It's quiet...

Have you ever had those moments where your head is spinning, you have so many things on your list of things to do, nothing seems to be getting done and you don't even know where to start? Add to that 3 kids' school, nap and day schedules which limit the amount of time you have to accomplish anything... I have a bedroom half painted... not sure when I'll get the second coat on the first two walls done... let alone paint the other two walls at all (which will involve some heavy lifting to move a desk and shelving unit out first...). Then there are the boxes in the basement to sort through (that we've been dragging around for a few years in our "temporary moves"...) We're staying put now and the basement is newly finished... so it's time to sort and purge! Oh and that reminds me of the baseboards I still have to finish painting around the main room down there... then there's reorganizing the girls rooms (once the painting is done of course) so that we can make room for the crib for the baby and finally get her out of her basinnette (which she's quickly outgrowing!). And my girls just can't wait to take out the Christmas decorations... let's just say that the gingerbread house that my mother-in-law brought over last night wasn't as joyful an experience as it could have been today with my head spinning and exhaustion hitting! Now they want the tree up, the decorations out... and all I can think of is needing to get things in their place first and get a handle on the clutter and the post-construction chaos before taking more things out!

I wish I had a solid week to myself... or maybe even just two days in a row... wow... imagine what I could accomplish! For now, I've got a few moments here or there... thankful that my husband took the older kids out to play for a few hours... I didn't get to nap like I hoped (which I never do but badly needed today!) because the baby woke up (typical!)... but I have been enjoying some quietness in the house (I've got a happy baby ;) TV off, floors vaccuumed, at least the main floor feeling more in order... Peace... For the moment... I just won't venture downstairs or open my eyes too wide when I go upstairs and see my unfinished paint job and the piles of clothes here and there from my 3-year old who is forever emptying her dresser drawers and toy bins and the drawer full of hair ties and clips... unloading her "treasures" off STUFF into whatever bags and containers she can get her hands on, which I later find all over the house and need to sort through and put away AGAIN... Okay, I'm getting worked up just thinking about it...

Back to my quiet living room... I'll just enjoy the peace for now! The girls are about to run back in the door with daddy... back to reality! I love my girls and I'm excited to be finally settling into our home more... today is just one of those days when I wish I had the time alone to get everything done YESTERDAY! At this very moment, I'm too tired to be sorting out boxes and don't have time to start painting... so here I find myself enjoying peace and doing a bit of typing... I guess I should suck it up, stop procrastinating and at least get to that basket of laundry now that needs folding... I think it's going to be an early night tonight! (as long as the baby cooperates of course!) Oh, she's up now... I guess the laundry will have to wait... AGAIN!

Wisdom from Bees?

I just watched the Bee Movie with Jerry Seinfeld. There were lots of great lines in there that got me thinking... The movie starts off with this narration (which also appears in print on the screen)... I just had to write this down...

"According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way that a bee should be able to fly.
It's wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground.
The bee, or course, flies anyway.
Because bees don't care what humans think is impossible."

I just love that! So typical of us to think that we know everything - have an answer and an explanation for everything and think that we can determine what is possible and impossible. I started looking up a few Bible verses about the possible and the impossible and I found a recurring theme of the impossible only being possible with God...

At one point, a man comes to Jesus asking Him, if it's at all possible, to heal his son who has been having seizures since childhood ("if you can" he says)... Jesus' response: "If you can? Everything is possible for him who believes." (Mark 9:23) Who are we to limit what God can do when we come to Him and ask in faith!

Mark 10:27 "With man this [being saved] is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."

Jeremiah 32:17 "Ah Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you."

Philippians 4:13 "I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

Then there's Hebrews 11:6 "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

Human wisdom... an oxymoron? I'm thinking so! I love that James 1:5 assures us that if any of us lacks wisdom, we should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to us. And with that and the knowledge that all things are possible with God... there is hope for us yet!

79.1

That's what I paid per litre at the pump yesterday - what a nice break from the summer prices when 1.30-1.35 was the norm and 1.20 seemed like a HUGE deal! ... then the diaper cream and eye drops I really needed were both on sale when I happened to step in the store to buy just those two items... and an awesome 50 piece Mr. Potato head set which I know the girls will love was 65% off for under $8, AND I found a huge stash of Canadian Tire money in the house, when my dad and I seemed to making lots of trips there to pick up little needed things for our various house projects this week!

It's been one of those crazy weeks where I've been running a lot - knocking many things off the list - and all the while having this deep sense that I am very blessed...

Not only by the random deals (that's a bonus), but mostly for other reasons... Knowing that JD's off learning and growing lots in his course and I can't wait to hear about it as I can tell he's all excited in our brief exchanges - I'm excited to see where God is leading him and us in the near and distant future... Thankful for my dad and the amazing help he's been this week - making breakfast for the girls who every morning looked forward to running downstairs to see Grand-Papa who has been completing countless odd jobs and big jobs around the house that would have otherwise remained left undone for much longer... Thankful for our new furnace that went in yesterday - as the old one kept conking out at least every couple of days, and in recent days, more than once a day... Feeling blessed driving past a house fire 5 minutes away that left a home in absolute ruins, wondering how the family is coping... Grateful for my amazing mother-in-law who randomly does kind and wonderful things for us - from dropping off a lasagna, or a Christmas wreath (sp?), or winter boots for me or clothes for the girls... Excited about the direction and focus that we have with Mom's Moments as Anna and I have been working together and looking ahead at the year to come for the ministry... Thankful for the beautiful smiles of my three blue-eyed girls... Excited to have them discover the train tomorrow as we go on an adventure to meet up with daddy riding the rails...

I have a head ache tonight, I have tons to do before we leave tomorrow... but as I'm tempted to let my head ache (which I RARELY HAVE) make me stay grumpy... I'm reminded of all of these blessings... now I'm off to pack with my heart a little lighter, despite the throbbing head, remembering that God is good, and that I am blessed...

Home Alone...

I don't know about you, but I've never been really fond of being home alone for extended periods of time. Growing up with 7 people in the house, being home alone didn't happen too often! I guess I just got accustomed to the comfort of knowing that at least someone else was in the house. My university housemates were never too far either, so that was nice!

When we were first married and lived up in Moose Factory, I can remember J.D. being out of town for business for the week and getting a knock at the door at eleven o'clock at night. I was taken by surprise... as usually late night visitors (if there were any) would be for him and have to do with the fire department or something... but he was away... maybe someone wasn't aware? (unlikely on a small island with a population of three to four thousand - depending on who you ask!) I reluctantly (and stupidly) opened the door to find a middle-aged man - a complete stranger who was obviously in a drunken state - who (with his body swaying to and fro) proceeded to ask me if he could use my washroom... the first thing I could think to say was "Can you go across the street?" (???!!?) In a split second, I had him convinced that he had the wrong house and had the door shut and locked so fast with him heading across the street to find the "right" house... (sorry Phoebe)! I didn't know what else to say!! All I could think of was this man passing out on my floor... what would I do with him then? Didn't want him in the house! I was thankful to have my 130 pound Alaskan Malamute by my side at the door... but with my heart racing, he still didn't make me feel so safe in that moment (nor did my "friend" at the door seem phased by him in his state...)!

Well, my husband's away for the week again, this time for a course, and I still get spooked at times - the creeks in the house sound louder... my senses more alert... Well, I'm thankful that I only had one night alone with the girls and that my dad has come to spend the week with us in J.D.'s absense! I don't notice the night noises now, the girls are distracted and aren't asking for daddy so much and I have a feeling that we're going to get many odd jobs done around the house this week! So the creeks won't be keeping me up (though I'm usually too tired for that these days...) hopefully the baby will cooperate and let me sleep!

Good night all!

Skating Life Lessons

So my dreams of making skating our family bonding activity for the winter were fast fading away... nearly crashed and burned to be honest... Julia was HATING skating. I guess I wouldn't like it either if the other kids my size (and smaller) were zipping around me on the ice! I wish we had started her sooner... (like her sister who just turned 3 and is starting to move around okay out there! She just gets tired quickly...) We had many pep talks about how we don't quit and give up... we just need to keep trying, even when something is difficult, with practice, it will come and will even seem easy one day (ie. getting up when she fell was the first hurdle... got over that one! But still wasn't convinced that the rest would get any easier or any more fun...). So it was a fight. We took the girls for a family skate one Saturday, and she wouldn't even get ON the ice with us... GREAT! Didn't turn out to be quite the happy family time I had envisioned...


But we still held on, praying that she'd turn the corner and just "get it" one day - (how could she not skate? Her Northern parents have been in skates their entire lives!! It's unthinkable!). I prayed that this whole ordeal would turn into a nice life lesson on perseverance... I was starting to lose hope however... and then last week, it happened! She started working with a teacher one-on-one for a bit at the start of the lesson, and it made ALL the difference in the world! It boosted her confidence, she started to try more and didn't reach out for the teen helpers anymore. This past Saturday she was all too eager to go to the rink for a family skate and this time she didn't want to get off the ice, an hour and a half later! She was so excited when skating night came this week... it's been amazing to see her start to improve a lot now that she believes she can do it. Her attitude has changed, she's having fun, has more confidence and is actually starting to skate a bit!


Phew! I'm glad this has become a bit more of a positive experience... Now we can enjoy the family bonding times on the ice for family skates like I had hoped all along ;)

History in the making

This morning as we were getting ready for school, I had the TV turned on and was half watching the news... reactions about the Obama win... I knew that this was history in the making... the first black President of the United States... I thought I should let my eldest in on this... who knows, it may be one of those things she remembers when she's older, having been there to witness history in the making as a kid.

We first talked about voting... got her to relate by thinking of things they vote for in class - whether they want to play soccer or at the park... she got it and started to offer up all kinds of examples of things they'd voted on in class... this led to the idea that we vote for the people who will lead our country. We in Canada just did that recently, and last night was the United States turn... She was fascinated with lots of questions as she looked at pictures of the new president elect and his family on the TV screen, and asked what our Canadian Prime Minister looked like (more like "is that ours mom?" as she saw different people on the screen).

I think it's important to make our kids aware of world events when we witness history taking place before us! I still remember sitting in my classroom as a kid when the teacher told us about the fall of the Berlin Wall. That stayed with me. We were also given the assignment of asking our parents what major events in history they can remember witnessing in their lives. For some reason, that conversation with my mom across the kitchen counter is a vivid memory still... Kennedy's assassination being one that had stayed with her and a few others (I can't remember... mom, fill in the blanks!).

A black president. This will go right up there with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of the Cold War, the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the worldwide SARS outbreak... amongst others!

What world events do you remember watching as history unfolded before your eyes? Post a comment - let me know!

Why can't we all just get along?

After just one week of having our Betta fish, we had to separate them.  Though they shared a little aquarium, they were already separated by a glass (as they're not known to play nice with each other).  They were starting to get aggressive towards each other as they tried to intimidate each other through the glass... So, they each got their own little aquariums and now sit side by side with just enough space between them.  They each have more space to swim and can probably see each other in the "distance" through the "seaweed".  Sometimes we put cardboard between the aquariums when they seem to notice each other a bit too much... at that point they seem really preoccupied by the cardboard as though they want to see what's on the other side again!

You know, I bet they miss each other now!  Isn't that the way we are in life?  When something (or someone) is too accessible, too much around, too "in your face", just always there, we often take it/them for granted and can get annoyed, angry or threatened by their mere presence.  But remove that thing or person from your immediate surroundings... often its only then that we really appreciate them... and it's at that point that we learn to have a healthier relationship with them... 

So our fish are seemingly happier - but they're not too far away from each other... Are there things or people you're keeping at arm's length?  Still in sight, but not in your face?  Just a happy balance... maybe that's the key we need to get along or to better cope with the people and things around us... a little healthy distance!