In Honor of Dads - Part II - My Man!

ME with MY KID'S DAD!!

I married this guy in 1995.  He is my lover and best friend.  He is my shelter and rock.  He is the one who will always make my heart sing.  He is an incredible father to our three kids.

Today this post is dedicated to Lance.  I think the world (our children especially) needs to know that there are still fathers out there who honor their wedding vows, put their families first, care for the needs of others, and are willing to submit to their Heavenly Father's authority and correction the best that they can.

A quick apology to Lance might be in order since he isn't crazy about being the center of attention when it comes to personal things.  He DOES, however, enjoy drawing a great deal of attention to the crazy, outrageously creative and large-scale ideas he comes up with.  I have to say, Lance is one of the most creative people I have ever met.  He is full of ideas...most of us can't keep up.  And though his plans usually entail a teeny, tiny bit of work on my part, I admit that this is still one of my favorite things about him.  

LANCE SPECIALIZES IN UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS and my kids LOVE it.  This dad ROCKS!!  See for yourself.  

Whether he is.....

sculpting 6'5" tall snow men with the kids

setting up for "dinner on ice" with friends,

crafting a halloween costume,

building an enormous back yard ice rink 

or an ice bar for a New Year's Eve party...

maybe he's making a giant football logo and
stapling it to our roof, 

constructing a fort that fills a room,

cutting blocks for another igloo (we found our 2 grown neighbors huddled inside the last one, watching a movie with our kids)

or even designing a life sized movie screen in the yard...

LANCE IS GOING TO PULL IT OFF WITH STYLE.  

But Lance doesn't only concern himself with the huge, crazy things.  He is also a man that pours a great deal of energy into the small things of life that matter most.  

He models care, compassion and respect  to his children in the way he treats others. He has the most generous heart and and my kids catch glimpses of it all the time.  I say glimpses, not because the occasions are rare, but because Lance finds ways to constantly give and give that no one else ever sees.  What a gift for my children in a world that values appearance and public applause, maybe even more than having a character of substance and integrity.

Lance is fun...and he is funny!!

He is unique....

He knows how to play...

He knows how to make work like play

And he loves to build things......

Last summer Lance built a pizza over in our back yard so that we could "have the whole neighbourhood over for pizza parties."  

It was a stinking huge project and I was about ready to curse it by the time we were almost finished.  The reason I tell this story is because it is SO Lance.  Big idea, huge creativity and hard work, and it shows the person he is....especially the small detail he incorporated on the back wall of the oven.  

It's just like Lance to make a place to honor God in what he does. I know he would argue that he doesn't do this very well...but I live with the guy and I see it all the time.  Yet another quality about Lance that makes him so amazing.

And finally, Lance really knows how to love (not just his cars -- which I really should take more pictures of.)  I mean LOVE -- fierce, dedicated, protect his family at any cost --- kind of love!! 

And this Father's Day, Lance, we want you to know that we see all the ways you care for, provide, and gives of yourself for us.  We know that you give 100% and sometimes feels like you have nothing left to give.  We understand that sometimes you feel worn out and run down.  It's okay.  We want to say THANK YOU ----FOR EVERYTHING!  We know that you are not perfect and we don't expect you to be because you always accept and forgive us our imperfections.  In fact, we think you are amazing exactly the way you are BECAUSE YOU'RE THE BEST.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY -- INCREDIBLE YOU!!

Love,

Melody and your Kids.

In Honor of Dads - Part I

My Dad passed away in July of 2009.  I still miss a million things about him.  He was a man that loved his family and dedicated his life to loving his Heavenly Father too.  I am truly honoured to have had a man like this for my dad.

My Father’s Hands

These hands belong to the first man I ever loved.   They represent to me all that is kindness, compassion and strength.  My whole life I’ve been fascinated to watch them start motors, build steps, paint cars, tie skates, fix toasters, pull chokes, bait fishing lines, saddle horses, play guitar, grout tiles, pick saskatoons…I’ve seen them covered in grease and lustre sheen, full of metal slivers, nicked and cut, scraped and chapped.  I’ve also seen them laid tenderly upon the sick, folded faithfully in prayer, reaching out in love, boosting strangers’ cars, upholding the weak, wiping tears, reaching for candies, clapping in praise, snuggling my little ones… I’ve felt them squeeze mine (unknowingly tighter & tighter) during prayers, and hugging me thousands of times.  And so, I will hold these hands forever in my heart and say thanks for the Dad who used them to love. 

 February 2007

My dad had a fabulous twinkle in his eye.  It was one of my favourite things about him.  I see snippits of that twinkle in my son Colt and it always makes me smile.

My dad knew how to love my boys -- to spoil them and hug them and make them feel like they were the center of his universe.

Of course...he also knew how to love my girl.  They were really quite the pair.  I don't know of anyone else who could have convinced my dad to watch "Barbie" movies for hours on end.  She knew every secret passage way into my Dad's heart and she travelled them all, skipping and singing and being "his girl"  the whole way.

My Dad also adored my husband.  They had a cherished father-son (in-law) relationship that Lance and I still enjoy remembering.  It's a wonderful thing to know your dad loves your man - and somewhat miraculous given how protective fathers are of their daughters.  These two spent countless hours together working in dad's garage on Lance's old cars.....something that made both of them proud and happy as school boys.  

I really love this picture of my brother and my Dad in the back yard taken only days before he passed away.  Dad was only home on a day pass from the hospice.  Though he was very weak by this time and couldn't stand for long, he still managed to get under the hood of the motorhome with Garth and figure out what was wrong.  I think just working together with his son was his idea of a perfect afternoon.

Dad's garage fascinated me my whole life.  I giggled to find this note from me as a teenager stapled on the inside of one of cupboard doors.  Every single inch of that garage was filled with items or tools he'd collected or saved to use somewhere, some time.  He knew right where to go to find it all too. 

The garage was where he did much of his thinking and praying and problem solving.  It was the place he worked, fixing up cars -- inside and out -- to make extra money for our family or to give away to someone who needed it.  

My dad was faithful to my mom, loving and respecting  her for over 60 years.  This was another beautiful gift my father gave to me.  

 There are thousands of pictures and memories and how can one tiny blog begin to touch my love for my dad.  I guess I better start sooner next time.  

I love you Dad and always will.  

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!





(p.s. for some unexplainable reason, the text and images in this post are all weird and glitchy but I'm tired of trying to fix.  Just want this posted in time for Father's day....so, what ev! --- i'm learning to say that more!)


word and images ©copyright Melody Armstrong 2013

spring rain today

I stood under a blanket of blossoms

in the rain.....breathing apple blossom purfume 

and giggling that a girl with a matching pink umbrella 

walked into my photo at the perfect time.

had to bring a little spring with me!

text and images © copyright Melody Armstrong 2013

glueing gratefulness

 I stop and glue more gratefulness into my journal. 

More gratitude

means more joy--

means more living in the moment

and stretching the moment into meaning.

Will there ever be enough glue or journal pages

to express my gratitude?

words and images © copyright Melody Armstrong 2013

to unfurl

New life unfurls......quietly and secretly but always courageously. 

Year after year I am amazed that something so small and delicate as a crocus can push through even the hardest ground with a perfect mix of tenacity and quiet, breathless grace.  

I love crocuses especially, because they are one of the first secret signs of new life emerging after seemingly endless winters.  When everything is still brown and lifeless, these tender buds of purple break the spell of winter and replace despair with hope.

I think about the new growth surfacing in me.  Sometimes it seems so small, so hidden away in secret and barely noticeable that it might not even count.  But it does.  IT COUNTS!!  Every tender, green shoot that peeks through the sometimes cold, hard ground of life is a miracle I am meant to celebrate.  And so are you.

You may feel a little stuck right now in that in-between phase between winter and spring where there is so much potential, but nothing seems to be happening.  It's brown and dusty and new life still waits to unfurl.  Please don't discount the crocuses......the tiny buds in your life that are easily overlooked and sometimes even stepped on.  Don't miss the real wonder of it all --that new life is springing up all around in you.  Nothing can keep it back.  There is so much green just about to unfurl.  

Don't give up hope and be sure not to step on the crocuses.

word and images © copyright Melody Armstrong 2013

let it rain

(pardon the photoshopping.....it's just so fun to play)

I took the above image last year at this time while following my amazing friend around for a day and photographing her life as a rancher and cowboy-girl (or "superwomen" as I like to call her).  I had just finished participating in my first "mini-cattle drive"  (she said I did pretty good, by the way!) and was still riding horseback.  Good thing he knew his own way home cuz I was too busy taking photos to "drive."    Urban cowboy, anyone???

I could have taken similar photos today (minus the jeep, cattle and horses!)  The landscape around here looks just the same.  Rain clouds are hovering on the horizon and the fields are thirsty, waiting to soak up some much needed moisture.

I am these fields today, thirsty and waiting for soul rains to fall; to soak; to drench me through and through.  My soul is preparing for new seeds to be planted and I believe that bountiful crops can still grow in my life.

Are you thirsty today?  Is your soul in need of rain, the life-giving, soul-cleansing kind?

If you are like me, the answer is a resounding yes.  And so I pray for all of you out there, that you will lift your face to the sky and say "yes".  Soak in all in.  Let it fall over you till it seeps into every dry crack and crevice of your life.  LET IT RAIN.

My prayer for you is that:

"You shall be like a well-watered garden; a spring whose waters never fail."

Isaiah 58:11 (NIV Bible)

words and images copyright © melody armstrong 2013 (unless otherwise cited)

The Mended Tea Towel...for my mom!

It was just an old tea towel.  It caught me off guard, but it shouldn’t have.  I’ve seen it so many times before, with other things.  There in my mother’s kitchen, folded and hanging neatly on the stove was a blue and white tea towel that had been carefully mended.  Even then, with her failing eyesight, my mother still managed to mend things beautifully and often invisibly.  

The very fact that this tea towel still existed at all is what moved my heart that morning.  Why didn’t she just throw it away?  Well, I guess because it was perfectly good except for the hole.  My mom has always had the gift of seeing value and worth in something.  She could take an item that others had  no choice but to discard, and give it a second life.  Her careful pinning and meticulous attention to detail produced  patches and mends that were rarely noticeable. She didn't seem to mind putting in the time it required either.  And it did take time.  To her, this process of caring and restoring was a simple, natural and everyday thing.  I see it as extraordinary.

It isn’t just things that my mother mended, like tea towels or a favorite shirt that my husband couldn't part with. She mended people too.  She still does.  I think about all the mended people that have sat in my mother’s kitchen through the years.  I’m one of them.  So many of us were broken, worn out, stained and feeling worthless.  But she saw all of us differently.  In her eyes, we had great value.  We were worth saving and restoring.  In fact, we were perfectly good except for the holes.  She knew what we could become with some loving, careful attention and a lot of time.  It was just a simple, everyday thing.

There were people in my mom’s mending basket who I thought were almost impossible to deal with.  I remember as a kid wondering when she would ever give up on them.  I think of the time and energy she poured into so many lives….and the heartache.  Broken people can be hard to mend.  But she wasn’t afraid to tackle anything that she deemed worthwhile.  I love that about my mom. I see now that I really should have paid more attention to this everyday part of my mother’s life.  I can sew on a button and I’ve even tried mending a few items, but I clearly lack my mother’s skills.  She really is a master.  I can only hope that I have somehow learned to apply this skill to people the way my mother does.

She has shown me so much about God’s great love for people; the way He cherishes those who are broken, worn out, stained and discarded.  He sees them the way they could be with some careful attention and His loving hands upon them.  He knows they are valuable and He paid the highest price for them by allowing His own son Jesus to be nailed to a cross --surrendering his life for all humanity.  This single act of love alone brings wholeness and restoration that reminds me of my mom’s invisible patches.  To God, we are perfectly good except for the holes.  We just need to be mended.     -April 2009 for MY amazing mom.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL OF YOU AMAZING MOM'S OUT THERE!!!

words and images © copyright melody armstrong 2013

lost keys and sheep

It was around this time last year that my passion for photography got me in trouble again.  This time, it was some old barns and a prairie landscape that grabbed my attention.  I pulled off the road and jumped out of my van for a couple quick shots with my trusty point-and-shoot in hand and my keys tucked in my pocket.  Just beyond the three barns, a moody sky sat on the horizon promising rain from it's dark billowy clouds.  A perfect backdrop for my photos.  

     
Giddy and intoxicated with a silliness that comes over me when I'm free to chase beauty,I stood at the edge of the road and took my first shot.  Then I skipped through the ditch to the barbed-wire fence for another one.  Then back to the road. Then back across the ditch towards the field again.  I was ALL OVER THE PLACE just snapping away and loving it.

I decided to crawl through the barbed-wire fence (getting only a little snagged) so I could walk into the field and get closer to the barns.  I was about thirty yards in and grinning from ear to ear when I suddenly realized with an unnameable dread that my keys were no longer in my pocket.  “You’ve GOT to be kidding!” I said right out loud to no one.  I started patting myself down like I was under arrest, frantic to find keys somewhere on my body.  But, no keys!  Unbelieveable!!   In the one clear moment of thought that followed, I dropped my jacket to mark my spot, took a deep breath and walked back to the van hoping I'd find them there.  And sure enough, NO KEYS!  I knew with certainty that my keys were laying somewhere in that field of mud and last year’s stubble.

Out of sheer desperation, I  called a good friend who lived nearby hoping she might be home and able to come help me search.  She assured me that she was on her way.  And so began the impossible search and my out loud conversation with God.  “Lord, I know you can see my keys.  You’re looking at them right now, so please, please, PLEASE!  take my feet to them.”  There was no other way I was going to find them.  The soil was as black as my keychain and the field stubble was thick and tall, standing as high as my knees --- especially along the fence and in the wide ditch I’d crossed several times.  Needle in a haystack, anyone???

After about half an hour of searching, a truck pulled out of the nearby farmhouse  and stopped next to where I was pacing  the field. Great!  Now I  was in trouble for tromping through his field.  But to my great relief, the man and his daughter had  stopped to inquire whether I needed help.  I couldn’t believe it when after explaining my predicament (through tears), they got out and started searching through the ditch with me saying: “we’ll find them, don’t worry.”  Such kindness and optimism from complete strangers was overwhelming.  

Meanwhile, my girlfriend had shown up and joined the search.  Shortly after that, I took a step and my eyes fell upon the keys right beside my foot.  I snapped them up and started the loudest, craziest celebration dance right there in the ditch in front of my girlfriend and two complete strangers.  Such exuberant joy filled my whole being.  I hugged my girlfriend and twirled wildly in delight.  I hugged the strangers, laughing and screaming.   It was crazy and exciting and I didn’t care who saw me.

my girlfriend in the muddy field after all the drama!!

I have no idea how God whispered to my heart in that deliriously loud and joyful moment, but he did: “Now you know how I feel when, after leaving the ninety-nine, I find that one lost sheep.”  I got it, just a taste of how excited God gets.  All heaven rejoices; isn’t that what the Scripture says?  Imagine that!  A loud, rapturous, dancing celebration happens in heaven when one that was lost is found.  

words and images © copyright Melody Armstrong 2013

more funny please!

Okay......so, after reading a VERY funny author last week, I decided that I need to be more funny!  I want my blogs to make you laugh (well, they can make you cry too.  I always like that!!)  But seriously.......I'm waaaay too serious sometimes!!

So.......as you can see....ever since I decided to make my blog more funny, you've received...ummm.... ZERO posts.  Oh boy....it's worse than I thought.

My kids are funny.  My husband is VERY funny.  My sister-in-law is funny.  My 86 year-old mom is funny!!

Maybe I'm the straight man (except when I'm on the volleyball court --- then I am quite hilarious!! --- but that's the wrong kind of funny!!!)   I get to be the one that everyone else can launch their jokes from.  Without guys like me, humour just disappears altogether.   So actually.....all you funny people out there should be thanking people like me; being the straight man is an important job, one that I take very seriously!  What?!?

Alright.  If I can't write clever humour, I can always resort to my face. My face can be very funny!

Please laugh!! I'm SERIOUS!!!!

Happy laughter to you!!

words and images © copyright Melody Armstrong 2013

more beauty...

I hunger for Beauty -

not to own 
or possess 

but to breathe in
to be enraptured
till the One
who is
Beauty
owns and 
possesses
 me.

Pismo Beach, California.  March 2013

word and images © copyright Melody Armstrong 2013