FINALLY FINISHED!!!

Well, we've finally finished our packing. I can't believe it's already the 29th.
Today the movers came and started hauling stuff away.

They'll come back again tomorrow to get whatever's left. It's been such a blur. This past week has gone almost too fast. Tomorrow afternoon we move out of our beautiful home, and begin a new adventure into the unknown. I am both excited and nervous, especially because it is our last night here. It's just one of those times when reality hits you smack in the face. But I am really, really excited for all our new adventures. Did I mention I don't even have a suitcase yet? :)

My Journey

After reading over some of my previous posts, I realized that I hadn't even mentioned where we are going, how we will get there or anything of the kind. So I figured I'd better.
In five days, on July 30th, we move out of our beautiful old French Provincial home, a 9 1/2 acre property my parents affectionately dubbed Mon Plaisir farm. We will stay with good friends here on the island until August 6th, and uafter that we take the ferry to the mainland where we will stay with other friends up near Cultus Lake. Unfortunately, there won't be any Internet connection while we are there.

On August 20th, we fly out on the red eye to O'Hare airport in Chicago, spend half a day there, then we fly to Frankfurt, Germany, change flights there and go to Zurich, Switzerland. There we will stay with my mom's cousin for about 2 weeks, then we buy a car and drive to St. Petersburg, Russia. On our road trip we will drive through Austria, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia and from there we will take a ferry to Finland. Then we will drive to St. Petersburg and rent an apartment there for three months. We will stop in Switzerland again on the way home and possibly stay there over Christmas. Then we will fly back to BC, collect our belongings from storage in Sidney, and then begin a new life somewhere in the Kelowna area.

It will truly be an incredible journey for me, and I am so glad to be able to share my adventures with you. I hope you enjoy reading.

Incredible Poem

An incredibly powerful poem by one of my favourite authors, Bryan Davis.

Moments of Gold - Bryan Davis

The moments of time that lay piled up and scattered
I frittered away as if none of them mattered.

A rich man was I, so why bother to measure
The castaway minutes my elders called treasure?

The time-wasting trifles all sparkled and glistened;
They captured my focus; I cared not to listen.

And now as I sit with my clock fully leached,
Those minutes are phantoms that fly out of reach.

I march to the darkness, the reaper in view;
The moments now precious are fleeting and few.

From dollars to pennies, my time is nigh spent;
The last one I kiss though too late to repent.

The youth I should warn, yet now I despair.
I realize their outlook I cannot repair.

For theirs are reflections of my foolish days,
And I neither listened, nor altered my ways.

I go to my casket still yearning for hours
I threw to the wind and laughed at the powers

That call to us mortals, “Each minute is gold.
Invest when you’re young to buy peace when you’re old.”

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Just so y'all know, I love it when you comment so please do!

For Those Tears I Died

One of the most beautiful and peaceful songs I have ever heard. It reminded me how Jesus is always there, to catch me when I stumble, to share my sorrow and heartache, to rejoice with me and to be my best friend. All I have to do is ask.

Classic Car Show!!!

We took a little family outing to an antique car show in downtown Victoria. All around the parliament buildings, on Courtney, Broughton and Douglass streets were thousands of pre-1951 cars.

Just a few of my favourites here.... 

Love that colour, like a french blue or something.

Farewell Party

Yesterday from 2-7 pm, my family held a little farewell party, a chance for all our friends to come visit with us, share memories, and say goodbye. It was an open house sort of thing, and probably over fifty people came and went. It was really good to see everyone again. One of our friends made a beautiful cake:

It was really pretty and tasted good too!

Through the Years

Anonymous

You helped me laugh

You dried my tears

Because of you I have no fears

Together we live

Together we grow

Teaching each other what we must know

You came in my life and I was blessed

I love you friend

You are the best

Release my hand and say goodbye

Please my friend don't you cry

I promise you it's not the end

Cause like I said

You're my friend

This poem was given to me by Megan Ferguson, one of my best friends. Beautiful, isn't it?

Megan and me.

Oh! And Elena and me...

And here are me and Missy, having a blast!

First Post!

Where to start? Please bear with me as I have never blogged before.
Well, this is going to be the story of my travels through Europe, complete with lots of photos. Hopefully I will have the inspiration to make it in sort of a story format for optimum reading pleasure. Please don't hesitate to comment and tell me how I'm doing!