Distance makes the heart grow fonder.

Evan, always full of surprises, managed to do it again. He had been planning on coming out to SEYC for the weekend, but not until late thursday night. Then, early Wednesday morning, who should wake me up but my knight in shining armour! He had called my Aunt and she had unlocked the door for him on her way to work. The night before, we talked on the phone like we normally do, and as soon as we hung up, he jumped in his car and drove all night to wake me up the next morning! I nearly had a heartattack... and as my mind slowly registered that I wasn't dreaming, the realization of what he had just done began to hit me. Talk about feeling special! So, I got to spend 5 whole days with the love of my life, and oh were they wonderful!

He planned a surprise date for us the next day, only telling me that we needed to take a picnic. We drove for about an hour, and ended up at some stables in the mountains of Georgia! I hadn't been horse back riding for about 6 years, and it was so much fun! The two of us and our trail guide rode all over the mountain on their trails eventually stopping for our picnic lunch. Unfortunately, the place that was planned for our lunch was occupied by some government officals who were doing something with large machines, so we had to settle for another place which didn't have quite the view out over the valley. It was still beautiful and very romantic! Later that evening, we dressed up and went out for dinner at one of our favorite asian restaurants...

On Sabbath we were able to get away for a while and enjoy some time with our good friends, Nathan and Leilana. Following which, we raced up Look Out Mountain to watch the sun go down, and explore some new trails. After being apart for so long, it was so great to be able to just hang out together and talk with out having a phone glued to our ears. I don't know how people stand long distance.... I'll be so glad when this is over! I'm learning that being apart really does make the love shared between you more intense and real. Nathan calls it "love sick" and says we'll get over it once we've been together for a while. Maybe that's true, but I'll enjoy it while it lasts...

Heaven on Earth

The Robson Valley is without a doubt the most glorious place in the whole world. Believe me, I've been alot of places, and some were very beautiful. But there is just something about that valley, when I enter it at Tete Jaune Cache... my breath is taken away. The air is crisp and fresh, the mountains tall and magestically inviting. Then suddenly, the fast paced world seems only like a dream, and a peace settles on you like the warmth of a campfire on a fall evening. It could possibly be that because its home to me, it means so much. Or maybe its because you can drive for ten or fifteen minutes without passing another vehicle. Regardless, it feels about as close to heaven as you can get on this earth. I was in Canada for a week, but only in McBride a day and a half... not nearly enough. My cousin Ryan, Aunt Bette and I flew into Seattle the same day, rented a car, and made the grueling 13 hour drive north. We arrived home Monday evening just in time to enjoy a bon fire picnic with all the other family members that had made the trek for the funeral. Just having come from the South, we quickly changed from our shorts into our parkas as our leg hairs began to freeze and fall off. The fire was a welcome relief to our shivering forms.
Tuesday morning before the funeral, we decided to bask in the beauty while we could. Ryan had never been to McBride before, so we took him to a couple of our favorite places.

The funeral was really nice. We had lots of music, and then there was a sharing time, so I got to tell some of my funny stories about Gram and get everyone away from their tears for a few minutes. Believe me, there was alot of them. But, as far as funerals go... it was top notch. Them McBride people sure know how to do it. We had the burial the next day four hours south in Merrit. First there was the viewing in a small chapel where we could all meet together as a family and say goodbye to Grandma. The viewing was from twelve to one, but you can only look at a body in a casket for so long. So after a few minutes of sitting there looking at Gram, Jordan and I started poking around in the back rooms of the chapel to see what we could find. We found the herse and stretchers where they brought her in from, but next to the herse, there was another herse. It was from the .... well, a long time ago. Probably back from when Gram was a little girl. When the first cars were coming out. It was one of the neatest things I've ever seen! But it had a flat tire, so we decided we couldn't ask them to take Gram to the graveyard in it.

During the time we were there, I noticed something. Most of the tears were coming from the non-Adventist side of the family. Being able to look forward to heaven, and knowing we'll see her again is such a comforting thing! The hope we have is wonderful!

The sky was cloudless, making the burial much more enjoyable than rain would have. We sang some songs and shared some thoughts and stories. Most of us were in tears by the time the last prayer was said.

All of us cousins had to get together for a picture...

Gram's second husband had been a veteran, and she had requested to be burried next to him. I find it very fitting that she be burried here. She was a very honourable woman...

We said good bye then and parted, each family going in their different dirrections. In spite of the reason for the gathering, the week we spent in Canada was wonderful! I can't help but look forward to the next visit at Christmas, when we will gather with another group of family and friends in our tiny little house, and enjoy the blessings of being together. Won't it be wonderful when we can be in one place, all together, forever? It will be more beautiful than McBride! And this time, Grandma Olive will get to join in, singing on tune and shareing her poetry...

I think more than the peace of the valley, it is the joy of being with family that is so special. That is really what is so beautiful. Family is what God gave to show us what Heaven would be like. So yes, the valley is the most glorious place on earth. But it's because of the love that is there. It wouldn't be quite as beautiful if there was no one to share it with...

Life and Death

I've been asked at least a hundred times, "what are you taking at Southern?" Its automatic for one to think that since I'm a young person in Collegedale, I must be in school. "Well, you know... I'm not actually in school..." I watch as a wave of disbelief and disgust washes over there faces. "What?!?! how could you not be in school? what are you going to do with your life? you'll never amount to anything!" *Much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth*

I've just returned from my very first job as a baby nurse. Five hours and a state away, I found myself in Gastonia, North Carolina. The family I was working with was very friendly and laid back. The perfect job for me to start my training on. They had premie twins; a boy and a girl. Now, the mother is Icelandic, so I'm hopeing the names she chose were an ethnic decision... Haldora, and Herbert. Thankfully, they went by their middle names.... Caroline, and Hunt (which was shortend from Huntington).




Inspite of the mouthful, they were tiny and precious. I fell in love with them at once. My responsibilities as a baby nurse would include: feeding and burping them...changing their diapers, keeping the nursery clean, and making mum a smoothie with lots of vitamins and healthy things to help her recover, as well as cooking for the parents each evening. Whew! What a load. It wasn't so bad, until you get through two or three nights of feedings... 1am...5am... I would average 4 hours of sleep every night. Never all together mind you. Anyone thinking on having children, I strongly suggest you do it one at a time. With twins...everything takes twice as long. I was getting the hang of things as we neared the end of the second week...


On the evening of September 3rd as I was finishing up with the cooking, I received a call from my sister-in-law, Annie. "Hey Joni, How are you?" That was all she said, and I knew what the call was about. "Grandma died, didn't she?"
She had been taken to hospital the week before by ambulance, so I knew that it was a possibility. In fact, at 92, I'd been waiting for it to happen for some time and was happy that she was hanging in as long as she was. Gram was so stubborn, I knew she wouldn't die until she was good and ready. I'd known it was coming, and yet it still came as such a shock to me. Gram had always been there...she was like a cozy old piece of furniture that you knew you could count on.




I hadn't known my Grandma very well. We would visit on Christmas, or some other significant holiday, but that was it. Then, I went to live with her while I was going to college, and we got to know each other really well. I would write down story after story of the things she would do and say... I was going to write a book called "19 going on 90."

Gram would get confused alot. I'd wake up in the middle of the night, and find her in the kitchen making granola, or bread. She would tell me a funny story, and we'd laugh until our sides hurt. One time I was working in the kitchen and had bent down to pick something up off the floor, when she reaches out and pinches my bum, then runs away giggling. She was such a tease! On another occasion, my brother Jordan was doing a hand stand in the living room, just with-in her reach. She stuck her toe out and kicked him over... then sat there lauging as he gathered himself together. She managed to make the trip down for my older brothers wedding... swearing that she would be there, even if in a casket. I've never met another person with so much spunk and feistiness.




One thing I remember about Gram was how much she loved babies. She would ooh and ahh over them, and talk about them often. Whenever a new one entered the family, she would get so excited, and show pictures of them. You would often hear her recite this poem...

All of my years have vanished and gone
And I'm certainly growing old
Comfort my days with one starting his
Oh give me a baby to hold!


About a week and a half before she passed away, she asked my mum to take her back with her to McBride for a visit, saying she "wanted to go home." McBride is where she raised her family and made her home for many years. So, mum consented and they made the journey north.
I kinda wonder if she had a gut feeling that it might be her time... old people tend to know these things. Even if not... its a nice thought to me, that she wanted to go home to die. I would.

That night as I looked down through my tears at Hunt and Caroline, I couldn't help but think of the life they had just begun, and the one so dear to me that had just ended. I'm so thankful for the time I spent with her, and all the memories we have together. She will be greatly missed...