Grandma Bell's Tribute

Grandma Bell's I Corinthians 13

And now I will tell you of the most excellent woman.
If she had spare time, it was filled with volunteering somewhere or making things for others. If she ever felt upset for hurtful actions of others, no one ever knew. If she ever felt any pain for any reason she would underplay it or just not let it out for others to see.

Grandma was patient, Grandma was kind. She did not envy, she did not boast, she was not proud. She was not rude, she was not self-seeking, she was not easily angered, she did not keep a record of wrongs. She did not delight in evil, but rejoiced with the truth. She always protected, always kept busy, always hoped, always perservered.

Grandma never stopped. Where there were craft supplies, she made a variety of things for people to wear or use. Where there was spare time she filled it working with and for others. Where there was someone in need she lended a hand to help or an ear to listen. For she knew so many people through all her volunteering that she met up with people she knew no matter where she went in Weyburn or even other cities where people who had been touched by her life had moved. When I was a child, there were many "Grandma things" that seemed to be all about me. When I grew up I realized that her special gift was noticing what people preferred and ensuring that was what they received as long as it was in her power to give. Now we have a chance to honour this special woman who taught so much about life in such a quiet, teach by example manner. Now I see what Grandma has done for so many people by looking to what others needed and no to what she needed.
And now these three remain: perserverance, being productive, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

(This is the tribute that I wrote for my Grandma Bell who passed away on December 3, 2007. At the funeral I was unable to read it, but my Dad read it for me, as well as my sister Stacy's tribute and also mentioned that my sister Selena had done the spray of flowers atop the casket.)

More Pictures of Santa Parade

Just some more pictures from the Santa Parade on Saturday night. It was the first Santa Parade that I can remember going to but I really enjoyed it!

It Was A Dark and Chilly Night

It was a dark and chilly night. Hundreds of people lined the street called Portage Avenue for about a mile for the Parade of Lights and Santa Parade combination. Children packed the first two rows nearest the street and the adults close behind them. They waited anxiously, popping into the street every few minutes to check, when suddenly a child yells, "It's coming!!!" People scurry to get their cameras out and conversations quickly finish. Then comes the vehicles with lights and garlands. Following those are the intricately and creatively decorated floats from a variety of places. Then, at the end of the parade, the man who was the main draw for all these scores of people - Santa!
It was a good time and there are plenty more pictures from this evening's event, some of which were taken with specific people in mind!

The Day After My Birthday

Again, I am playing "catch up" with my blog and am talking today about the event that occured the day after my birthday this year. Our Church's Annual Clothing Giveaway. During the week several members of our congregation come and sort the clothing and other items that are generously donated shortly before the Clothing Giveaway is to occur. Then on the Saturday morning there are alot of people on hand to get these items out to tables designated for each clothing type (women's, men's, babies, etc.) This year we had somewhere between 700 and 800 people who came to look through clothing and take what they or other people they knew needed. By noontime, the auditorium was once again empty of clothing and we began to tidy the tables outside and chat a bit with some people who were still looking for items.

As usual, I enjoyed myself that day because of the people I got to talk to, the weather, and disspelling the disbelief that most people I talked to had about how generous others can be.

A Few Weeks Ago

Well, a few weeks ago now I was able to babysit Nora and Levi for part of the day when Selena and Curtis wanted a "date day". Clinton, my boyfriend, came and helped out as well and I planned a "field trip" sort of day for the kids and us. We went by transit bus to the mall for our lunch, and then continued by transit bus to the largest Petland store in the south end of the city. Both kids really liked their day out in the city with Auntie, and Levi especially loved Clinton's MP3 player! It was a very fun day for all of us with lots of great memories!

Long Time No Blogging

So, now that I have probably lost all of my "loyal" readers, I am able to come back and blog more often. Tonight however I need to finish sewing a shirt for myself so I can wear it to Worship Service in the morning! Then I will be updating my blog on what has been keeping me so busy lately, and include as many pictures as I can for it as well!

Out with the Old

This past week at work has been a lot of new things for me. A new group to work with, a new room to work in, two new co-teachers to work with closely, a new shift, and a new set of responsibilites due to that shift. Oh, and a new time to be getting up as a result of the new shift. I am now starting work at 7:15 AM. I used to get up at that time for the past year with having all later shifts!

My body will probably get used to the new time of getting up (which is 5:00 AM), but for now it is rebelling. It is a big struggle to get up and not hit the SNOOZE button and crawl back into bed for a few more ZZZZ's. And yes, I am going to bed much earlier than I was before, usually I am dog-tired by 9:30 PM and head for bed then!

And yes, there are children at the Centre who arrive at 7:00 AM, which is when we open, so they have much the same schedule as I do for getting up because a lot of them also have the public transit system as their means of getting places.