Surviving the crash

Karlie created this and its awesome!! Have a watch!!

Sooooooo grateful for Uncle Dan for making this happen for our family!! He organized, planned and followed this project through to the end and it looks amazing!!! Plaque went on the rock about a week ago!! If your in Watrous stop in and have a rest on the second phase of the walking trail!!

What does ambition and meaning have to do with one another? Just for a few seconds think about the two words and what comes to mind.... I grew up on a farm where I was taught to work hard and we did work damn hard!! To me that is where I learned ambition. That is when I was taught how to do many many things both on the farm and around the house. ...Continue reading

With news that Catherine McKay was released on day parole it has many people upset. I choose to be constructive and figure out how one day get to speak to her in person. I have many thoughts and ideas all of which are proactive and meaningful towards my goals of advocating against drinking and driving as well as working towards helping others find healing and forgiveness. Still I have had a challenge staying on top of finishing my book yet it seems I am still taking in the f...eelings and emotions that come with the news and the publics reaction to it. I have found I am a bit hesitant to reach out to Catherines kids as I dont want things to change in any way. I feel like it is all going really well right now and I want to ensure that remains the case. So today when I had planned to get back into proof reading my rough draft I find myself instead studying restorative justice again. About a year ago I had jumped into learning about it in hopes of communicating with Catherine via mail. Now I am learning more about it for different reasons.... To make sure I have done all that is needed in order to meet Catherine face to face. Perhaps be able to call each other. Today I realized I have put it off far too long and I dug deep to figure out why that is!? I landed in a place of fear. A bit of fear that what if she isnt as receptive to meeting me as I am her? What if it is all approved and we do meet and its awkward? What if she dislikes me or vise versa? What if if triggers her and does more harm than good for her wellbeing? Questions from deep down I didnt realized were even a consideration. After a few hours I came to a different place within! What if our conversation is amazing and we hit it off really well? What if she wants to be involved with all my ideas about advocating against drinking and driving? What if my procrastination was supposed to happen for us to both be more ready emotionally? What if she too wants to run a marathon again like she did last year and the two previous years to raise awareness and funds for MADD? How cool would it be to someday combine our efforts in all the above? In the end, my fears are fabricated bullshit. But for what? So I can stay in safety and stifle my growth as a contributing human on this planet? Fears around what others may think? Well that doesnt matter. This is my purpose on this planet!! To help others around me see things just a little bit differently. To see that when we work together we can influence and accomplish much more! So here I am ready to explore deeper and go further than I ever have before! Following my instinct and doing what I feel is right. And not just right for me, in fact that is last on my mind, but rather what is right for so many others!! What are some of your fears in your life right now?? Where does fear come from and how can we deal with it?? All comments welcome!!

Doing some pondering today!! With lots going on in life these days it has got to be a constant effort to stay in growth mode..... Who else feels this way??? Drop a comment below. Lets have some fun with this.

So awesome outside in my yard!!! Sunset, frogs, crickets, geese, ducks, train horn in the distance!! Can you hear it all??

It has been a tough couple days in my small home town where we know one another quite well! Anthony was a good friend of mine and after writing this post yesterday on my personal page I have decided that in Anthonys honor I will finally be launching something I have been contemplating for quite some time. I dont know exactly what it will look like nor do I know exactly when however today I verbalized my plans and now I am sharing on here. I believe it is needed more now tha...Continue reading

May is here!!! Beautiful weather!! Just a few days ago I again committed to running a marathon in 2020 as well as raise funds for MADD just like I did last year! May 13th is my birthday I would love to kick of my fundraising efforts with a goal of $1000 between now and my birthday!!!! Who do you know that had an amazing impact on your life and was taken to soon by drunk driving/ distracted driving/ drugs and driving?? My goal between now and race day in early September is $...30,000. Who would love to jump on board for this great cause and get me started today!?? Click on the Madd link attached to donate and you will receive a tax receipt. Then pm or let me know you did so. That way I can keep a running total as we together reach for $30,000 towards a great cause!!! Www.survivingthecrash.co

Whoop whoop!!! First 5km under my belt. I ran about 3/4 of it and the other I was catching my breath! I pushed hard..... I pulled from my WHY!! Each time I wanted to walk I imagined McGuire standing at the next power pole with his hand out waiting to grab my finger!! Drop your why below all you wonderful souls!!... Www.survivingthecrash.co

Resentment and blame gets us nowhere in life. We are responsible for how we react to every situation!!!

Who is ready to go after some massive goals that scare the out of you!!??? Setting goals is what brought me out of the bottom!!! Lets go!!! Www.survivingthecrash.co

Oh my gosh!!!! Thank you so much for all the amazing support!!!! Miguires big smile is how I am feeling today!!! Do I ever miss this little mans smile. Pre sold another dozen copies this week so far and counting. Thank you so much. Comment below with your kids, nieces or nephews smiles!!

Such a beauty of a day today!! Sun shinin and hardly any traffic to dust me out!! The last couple weeks I have been easing my way back into getting active again. Last summer I decided to run a marathon for the first time while simultaneously raising money for MADD. I enjoyed the experience and finished 42km just before race officials went home. Ok well maybe not quite but close. I was proud of myself for finishing in 5 hours 7 minutes yet was disappointed I wasnt under 4 ...Continue reading

Doing a lot of thinking about the contents of my book and remembering Kamryn and Miguire today! Normally little ones are super excited to find their Easter treats and that puts a smile on my face. I wonder what does Easter Sunday look like in heaven?? Is there endless chocolate and a lot of laughter? Are they 5 and 2 years old still or are they 9 and 6? Perhaps strange thoughts for some however that is where my mind goes. I also wonder what does day parole look like for Cath...erine on Easter Sunday? I learned a little bit about her last night and again made me smile. I trust she is smiling today too. Pics I am sharing today are of the molds they did in ICU of Kamryn and Miguires feet and hands. They made a set for the Mieraus and a set for the Van De Vorsts as well. I look at these pics often wondering how big there feet and hands would be if they were here today? Consider this on your Easter Sunday. Love your family with all you got whether its in person or via zoom or phone call because you just never know what the next day, week or month may bring. Check in with family and friends who may not have others to spend the day with. And most importantly hold your littles feet and hands ever so tightly and be thankful you can. I know tomorrow when I see my boys I will likely settle for holding their hands as 17 and 15 year olds may think dad has lost his mind if I hold their size 13 feet. Happy Easter to all near and far!! Love on each other as best you can!! Eat as much yummy food as you can and count your blessings!!

Happy Easter everyone!!!!! Easter special!!!! Purchase a copy of my book between now and Monday night and I will donate a copy to someone of your choosing!!!!!! Yes you read that right, buy one and give one away for the price of one!!!!! ... Etransfer or PayPal or cash!! Let me know!!!

Hello everyone! Doing some writing today as well as more work on the book cover and the subtitle. I appreciate everyones support on my previous post about subtitles and I have revamped them after some more consideration and reflection from everyones feedback. I would love it if all my amazing friends would help me out again. Please vote on your favorite or suggest a change if you like!! Please consider purchasing a copy today!! I know lots of you are intending to do so onc...e the book is complete however I would love to see it happen today! It lights me up and helps me push for the finish line in my writing when people are supporting me especially on the days when I dont feel like doing it anymore.... Etransfer and PayPal are great!! Survivingthecrash.co 1. We all died that day, shattered lives and broken hearts forging forgiveness. 2. Through tragedy and death came forgiving hearts. 3. Finding forgiveness after death. 4. A guide to finding forgiveness. How a drunk driver changed us all. 5. finding forgiveness as a victim of drunk driving.

Its been awhile since I posted anything..... today is a good day to get back on here. I gotta be honest December and January were tough as far as writing goes! Christmas is a hard time of year for me although this year was by far the best of the last four. January being the anniversary of the accident plays with my head a little bit yet. Long story short, the momentum that I had leading up to December was basically stopped through the holiday season up until a couple weeks a...go. I also realized yesterday that I was stalling to talk to those closest to me....... I believe I have all that I want/need to complete my book with the exception of talking to my momma and sister once more. I called mom yesterday and spoke to her over the phone for two hours. Although it was great I realized I chose to call rather than talk to her face to face because it was easier from an emotional standpoint. The same holds true for talking to Tana. Just goes to show me that it is still not an easy thing to talk about with family. I am comfortable talking about myself however hearing Tana and mom talk about something so deeply profound for us is NOT easy to do. I am kicking myself for not realizing sooner as this is perhaps the biggest reason my book writing has been slower still. Today I will be chatting with Tana and then from there getting everything on paper this week!!! To do this I need to allow myself to go deep into the emotions that come up, let the feelings that are sometimes uncomfortable to happen. Writing flows its best when I dont resist those feelings or emotions to happen. In the end I keep telling myself that this is all for the betterment of someone that reads my story/our story. I have to be honest there have been some days where I wonder why I am doing this. Its not easy..... it sometimes puts me in a funk for days when I am writing about something that hurts still. Will people even like it or read it? Cover, subtitles and author bio have been on my mind this last couple weeks as well. Drawing, thinking, creating and meditating. I want the best book to put into peoples hands to help others move forward in their lives. I am excited to be nearing the home stretch for the rough draft!!! By end of this week I hope to be able to say I am happy with the completed first draft!! All that I am is in this book and I do it for Chanda, Jordan, Kamryn and Miguire. For Melanie, Tana, James, Marie, Elmer, Sage, Hudson, Angie, Spencer, Kayla, Parker, Sasha, Danny and Catherine. There are many more too that support me and I them! Dont forget if you have yet to pre buy a copy of my book please consider doing so now!! Etransfer or PayPal is easiest.

You never know what others are going through! Be kind!

Hey everyone!! Working on subtitles and looking for your opinions!! What do you like or not like. Help me out. Keep in mind that a subtitle needs to capture someones interest and get them to pick up my book and want to read it. 1. Shattered lives rebuilt with forgiveness and strength 2. We all died that day, shattered lives and broken hearts forging forgiveness ... 3. We all died that day, shattered lives forging forgiving hearts 4. Through tragedy and death came forgiving hearts 5. Finding forgiveness Working with combining some of these as well. I know for sure forgiveness needs to be part of it. Drop your thoughts below!!

Forgot to share this until today!! Still working on subtitles..... stay tuned!!! And dont forget to purchase your copy today!! Survivingthecrash.co

Hello fb land!! Please take a second to look at this pic.... notice Miguires car seat and think for a second of the impact of the other vehicle driven by a drun...k driver! Have fun on this New Years Eve but for the sake of your family and all other families please dont drive drunk or high!!! I am in Saskatoon tonight and would love to give anyone a ride home if you need one. Call me or text me. 306-946-7505. Be safe!!

Countless days I do this!!

This afternoon I am doing some writing and I would like to share a few words..... I believe that the old me died the same day that Chanda, Jordan, Kamryn and Maguire died. In the extreme highs and lows of 2016 I was grieving the loss of four of my favorite people, in fact I would say six of my favorite people. I was finally able to grieve the loss of my father as well as grieve the loss of who I used to be!!Survivingthecrash.co

Here is a link to check out Elly Thorns music and the song she wrote about Kamryn. Sooooooo good!!!!

We had the pleasure of attending the Saskatoon Symphony last night!! Elly Thorn invited us to hear her perform for the very first time a song that she wrote just a couple days after Kamryn was pronounced dead. She sang so beautifully along with the symphony it was emotional for so many that were there. I will see if I can figure out how to get it on here so you all can hear it. I would also suggest buying her cd that she just released that has the song on it. The song is called Theres A Heaven!!!! Survivingthecrash.co

In 2016 at times I couldnt see how I was possibly going to carry on with life...... 2017 I started to believe again!!! 2018 I was having thoughts of ... 2019 when so many things are yet in turmoil I know that the best is still yet to come!! Four of my favorite people have left this physical earth yet this is happening What are you choosing to see and believe??? Feel free to comment!!! Hugs and love!!

Not very often all eight of us are around at the same time!!!! We made it happen a couple days ago!!! #grateful #happy #family

There really is no denying that I am a changed man!!!! In every possible way!!! This is very true!!! Survivingthecrash.co

This is so true!!!!!! And the most important part about forgiveness is to forgive yourself!!! Once I rapped my head around that my life changed drastically!!! Lets grow!!!