this guy

his stunts always make me catch my breath. 

 somehow, miraculously, he never has been seriously injured.  love his spirit...

my mom

so thankful for this lady, and the chance to celebrate her today.  my mom is the epitome of strength, perseverance and grace...

the fact that God has blessed her with another year is such a gift to all who know her.

 here's an old one of us, and a clear indication that we aren't in enough pictures together!  but i love this one of her!  she smiles and presses on through the challenges and demonstrates beautiful dependence on God and solid leaning in to Him, regardless.  this anchors both her life and mine.  

Mom~ thanks for your steadfast love and beautiful character!  i'm forever impacted by those choices you made so early on, to stay the course and live out your faith and teach your children well.

Happy Birthday...love you lots!!!

frontline

proud of this girl and her many hours working frontline as a PSW at a local nursing home.  she has gone in full-speed during a pandemic and immersed herself in a whole new world.  a complete "180" from her usual summer lifeguard/swim instructor role, and not an easy transition, but soooo very essential...still, she's doing it with excellence and i'm certain those residents are feeling just a wee bit brighter because of her presence.  great early nursing experience too that will make her first clinical shifts soooo much easier...

love you, dear kid. ❤

how even??

not sure how my firstborn baby girl grew up so fast.  how can she be on the other side of her university journey with a nice job offer and full time position as a real deal nurse?  

(so thankful she sent me a few "first day" snaps)

thanks to COVID-19 she's missed out on a formal graduation, a class goodbye, a final wrap-up to her last year at Mac.  rather, she's been plunked from clinical shifts mastering skills and experience under a preceptor to twelve hour shifts of orientation into her new position at a Hamilton hospital.  she is rolling with it.  there is lots to learn, there is a lot of change.  she's got her gaze set forward and is making plans accordingly. 

i pray God guides her steps and gives her wisdom and joy in the process.  i pray she discovers more and more of her divine purpose and specifically how God has shaped her and equipped her for the very roles He's hand-picked for her life.  

i'm very proud of you, my dear Joelle.  dad is too.  good work over the past four years!  too bad it ended so abruptly.  can't wait to see what your future holds as you continue to seek out new and exciting adventures both within nursing and beyond.  love you so very much...