This post is a letter to Kaitlyn Faith Ham, who shared her beautiful life with our community for 35 precious days, and left to be with her Father in heaven on December 17th. The story of her journey is found at http://kaitlynham.blogspot.com/
Dear Kaitlyn,
Is it possible to receive a lifetime's worth of love in only 35 days? We loved you fiercely and intensely, and we will continue to love you until we see you on the other side of eternity. I wasn't able to meet you or to hold you, but I was honoured and privileged to fight alongside you. You showed us that the impossible is possible. You surprised us and overjoyed us with your determination. You taught us how to let go, even though we didn't want to. You are missed so much.
You were so small, but already the ripple effects of your life are spreading outwards, forever changing us. I am praying for your Mom and Dad because even though they are so strong, they miss you most of all. Aren't you so proud of them? God made you part of such an amazing family, and it will be so awesome when you are all reunited. This isn't goodbye little one, because we will see you later, in the place where Jesus will wipe away every tear from our eyes.
Love,
Sarah
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Wednesday is potluck day!
Welcome to the last day of my week-long blog series of thankfulness. This doesn't mean I'll stop being thankful, in fact, I feel like after this week I've become more able to recognize all the things that I do have to be thankful for every day, and that each day has new and different things for which I can thank God.
Before we get to that though, I want to show you guys pictures of the Christmas treats I made for my CG potluck tonight. The first is Cheesecake-Marbled Brownies, as found on the Smitten Kitchen blog. Seriously, if you ever need a ridiculously tasty recipe, just browse the recipe index over at Smitten Kitchen. Her posts are so entertaining too!
Today I am thankful for:
1. My friend Vahid who consistently demonstrates a high level of consideration and humility by always being quick to apologize when he realizes he was in the wrong. He's an inspiration for me to aim for that level as well.
2. The past few months I've had to get to know the German exchange students. We'll miss you guys!
3. A freaking amazing pot-luck.
4. Joy.
5. Two well-stocked grocery stores in very close proximity to my house. Definitely makes it easier to do last-minute baking.
Before we get to that though, I want to show you guys pictures of the Christmas treats I made for my CG potluck tonight. The first is Cheesecake-Marbled Brownies, as found on the Smitten Kitchen blog. Seriously, if you ever need a ridiculously tasty recipe, just browse the recipe index over at Smitten Kitchen. Her posts are so entertaining too!
My other dessert creation was Christmas Nanaimo Bars. Don't ask me for the recipe on this one because I improvised the recipe. The green layer has mint flavouring and the red layer is vanilla. I put the pan in the freezer between layers to make the interface between them nice and smooth. I'm actually quite happy with how these turned out, and love how they look. If I had more time I'd have arranged them on a plate for a more beautiful picture, but I plan on taking the leftovers into work tomorrow for the guys at the lab to polish off, so it stays in the pan.
We had an amazing pot-luck night and every single dish was scrumptiously delicious. Our secret santa gift exchange was uproariously hilarious, and once again the conversation managed to stray into topics of a scandalous nature, whilst people were trying to be serious and spiritual. Seriousness is overrated anyhow. All the gifts were so good, including mine (thanks Cam!!! I've already got my new lamp set up and stationed by my reading chair!) and at the end of the I was sore from laughing so much. Good times.
On the knitting front, I finally got around to taking pictures of my modified Cablerimetry headband. The cables are all freestyle, but symmetrical. Because symmetry is important to this little engineer.
And remember what was supposed to be a headwrap? It's now a circular scarf. Not sure yet what I'm going to do with it.
Today I am thankful for:
1. My friend Vahid who consistently demonstrates a high level of consideration and humility by always being quick to apologize when he realizes he was in the wrong. He's an inspiration for me to aim for that level as well.
2. The past few months I've had to get to know the German exchange students. We'll miss you guys!
3. A freaking amazing pot-luck.
4. Joy.
5. Two well-stocked grocery stores in very close proximity to my house. Definitely makes it easier to do last-minute baking.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Tuesday is a knitting day!
I knitted today! Knitting times are few and far between lately, so any times I can sneak out my needles and yarn are precious. This was the last Knit-Lunch at UBC for 2009. I'm hoping we'll attract even more knitters in 2010 and be able to book an entire room for our weekly fibre crafts. I'm nearly finished the Blackrose Wristlets. I had some yarn left over from the Blackrose Socks I made (remember the felting disaster those were?) so I decided to use it up on something that I would remember would be a HANDWASH ONLY item. I frogged half of the first glove because it was too long and I ran out of yarn on the second glove, so I knit the second one while unravelling the first until they were both the same length. But then I had to go back and fix the thumb-hole height on the first one. So, those are nearing completion at least.
Things I am thankful for today
1. A break in the rain while I was walking home.
2. My very helpful friend Ian who has been awesome at assisting me in getting my computer issues solved.
3. A wonderful dinner made by my friend Yeon Ju, and being able to meet her husband and share about our lives.
4. Wafer #S122, on which rests all our hopes and dreams for the future of our lab.
5. Willing guinea pigs to test out new and/or modified baking recipes that I concoct.
Things I am thankful for today
1. A break in the rain while I was walking home.
2. My very helpful friend Ian who has been awesome at assisting me in getting my computer issues solved.
3. A wonderful dinner made by my friend Yeon Ju, and being able to meet her husband and share about our lives.
4. Wafer #S122, on which rests all our hopes and dreams for the future of our lab.
5. Willing guinea pigs to test out new and/or modified baking recipes that I concoct.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Belated Monday Thankfulness
I know it's not Monday anymore. I was so sleepy last night I totally forgot to blog. However, let me tell you what I DID do last night. I went shopping. I know, I never go shopping. Can't stand it. However, Christmas is coming, and there are gifts that need to be gotten. I found that 7-9pm on a Monday night is actually a very pleasant time to shop. No crowds, very little noise, everything is winding down for the day. The mall was practically empty, which is exactly how I like it. AND I made great progress on gift-getting! Only a few things left to pick up!
Things I was thankful for yesterday:
1. Grace.
2. Having a friend who also dislikes shopping accompany me on my mall adventure. Together, we shall conquer!
3. The fact that I get to go home to Ontario in just a few days, to where snow lasts more than 12 hours and doesn't change into rain until spring.
4. Wonderful friends and family members that love getting random gifts. Really random gifts, just to warn you....
5. Getting to throw out 6 months of accumulated devices and molds in the lab and reclaim 90% of our shelf space.
Things I was thankful for yesterday:
1. Grace.
2. Having a friend who also dislikes shopping accompany me on my mall adventure. Together, we shall conquer!
3. The fact that I get to go home to Ontario in just a few days, to where snow lasts more than 12 hours and doesn't change into rain until spring.
4. Wonderful friends and family members that love getting random gifts. Really random gifts, just to warn you....
5. Getting to throw out 6 months of accumulated devices and molds in the lab and reclaim 90% of our shelf space.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Sunday thankfulness
Today I am thankful for:
1. SNOW! Oh so fluffy and white and beautiful. First snowfall of the winter!
2. A snackalicious gingerbread house to tide me over in the absence of lunch.
3. The fact that no matter how big I make my dreams for the future, God has an even bigger reality in store for me. Awesome!
4. Having a fellow knitter as my sister-in-law so that I can admire her latest projects and be inspired to start new ones of my own.
5. Laundry machines in the house. I only have to walk three steps and voila - clean clothes!
1. SNOW! Oh so fluffy and white and beautiful. First snowfall of the winter!
2. A snackalicious gingerbread house to tide me over in the absence of lunch.
3. The fact that no matter how big I make my dreams for the future, God has an even bigger reality in store for me. Awesome!
4. Having a fellow knitter as my sister-in-law so that I can admire her latest projects and be inspired to start new ones of my own.
5. Laundry machines in the house. I only have to walk three steps and voila - clean clothes!
Saturday is party day!
If only I could read with a little more attention to detail. After arranging my whole Saturday to accommodate a guild run to the Deep, I logged on this afternoon to find that no one was around. Going back and reading the planning details, I found out that the run is scheduled for NEXT Saturday. *facepalm*
Ah well. At least that gave me a couple hours to relax and organize my inventory. All my GW characters had their pockets overflowing with useless things, so a few trips to the merchant fixed that up. I also achieved my 'Protector of Tyria' title with the help of a few friends. Yay!
Things I am thankful for today:
1. My awesome brother and sister-in-law. I'm so glad they live nearby so that I can visit them all the time. Huzzah!
2. My crazy and random but ever so loveable little sister who is moving out to BC in January! Oh the shenanigans that will ensue...
3. Getting to dress up for a classy Christmas party.
4. The opportunity to pray for a friend who is going through a tough time. Even though I'm too far away to visit or give hugs, I can totally mobilize the Forces of Good to help, hehe.
5. Sleep. Oh how I love sleep. And on that note, I shall engage in that very activity. Goodnight, dear readers :)
Ah well. At least that gave me a couple hours to relax and organize my inventory. All my GW characters had their pockets overflowing with useless things, so a few trips to the merchant fixed that up. I also achieved my 'Protector of Tyria' title with the help of a few friends. Yay!
Things I am thankful for today:
1. My awesome brother and sister-in-law. I'm so glad they live nearby so that I can visit them all the time. Huzzah!
2. My crazy and random but ever so loveable little sister who is moving out to BC in January! Oh the shenanigans that will ensue...
3. Getting to dress up for a classy Christmas party.
4. The opportunity to pray for a friend who is going through a tough time. Even though I'm too far away to visit or give hugs, I can totally mobilize the Forces of Good to help, hehe.
5. Sleep. Oh how I love sleep. And on that note, I shall engage in that very activity. Goodnight, dear readers :)
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Friday Thankfulness
Just so you know, I'm gonna be doing this for a week, so look forward to an update every day!
Things I am thankful for today:
1. Public transit. I can travel around the whole city without having to own a car! And Vancouver has a pretty sweet bus system.
2. A considerate and understanding supervisor. I got to take a whole week off to spend time with my parents when they were here, and I get two weeks to fly home for Christmas. Huzzah!
3. God's steadfastness and faithfulness. Even when I'm so full of doubt and fear, God always comes through for me and invites me to place my confidence in him rather than myself, so that I don't have to worry about messing things up because my confidence is not in myself but in God.
4. Spontaneous events with people I love. A little unexpected due to 8:30 apparently sounding like 6:30 in Korean (we arrived and they were like, "Oh....you're early....VERY early..."). Even if I could have used those two hours to sleep or make dinner or whatever, time spent building relationships with friends is so precious and realistically I would have just wasted that time on facebook anyhow.
5. Peanut butter M&M's! 'Nuff said.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Lists
Things I am thankful for today (in no particular order):
1. My amazing job. It's like detective work! Spent some long hours today in the cleanroom lab, but we're finally figuring out the optimum process to make our devices how they need to be. Nothing satisfies a crafter more than making something with your hands and having it turn out right!
2. Seasons. Winter in particular is one of my favourite seasons, and just being outside today in the crisp cold air fills me with joy. How cool is it that we get half of the year to wear bamboo tops and linen skirts, and the other half to wear wool sweaters and alpaca scarves and merino mittens. No matter what you want to knit, there's a season to wear it here (this is a knitting blog after all....we need to have an obligatory mention of knitting to pretend like I'm not trying to distract you from my unfinished knitting projects).
3. A WARM house to come home to. Mmmm, cozy!
4. God's provision for me, just in general. This past 6 months has been full of crazy instances of everything I need just falling into my lap. Not the least of which is my newest electronic aquisition: my new laptop who is now known as Wavelet. Just in time after my desktop died and the fan on my old lappy went kaput.
5. Hanging out with my roommate. Seriously, she is so awesome and encouraging and optimistic and excited about EVERYTHING and just plain fun.
Suggestions of things I might like to receive for Christmas (in no particular order):
(for interested family members or friends who might be wondering)
1. Second controller for my Wii
2. Oven mitts
3. Wii games
4. Glow-in-the-dark yarn
5. Sock yarn (superwash)
6. Geeky jewelry
7. Clothes
8. Games to play when I have people over like Munchkin, or Fluxx, or interesting board games.
9. A full Bible that's pocket-size. Like, not notebook sized, but extra tiny to easily fit into a purse.
10. Notebooks, the ones that are about the size of a regular piece of paper folded in half. I go through a lot of them.
11. A freestanding lamp for my room. The overhead light drives me crazy, but I have no alternative at the moment.
12. Use your imagination. I like surprises!
For just general guidelines, I like stuff I can use, that is practical. Also, remember that I have to carry things back with me from Ontario to BC, as well as all the gifts for my brother and sister-in-law, so small is good. Suitcase space is limited.
Recipes I want to make for the holidays from the Joy of Baking site:
1. My amazing job. It's like detective work! Spent some long hours today in the cleanroom lab, but we're finally figuring out the optimum process to make our devices how they need to be. Nothing satisfies a crafter more than making something with your hands and having it turn out right!
2. Seasons. Winter in particular is one of my favourite seasons, and just being outside today in the crisp cold air fills me with joy. How cool is it that we get half of the year to wear bamboo tops and linen skirts, and the other half to wear wool sweaters and alpaca scarves and merino mittens. No matter what you want to knit, there's a season to wear it here (this is a knitting blog after all....we need to have an obligatory mention of knitting to pretend like I'm not trying to distract you from my unfinished knitting projects).
3. A WARM house to come home to. Mmmm, cozy!
4. God's provision for me, just in general. This past 6 months has been full of crazy instances of everything I need just falling into my lap. Not the least of which is my newest electronic aquisition: my new laptop who is now known as Wavelet. Just in time after my desktop died and the fan on my old lappy went kaput.
5. Hanging out with my roommate. Seriously, she is so awesome and encouraging and optimistic and excited about EVERYTHING and just plain fun.
Suggestions of things I might like to receive for Christmas (in no particular order):
(for interested family members or friends who might be wondering)
1. Second controller for my Wii
2. Oven mitts
3. Wii games
4. Glow-in-the-dark yarn
5. Sock yarn (superwash)
6. Geeky jewelry
7. Clothes
8. Games to play when I have people over like Munchkin, or Fluxx, or interesting board games.
9. A full Bible that's pocket-size. Like, not notebook sized, but extra tiny to easily fit into a purse.
10. Notebooks, the ones that are about the size of a regular piece of paper folded in half. I go through a lot of them.
11. A freestanding lamp for my room. The overhead light drives me crazy, but I have no alternative at the moment.
12. Use your imagination. I like surprises!
For just general guidelines, I like stuff I can use, that is practical. Also, remember that I have to carry things back with me from Ontario to BC, as well as all the gifts for my brother and sister-in-law, so small is good. Suitcase space is limited.
Recipes I want to make for the holidays from the Joy of Baking site:
Hope I have time for all this baking!!
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