Something to be thankful for...

This year I received a really neat gift for Christmas - my Grandfather's WWII dog tags. He served in the 66th Armored Regiment of the 2nd Armored Division in the US Army. When I was in my early twenties, I went to school, played music, ate out 5 times a week, payed bills (when I had to), & in my free time I goofed off. When my Grandpa was in his early twenties, he spent almost 3 years of his life on 2 different continents - experiencing what I couldn't imagine. I often think how today our perception of reality is skewed; all I really know is peace & prosperity, but history tells another story of who really are and what we're capable of.

Grandma, Grandpa, Mom, & Me

I guess being thankful is kind of a thanksgiving thing to do, but who says we can't be thankful at Christmas? I'm thankful for the huge life altering experience my Grandfather went through as a young man, so that others did not have to. I'm thankful that my Grandfather & Grandmother are still married 60 plus years later. I'm thankful to God for watching over them through the years, and how He has blessed the 3 generations that now follow. And, being that it is Christmas, I cannot express how thankful I am God came to earth in Human form for the soul purpose of paying an uncountable debt I owed, to reconcile me to Him.

Merry Christmas from Ben, Amy, Luke, Simon, Helena, & "No.4"

A trip to Revelstoke

This last weekend myself (Ben) and our two boys headed to Revelstoke, leaving Amy and Helena to have a bit of "girl time" back here in the Big Stink (sorry, I mean lovely Prince George - The Spruce Tree Capital).

The reason for the trip is that (along with my brother and my Dad) I had a chance to attend the Revelstoke Baptist Church Men's Retreat held at Sunnybrae Bible Camp. The topic of the weekend was "Living Faith", and as always, between hearing some really neat (and encouraging) talks on faith, there was plenty of eating, card/board games, and floor hockey.

If you weren't there, your "do I really care" meter might be pointing at "not too much"...But check out a couple of the usual suspects going for a nice warm afternoon dip in lovely Shuswap Lake.

I was more than happy to watch Mike and Gerald make the long walk our to deeper "swimmable" water, while I stood there, camera in hand, with my toque and jacket on. Um, I had a bit a of a cold, yah, that's why I didn't jump in too. The fact that they're not braking ice to swim kind of says that this isn't really that big of a deal.

Back in Revelstoke, Luke and Simon got to spend some time with Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie's, Uncle, & cousins.

Candy snowman time with Grandma...

An early dump of snow this year - and Simon with a perma-grin.

Luke & Grandma (thanks Mom for taking care of the boys!)