October is almost over and the leaves are falling quickly.

This weekend was a flurry of activity at the house in The Villa! Sleepovers were in vogue and so the cupboard is bare! It’s amazing to me what an 8-year-old boy can put in his skinny body. And we had fun. Saturday Paige came with us to visit Greenland that are now in full Christmas mode!

This is an annual treat for us to step into such a large and well stocked greenhouse! Trees, decorations, plants, nick-nacks, clothing, etc… quite a sight.

Coming out of Ottawa, it appears that Beth was having fun. Two great pictures rolled in with Beth smiling. Always great to see the kids smiling. I sure wish Ottawa was closer.

And this picture arrived via Amanda. Her friend Laura sent it to her on Sunday. The CO, dead center is my paternal grandfather who was stationed, as I understood it, in Chatham for two years 1927 and 1928. This picture says 1926 but as that is an assigned date later I am not sure it is correct. Chatham was not a happy time for Grandpa Waters I am sure. In 1927 his wife died in childbirth, as did the child. In 1928 the Chatham corps caught fire and burnt to the ground. And you think you have some struggles?

Life is filled with ups and downs and no one gets to have a life only filled with happiness and joy. We know that, but I think we’re always surprised when something hard comes our way. Of course, we don’t want hard, but isn’t that where we learn to trust, where we get serious about prayer, where we find new muscle strength in working our way through it?

And lastly, a word about retail shopping.

We were in the store looking for new shoes for Wendy…she found a pair she really liked and they were on sale for $125. I pulled up the website for the store, found the same shoe in two colours, and on sale for $74.99!! So guess what? Two pairs bought for $150 and will be delivered to the front door. Thank you Mr Internet.