A beautiful surprise

Anthony's last day of Kindergarten was on Thursday June 27th.....I can't believe my baby has evolved into a kindergarten graduate!!! The time has gone by so quickly. I remember people always saying "oh they grow up so quickly"...I can say that is the absolute truth. 
He came home with a bunch of stuff but the most precious was his Coronation School Kindergarten Portfolio. His teacher, Mrs. Webb had gathered everything that they did throughout the year and put it together in a memory book. What a wonderful idea!
I looked through the portfolio smiling at everything that I saw but the one that caught my eye and most of all my heart was the 3rd page. It was a watercolor painting of a butterfly! His description card said that he chose a butterfly because they are beautiful and special.  
I know that Anthony has a special connection with Kari and as time goes on more moments present themselves as a way of solidifying that relationship.  Kari and Anthony only had a few short months to really get to know one another but it is one that didn't need alot of time to form the deep roots.
It is also said that children are very spiritual it is the grown ups who squash it....some of us are scared to accept the fact that children see or hear or connect with the ones that have left this earth....I want to nurture this ability with Anthony. I am very spiritual and I want Anthony to embrace it if he chooses to.
Anthony's painting has a special place by Kari so that she can enjoy it while we do.....

New additions

Treasure Life

 On Sunday May 20th I was blessed with the opportunity to accompany my sister Charlene on a road trip to the Ol' MacDonald Resort near Stettler, AB to join families who had spent the weekend at the Children's Heart Society Campout. This is an opportunity for families with children who have heart disease to get out and have some fun and to be with other kids who are living life like they are.


We went to spend some time discussing the Treasure Bead program which was launched at the Stollery Children's Hospital for the "heart kids" in January of 2011 by the Treasure Life Foundation. This foundation was formed as a legacy to honor the memory of my great nephew Evan who passed away from Congenital Heart disease in 2006.


To start, each child is given a string with a Treasure Life anchor bead symbolizing the start of their journey. Then a "Child Life" bead is added which represents the many wonderful people who help the kids at the hospital. After this it is a personal journey with each bead representing a procedure that the child has gone through. It could be a needle, an x-ray, an echocardiogram, surgery and of course so many more I can't even name..the kids and parents remember it all.


 Many of the children hadn't started their bead chains so they were extremely excited to be able to document their personal journey with their heart. It brought so much joy to my heart to talk to the families and to see the love and joy they felt doing this.

Procedure beads...a few of many.

These beads were her journey!

Me and my sister.

It was a wonderful day that I got to spend with my sister and with families who touched my heart!


To learn more about the Treasure Life Foundation please visit: http://www.treasurelife.ca/
and the Children's Heart Society: http://www.childrensheart.org/

The Power of Yellow

  It was a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon and I was outside staining my Adirondack chairs a wonderful yellow. I wanted a color that would make the yard pop. After I had put one coat on I sat down to enjoy a drink and chat with Anthony. He was sitting on my lap and we were discussing bees and "waspes" as he calls them. All of a sudden something absolutely amazing happened. A butterfly came up on to the deck and fluttered right by us. It was the biggest yellow butterfly unlike anything I have ever seen. I do not remember ever seeing a yellow butterfly. I have only witnessed the little white ones or the orange Monarchs. It was breathtaking and it left both Anthony and I utterly speechless. All we could do was stare at each other both knowing exactly what and who it was...Kari. I take that moment and hold it tight....I will never forget that moment.
A few days later I was catching up with my best friend Drina and she said that she had the most spectacular story to share.
She was outside in her garden and the biggest most beautiful yellow butterfly fluttered into her yard. Without even a pause she spoke out loud "Kari...it's you!...you are so beautiful. You're O.K I know you are....My Mom is with you..is she O.K?" She thought nothing of the fact that she was talking to a butterfly because she knew she wasn't.....it was Kari.

Drina, Anthony and I were blessed with the opportunity to spend a few precious moments with our beautiful yellow butterfly...but what is so dear to my spirit at this moment is the fact that we shared it together....not in the same yard and not at the same time but in the same spiritual way. We are in tune with the many wonders that life has to offer and we are walking the same spiritual journey together. Being best friends is in itself the most precious gift but to be able to share our spirits is the best blessing ever!

Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.  ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

 

Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life.  And everyone deserves a little sunshine.  ~Jeffrey Glassberg