Oh, My Son-in-law Can Do That...

It doesn't really matter what it is...I'm not kidding you.

I have to say I am continually amazed at my multi-talented son in law Jeremiah:) It seems every time we're together I discover a new gift in him. Or even a new sense of appreciation of him as a young man. Our young man.

I remember when Carmen & Jeremiah first moved to Calgary. Peter and I dutifully met them there to help them move into their new place. (We still really didn't know Jeremiah that well and I am sure none of us were looking forward to awkward stranger moments, but we knew he would be ours for life, and wanted to get to know him better, and it is a big job for just two people.). At some point, the girls got their way and we went to the Sunridge Mall.

This is not startling news about Jeremiah I know. I'm getting to that. First off, we were in a lonely little cul de sac somewhere in the industrial site. Not sure how we got there, my memory is fuzzy at this point so I would have to make it up. But we handed Jeremiah the map book and within minutes he had us sailing along to our destination.

This may seem a simple task to some, but I detest those little map books that are too small to actually give you 3 square blocks, and then it says 'turn to the farthest page away from you and watch how we magically don't make the lines match up"... What was even more fascinating to me was that we were looking for a specific store . He says " it will be on the second floor, somewhere by the escalators in the center of the mall, possibly 3 stalls to the left or right..." (remember, he has never been to this mall in his life, and while I do know that many mall layouts can be similar, there is absolutely no way a normal person would remember that. Sure enough he was exactly right. And yes, he pulled the exact same stunt at Ikea for me when I wanted to go back for some item. So you see he is basically doomed to the task of escorting me shopping whenever we are in Calgary:)

Among his other giftings, (both he and Carmen love to garden together), Jeremiah is quite the creative and artistic kind of guy. He spends some of his time painting small detailed creatures - I on the other hand could never even do a paint by number as a child, inevitably coloring outside the lines, so any kind of painting impresses me. Especially the fleur de lis he painted on a vase for me one Christmas. When Carmen & Jeremiah were preparing for their wedding celebration, Jeremiah cut out several shields, designed and painted them himself, and it really made an authentic beautiful Medieval statement all across the base of the stage in front of the head table.

Not to mention, he has put together numerous costumes over the years, and even made a little kid one for a friend this year. This talent will come in handy when their own little prince or princess comes on the scene. Here's a nice pic of Jeremiah's costume for Ken & Jade's wedding.

Jeremiah is good electrician too - we reaped the benefits of that when he came for 3 days to visit and spent part of 2 of them wiring our en suite with Peter. We wanted him to rest and enjoy his holiday, but he insisted on honouring us and taking the time to do this wiring. It would have taken Peter literally 2 or 3 weeks if he would have done it on his own.

I know he takes things like this for granted but I do not. There is a certain boldness about Jeremiah that enables him to face challenges head on.

I wanted to take some time this birthday (belatedly!) to honour Jeremiah for the warm, loving son that he is to us. Jeremiah, you are a fine man and we love and appreciate you so much! You've brought your unique giftings into the family and we are richer for it. I am slowly getting used to being picked right up off the floor when you come home for a visit (my, but you're strong! lol), and while I know you have a great mother and father of your own, it always makes me smile when you occasionally address me as 'mom':)

Yep...there's Ray & Jeremiah fixing the furnace one Christmas. My son in law can do that.

This summer I discovered a couple more of Jeremiah's talents...we had the most delectable bbqued bacon-wrapped chicken ...mmhhmmm:)

And I also didn't realize he was such a great drummer lol. While we were visiting them this fall, C&J made me play Rock Band. I had managed to avoid it up to this point, but I figured what the hey:) I already knew Carmen was a beautiful singer but I didn't realize Jeremiah was good too! They also discovered how bad I am at the game. Apparently you have to actually strum the guitar to make it work? I was all about the fancy fingerwork with the red/green/blue/yellow... anyways, it was fun.

Here's to the next year, Jeremiah! May it be full of great surprises and new adventures:)

love you ~'mom'