Blessings

In life, at least in mine, I have found that although I have known many people and made many acquaintances, God has blessed me with only a few people who are truly bosom friends as Anne Shirley would say. People who love me for me and who pray for me, laugh with me, comfort me, help grow me. They're people who are in my life every day, encouraging me and helping me see how great God is. I felt that it would be fitting to introduce them to you briefly since they're likely to be mentioned quite often in my posts.

Let me begin with my husband, Dave.

He is my treasure from God. He is so amazing. I could never have imagined myself with a man as wonderful as him. He helps lead me, he provides for me and has made it possible for me to be a homemaker and a mom. We are both so excited to begin the journey as parents together. We laugh together, we play together and we enjoy each other in every way. We confide in one another. We share our fears and troubles as well as just simply talking about our days. It is a comfort to me just knowing he is lying down beside me in bed. He is so loving and wonderful that I have to remind myself that God is always to come first, and then my husband. I look forward to growing old with my Dave.

Next, my sister, Johannah (Jo). I don't know how many people are as blessed as I am to have a sister who they can call their best friend. My sister has always been that to me. We rarely ever fought, we enjoy each others company and we always make each other laugh. We used to share a bed because we liked being near to one another. We would talk before going to sleep (my sister had a way of getting me to talk so that she could fall asleep) or we would even play very imaginative games that she usually made up ('draw the person and guess who it is' or 'guess what I'm writing on your back'). She made me go for adventures and I am thankful she did because I used to be a bit of a lazy bones. She made sure I got my activities in. Now, she and I confide in each other with our struggles and our sins. We may live in different places but never far enough away that we can't still have sleep overs and wonderful fellowship time with each other.

This is her beautiful family. From left to right we have: Caelah (most disappointed that I am not having a baby girl), Elijah ( who loves his thumb and his ears), Jo and Aidan ( a beautiful couple), Gabriel (whose favourite word at the moment is 'NO!') and last but not least, Isaiah ( a very contented little baby). This family is like home to Dave and I. When we want to do something but don't know what, we go to the Van Dyk's. If I want a snuggle, I grab any one of their 4 children and they all give a good snuggle or 'nuggle' as Gabriel would say. God has blessed Jo with such a wonderful family that has in turn blessed Dave and I.

Then there is Vanessa or Ness.
God sent this amazing woman to me in university. I was about to live out my career as a university student the same way I did with high school: go, learn, get home as fast as possible; just finish and move on with life. Then along came Vanessa. She brought back joy to my life as a student, Christian woman and showed me friendship that I had been so long without. She taught me, without knowing it, how to let people into my heart again. If you don't, do you truly love? She brought me out of a very deep and lonely pit and I praise God for her. Since then, she and I have been the best of friends. We laugh together, shop together, cry together and confess our difficulties to one another. And, she lives in the apartment above me. If I'm bored or lonely I just have to walk up the stairs and I am alwasy welcomed with a big smile.

From left to right: Cory (Vanessa's husband and my brother in law), Vanessa, Dave and Me.

Here's my nephew Henry(Vanessa and Cory's first). I stole the picture from his grandmas blog. I hope you don't mind Nikki.

I also have Grace.
She and I grew up together and were the closest of cousins. We played together and as we grew in our faith, we shared our struggles and disappointments. The Lord really used her in my life during the really rough years of high school. We both seemed to be struggling with life as a Christian in a school where people didn't seem to know you existed... or if they knew you were there, they tended to take advantage of you rather than truly care about you. She was a constant comfort to me with encouraging words and loving comments. Even now, though we are far apart, we are able to talk and share.

Finally, Karin.

From left to right: Karin, Vanessa, Me and Jo ( Karin is pregnant in this picture but at this point her baby, Elyssa is actually 9 months old now).

Here's Elyssa.Many of the clothes you see, Karin made herself.

Karin is one of those friends who is always there. She has a good answer for all your struggles and questions and always seems prepared. She is always up for an outing (Upper Canada village, Montreal or just a hang out day) and she always seems to know how to get places. She's never lost. She makes me feel comfortable when she is around. Like... nothing bad could happen because if I felt worried or uptight, I could just turn to her and talk and it would all go away. She is incredibly considerate and always seems to know when her, performing a simple task, will make your day.

As I type up all of these words about these friends and their families that God has blessed me with, it seems like I have the most friends in the world. Who would need more? These people who are listed are some of the greatest blessings to me. To the world, they might think I have so few friends and that would make me unpopular. I have come to see, over many years of struggle and loneliness that even being blessed with one person is enough. And here God has given me FIVE amazing people and their families. God is the only one that we need but I am thankful that he has put these amazing people in my life. They will be in my life until I am no longer living and even then, they will be with me. I look forward to seeing who else God might bring into my life.

Thank you, Lord, for your many blessings.