Mom ~ Remembering you.

This Post is truly personal in nature. My Mother passed away 4 years ago last month. I can’t believe it has been that long. This is my eulogy of my mother. For you who knew her you will probably laugh and cry and have a smile at the end of it ~ I hope.

Remembrances of Mom

A friend brought me a condolence this week, "May Her Memory Be Eternal". This is true, we know that Mom will live in our hearts forever.

My Mom was an Organizer; I always saw her making plans for the Family. Mom always made sure everyone knew what was going on in within the family. She Planned the Dykstra picnic every year and made sure that invites went out. She encouraged everyone to get together. She organized the finances for the family trips to Holland. She organized for the Devries' as well, helping with get togethers, ensuring that most of us were able to make it to the parties. One of my aunts said yesterday that "if we needed to know something, we just had to ask Thelma".

My Mom was a Peacemaker. She tried to settle the Differences between her brothers when they were challenging each other over who got more meatballs. She worked to stay in touch with everyone even when some wouldn't talk to others. She even worked to calm my father and I down when we were getting fired up about one thing or another. There was also the time that Rick and I were fighting in the front hall. Mom got so upset that she came at us with a flying karate kick; she missed, but the look on her face... Rick and I fell apart laughing so hard that we forgot about our fight. Mom, how did you do it? Was there something in those droppies that were always around?

My Mom was a people person. Everyone she met she loved ~ as part of her family. That can be seen by everyone that came yesterday arid is here today. My Brother, Father and I thank you for coming to celebrate Mom's life. My Old Baby sitter CC, sent a letter of condolence; I would like to read it now, it speaks of how Mom loved everyone she met.

Peter, Peter Alien, Penny and Ricky ...

I don't even know where to begin to express my condolences to all of you ... I was so saddened to hear the news of Thelma's Passing.
When I was 12 years old Thelma trusted me with her most precious possessions ... babysitting her boys.

Every day after school I would drop by the house ... Thelma would either be baking, babysitting, reading, crocheting/knitting with her Mom or just simply being a Mom. I remember homemade donuts, popped popcorn, oranjekoek and other goodies form the Dutch Toko.

She would let me stay until my own Mom came home from work and then allow me to come back and read the boys a bedtime story.

She always made me feel like a part of the family and I carried that feeling with me when I became a Mom. I wanted to be home for my kids when they got home from school and for the other kids in he neighbourhood just like she did for me.

She was Generous with her extended family too ... I don't think there was a family member I hadn't met.

I remember the last time I saw Thelma ... the kids and I stopped by the house unannounced ... she and Peter dropped everything to visit with us. She brought us up to speed on the boys ... who have grown into fine young men ... the extended family and of course there were wedding pictures.

We are hosting a Jump Rope for Heart clinic at our school sponsored by the American Heart Association on February 24th ... I will be proudly participating in the memory of Thelma and my Dad.

Love CC, Tom, Nolan and Tesha

My Mom always wanted a daughter, don't get me wrong she loved her boys but she wanted a Daughter, CC and Janie were her surrogate daughters for a while and so were All of her Nieces. When Kobus and Judith Landman came to Canada in the early Nineties they started to worship at Church with my Parents. Mom Took Judith in as a daughter. She was ecstatic when Susan was born in 1993 in Guelph and mom was able to play "Oma" even if it was only for a few days. When they came back to Canada a few years ago my mom became Aunt Thelma.

Mom and Judith's mother had a talk one day this past summer. She told Mom that she had a Love / Hate relationship with Mom. Although she hated that Mom was with Judith and her Family here in Canada and she wasn't, she also loved Mom for being here for Judith and her family when she couldn't.

When I was dating Penny, one of the reasons that I knew Penny was going to fit with this family is because Penny was able to tire Mom out when they were shopping. To be able to do that meant that she belonged with this family. Mom really enjoyed being with Penny and truly enjoyed having a daughter in-law ...
Penny remembers when we first started to date. - I told her a little story of how I caught Mom downstairs singing along to a song that, she had changed the words to "Peter has a girlfriend". She was so excited for the two of us.

Penny asked me to bring you her thoughts and memories of Mom;

Mom was my second mother. She was the mother in law that most girls dream of. She was always fun to be with and I could share anything with her, just like I can with my own mom. I always enjoyed the long shopping outings with her, but I'll never understand why we had to visit three different Zack's stores in one day ....

I couldn't have been blessed with a more wonderful, caring and giving mother in law. I'll cherish the many wonderful memories I have of her and tell her grandchild how much she loved to play cards, how she loved to laugh, and about her strong faith.
I also remember her favourite saying, Keep Thelma's kitchen clean, eat out.

My Mom was really excited about becoming a Beppe. Although she didn't like the Idea of being called Beppe because a Beppe was old and she was only 39, with some experience ... Mom was so looking forward to her first grandchild. On Sunday night, at dinner Mom spent most of the night holding onto Steve and Allison's little boy. It was like she knew that she wouldn't be able to see her own grandchild.

I have only one question, Why Lord, did you take Mom just weeks 
before her first grandchild is to be born?

Recently Mom had started an intensive bible study with some of her friends and she had to keep a journal and spend at least 1/2 an hour studying every day. Well last week Thursday she had gotten up extra early and Dad asked why ... Mom said that she had to get some extra studies in because she was going to miss them with Aunt Pat coming for a choir concert. That was my mom, she was very dedicated and when she loved something she put her whole heart into it, whether it was this bible study, working for Eastwood Printing, Her family, or shopping for white blouses ...

As part of that study she kept a journal. A couple of things jumped out at me; first was that Mom strongly believed that Fellowship with other believers brought us closer to God. Mom loved being with other people, especially people that could strengthen her faith.

The second was that she was very sorry for hurting her friends when she left the Reformed church. She felt that it also hurt her relationship with God.

Mom always made us say goodbye no matter where we were going. Mom always wanted to make sure that we said goodbye in case something happened. Well Mom, although we have said goodbye here on earth, it's only really a "See you later". We will see you again, as the old hymn says, "When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be ... " Mom has started that rejoicing already ...

Mom would want this to be a celebration, a celebration of her life. Mom always told me that for a Christian the ending of this life meant the beginning of eternal life, a life without pain, a life without worry, a life without sorrow and a life without Cold .... It is being in the total Presence of the Almighty God.
God is our comfort, this is our hope, this is our confident assurance;

We know Mom is safe in His arms.

------------

in Loving memory of Thelma “Tetje” Devries. August 16, 1945 – February 13, 2006.

“Surrounded by His Glory”

Technorati Tags: Mom,Mother,Eulogy,Family,fun,Loving,life

Where am I going?

As I sit on my front porch enjoying a dry day in August I think back on what I wanted to do with this site and where I wanted to go with a small business…

Since my initial idea I have been hired by a fairly large company that makes Smartphones and does a very good job of it as well. It has made me think that I might not be cut out for running my own business – right now – I like the “Security” of a large corporation with deep pockets. Maybe in a few years, once I have security and my kids are a bit older, I will venture into an entrepreneurial role.

I am not going to give up on speaking and helping people understand Technology, its benefits and its shortcomings. It will just have to be a part time, evening and weekend thing.

I think that life will give you what you need but you have to look for and reach for it. Just don’t reach too far. Sometimes it is better to wait for things to come to you.

Next time. A Technology Article. I promise.

Job Discernment or Discerning Life?

As I sit in the Red Brick Cafe in Guelph enjoying a nice cup of dark roast (I never got into the latte, cappuccino thing) I am pondering where to go next.

We are told that we will have something like 20 different jobs in our life and something like three to five careers or more. I am getting close to that now and I have at least another 30 years to work at least. So now that I have spent  almost 10 years in one company, the longest stint at a company not owned by family, and am out looking for work. Where do I want to go?

I love working with technology. What technology you ask? Well I don’t discriminate. I love to find out about new technologies. Period. I have a background in Telecommunication Systems Design and have designed radios and communication systems. I have worked in rugged computer design making hand held computers that could be dropped from buildings or run over by trucks. I designed a single stage 120dB audio amplifier for a analogue cassette player that turned a 90 minute cassette into a book with 24 hours of audio (pre MP3). I have helped design wireless access points and application servers.

I love to see the applications of technology. I look at a something and can see a totally different application for it.

I spent a lot of time running development projects as a Project and Program Manager now, Program Management was a lot of fun but I was missing something. I realized that I truly enjoyed promoting the great products I was helping to develop.  But I didn’t get to do that enough with Customers and Users. I only got to do that with the Sr. Management of my company. the Sr. Managers were really important to present to but the customers were the ones that gave me the most fun.

Technorati Tags: Product Management,Program Management,Technology,Community Evangelist,Technology Evangelist,Job,Career,Fun,Life,Systems Design

New Computer

Well, as i write this I am using my new Dell Insperion 1545… I have been on it for about an hour and have done some customizations. I have added firefox, Open Office and have played around with some of the features… All in all I am impressed so far.

I like the wider screen and that I can type and not have to wait for the machine to catch up. I have also used Windows Live Writer to write this post. It seems to be OK but I will have to work on it some more to see if i really like it.

How to donate blood

Blood Donation in Canada;

1. Make an appointment by calling 1-888-2donate.
2. Sign in and make your next appointment for 56 days from today.
3. Sit with a nurse and verify who you are then get stuck in the finger to get your Cu / Fe level checked.
4. Fill out a questionnaire about your health
   
5. Sit with a second nurse and get your blood-pressure, heart-rate and temperature checked
6. Answer some more personal questions about your history with the nurse
7. Go sit on a really comfortable chair while a nurse cleans your arm and inserts a needle.
8. Wait for 5-10 minutes and talk to the nurses joke have fun.
9. have the nurse remove the needle
10. repeat step 8
11. go have a cookie and juice
12. Go home and have an excuse not to do housework / heavy lifting for 24 hours...
    

It's really easy and the people in the clinic (at least in Guelph) are a lot of fun and really nice. if you are in Guelph you should book an appointment and go. It takes less than an hour.

I give blood about every 56 days.

Netbook Specs?

What Should the perfect Netbook (UMPC) be? What are the key features? Let's see;

1. Easy to Use
   
2. Instant On
3. Long Battery Life (8 hours or more)
4. Wireless network connection (WiFi) built in
   
5. Light weight (under 1kg)
   
6. Simple interface (I like a touch screen interface instead of a mouse, touchpad, pointer stick).
7. Alpha numeric keyboard (say 68 or so keys).
8. 1024 x 768 display (minimum 1280 x 800 would be nice)
9. Priced under $400
   

I work for Psion and I have both the Netbook and NetbookPro I loved the interface. the ablity with the NBPro to remote desktop to my PC or Citrix thin client to servers at work... it was / is great. it is too bad they didn't bring it to a consumer market...

That was a rant but I think that all Netbooks, UMPCs, EEe PCs etc have some or most of these but none have all of them... (even my beloved NetbookPro).

With what is going on with Software as a service (Saas) "the Cloud" cloud computing the lightweight (both processing and actual weight) the Psion NetbookPro would really hit a niche if it was priced right.

Any comments?

Some Cool Scary Stuff

My 9.5 month old just climbed the stairs from our basement to our main floor for the first time today. That is nearly 2 months earlier than her big brother... We are going to have to watch that girl.

I had my second massage of the year today.... I just love company benefits... I actually tweaked my lower back and put it into spasms a couple of weeks ago and today I came close to it again. This getting old thing is really not good and I am not even 40 yet.

O.K. Linking to other blogs seems to be what a lot of people do so I will try it. This is a blog from a former employer (sort of). http://www.audiobibles2.blogspot.com/ this gentleman has been around the world translating the bible into different languages. His son has followed in his father's footsteps with the formation of the Talking Bible. This was done because the majority of people in the 3rd world can't read... duh... They realized that it takes millions of dollars and decades of work to translate a bible into a new language. Once that is done, in many cases, most of the people that speak that language cannot read. They thought "Why not record that new language" that way, for around 1% of the cost of the translation you can reach 100% of the people that speak that language... this not only helps spread the gospel but it also helps keep a record of that language, it's pronunciation and it's spoken grammar... interesting huh

This is where I came in. I helped design the first "analogue" talking bible in 1998/99. It was a really interesting project. We were trying to get 24 hours of recording time onto a single 90 minute cassette... we couldn't use the capstan and roller to maintain a constant speed so we had to come up with a way to control the speed of the motor... we also had to get a very high gain low noise audio amp (120dB gain).

I also just told my wife that i had a blog... she was mad that I didn't tell her or send her the link... I guess I will have to do that now.

What to do.

Hi,

OK, I have had blogs before but never really kept them up. Part of my new years resolutions package was to start a blog and maintain it for at least the year... Ok so it's nearly the Middle of February and I am just getting it started.

I have some strong views on my beliefs and I will probably share them here. If you don't agree with me I won't have a problem with you commenting as long as it is something constructive or at least intelligent to say. If you just flame me I won't post the comment.

He, He,

This is from the Jan 23,09 reverendfun.com cartoon.

It has been over 2 years since my last post but hey life happens.

Let's see I was talking about the bible trail that St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church is going through. we have finished the Old Testament and are through Hebrew's in the New... so not much left we should be finished this year... well after Easter.

Speaking of Easter, Lent is coming up and I was wondering what, if anything anyone is planning? Is there something you or your church is doing that might be different that what you have done in the past? How are you getting involved? How are you getting others involved?

I promise I will post again in under 2 years.

Just had to add this

I saw this and just had to add it to the blog...





Fits from the last post.

Went through Judges and Ruth the last two weeks.

lot's of Blood and guts in Judges... Samson's story is there and

Ruth is a Love story that I didn't get until recently.

Will say more later...

On to Samuel now...

So I missed a month

I have missed the last month... so I have missed the rest of Leviticus, all of Numbers and all of Deuteronomy.

Leviticus we had to finish up all of the rules for the priests and people.

Numbers counted the Israelites at the beginning of the book. Part way through we get into the beginning of more Historical stories. This is where things start getting really interesting.

Balaam's donkey talking to him on the road, the spies that go into Canaan (a.k.a. the promised land) and bring out bunches of grapes that took two men to carry... Oh and the Cities of Refuge for a person Killed someone.

There is soooo much more and I wish that I had actually gone through the process of blogging more...

Deuteronomy recaps the first four books of the Torah. I didn't get a chance to read it through this month and will have to read it over the Christmas Holidays.

Let's see what happens once we get into Joshua. This will be the story of how Israel conquered Canaan... How Jericho was conquered. Being working in the engineering field is would be really interesting to see if trumpets and marching around the city could hit the resonant frequency of the walls and made them crumble.

We will see how many times the Israelites disobey the LORD's commands and what happens...

Cleanliness, Leviticus Day 3

Lev 11 - 15 From www.biblegateway.com.

What can you eat? anything with a cloven hoof and chews its cud. This is where we find out why Pigs and other animals cannot be eaten by the Jews. This is changed for Christians in Acts when Peter has his vision in Acts 10. Peter sees a large sheet with all sorts of unclean animals (many of which are listed in this reading). Peter is told to eat anything that God has made pure. He is told this three times (Peter was stuborn). I'm glad about that, mmmm bacon.:)

The question for today is; compare Lev 12:6-8 to Luke 2:22-29.

The Passage in Luke discribes wht Mary went though with Jesus after he was born. She followed the law in waiting 7 days to become clean. Joseph adn Mary brought a pair of doves or pigeons and consecrate their first born son to the LORD.

There is a lot in this passage everything from what is good to eat to what types of rashes make you unclean. There will be more and more rules as we go through the rest of the book. This book of Leviticus puts meat behind the 10 commandments.

- Peter

Leviticus Day 2

What are Aaron and his sons to do?

Leviticus 5:14 - 10:20

Much of this reading is a repeat of the previous chapters only with the emphasis on the role of he priest in the sacrifice rather than the role of the people.

Aaron and his sons are to be the priests. They are to bring the sacrifices of the people before the LORD and ensure that the proper offerings are made. Before they can do this they have to purify themselves first. They must be more righteous than the people.

Have a look at chapter 10. see what happens to two of Aaron's son's Nadab and Abihu when they do not follow the God's commands.

Leviticus Day 1

Day one of Leviticus. Lev 1:1 - 5:13 from biblegateway.com (NIV).

We are asked to ponder "What is the difference between the Law Described in Chapter 5 and how our justice system works?"

First, it is the responsibility of the sinner to be proactive, as soon as they find out they have sinned they are to go to the priests and ask for atonement not go and hid and pretend like nothing happened until they are caught.

Second, all of the sins listed are unintentional sins... things that you either didn't mean to do or things that happend to you (like getting animals under your care stolen). There is nothing yet on what you are to do if you intentionally steal something or kill someone...

Comments?

what's up an update

Well, It's been a few months.

Let's start in January, the Conservatives became the new government and started acting on thier promises quickly... but they did not win a majority government so they have to work with the three other parties to get things done... the last minority government lasted 18 months we will see how long this lasts...

In Early February my Mother passed away very suddenly... just 1 month before my first child was born. That SUCKED so much!!

My son William has been born (on St. Patricks day) and he is now six months old... growing like a weed.

At church we have started what is called the bible Trail. www.bibletrail.blogspot.com is the link to the blog of where we are... the Bible Trail will have the entire church work through the entire bible (all 66 books) from beginning to end over the next two and a half years. It is going to take so long because we are going to take breaks for Advent, Christmas, the summer and other things...

Check it out.

Who to vote for

OK. the Canadian Federal Election is on Monday and who do I vote for...

The Liberal party has been shown to be corrupt and does not do anything for the Canadian public until their hold on power is threatened.

People say that the Conservative party are hiding something and will be George W. Bushes best new friend.

The NDP don't have an idea how to govern.

The Green party is in the same situation as the NDP. No idea what they will do if the get into power.

what to do, what to do...

First things First

Hi, these are my comments and opinions. You can comment on them if you wish. If you have a strong argument against (or for) them please add a comment. I am using this basically as a journal so Just enjoy...

Oh if you want to see some cool Starwars art check out my friends site .

Probably for the next little while you will be seeing posts on Canadian Politics, especially stuff on the federal election that is set for Jan 23, 2006. If you are in Canada GET OUT AND VOTE. I don't care if you vote for the marijuana party or what ever just get out and vote.

The next theme you will see is Parenthood. My wife and I are expecting shortly and will be very excited to find out what the sex of the baby is. We have chosen not to find out the sex of the baby. There are so very few suprises left in the world and we just thought it would be interesting to find out after the little one is born.

Well have fun and we'll see what is going to happen with this...

smile