glorious spring

Each day we are checking for signs of spring. The day we came home from our weekend in D.C. we received about 7-8 cm of snow. The snow has now disappeared. Today was +13 degrees C. at one point in the day. We see the tulips coming up through the ground, rhubarb is up, and we heard a loon today. All very wonderful and hopeful. The above picture was taken on our walk yesterday--close to Cow Bay in Cole Harbour. Part of the Trans Canada trail joins into this park. Some people said that they spotted pussy willlows here yesterday.

Today we enjoyed a nice long walk at Conrad Beach.(about 15 minute drive from our house). It was at low tide so there was alot of sand. Fog was trying to descend upon us from time to time. The birds were sounding cheerful.

Weekend in D.C.

Last week we had a wonderful weekend in D.C. with our children. Besides enjoying a few days of spring like weather--the cherry trees and magnolias were blooming, we had a few inspiring and challenging days of prayer. The purpose of our trip was to attend the Global Prayer Gathering for International Justice Mission, the organization for whom Andrey works. It was wonderful to experience together as a family the messages of justice, hope and joy. "Joy is the priceless treasure found in a field of suffering or sorrow." Gary Haugen,
CEO.

The weekend's program comprised of concerts by some very good musicians--Sara Groves and Ten Shekel Shirt, worship times, praying for specific IJM operations--prayer rooms were designated for each country served by IJM. Updates are given at those times in regards to issues which the IJM staff is working on in their country and what is happening. Countless stories were told of success and some which were not successful and where evil continues. Those are the difficult ones. In any case you may check for more information if you wish on the following website: http://www.ijm.org/

By the way, the picture was taken in a mall--you will notice that a fifth person appears in the picture in between Andrey and Mike--she was someone just standing randomly--not part of our group. Funny how that happened.

Beaches

This is what the waves at Lawrencetown Beach looked like just a few hours ago. It was a beautiful day as you can see, sunny and about plus 2 degrees. Some nice looking swells!

This would be the new to us and the east coast version of White Rock. The white stuff is hard rock and is found at Martinique Beach where we enjoyed walking for a few hours yesterday.

Beautiful wind swept sand also at Martinique. We have also been loving the blue skies. I think it was George MacDonald who was quoted as saying, "What idea of God could we have without the sky?"

Saskatoon

Driving down Spadina Crescent along the river in Saskatoon. (A picture taken out of our rented car.). We just returned from a trip to visit Marilyn's mom and family who all live in Saskatoon. Temperatures were record breaking. It seems that it had not been this cold in March for 125 years. Yikes! Being of fairly tough stock, we still were able to walk outside daily. And, of course, we had a great time visiting with everyone.

Marilyn with brother, Allen and sister, Brenda. We met at the Mendel Art Gallery for coffee one afternoon.

Mom, at the art gallery conservatory, checking to see if this is a real tree.

These three young women hosted the whole family for a dinner. The person in the back is my niece, Katya, middle one is Mairin, my niece also and Allison is in the front. She is a friend of both these gals. They are housemates.

Comforts

A few days ago Lou was enjoying a good book with the comfort of Stella on his lap...come to think of it, Stella looks quite comfortable as well.

Today we had planned to visit with friends in Halifax. However, as we were travelling along the highway we thought it would be wise to turn back towards home as the freezing rain was intensifying. I decided to make some "comfort" food. One of my favorite granola recipes from "More with Less Cookbook"--Koinonia Granola. Smells wonderful!

Lawrencetown Beach--Atlantic Ocean

This morning we walked at one of our favourite places--Lawrencetown Beach. The waves were scheduled to be very high and the tide was low. The white stuff you see is not snow, but sea foam. More than we had ever seen before. With each new wave, more foam accumulates.

There were also very strong winds, making the situation at optimum conditions for Stella. You see, the foam is loosened by the wind making it so much fun to chase. She made us laugh as she feverishly chased the chunks of sea foam along the beach.

We have seen many beaches in the world but the beaches here in Nova Scotia have the most beautifully coloured stones. I am fascinated by the variations in colour.

These beautiful tulips remind us that spring is coming.

Blizzard Action Today

Good thing that I went skating earlier this morning. Yes, I skated out on the lake where now it is blowing snow. Visibility is not that great. (As you can see from the picture). Lou is enjoying a cup of 3 in 1! For those who may not know, 3 in 1 is a prepared drink mix of coffee, coffeemate, sweetener. It is especially popular with many Asians. We had a package lurking in our cupboards. Lou was excited to find it. I am drinking rooiboos tea and making a lentil soup. Yes, we are hunkered down. Preparing to watch what we can of the Obama to Canada visit.

A sunset shot of a few days ago as we drove from Dartmouth to home.