Today is the day. Yup. Today. My "niece" Heather is getting married tonight a 7:00 p.m. We are very thrilled for her. We like her husband to be very much.

I've spent the last 2 days decorating the Church Sanctuary and the gym for the big event. I can truly say I'm exhausted - but it really was so much fun. The sanctuary just turned out beautiful. Absolutely perfect. We brought the typical white lights and tulle - but combined it with some earthy elements like big logs of driftwood and bamboo screens. It just works and I couldn't be happier. I love it when the picture in your mind translates out into real life.

When I first met Heather she was a withdrawn, quiet girl scared because she was losing her mom to cancer and moving in with a family she didn't know at all. She's come a long way. She has graduated High School, done a year of Bible School, worked hard and managed a deli, travelled to Mexico, and is now completing her Early Childhood Education certificate.

We are very proud of the woman she has become.

This book was released ages ago and I remember hearing the buzz surrounding it. Somehow it never made it onto my reading list. I finally picked it up on Friday night and read it start to finish that night. I think it was very timely for me - being in the process of working through my mother-in-laws death.

This is a great book. Well worth the very short amount of time to read it will take you to read it.

So here is an old picture I found of Reid with his parents. I think it was taken the year we got engaged so 1991. It was the first time I met them. Reid's got a pretty swanky lookin' mullet there. Some 'twilight zone' trivia for you surrounding Reid's mom's death...
-she died exactly 4 years and 1 day after Reid's dad (I think she hung on that extra day for Reid & his brother to arrive)
-she died in exactly the same room as Reid's dad
-her funeral is exactly 4 years and 1 day after Reid's dad's.
-they were both 84

How's that for "things that make you say hmmmmmm....."

I included another picture - this one of my niece Kaitlyn. It is her birthday today - and we celebrate everything about her. There is no word to describe her better than the word "gentle". Kaitlyn is a gentle person. She is truly wonderful and we are so very grateful for her in our lives. Happy Birthday sweet girl.
p.s. You may notice that in the photo she's got a nose full of chocolate cake. That's what happens when you eat with no utensils! She may be gentle - but she's an awful lot of fun!

Ever heard the expression "just in a nick of time"? Not sure where it came from but it certainly applies to Reid and his oldest brother Rick. They pulled out of the Halifax airport somewhere between 8 and 9 Sat. night and went straight to the hospital where Reid's mom is. They stayed with her until the wee hours - somewhere between 2 and 3 in the morning and at 6 a.m. she passed away.

It is sad. Of course it is sad. But it also is a relief. No sitting around waiting for something to happen that you have no control over. No wondering if there is that perfect thing to say, no more worrying about how much pain the woman you loved from birth is in. It is done and she is in better hands.

...aaagh the circle of life.

We have just booked Reid on a flight to Nova Scotia for 6:30 a.m. on Saturday. He got the call telling us that his mom was "deteriorating rapidly" and the family was being "called home". So off he goes, along with his sibling. All five of them will be together for the first time in many years. Kind of sad that it takes something so tragic to draw everyone together.

Reid's mom is 84. She has had serious health issues for much of the last 6 or 7 years but right up until now, has been able to live at home. She's had a very good life. A husband who loved and supported her, five children who are wonderful, kind, caring individuals. Many grandchildren and even great-grandchildren.

But still. Reid is so very sad. Are you ever ready to say goodbye to a parent?

Think back over some of the memories you share with your family. Enjoy them. Don't have any regrets.

These are the top 100 American movies. It might be fun to work through the list and see them all. Maybe. I've bolded the ones I've already seen. 42 out of 100. Not bad!

1. Citizen Kane, 1941
2. The Godfather, 1972
3. Casablanca, 1942
4. Raging Bull, 1980
5. Singin' in the Rain, 1952
6. Gone With the Wind, 1939
7. Lawrence of Arabia, 1962
8. Schindler's List, 1993
9. Vertigo, 1958
10. The Wizard of Oz, 1939
11. City Lights, 1931
12. The Searchers, 1956
13. Star Wars, 1977
14. Psycho, 1960
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968
16. Sunset Blvd., 1950
17. The Graduate, 1967
18. The General, 1927
19. On the Waterfront, 1954
20. It's a Wonderful Life, 1946
21. Chinatown, 1974
22. Some Like It Hot, 1959
23. The Grapes of Wrath, 1940
24. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, 1982
25. To Kill a Mockingbird, 1962
26. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, 1939
27. High Noon, 1952
28. All About Eve, 1950
29. Double Indemnity, 1944
30. Apocalypse Now, 1979
31. The Maltese Falcon, 1941
32. The Godfather Part II, 1974
33. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, 1975
34. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937
35. Annie Hall, 1977
36. The Bridge on the River Kwai, 1957
37. The Best Years of Our Lives, 1946
38. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 1948
39. Dr. Strangelove, 1964
40. The Sound of Music, 1965
41. King Kong, 1933
42. Bonnie and Clyde, 1967
43. Midnight Cowboy, 1969
44. The Philadelphia Story, 1940
45. Shane, 1953
46. It Happened One Night, 1934
47. A Streetcar Named Desire, 1951
48. Rear Window, 1954
49. Intolerance, 1916
50. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 2001
51. West Side Story, 1961
52. Taxi Driver, 1976
53. The Deer Hunter, 1978
54. M-A-S-H, 1970
55. North by Northwest, 1959
56. Jaws, 1975
57. Rocky, 1976
58. The Gold Rush, 1925'
59. Nashville, 1975
60. Duck Soup, 1933
61. Sullivan's Travels, 1941
62. American Graffiti, 1973
63. Cabaret, 1972
64. Network, 1976
65. The African Queen, 1951
66. Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981
67. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, 1966
68. Unforgiven, 1992
69. Tootsie, 1982
70. A Clockwork Orange, 1971
71. Saving Private Ryan, 1998
72. The Shawshank Redemption, 1994
73. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1969
74. The Silence of the Lambs, 1991
75. In the Heat of the Night, 1967
76. Forrest Gump, 1994
77. All the President's Men, 1976
78. Modern Times, 1936
79. The Wild Bunch, 1969
80. The Apartment, 1960
81. Spartacus, 1960
82. Sunrise, 1927
83. Titanic, 1997
84. Easy Rider, 1969
85. A Night at the Opera, 1935
86. Platoon, 1986
87. 12 Angry Men, 1957
88. Bringing Up Baby, 1938
89. The Sixth Sense, 1999
90. Swing Time, 1936
91. Sophie's Choice, 1982
92. Goodfellas, 1990
93. The French Connection, 1971
94. Pulp Fiction, 1994
95. The Last Picture Show, 1971
96. Do the Right Thing, 1989
97. Blade Runner, 1982
98. Yankee Doodle Dandy, 1942
99. Toy Story, 1995
100. Ben-Hur, 1959

Every few years or so someone inevitably asks the question...."if you could invite any three people over for dinner - who would you choose?" Well, interestingly I have 2 that have been on my list for always. They never change. And that third spot seems to change as my interests and attentions wander.
So, as always - John Lennon. When I met Jesus, for real, the truth of who He was resonated deep within me and I knew it was a perfect fit for me. John Lennon settles in me as well. His voice, his thoughts and his lyrics speak to me - and have since I was very young - and yes, I'm fully aware that I reject many of his philosophies. I don't have to agree with him to admire him or have him over for dinner. Of course, that being dead thing really gets in the way too.

Number 2 - as always is Mother Teresa. With her deep love and devotion combined with her sharp tongue and quick wit - I'd love to sit with her for an evening. Of course, she's got that dead problem too.

Number 3 - for now at least, is Noam Chomsky. I've read his stuff for a few years now and every time I read another book, I think how much I'd like to sit and talk with him. Noam is a called by the New York Times "...the most important intellectual alive". He is a professor of linguistics but he also challenges politics and the media. He is fascinating because he is so brilliant. AND he is still alive - although he is getting older....dinner should be soon!

What about you? Dead or alive - who would you like to have over for dinner conversation?