Classical music

I have such a love for all styles of music but especially classical music. Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Handel are just some of my favorite composers. I was raised on classical music, developed a love for it and had the privilege of playing it as I learnt how to play the piano.I used to listen to it when I was studying in school. They have found that classical music actually helps motivate and stimulate your brain to focus and work efficiently. I now listen to it at work. Especially when I need to focus on minute writing. I love to put it on at home as well on a day like today where it is raining, damp and cold. What better than to sit on the couch snuggled in a blanket, with a great book, listening to classical music while the fire place is on and sipping a cup of tea. "Sigh"

It is hard to explain but classical music you experience more than just listen too. I love to let the music soak into my bones and relax me. There is nothing like seeing it live at the VSO. (Vancouver Symphony Orchestra) If I were rich I would have a season pass to go throughout the year. I have gone a couple of times and love every time I do. No words can be expressed to explain the instruments sound & the musicians interpretation of the composers music that has been around for centuries. Just glorious!

I'm so thankful for the gift of music. If this is what it is like on earth, I can't wait until heaven to hear God's symphony of angels for all eternity. :)

Happy Anniversary!

A quick note to say HAPPY 37th ANNIVERSARY to my Mom & Dad! Thank you both for being such an example on how to make a relationship work. Even through good and bad you reached for the Lord and as He showered you with His love, you then in return showered each other with love. I hope today is a day full of remembering the story of how God brought you together. Who says blind dates never work? . . . . You are proof it does. :)

We love you both!

One week today

One week today we will be off to see Mom & Dad Rourke in the Maritimes! As each day passes I get so excited and anxious all at the same time due to what I have to get accomplished at work before I leave. On top of that there are my piano students to have all lined up for the fall, errands to run and laundry and packing. It will come together as it always does but it is the initial look at everything on my list that is a bit overwhelming. Good thing I still have 7 days to get it all done.

The Beatitudes

I've been reading in Matthew this week in the Message bible and have been really challenged by the beatitudes. I love to read the message bible as it is a fresh perspective on scripture. I hope this encourages you today to know we are BLESSED in good times and bad and in all areas of life if we know Christ.

Matt. 5: 3-10 (Jesus speaking)

"You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.
You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.
You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'care-full,' you find yourselves cared for.
You're blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.
You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom."

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! We are blessed.

Celebrating 150 yrs. for BC

Monday Lance and I headed down to Fort Langley to celebrate BC's 150 birthday! Where better than where Langley began. Lance had never been to the Fort and I thought it was about time for him to experience it and due to it being free admission, it was the perfect opportunity. :) We had a fun day full of exploring the Fort that was done up with everyone in character from 150 yrs ago. We learnt a lot about our history and also ran into Jay & Sarah and my nephew. We then made our way to the main strip and had fun browsing in all the great little shops including the hat shop. Such a fun day.

A few photos from the day

When will I learn?

Do you ever have weeks that seem to keep going, and going, and going? Or do you ever find yourself doing the same thing even though last time you said, "Okay, next time I'm not doing that much!" That seems to be me the last 3 weeks. Every time I start putting things in the calendar I try to keep a couple nights at home. But somehow I get in these patterns of 3 or 4 weeks with every evening having something happening plus weekends as well. How does that happen?! I'm a social person to a point, but I also need 'down time' at home and you would think I've learned to balance that. But no, I keep doing it again and again. Why? Probably because there are so many fun things to do and fun people to see that I don't normally get too. Summer seems the perfect season to schedule in more because I think I have more free time but truth is, when you work full time your summer isn't 'free'. :)

One of my 'traditions' near my birthday is to have a God date. This is used to be silent before the Lord and let Him speak as well as write down new goals and dreams for the next year. I haven't had my God date yet due to my schedule, but let me tell you I already know a new goal for this year - don't overbook my schedule!! If I can accomplish that, I'm one amazing Woman :)

Have a great long weekend everyone!

A great birthday :)

I was so blessed this past week with great times with wonderful friends and family to celebrate my birthday. It was a packed week with celebrating my brother's birthday as well and other things happening every evening but it was also a lot of fun. Why is it in the summer that work just seems to get in the way? :)

On July 23rd, Lance woke me up at 12:30am to say "Happy Birthday". A groan came from me as I fell back to sleep. :) I awoke in the morning to a gift sitting on my stomach and an excited husband for me to open it. I did and was overjoyed at what I saw. A 5 disc DVD set of all the Anne of Green Gables plus bonus features!! I have wanted this on DVD since DVD's came out but haven't seen them. Back in March they were in Costco and I said to Lance, "Umm if you need a hint on what to get me for my birthday, this is it!!"

I grew up with watching Anne of Green Gables and reading the books. My Grandpa Stewart was born and raised in PEI and 'Anne' just expressed that desire to get to that island one day. In 2001 my parents, brother and I went and explored it for the first time. (First time for Jay and I, my parents had been many times) What a trip I'll never forget. It has beautiful green rolling hills and soil that is so red you thought it was powdered paint. When we go back to New Brunswick this fall we are heading to PEI as well and I'm very excited to return. So what better to get me ready then watch Anne of Green Gables and see the beauty of the island.

All I wanted to do was stay home and watch all three, but reality hit and I had to head to work. As I got ready and went to pick up my purse I noticed it was heavier than usual. I opened it to see a Jones soda bottle with my picture on it and a message that said, "Happy Birthday Treena". So cool!! I brought it with me to work to show everyone what a great husband I have.

I was taken out for coffee by some of my co-workers which was great and cards, emails and phone calls happened all day long from people I love. In the evening Lance and I met up with some friends for dinner and a movie. What a wonderful birthday!!

Saturday we had planned a family BBQ at our place. This would be the first my entire family were coming over together. We have had them all separately but not all at one time. There are 13 of us in total when we all get together and with our place being quite little I didn't know if everyone would fit, but they did and we had a blast! Lance did an amazing job with all the food and even made 2 incredible desserts!! What a talented man. :) I was overwhelmed by every one's cards and gifts and so thankful for the family & friends I have. Thanks everyone, I'm so blessed to have you all in my life.

Treena's Birthday

Well, normally Treena is the one who updates this blog, but I thought today it would be my turn. You see - today is Treena's birthday and I just wanted to take a minute and let you all know. Growing up in my family, birthdays were always a big deal. It was an oppurtunity to focus on the birthday person and to let them know how much we loved them and how blessed we were to have them in our lives. So today I wanted to do that for Treena. I have written several drafts of what I'd like to say, but what I come back to is just how much richer she makes my life. I find it ironic that its her birthday and even though we will be giving her gifts, she turns the tables on us because she is such a gift to all of us!

Happy Birthday Treena! Love you!

Lance

Summer fun

I love how summer has so many neat things you can do that the other seasons don't offer. Earlier this week we had my 4 nieces over for dinner / evening so Ben & Heather could go out to celebrate their wedding anniversary. We had just bought a fire pit and Lance was anxious to use it, so for dessert we roasted marshmallows. The girls were so excited! It felt like camping. There is no smell in the world like a camp fire and the sounds of the wood popping. Such fun :)

My four beautiful nieces

The great fire pit



Roasting marshmallows

Happy Birthday Bro!!

Today is my younger brother's birthday! Jay and I as kids would fight like cat & dog. :) But as we grew up into teenagers and young adult years, we became such close friends and did so much together. Everyone who meets Jay, loves Jay. His handsome face shines with a big smile and a greeting of "Good Morning" to everyone he sees no matter the time of day. :) One of the things I love about Jay is his ability to be so real with you. He 'goes there' with you when you need someone to listen and then encourages you and finds the positive in everything. He is a true Man of God full of integrity, kindness, compassion and love. He lets God reveal the next steps in life to him and his family and then has faith to see it come to pass. He is a true worshiper in not only his amazing gift in drums but in his lifestyle.



We love you Jay and pray this would be another year full of dreams becoming reality and showers of blessings over your life!

A family wedding

Last Saturday we had the honour of attending my cousin Matt's wedding. Matt Lang is one of the 14 cousins on my mom's side and the son of my late Uncle Mickey Lang. We all have loved Lorelei (his new wife) since they started dating and were pretty excited to finally have her officially apart of the family.

The wedding was a beautiful setting outside by a pond on Lorelei's parents property. The day couldn't have been more perfect as the sun shone down and the string quartet played classical music under the tent. When she arrived it was on horse and carriage with her dad. Beautiful! She looked like a princess on her fairytale wedding day. The ceremony was enriched with Pastor Ben being the officiant as the two of them pledged their vows to each other. My cousin had a hard time keeping from crying all the way through. How precious! The reception was directly following in a separate tent on the property with the decor just right. There was wonderful food, family, friends to share in laughter and tears of joy.

Congratulations Matt & Lorelei! It was so wonderful to share in your day and see God's faithfulness and love shine through the entire evening. We love you both so much!

Family History

For anyone that knows my husband you will know he LOVES history. Lance will spend hours on his laptop reading about history especially European history. These past couple weeks Lance has been working on a computer program called the Family Tree Maker. It was a gift a couple years ago from my parents for Christmas and he has been adding in everything we know from his side of the family. Thanks to Lance's Dad he had a LOT of information from both sides of their family he had already recorded. Then when we got married he started on my side. It is quite fascinating to think about these relatives lives way back in the day and what life would have been for them.

We were over at my parents place last night and found more information from both sides of my parents. Books from when my Grandma & Grandpa Stewart passed away that outlined a lot of their heritage. On the Stewart side we have a HUGE bible that has been passed down for 4 generations and came from Scotland. It is passed to the youngest son of each generation so my brother will receive it next. In it has newspaper clippings of obituaries of the last 4 generations. It is neat to read about them and find out how they were connected. On the Lang side, my Mom found a file that had a story written by my Great Grandmother that talked about her Grandparents, parents and siblings.

I also found a prayer journal of my Grandma Stewart's (maiden name Fraser) that was so interesting to read. It was when she found the Lord and talked about her relationship with her Dad and his Godly influence in her life.

Overall we have been able to trace back to the 1600's! WOW! Lance and I both thank God for our heritage and most important the Godly heritage we both have on each side. What a blessing it is to not only come from this but continue living our lives for Christ. It will be a neat day in heaven when we get to meet each person face to face. What a HUGE family reunion it will be :)

Berries & Jam, Floors & Ham

Lance and I started off our long weekend by going over to Mom & Dad's place Saturday morning. It is so nice they live 5 minutes away and we had planned a day for Mom & I to do strawberry jam and Lance & Dad to put in the floors in the suite they are building in the basement of their home.

So Lance and I had a date to IKEA Friday night to pick up containers for the jam. I know . .. so romantic! :) But when it comes to us we love to shop and browse whether it is Costco or IKEA. We picked up a bunch of containers and had fun dreaming of things for the future.

Now to be honest it had been about 5 yrs since I had made jam and I knew if I tried it on my own I'd be in trouble without my Mom's help :) So I brought the containers, sugar and aprons as Mom brought the berries & Certo. Mom & I shared a flat of fresh strawberries from Krause Berry farms. . . . What? . . . . You haven't been to Krause Berry Farms? OH MY GOODNESS!! You NEED TO GO!! Not only do they have every berry possible, they also have fresh veggies, homemade pies, bakery, and coffee shop. Check out their website at http://www.krausebrothersfarms.com/ . Such fun. :)

We made all the jam and also filled containers with fresh berries to have throughout the year. For those of you who know me I'm not much of a fruit person but I LOVE any kind of berry. We then enjoyed a wonderful lunch that included ham (note the title of this blog) and then finished up with a fresh bowl of strawberries. YUMMM!!! The guys were able to get a lot of the floor done as well which makes my parents that much closer to the suite being complete. It was a great way to start the first day of the long weekend.

A few fun facts

I was passed on this survey / questionnaire and thought it would be good to post for a few fun facts about myself. I hope you enjoy it. :)

What were you doing ten years ago?
1. Getting ready to leave for Malaysia
2. Working at a Chiropractic office as a MOA
3. A Youth & Young Adult Leader at church
4. Enjoying my new (to me) Neon Car (had it for 6 months)
5. Going through the journey of finding who I was

What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for tomorrow?
1. Teach my final piano lessons before break for the summer
2. Workout (Treadmill & Pilates)
3. Laundry
4. Sew receiving blankets for new babies being born
5. Enjoy time with my husband

Five snacks I enjoy:
1. Popcorn
2. Peanut butter
3. Carrot sticks
4. Craisins
5. Starbucks

5 things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Have a blessing fund to give it away to people in need
2. Own a house with property
3. Own a vacation home in Hawaii
4. Travel all over the world for missions and vacations
5. Do a wee bit of shopping :)

Places I've lived:
1. Langley - Brookswood area
2. Langley - Murrayville area
3. Langley - Walnut Grove area
4. Abbotsford
5. White Rock

Jobs I've had:
1. Coffee shop barista
2. Nanny / babysitter
3. Piano Teacher
4. Medical Office Assistant
5. Receptionist / Administrative Assistant / Executive Assistant

All caught up!

The last 3 weeks to a month . .. okay lets be honest . . .the past 3 months have been really busy for Lance and I with not only work but life. It seems to be that time of year where everyone is running around getting things accomplished as regular activities come to a close for over the summer. Due to that our little home has been neglected.

Thankfully, last week was our first week with not only 1 evening at home but 4 evenings at home! What a luxury. Work has finally slowed down a bit as well. With that I was finally able to catch up with things at home. (Not exhausted from work) I felt quite domestic. Laundry, cleaning, dishes, prep for healthy, easy meals and even an hour workout each day (1/2 hr. treadmill, 1/2 Pilates) What a difference it made. I came to the conculsion as fun as it is to be involved in so many things, it is also important to take time to 'rest'. I love home and enjoy being home. I'm really looking forward to that this summer with having time to relax, rest and spend time with family & friends.

I enjoy every season. Spring, summer, fall & winter, but as each one approaches it surprises me how ready I am to start the new season. I'm ready to embrace Summer and enjoy the relaxed feeling it brings. "Sigh" What a wonderful thing it is!