Happy Birthday Joshua!!!!

Happy Birthday Joshua!!! Today Joshua turned 14 years old! From a mother and father's standpoint, we could not ask for a better son. He has been such a wonderful, considerate young-man that shows so much maturity for his age. He takes great care of his "Momma" and loves her dearly.....

As for me, his father, I have enjoyed the past 14 years. Each day we grow closer and closer together and he truly is more than a son, Joshua is my right-hand man and (besides my wife) my closest "best-friend"!

Today we spent the afternoon playing games and having a great water-gun fight outside....I won of course......still too hard for him to beat his Dad!

We love you so much Joshua, keep your eyes on the Lord and your heart in His hands! I am looking forward to the many more years ahead serving the Lord together.......Have a great day!

Yeah for Mom!

On Monday, we picked up my mom and my brother, Marc, at the airport here in Quebec City. They arrived on a late flight and we finally got in bed at almost 2 AM in the morning. We are all very excited about them being here and we had a wonderful time together today.

This is the first time that my mother has been able to take a "vacation" in many years. She has spent many years taking care of my Dad before he passed away last year. This past year of adjustment has been very hard for her and Marc. My mom has also sold her house and property that has brought so many memories over the past 27 years and just recently moved into a smaller more manageable home and much smaller property.

My mom and I woke up before everybody else this morning and we shared a cup of coffee together on the front porch talking about the past year. She said that this was a hard year for her, but we both agreed that without this past year in her life, she would have never learned to lean, trust, and have faith in our God. She has learned to pray and receive, witness, have patience, and be faithful even under some of the most difficult struggles.

She has watched me grow (physically and spiritually) during my lifetime from a baby boy to a man. This past year, I have watched her grow spiritually from a babe in Christ to a more mature spiritual lady.

I am looking forward to this next week with my mom and brother and I know her grandkids are going to have her so exhausted from running around, that she will return to Florida ready for a "vacation"!

Happy Father's Day!!!

Proverbs 17:6 Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.

We live in a day where the Father is under attack (and has been under attack for a long time!) The television shows of today and movies make father's look dumb and clumsy and the children seem to always know more and have more common sense then their dads.

Proverbs 17:6 tells us the true reality of Fathers. They are the glory of children! Tomorrow marks a day in which we celebrate our "glory", our fathers! Happy father's day to all of the Father's out there.

There are two father's that I want to honor:

First: My Father-In-Law
Happy Father's Day to my father-in-law, Yale Willoughby! (who, by the way, just left me with the most ugly artwork from France hanging in my living room!!!....You'll be getting the artwork back soon enough!.....it's an inside joke....) My father in law is a hard working man and has become a great friend to me over the years since I stole away his daughter! He has treated me as his own son and I have enjoyed our relationship over the years. He has such a giving heart and is one of the most honest men I know....ok...except for when you pretended to be handicapped when ordering that part for my motor home! Thanks for being a "Father" to me over the past several years! I love you, Happy Father's Day!


Second: My Father
My father passed away last year, May 1, 2009. I was raised in a non-christian home although we claimed to be Catholic. (I was sprinkled as a baby in the Catholic church and that was supposed to have some sort of "salvation" power.....all it did was get my head wet!)
Although my father was not a Christian, there are a few truths that he taught me that helped to mold me into what I am today:
1)Always be yourself....don't ever try to be somebody that you are not.
2)If your wife has to work to support the family.....you don't deserve to have a wife.
3)There is a God.
4)The Bible is the Word of God and you should always respect it.
5)Work hard!....never be lazy!
6)Take care of your tools and they will take care of you. (He hated when his tools were left
strewn about!)
7)You can do anything and be anything if you put your mind and back to it.
8)Every night growing up, he kissed me goodnight and said, "I love you!"

I later had the opportunity to lead my mom and dad to the Lord. They both accepted Christ as there Saviour in 1995. My dad became a new man and there was a complete change in his life. Sadly, there were some circumstances later in his life that occurred that caused him to become bitter towards God and he didn't finish his Christian life as he started it in 1995. I do believe that the reason I so readily accepted Christ as my Saviour as an 18 year-old young man was because my dad had taught me that there was a God and His Word is true. Thus when I was confronted with the Bible, I counted it as true and realised that I needed Christ as my Saviour.

I miss those good-old times that I shared with my dad when I was a kid. Working on cars together, just the two of us camping for several days, fishing together, flying his airplane together, and those times that we simply talked and shared stories together. Happy Father's Day Dad! See you in Heaven one day!

Preaching & Airplanes.....Two of my favorites!!!

It's now Sunday evening and I was reflecting on the events of this past weekend. What a great past two days that we have had!



I had the opportunity to preach in French this evening.......is it really still preaching when you practically read your entire message from paper???? (If I remember correctly, Jonathan Edwards read his sermon "Sinners In The Hands of An Angry God" so I guess its preaching!)



This was the first time that I have preached in French that I felt more at ease and the words seem to flow easier for me. I was even able to look away from my paper and make eye contact and I even ventured as far as adding in some words off of the top of my head....trust me....being able to look away from your notes is a big step when preaching in a foreign language!



Yesterday was great as well. One of my passions is airplanes...I love airplanes, reading about them, seeing them, watching documentaries about them and I have always wanted to get my pilot's license but the Lord has not let me.......yet.....who knows, maybe one day!



This past week, I heard the sound of a military jet flying around (I always look to the sky to see what's flying around and you can always tell a military aircraft, WWII aircraft, etc. apart from one another.) I was delighted....ok excited beyond measure......to see the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds flying overhead! (I was in the Air Force, I love F-16's, and love air shows!). We found out that there was an Air Show this weekend here in Quebec City!
Benjamin Roy (the Pastor's Son), Joshua, and myself spent the day at the show. We had a great time and even got Sun-Burnt!

Josh took great care of Benjamin and made sure he could see everything!

Most of the aircraft, the ones flying & on display, were from the United States!.....A little taste from home!

I have to admit, I was a little emotional when the U.S. National Anthem started playing and our flag was hoisted high in the air by this parachutist! (There's just something about Old Glory!)

Seeing the U. S. Military Aircraft (especially the refueling tankers) made me remember my days in the military!

The three of us enjoyed the acrobatics and stunts performed. It was a great day and I learned three great truths when attending an Air Show:

1. Bring chairs.......you need something to sit on!

2. Bring an umbrella....not because of rain (if it did rain there would be no show!) but to keep the blazing sun from toasting you crisp!

3. Bring your own lunch!.......$25 for two slices of pizza, 3 drinks and a hamburger with fries!....$5 for two bottles of water......

However, the experience of taking my son and his friend to an air show......worth it all!!!

Finally.....An Update!

Okay, so there are times when I am slow to update our blog/website.........(my excuse is a new baby in the family and two tired parents!)

The past couple of weeks have been a blur. Time seems to be flying by! Here is a glimpse from the past couple of weeks! Kami's mom came for a visit and what a wonderful time we had and blessing she was. Silas has been waking up at 5 AM each morning (2 AM this entire past week!). We cleverly put Grandma in the same room with Silas while she was here.....heeheehee........She seemed so tired while she was here.....I wonder why?

The love of my life......Wow!!! What a woman!!!....I thought I knew what love was when we first met and then married. However, through the years of our wonderful marriage, I can honestly say that we are closer today than we have ever been! I didn't know it was possible to love some one more and more, but love does grow. Thanks "Babe" for 15 (almost 16) years of some of the best times in my life....and thank you for our wonderful family!

Kami and her mom are so much alike in their personalities (it's scary). They both love lists (long lists of things to do, things to buy, chores, wish lists, birthday gifts, etc.) They both laugh at the dumb jokes and not the good ones. They find it easy to make friends and know how to take care of their husbands. (I hate to admit that my mother-in-law had a part in training up my wife....I like to think I trained her in our marriage!) They had a great time together while Mom was here!

The kids are now involved in a youth bell choir. They have been practicing and played for the Charter signing service at the church in Trois Rivieres. They will be playing in area nursing homes as part of the ministry here.

One of the things that the kids needed was some special attention. Thank you Grandma for meeting this need in our children's lives. It has been hard for them here in Canada for several different reasons. Their spirits were lifted and encouraged by Grandma's visit. They stayed up late playing games and had Grandma trekking through the forest of walking trails here in Quebec!

We took plenty of picnics and hikes to the river and woods while Grandma was here. We love going down to the river and being outdoors.

Callie Grace is 1 month old. She is getter bigger and bigger with each passing day. She is not fussy but has her times of crying. Silas loves to kiss her (mouth open.....not sure how to correct that!) and we have to watch him closely because he loves to hold her and will grab her and pull her into his arms.

We had some big forest fires here in Quebec and last Sunday the smoke got worse and worse. This picture was when it started, but by the afternoon, you couldn't see very far due to the thick smoke. It cleared up and we praise the Lord for the rain we received this week.

Silas has his very own new swing! ($2 yard sale find!). He has tried it once but doesn't yet care for swings!

For our family fun night Friday, we held a contest. Each person had to make a container/egg protector. We made them and put our egg inside. I climbed up to the second story of our building and dropped them. If your egg stayed protected and didn't break, you get to participate in the next round of drops.

Sadly, I lost......Josh ended up winning with his Wal-Mart Plastic Bag Parachute system! I'll get him next time!

Upcoming Events:

-My mom will be coming for a visit along with my brother on June 21st. We are excited about the visit. She is going to have a great time speaking french with everyone here!

-I will be preaching in French next Sunday night and also the whole month (all of the services) of July at Vieille Capitale Baptist Church here in Quebec city. This is going to be a big task for me because it takes me so long to translate one message into french. However, I am looking forward to the opportunity!

Until Next Time!!!