Day 61: Preparing for Remembrance Day

I like Remembrance Day. I know for some people it's very contentious. And I recognize why it would be. For me, it's not about glorifying war or worshipping war heroes, it's about recognizing that our military has acted on behalf of Canada (whether the public agrees to the mission or not) to protect us and citizens in other countries and in doing so, some have lost their lives.

If they had a day that honoured fallen police officers and firefighters I'd be happy for that too. In my opinion, people who "work for the public" deserve our support and those that loose their life in service deserve our respect.

For me it's also about remembering ALL the non-soldiers that were killed in war after war. Those people who were simply in the way, or who were considered "not the right people". And this count would far out-number the fallen soldiers...

So, as Remembrance Day approaches, I think of the lost lives and of ways to encourage our politicians to find solutions that don't include war.

My hope is that all Canadians spend at least a moment or two on Sunday remembering the fallen and looking to a better future without war.

Day 60: Put Yourself Out There

Be vulnerable. Share yourself with people and connect. This is not something that comes easily to most people, and certainly not to me. I work at it. Sharing myself with my husband, our family and friends can be hard and sometimes you can face a rejection of sorts. Keep powering through and you will make real connections with great people.

Has anyone ever been pleasantly surprised when they shared an aspect of themselves with someone who responded especially well?

Day 59: Planning a Holiday Party

I can't believe we're thinking about the upcoming holiday season already... but at the same time I'm glad. Gives us something positive to focus on :)

My friend and I are beginning the planning for a holiday party for friends from our residence at university. If anyone from SPUC is around mid-December let me know!

If I'm lucky this means I will get to work on a number of crafts!!! I'll have to bring out the construction paper garland brilliance :)

Day 58: A Quote

Day 57: Memory Book

Somewhat unexpectedly, a few weeks ago, I became "in charge" of collecting stuff for a Memory Book for the same family I made the Signature Quilt for. This meant collecting photos of the family as well as photos of families in our church and index cards with messages for the family.

It also meant that someone had to put the Memory Book together. I really didn't think I would have time to do it (especially by myself) and so I enlisted help from others in the church.  Three women volunteered and we had a great night putting the book together.

Initially, it was supposed to just be a matter of sliding photos and cards into a semi-traditional photo album with plastic slots. However, I couldn't find one big enough, so we made a "simple" scrapbook.

Side note: I bought the album today at Michael's and they were having a "Buy One Album, Get the Other for 1 Cent" event! I've never ever seen an album so cheap before :) It was amazing!!!

In under 3 and a 1/2 hours, the four of us had created 32 pages for the Memory Book! We just need to remove the stock photo on the front and put in a picture of the whole congregation (taken at the church picnic in June).

I am super happy with the way it turned out! We were even able to add embellishments and everything looks really coordinated. Thanks to the ladies that made this possible!