Thank you Volunteers!

Thank you Volunteers!
You make it happen.

This is a peek at one volunteer in the Comox Valley, my husband Andrew MacMillan



This is a little video of my loving husband as he engaged with the crowd at the Christmas Parade today.

Andrew is the essence of Spirit. Everything that he is involved with gets his 100%. One Hundred Percent involvement, enthusiasm, energy, support, willingness, participation. If we could bottle his essence we would be very wealthy! More than once I have heard people mention a desire to clone Andrew, it would make everything so much easier for event planning and executing. Anytime I am on the sidelines and have a chance to kibitz with other sideline supporters or someone who is also involved in "that" event, I hear the same thing. Accolades of praise. 'Andrew is so wonderful', 'Andrew is so helpful', 'Andrew is so generous', 'Andrew is always willing', 'Andrew is the guy you want on your committee'.

They are right, he is all of those things. He gives from the heart. It is a "pay it forward" type of attitude, yet if you were to suggest that to him, he would wonder what you meant. Today was our annual Christmas Parade, here in the Comox Valley. Thankfully it did not rain! Hallelujah! Andrew is on the "Spirit of B.C." committee. For the second year in a row he has helped carry the 'Spirit' banner in this parade. Watching him walk jauntily down the street, waving, smiling, greeting, engaging with the crowd, you want to know him, you want to catch a little bit of that bright spirit. It is good. He is the perfect man for the job. And he loves it! He loves to be involved in community events.

I believe that the greater good of every community is reflected in large part by the members of every local individual volunteer, volunteer committees, and group of volunteers. My husband is just one of them. I am very proud of him. I hope my little introduction of my husband has encouraged you to get involved in something in your community, if you weren't already. There is such reward in giving to the greater good. For no other reason other than you can! I am but one voice but being on the sidelines I have heard many. Thank you volunteers, you are greatly appreciated!

( Couldn't resist this shot! how cute is this little volunteer!)

23rd Anniversary of Judd

We gathered for a family dinner tonight to celebrate Judd's Birthday. 23 years old! Oh my gosh, did I blink? My baby is now a very large man. How often do I forget that with every year of my genetically directed advanced hair colouring, (wink),that my children are making advances of their own?

When they come into this harsh world, they are oblivious of what awaits them, good and evil. Trust is essential, there is no choice. Love is unconditional, options are unknown. Vulnerability is at it's peak, again, there is no choice.

St.Joseph's Hospital, in Comox, B.C. was the setting for our first delivery, Judd. Don't worry, I am not even going to start with the details of that experience, except to say that it couldn't have been that bad! WE did it 3 more times... and each experience was as unique as the first.

Weighing 8 lbs 9 oz, Judd Mathew Levirs pushed his way into the world at 4:25 a.m. I was so freaked out. My history did not include the phrase," I can't wait to have a baby!", or," I can't wait to be a mom!". I babysat for the money. Period. It was a job, not even my favourite job. Funny thing that I had 4 kids. Funnier still was the instant invasion of the body snatchers type thing that happened the minute the baby arrived. I remember looking at him in complete awe and wonder. I was in love with this perfect little man. All I wanted to do was snuggle him, pack him around, change his diaper, stare at him, feel his skin, touch his hair, clip his nails, nurse him, bundle him, protect him.

I still do. 23 years later, not a lot has changed.

Well, except that he is about 1 1/2 times my size, his voice is at least 12 decibels lower than mine, the amount of food he can pack away puts a small army to shame, the number inside of his shoes is big, leftovers are not a problem in our house even though he doesn't live at home anymore, the word 'energy' in the dictionary should have his photo under it, ( work at the mill all day, rollerblade to mum's house 8 or 10 kms away, rollerblade another few blocks to drop in basketball, play basketball for a couple of hours, then rollerblade home...now what ?), and for fun on his days off he has a part time job landscaping!

What hasn't changed is this; all I want to do is snuggle him, be around him, stare at him, feel his skin, touch his hair, feed him, bundle him, protect him.

I have realized that after being a mom for 23 years, I will always want to do those things. With each of my kids it is the same. But I have had to step back and let them figure stuff out, make some not so great decisions on their own, pick themselves up & move forward.

How often I have wondered if it is harder being the kid or the mom? I am both, but I was a different kid than mine are, everything was different. Really, cell phones were not even at the "beam me up Scotty" stage yet. They didn't exist. Can you imagine what their lives would be like now without instant messaging and texting? Remember when the Ingalls family lived around the corner? (LOL)

I am so proud of my son. He has had many bumps along the way, the path has not been straight and clear, but he is moving consistently forward. His work ethic, willingness to help us at anytime, support friends in whatever their need is at the moment, and courage to walk his own walk tell the tale of strong man. A man who is finding himself, getting stronger and more faith filled with each passing day. Accepting responsibility, paying his own way, reaching beyond what he has known, step by step.

Happy Birthday Judd, I am so proud to be your Mom.


Love Mumma xo



The photo at the right is Judd, after his long
day landscaping on his day off, his birthday!
We had a great dinner and a visit.
It was a good day!







This is a photo of
me and all 4 of my "babies".
Left to Right...Judd, Mum, Kalvin, Julia, Chelsea

The gift of a Glorious Afternoon at the Spit

So I did get to the beach, oh it was brilliant! I took a few photos out at the Goose Spit. Me and Jesus have some amazing conversations while I am there, particularly on crazy storm days like today. Life is so amazing... every day. Even though some days are so difficult, my faith in God keeps me grounded.... and when I am not grounded, He helps me get grounded. Phew, I am never alone. Thank you God for that. Freedom to believe in a glorious country on this incredible island surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. Casting Crowns sings a song , " Praise you in this storm" It covers a multitude of storms. Good thing, because like every storm in nature, the storms that we face are just as unique. I am so grateful for being able to go to the beach, yell, sing, cry, laugh, breathe, watch, listen, be. That is a gift.

Twisted and One of a Kind meets Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

Last night was the first official reveal of Twisted Heirloom and Gill, One of a Kind. Overall it was a tremendous success, lots of women came through the door. Many familiar connections were made. It is always exciting to me to see how closely we really are connected. I was introducing 3 friends of mine, it turned out they all knew each other... they had gone to school together...more than 30 years ago!

At the end of the evening, we were exhausted, good exhausted. We received a ton of positive feedback, some criticism which was also positive. If our friends can't be honest with us, then we probably shouldn't be in business in the public. Thank you to all who support us, we do so appreciate it.

I went to bed last night with such gratitude, the alarm was not set ! Woo hoo! At some crazy dark hour I heard the distinct sound of empty garbage cans rolling around in the quiet cul de sac that we live in. Being the nutbar that I have been known to be, I dragged my sleepy bones out of bed and put on my coat. My luxurious faux fur dress-me-up coat! After determining the wind factor, in order to brace myself for stability, I faced the gusts head on and went down the driveway. With careful consideration for my safety, knowing there were untethered garbage cans flying about, I crouched and scanned. There is one! Oh, and there is another! Phew! Just like a scene out of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon I lept across the pavement. Gotcha! Hey, it says 'MacMillan', awesome, I just performed emergency rescue on one of our own garbage cans! Wait, here comes a blue one.... NAILED IT! I was thinking, "Someone should be filming this!"

After carefully securing both cans from the risk of further flailing, I charged back up the stairs and into the dry safe haven of my welcoming home. Now what was I doing before my rescue operation? Oh yeah... back upstairs.

Slightly damp and way to wide awake, I hung up my beautiful warm coat, changed out of my way to long, wet flannel trousers, and climbed back into my still warm, very cozy bed. AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH......Definitely heading to the beach today to check out the waves. But first, more sleep.

What a great day!