husband and I had the weekend to camp by ourselves.  What a treat!  We brought our dog ‘Bear’ with us and spent a lot of time going for walks.

It is interesting having a pet named ‘Bear"’, especially when you are camping.  Whenever you call for her it freaks all the other campers out.

The trails around the campground were just beautiful!

We walked for hours on the trails; partly by accident because we were lost at one point.  The trails go on forever and then they would come out to an open field and you would have to figure out if you wanted to take one of the many openings or go back the way you just came.  We decided that another path would take us back a shorter route but it didn’t and then it started to rain.  But it felt so good just to be wandering around in nature that the rain didn’t really matter.

On Saturday night we had a fire going, I don’t know about you but I can stare into the coals of a fire forever.  Watching the flames dance and the coals flicker.

Every morning we were awakened by the same beautiful sound.  There was a mysterious bird that we continued to hear but could never see.  While we were watching the fire I tracked it down through the trees.

Not sure what it is; if you know please leave me a comment below, I would  love to find out.

We had a wonderful time of rest and relaxation.  Just what we needed before our big renovation started and we wouldn’t have the time to enjoy the peace and beauty that Saskatchewan has to offer.  If you happen to be passing through Northern Saskatchewan drop me a line and I would love to show you around so that you can see for yourself what this beautiful Province has to offer.