Family

In the morning of January 16th, Shari’s Grandfather Clifford Winger went to be with the Lord.  He was 95 years old.

We asked for your prayers earlier as Clifford and his wife (Shari’s Grandmother) Ada went through transition and temporary separation as he moved to where he could get better care.  We praise the Lord that she was able to move to the same building almost two weeks earlier, so they were at least able to see each other a bit before he passed away.  We’re also thankful that Shari’s parents were able to get some time off and were actually already on their way to Ontario, so they’ve been able to be with the rest of the family in Ontario to help with the arrangements.

Of course we would appreciate your continued prayers for Shari’s Grandmother, her children (including Shari’s mother) and our families.  Also, after a lot of prayer and discussion, Shari has decided to go to the funeral, which will be Saturday.  She leaves on Friday and will come back on Sunday.  So we would all appreciate your prayers during this time.

We’ll all miss Grandpa.  He was an inspiration to me even in the short years I knew him.  But we rejoice that He’s with His Saviour at last, and our separation is only temporary.

Those of you that knew Shari was gone will be glad to hear she is safely home!  She was travelling this past week to a friend’s wedding.  This evening we (Hannah, Nathanael and I) decided to do a few errands before picking her up at the airport.  We got in the van, and – boy, it’s dark in here.  Where are those lights that are supposed to come on when you open the door?  Boy, they’re pretty dim!

You guessed it.  The battery was almost totally dead.  Inexplicably, actually – I still don’t know what drained it (sure hope it starts in the morning!).

So, I took the kids back inside and we called for a boost.  We coloured and sang by the light of the Christmas tree, and then got on coats and shoes again like maniacs when the tow truck fellow called to tell us he was down there waiting.

The van was boosted, it started, we drove to the airport, parked, walked in, just as Shari was walking in.  Talk about good timing!  God had mercy and allowed us to find out about the problem soon enough so that we could still make it to the airport in time (even though Shari’s flight arrived three minutes early).

So, thus ends 2005 – a typical day in the life of the Cottrills!  And that was just the evening.  😉  But here we are, and we’re happy to have Shari home again.

Happy New Year to you all, and may God guide you further into His grace and wisdom in 2006.

We’ve had a very nice holiday season.  Christmas Day was a beautiful, sunny day at about 14°C (57°F).  Not exactly a white Christmas, but a nice day nevertheless.  We enjoyed a great service at our church and then got a Christmas car wash and headed over to Uncle Jeff and Aunt Tracy’s house in NW Calgary to enjoy the day with their family and Grandma and Grandpa Winger.

Earlier we also enjoyed a celebration with Grandma and Grandpa Cottrill.  We looked at some Christmas lights in town and even went to the Telus World of Science.  Of course, there are photos of all these events in our photo gallery.

So all in all we had a great Christmas of celebration fun and worship with friends and family.

This week Shari is in the USA for a wedding.  Hannah, Nathanael and myself are here at home.  I’m trying to make sure a few of the Christmas gifts remain in tact by the time Shari returns on Saturday! 🙂  I hope you’re all having a great week!