The Fall and a little update

It's hard to believe September is almost over and we are into October. I LOVE the fall! It has to be my favorite season. Warm sweaters, crisp clean air, leaves turning colour and the smells of cinnamon & pumpkin. Ahh, how nice it is.

We have had a very busy few weeks since we returned from our wonderful holiday but thankfully things should now level off and every day we can enjoy this beautiful season.

I've started teaching piano again and was reminded of how much I love introducing kids to music through the piano. What a blessing it is for me to be able to do that. It is my 'fun' job that I love. It is a great break from the office every week to focus on others and give back to them the joy in playing piano. What a gift music is from the Lord.

The office has been a crazy couple of weeks but thankfully things should now even out and everyone back into routine for the fall. Still busy but isn't it always? :)

Lance and I continue to enjoy life and the season we are in. God's blessings are unending and as we are believing for a few in particular, the Lord reminds me in the impatient times that He LOVES to bless His kids. In the heavy things we carry, we can choose to cast our burdens on the Lord and He will direct our path. We choose to trust the Lord in ALL times and see His promises come to pass.

The fall is a great opportunity to re-evaluate things in our life and start fresh . . . like the start of a new school year, we can make new goals to learn, to grow to give and see God move through those things. We look forward to what is next in our lives while enjoying today and thanking the Lord for 'what is.' I hope you are enjoying 'what is' today and throughout the fall, while looking forward to what could be. The possibilities are unending. :)

The Maritimes

We had a wonderful trip back East and found it very hard to come back. There is something so relaxing about the Maritimes and it is hard to explain unless you have been there. This was my third trip back and each time I'm drawn to it more and more. Here are some highlights from our trip.

We flew into Moncton and spent the night. Mom & Dad Rourke met us the next day and we traveled down to Halifax for a couple days. We stayed in Darmonth and took the passenger ferry over to the harbour of Halifax to tour around and of course shop. It is a great city full of history and wonderful people proud to be Canadian yet thankful for their roots in Europe.

The next day we went to the Citadel and learned a lot about Canadian history.

We then traveled to Prince Edward Island where we stayed in Summerside. I haven't been back to PEI in 7 years and it felt like I had never left. Half of my heritage is from this beautiful island (Stewart side) and it is a place that I would love to live one day. We had fun exploring the island that included Anne of Green Gables home of course, as well as Cavendish Beach, Charlottetown, the Confederation House and incredible fabric store and lots of wool stores for mom. :) The men were troopers as Mom & I loved to look in every little store. We found the Stewart gravestone as well and learned more about my heritage. We also enjoyed the beautiful scenery that only PEI can show off and the people that have a great way of life. We ended our trip with crossing the confederation bridge and cows ice cream before heading 'home', back to Bathurst, New Brunswick.

Mom & Dad live just outside of Bathurst and we had a great time relaxing, traveling to other parts of New Brunswick and enjoying their friends and meeting more relatives. We even had 'Thanksgiving' with family as we usually aren't there. It was a great turkey dinner, pumpkin pie and all. We are so spoiled. :)

One of the main reasons we went back was Mom & Dad were celebrating their 40th Wedding Anniversary. With the help of Aunt Donna and friend Kay we were able to organize a surprise dinner at a great restaurant and dessert back at Aunt Donna and Uncle Dale's place. Mom & Dad were COMPLETELY surprised and overwhelmed by the generosity of their family & friends. It was really special to be there and celebrate with them over this wonderful milestone in their life.

The trip was a gift and we hope there will be more to come with more memories made and wonderful times enjoying the Maritimes.

We're home!

We are home! Have been running ever since so I haven't been able to put up blogs about our trip but hopefully tomorrow in between organizing things for my piano students this year I'll get some time to blog. :) It was an incredible trip full of adventure, fun, family history, and laughs. More to come . . . . .