And its over.....



And so it is over...all the preparation, all the shopping, all the anticipation...over in a couple hours.  Here is my accounting of Christmas activities in our house.

On Christmas eve, we went to the Christmas eve service at our church.  It was a lovely service filled with carols, special music and a great message. Then ended with all the candles being lit and singing Silent Night...that is my favorite part.  Then after service we went out looking for some Christmas lights.  We have done that every year but it was more difficult this year because we couldn't find a list of the best lights.  We did find some amazing displays and we found a ritzy area with some huge houses.

Christmas day activities started with the night before and explaining to the girls that no one could open stockings until everyone was up (unlike last year where one girl woke up at 3 am and opened her stocking and went back to bed).  Then we added that they couldn't wake us up before 6.  Well that wasn't an issue.  Tabitha came out of her room around 8 and then I woke up Tiana around 8:20 and the girls did stockings.  Typical things like slipper socks, pez dispensers, candy and DVD's and some cool Canada mittens for the girls.  Stockings are always fun.

After stockings we had breakfast, Wil made a variety of types of eggs, hashbrowns and peameal bacon.  Then it was time for the Christmas story.  I have to admit, it was the first time that I had to read it out loud.  I have been blessed to have had someone in my family read it at a family gathering every year of my life.  We read Luke at the Christmas eve service so I read Matthew.  Then it was on to gifts.

Then it was on to gifts....my whole focus this year was wrapping gift so that they were hard to guess.  This was mainly for Wil because he tends to guess every time but I carried it over to the girls.  So we had cash hidden in toilet paper and kleenex, and DVD's hidden in blankets and gift cards in large boxes of paper but there were two that I was most proud of.  I had 50 loonies(one dollar coins) to give Tiana and so I bought a bunch of bird seed and put it in a plastic bin and then she had to dig for the loonies.  It was hilarious although by about 45 she was not having quite as much fun.  The multiple textures of the birdseed made it difficult and the less there were the harder it was...she ended up having Wil help her pour it into another container while she sifted and the last one was at the end of the birdseed.  I had a smile on my face the whole time.  The other one was a sword that I bought Wil.  Well it is hard to wrap a sword without it being obvious.  So Tiana helped me and we wrapped styrofoam on each end and he couldn't figure it out...YAY!  We win..now the bar is set for next year.  

A few of the gifts:

Wil-he got a ninja sword, a Klingon "sword" and book on Canadian naval warships and some other fun things like a desktop curling game

Brenda-I got a bunch of Christmas DVDs, including White Christmas and It's a Wonderful life.  I got a computer record player that will transfer my albums to computer files and I got some purple thermal socks.

Tiana-a magnetic spiderman that she can hang from her ceiling, a spidey blanket, cash, some Jeff Dunham ornaments and a DVD

Tabitha-a pig that snores and wiggles his ears...she could not stop laughing...very funny.  She of course also got a ton of Twilight stuff, shirts, pillowcases and DVDs.

Family-we got a Wii game, Monopoly (classic version) somehow it was a game we didn't have and we bought rockband 3 a couple days ago so that by adding the keyboard all 4 of us can play an instrument.

It was a good morning.  Then on to dinner.

We decided to do a turducken this year...a chicken in a duck in a turkey.  It was something I had heard of and wanted to try so we did.  We ordered it from the local butcher and he did a great job.  It cooked a little quicker than we expected so we quickly started putting everything together.  We had the turducken, mashed potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce, corn and snap peas.  Everything was yummy.  The turducken was good.  It was hard to pick out the chicken from the turkey but the duck was very good.  The girls weren't too impressed...they didn't like the fattiness of the duck.  Oh well, more for us.  The gravy that it made was very tasty.  We didn't make a dessert because we had made spritz, chocolate chip and ginger snaps the day before.  Tiana had made fudge meltaways earlier in the week and our neighbors brought us a plate of goodies so we had plenty of sweets.

After dinner we had a friend of Tiana's unexpectedly join us so we all played Monopoly for awhile, then we tried to play rock band and then Tabitha went to watch her movie and Tiana and Andrew went for a dip in the hot tub.

That was pretty much it.  Today is Boxing Day so it is a huge shopping day in Canada so I think Wil and I are going to church and then go do some shopping.  Then we move on to taking Christmas decor down and working on cleaning out Tabitha's room to paint her room.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and we wish you a Happy New Year!  Love you all!

More thoughts...

As I drove to the store, I realized I really didn't update you on anything of substance.   I guess that is because I don't want the blog to be an insight into Canada and our lives.  I struggle with putting down my feelings because I don't want the blog to turn into a negative thing.  But as I was driving I realized if I don't update you on the struggles we are having then I lose the opportunity to have  you pray for us.  So I think I will add a section on the blog or in each post called prayer needs.  This way I can be brief and if you want more details you can email me.  Here goes:

Prayer needs:
Tiana: she is trying very hard to "fit in".  She is making friends but they are all superficial since we are new.  She tried out for the volleyball team but with 30 girls trying for 12 spaces, she didn't make it.  She is in 2 youth groups.  She is looking for that one close friend.  She also needs to find a sport or team to be involved in.  Unfortunately there aren't as many options here but I am looking outside the box at this point and we are considering hockey or karate or something new.  Pray that she keeps trying.  I am very proud and she keeps bouncing back and not giving up but I worry that she will give up.  This is hard move for her and I still think it is a great opportunity/experience but that doesn't make it any easier.

Me:  I struggle on a daily basis.  The pain I have as I watch Tiana struggle.  The battles with the two teen girls.  The loss of direction and meaning in my life.  The distance I feel from everyone that I love.  It all takes its toll.  Each day I get up and try again and some days that is easy and some days that is hard.  There I days where I feel my world is crumbling around me faster than I can build it up.  I am thankful for God in my life and He has heard some weird prayers from me because I am still trying to thank him in all circumstances.

Tabitha:  I don't know...she really doesn't communicate her feelings so I don't know what she needs.   I know she really struggles making the "right" choices and it gets her in trouble quite a bit.  So we can pray for wisdom for her.

Wil:  Again I don't know...not a big feeling person...lol...typical male.  Pray for peace and strength amid the chaos that exists right now.

A wise person, my sister, told me to give it at least a year before making any judgements and that has been extremely helpful but it doesn't make it easier.

Sorry to be such a downer but I didn't feel like the blog was as accurate as it should be.  I have a way of glossing over the difficult stuff because it means I have to dwell on it again and why drag others down with you.  I guess I am looking at it as me climbing up with the love and prayer of friends instead of pulling you down.  Love you all!

The lesson from the movie!

"Christmas doesn't have to be perfect what matters is that we are together"...that is soooooo true!  I think next year I will print that and post it around the house for me to remember!

On Strike for Christmas! (no not really)

So I am sitting here on Saturday morning watching a movie called "On Strike for Christmas!".  Wow, it is like they wrote a movie about my life right now.  It is about a mom, with 2 teen boys and a husband, who is trying to make Christmas happen for her family.  You know, the joy of Christmas, decorate, bake, clean, organize, shop, etc.  She assigns her family things to do but they never have time or are too busy with "more important" things.  So one by one she starts doing things on her own because she wants Christmas to be the "best Christmas ever".  Well as she sees how little her family appreciates anything she decides to go on strike...I am not through with the movie but believe me the thought has crossed my mind.  Although as I sit here enjoying the beautiful lights on the tree (which I put up and decorated by myself), the thoughts hit me that Christmas is in a week and I don't think my family really knows except that they will get to open presents in a week.  Oh well...the tree sure is pretty.

So this week we went to Tabitha's choir and band concerts.  Sometimes I forget that we have moved to such a small town well, not at the performances.  It was very fun.  The band had probably 25 kids and was very heavy on sax and clarinet.  Tabitha even played a duet.  Then the vocals...the music teacher had the girls sing "Santa Baby".   Oh what fun to watch high school girls acting cute and flirty in front of parents....the red cheeks were so Christmasy.  There is no french horn in the band so I am working on getting Tiana to join to help balance the brass section.  The one thing about a small town band and chorus, the talent is more transparent and less hidden.  Some of the kids were really good.

We do have snow...not a lot but everything is very white and pretty.  The plows in Smiths Falls are awesome so the main roads are cleared  very quickly although not early enough for Wil, he has had quite the sketchy drive a couple days last week.  The countryside is beautiful and the lights are pretty against the white snow.  We will go looking at lights sometime this week.  Wil did a great job on our outside lights..the house looks great.  I have amassed quite a bit of stuff for Halloween, I need to turn my bargain shopping skills to outside stuff for Christmas.  The more the better...but I don't want to light up the neighborhood.  This picture doesn't do it justice because we have added more on the garage but you'll get an idea.

The girls have school until Thursday and then are out until the 10th.  Wil is off work starting on Thursday and I have next week off although without pay so that sucks.  I am working on making neighbor gifts.  Our plan was to make people puppy chow to hand out and maybe some chex mix...problem...I haven't been able to find Chex or Crispix cereal.  I will be looking at a couple more stores today.  I also got stuff to make spritz cookies so I think we will do that on Christmas eve.

Christmas dinner...hmmm what to make.  I asked my family for ideas and got....nothing.  So I saw a thing on TV about Turduckens and wanted to try that.  It is a chicken stuffed into a duck stuffed into a turkey.  Sounded yummy plus I love saying turducken...so I ordered one from the local butcher.  I will pick it up on Thursday.  I bought fresh cranberries and potatoes and Wil will make stuffing.  Not sure about dessert, Tiana is making fudge meltaways so that may be enough.

Then on to New Years..that's our anniversary.  We won't be doing anything though.  Wil and I decided that it would probably be smart to try to try to have a family party on New Years and maybe keep the girls at home on a night when there is bound to be alcohol galore around at kids parties.  I don't know if it will work but we are going to shoot off fireworks at midnight in honor of the Pikes Peak fireworks that I have watched for so many years.  We can do it in our driveway and there won't be the flood of mosquitoes that we had for 4th of July.  I will try to get pics or a video.

Well that is all for now...people are up and moving and I need to get around and get stuff done.  Love you all!

Christmas is coming.....

Well the birthdays are finished.   Tiana turned 15 yesterday.  I can't believe it.  It seems like it was yesterday, man time flies.  She had some friends over on Saturday night...they enjoyed the hot tub and just goofing off and then some of the girls stayed the night.  I had to go down around 1:30 and remind them that some people were trying to sleep but she had fun.  Sunday we went to the piercing shop and she got her bellybutton pierced.  That was her gift to herself.  We have it on video but hopefully no one will be seeing that.  Then we did gifts and watched some of her favorite movies.  We watched Nightmare before Christmas...she thinks Jack is handsome and then Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  We had Pad Thai with chicken and shrimp and homemade Oreo cake.  It was a good day.

It snowed most of the day, big fluffy flakes swirling slowly.  We probably got about 3 inches and it sure is pretty today.  We haven't really had much snow...little flurries here and there but I am sure it is coming.


I decorated for Christmas by myself this year.  It was sad but I couldn't get anyone else in the spirit I guess.  But I wanted the decorations up so I just did it.  I think it looks nice.  I am not quite done shopping which is unusual for me but things are still a bit disorganized so I am pleased with where I am at right now.  Today I am writing the Christmas letter and trying to make lists of what still needs to be done. 

I have been fighting a cold...I think it is allergies but it sure is wiping me out.  All I want to do is sleep. 

We did go into Watertown for Black Friday.  It was crowded but it wasn't bad.  The check out line for Kohls was the worst.  It was 1/2 way around the store.  It moved quickly though.  We got some deals on clothes and had fun walking the mall.  We cut it a little short because it was snowing pretty badly and I didn't want to be stuck there but a couple miles out of Watertown and it was dry and the roads were clear.  It was a nice day.

Wil came home that day and brought 12 live lobster with him from Halifax.  So on Saturday we went down to Kingston and had a lobster boil and celebrated a friends 18th birthday.  The lobster was yummy and it was a nice time.  Not much else is happening..I am researching some options for some family things to do while the girls are out on Christmas break.   We'll see what I come up with. 

Love to all!

Here's a better pic of our new kitty, Simba.

Cool change

Happy Thanksgiving!  Well American Thanksgiving..that is.  In Canada, Thanksgiving is in October, which is kind of nice to spread out the holidays a little.  But here it is American Thanksgiving and it has been a tough one.  I have dreaded it for a year on and off but more so in the last couple weeks.  I knew that the girls would be in school, no problem, we will have dinner when they get home. Then, Wil's boss booked him a trip to go to Halifax, Nova Scotia this week.  OK, that sucks!  So what am I going to do?  So here I will explain how my day went.  I will explain the title later in the blog.

I woke up and the girls started getting ready for school and I decided I needed to get the trash and recycling to the curb.  So I put my jacket on and as I went outside and started gathering the trash together and when I looked up I saw the above picture.  It was beautiful!  I immediately heard God saying,:"no matter what happens today, you have alot to be thankful for starting with the beauty of the nature around you."  So as I was pulling the trash can down our long driveway, the cold went away and I enjoyed the beauty.  Then I got cold!!  Wow, a bitter morning for us it was about -5 which is about 20 degrees Fahrenheit.  Probably close to normal for here but it has been pretty warm and more about the 40s lately.  So I headed in and made the girls look (although Tiana thought I said look at this guy instead of sky so we had a laugh when she looked out and couldn't see the "guy" I was talking about).  Then the girls left for school.

What was I going to do with my day.  I decided that I needed to focus on things that I was thankful for so I had a project that was family related and I decided to work on that.  I can't be more specific because it is a gift so if I remember I will tell you later.  Anyways, I literally spent almost the entire day working on this project.  It was a lot of fun and it is probably 90% done.  But I got nothing else done...oh well.  Then I took a break around noon and went to Curves to work out and smiled realizing this would be the first Thanksgiving that I won't over eat.  HA HA!  Then I went to the local garden shop.  They were having a class on making holiday planters.  I decided to sign up on Thanksgiving to give myself a distraction.  So I headed out.  I got there and I was the only person in the class today.  They have many classes and they tend to be full but today, it was one on one.  It was very simple but so cool and this is what I made(it is prettier in person)....



I got home, Tiana got home, then I went to pick up Tabitha from practice for the musical.  I do have to say I miss the activity bus.  There is one bus, after school, if the girls are involved in anything else, parents pick up.  Anyways, I made dinner..mmmmm Thanksgiving hamburger helper...nothing like it.  I actually don't miss the turkey...I like it but it has never been my favorite.  We thought about going out but we are going out tomorrow so we will save our money.  Then it was time to drop the girls off at youth group.  Now the title: 

Cool change is the name of a great song by Little River Band.  It is a song I have always identified with.  I wasn't born in the sign of water but I was born on a beach...close enough.  I have always felt close to water and have felt the best in water, at a beach, in a pool, in a hot tub.  It is peaceful and inspirational..so... I decided to go in the hot tub.  So I took two Smirnoff ice, green apple flavored (my favorite) and went for a soak.  It was pretty cold outside again around 15-20 (F).  So it was wonderful.  I cranked up the stereo and had my drinks and sat and said alot of thanks to God.  I love that hot tub.  For all of you who don't know...it is a long story but basically I traded my motorcycle for the hot tub.  Hard decision but one of the best I have made.  I use it alot and it is so much of a stress release for me.  Anyways, the song from Little River Band came to mind.  I wanted to find a link for you and as I looked I came across this one and WOW how much more inspirational could it get...great music and powerful words and pictures.  VERY COOL!  So check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFKPkKo6238.  Water:  The true peace of God begins at any spot a thousand miles from the nearest land. ~Joseph Conrad
So I am inside now and figured I would update you all.  Was my whole day positive, no, but that is ok..there were positive times and that is what I will focus on.  I also wanted to let you know that I continue to work on prayer and thanking God for everything and it is working.  I had a couple really rough nights recently and almost immediately started thanking God for the difficulties and it was wonderful, I even slept which usually I don't do when I am stressed.  I will keep working on that and hopefully it will be a habit soon.

Tomorrow we head into the states to do some shopping.  We miss Kohls, so that is our first stop.  Watertown, New York is about 1 1/2 hours away so that is where we will be for Black Friday but not early..hopefully when we get there everyone will be at home.  Then Wil comes home tomorrow night bringing Lobsters hopefully.  Then Saturday we head down to Kingston to celebrate the 18th birthday of a beautiful lady named Vicki and have a lobster boil with some friends.  Then Sunday is a Christmas parade in town and I think I will try to get more Christmas stuff up.

Update on the girls: 

Tiana is doing well.  She still struggles with missing her family and friends but she sure has alot of friends here.  I hear so many names of friends, I can't even keep them straight and she is so much like me...lots of friends that are boys.  That is great for less drama but a little stressful for mom and Wil.  She is searching for that one special friend to talk to and I pray she finds it.  She tried out for the volleyball team but unfortunately didn't make it.  There were 32 girls trying out for 12 spots so the odds were against her.  She is having a hard time finding a sport but we are working on it.  Pray that God will open a door for her to get active and be a part of something where she feels valued.  She turns 15 in 2 weeks so she is getting excited about that.

Tabitha tried out for the school musical and has a small part and last week became part of the wrestling team.  There are only 2 girls on the team so that should be interesting.  She is having fun learning moves but is not enjoying the super sore muscles after work outs.  We put a rule into place that all of their fighting has to be below the neck...no punching in the face and now head locks...we'll see how that works.  LOL!   She is looking forward to us painting her room over Christmas break.  She turned 14 this month and we had a nice family gathering and she opened gifts.  Anything Twilight and she is happy.  Team Edward all the way. 

Both girls got good grades and are enjoying the more laid back atmosphere of their school.

I think that is it for now.  I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!



Lest We Forget

Well today was Remembrance Day in Canada.  A little different than in the states.  First it starts like 2 weeks ago with poppies showing up everywhere.  The poppy is symbolic of Remembrance Day in Canada.  There is a poem called "Flanders Field" that is part of this day.  Here is a link to a song made out of the poem. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyQyhVXUwM0&feature=share.  But the beauty of the bright red poppies everywhere is a very stunning daily reminder of the upcoming day.  Anyways, Wil and I went to the festivities in town and it was a very nice.  There are 2 small memorials and one large one and they had a small ceremony at the first one and then they marched to the second one, had a small ceremony and then marched to the large one seen at left.  Then the big ceremony with songs, prayers and lots of wreaths placed.  It was very moving and much more ceremonial and somber than I have seen in the states.  Then we followed the uniforms to the Legion in town and had a drink and ran into some people from our church and then were approached by another Navy man.  He is a WWII vet that lives in Ottawa but is from Smiths Falls and comes down to represent WWII "as the ranks are getting slimmer every year".  He was drawn to Wil since there isn't much navy in the area and he started telling stories and he and Wil talked about Corvettes (ships not cars) and lots of other military verbiage that I understood but would sound stupid trying to restate.  At one point he started talking to me about my "father"...meaning Wil.  I laughed and as Wil explained that I was his wife and he became embarrassed and I gave him a big hug and said THANK YOU!  I know Wil wasn't happy about that but it sure made me smile.

Well this week was also Tabitha's birthday.  She turned 14, so for a couple weeks both girls are 14.  She didn't want to do much but I told her she could have whatever she wanted for dinner.  She asked for baked potato soup, croissants and confetti cake with chocolate icing and neopolitan ice cream (although on her list she put Napolean ice cream).  We laughed.  We had twilight napkins and plates and everything was wrapped in red with black table cloth.  She has asked for her room to be painted red and black so we are going to do that over Christmas break. 

Simba is doing fine in the family.  Lizzy, my younger doxie, tries to play with him but they can't figure out how to play....like a cat or a dog...very funny to see.  Simba tries to swat and play and Lizzy keeps trying to get him to smell her bum....funny.  Anyways, Molly, the older doxie, doesn't like Simba and tries to ignore him and I swear Simba knows that and tries to torment her.  So that is why this pic is so cute.  Simba is looking at Molly and Molly is ignoring him.  It was very cute.  Then Simba gave up and this was what happened.  HA!

Oh, by the way, the Newfoundland dinner/dance got cancelled so hopefully we will get to do that next spring.

Fall is certainly turning to winter slowly.  The leaves are almost completely off the trees although there are still a few hold outs.  What is interesting is that Halloween decorations started coming down immediately and Christmas decor is going up quickly and being turned on!  WOW, that is really early but I am thinking that it is for self preservation.  It is still warm enough to be outside and I am thinking in a month it won't be so I am going to get Halloween stuff put away this weekend and I will start getting out the Christmas stuff.  Maybe that will put me in the spirit.  Usually I am almost done with shopping by now and man it sure is not going that way this year.  

Work is going well.  The other nurse called me last week after my first 2 days alone and said "you get an A+".  I guess everything was fine and they were pleased.  That is a good feeling especially when you work for such a self sufficient laid back doctor.  It is hard to know how you are doing when the doctor is always "fine".  It is a nice thing to not be working for high maintenance docs anymore but it is a little weird for me.  I am still getting called to work at the shelter.  I work at the office 2 days one week and 2 1/2 days the next and so far each 2 day week I have worked at the shelter one day.  So I am anxiously waiting for a 2 day week.  But I love getting caught up on all the animals.

The biggest benefit for working at this office was that Dr. Turner was nice enough to find me and the girls a female doctor in Smiths Falls.  That is unheard of.  I have called all the docs in Smiths Falls and the surrounding area and none are taking new patients.  So I was concerned about how far away I was going to have to drive to see someone.  I am very thankful.  So I will be calling for an appointment next week.  That is amazing and I think that will continue to be a benefit of working in the medical field.  It will give me a HUGE resource to know what is good and bad and what is normal and such.

What's coming up?  Well, tomorrow I am going back into a cute little store called Millers of Merrickville, they are having a customer appreciation day.  Then the stores in Smiths Falls are having a Christmas open house so I will wander around town and see what I can find.  I really enjoy walking around the little towns.  Wil is going to Halifax for a business trip the week of American Thanksgiving so I am bummed about that but the girls will be in school so I guess I just need to get used to it being just another day.  He is going to bring back some lobster hopefully so that would be nice and I am playing with the thought of taking the girls out of school on black Friday and driving to the states for some shopping.  Tiana's birthday is shortly after that.  I am not sure what she is thinking about doing, we'll see.  Then Christmas and New Years, which is our anniversary and then 2011, here we come.

Believe me the irony of November being the month I decide to Thank the Lord for everything is not lost on me.  It certainly is a choice and it has been very helpful.  You should try it.  Basically every time something stressful happens, I can feel my emotions flowing upwards and then I try to pause and Thank God for whatever has just happened.  It usually calms me down and make me think about how it could be soooo much worse.  Not always, mind you, but usually.  I am a flawed human and the attacks are regular but I am blessed to have a wonderful God who has never left me even though I have felt so alone.  God is good, I wish he would teach lessons differently sometimes but then again that is probably why I am not God.  :)

I started working out at Curves.  The work out is a little easy for me but it is something at least.  Of course I am not losing weight...I am gaining...AAAHHHH!  Certainly does not make me want to keep going but I will.

Well, I have more to say but I need to end this one and go get ready for work. The girls are out of school today.  Tiana spent the night at a friends and Tabitha is asleep.  Hockey game tonight.  Oh, the girls went to their first bears game and I think they had fun.  So I will end with a picture of them goofing around at the game.  Talk to you soon.

Happy Halloween!

 Well, Halloween has passed.  It was a little hard to get in the mood.  Most years I start decorating at work which helps me get in the mood for decorating the house.  I was also thrown off by the fact that we celebrated Thanksgiving before Halloween.  So for 40 years, Halloween is before Thanksgiving so by the time Thanksgiving comes, Halloween is over and done with so my holiday clock is off.  Add the fact that our house is set behind cedars so no one really sees it...all made it difficult.  But we did it.  We only got out the minimum but it was festive and we did get some trick or treaters...maybe 75?  We bought chips this year so that if we had a lot left we wouldn't be stuck with candy.  The day started out with snow flying but it never accumulated at our house so the girls went out and got some candy but got cold and came back in.  We put the hot dog costume on Molly, and then I got the idea of putting the pumpkin costume on the cat.   Can you dress up a cat?  Yes...but they don't like it.  I think Simba thought that if he backed up it would come off so we have video of the cat walking backwards around the room.  Definitely good for a laugh.

 Back to my previous post. My boss at D-20 got the answer right. She is a hockey mom so she has the experience to know. We are right behind the bench and if they don't close the door, not only do you have the possibility of getting hit by a puck but you get the wonderful aroma of sweaty, smelly hockey players.   Oh, but it starts fine and gets bad later right.....NO!!  ...it starts smelly and ends worse.  I have a lot more respect for hockey moms...because having that smell in your car or house.....WOW, something only a mom can be proud of.  LOL!

The girls went to Canada's Wonderland with the youth group.  They left on Friday night on a big tour bus and stayed at the youth pastors wife's sisters house and then went to Wonderland on Saturday and got back late Saturday night.  I guess they had a blast.  Very cool rides and fun with friends.  The weather held out for them...chilly but bearable.  If you want to check out the website to see the rides, check out their website: www.canadaswonderland.com/ .  Tiana went on Behemoth twice and Tabitha went on Drop Zone so they both went out of their comfort zone a little.

While the girls were gone Wil and I went to Watertown, New York to pick up my wedding set from being sized.  YAY!  I am very happy to have them back on my finger.  We did a little shopping and then met some friends for dinner in Kingston at a Greek restaurant recommended by a friend.  Very yummy food and great company.  I treasure the times that we have with friends now.

On a personal note, I have been in a very dark place but have not given up hope.  I watched an Oprah the other day and it was about a couple that while the husband was a work, the mom, grandma and their 3 little kids were hit from behind by a semi.  The mom and grandmom survived but the 2 girls and 1 boy were killed.  The show was on hope and one of the things that was said was if we can inspire someone to know that on their worst day, it could be worse and there is always hope.  That really hit home with me.  THEN..the show went on to talk about this couple, how they got through it together and then how awhile later decided to have another child.  They had to have invitro and ended up with triplets, 2 girls and 1 boy.  Who says miracles don't exist???  But it got me thinking about how even though a tragedy happened, beauty came out of it.  I don't know why this show spoke to me but it did so I am trying to claw myself out of the dark hole.  One thing I am trying to do is get into the Bible more.  This verse has been echoing in my head since the show:

Thessalonians 5:18   Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

I am to be thankful in ALL circumstances.  ALL circumstances.  Really?  ALL?  Yuck..that's no fun!  It is not effortless and it requires thought....so here is a look inside my head right now.

The girls are bickering and irritating me again.  Thank you Lord that the girls are healthy and going through the normal stages of life.

The house is a mess again and I am tripping over stuff that no one seems to be able to pick up.  Thank you Lord for giving me a house and thank you for giving me all of the stuff that is messing it up.  Thank you for giving me a family to mess it up.

I have to go to work and I don't feel like it and I wasn't supposed to be working yet.  Thank you Lord for providing me a fantastic job that is close to home, part time and in a very friendly place.

I could go on and on.  I am reading the book Personality Plus right now.  What I have found out is that what I have always called realism as part of my personality is really pessimism.  Bummer, I never thought I was a pessimist.  Don't you just hate finding out stuff like that?  I am 40, I shouldn't be having to find out those surprises now.  Anyways, I don't see the light yet but I have a feeling that the light is coming...which is a nice.

Next week Wil and I are going to a Newfoundland dinner/dance put on locally.  I am excited to go try to food and hear some music native to Wil's birthplace.  I will let you know how it goes.

Work is going well.  It is a lot more laid back than in the states.  I am still trying to figure out what is laid back because of Canada and what is laid back because of the office.  There is definitely alot more responsibility put on the patient.  What a concept!!  If the doctor isn't in...I don't answer the phone and our machine does not take messages. So if the doctor isn't in, you don't talk to the office.  The doctor is very laid back and independent and will help you when needed.  It is a well established office so all the patients no how it works and they are OK with it.  Here is an example:  you are instructed to bring all your meds in for your appointments and get all of your refills at your appointment.  If you don't and you call us, we will be glad to get your refills but you pay us 15 bucks.  So, you say, I will call the pharmacy and have them call you....go for it ...we will still charge 15 bucks.  And that is billed to you and you will pay it or we won't do it again.  Ha!  Really??  That is awesome!  I am starting to enjoy it.  I really haven't let myself enjoy it because I have been too sad that I am even working...self pity is so powerful.  Anyways, I am working on enjoying it now.  I will keep you informed.

Wil got the lawn tractor fitted with the snow blower so I think we are prepared.  We also bought a garage/shelter for it so with the shed and that, everything is under cover.  Tabitha is getting ready for her birthday next week and Tiana is counting down to hers next month and then Christmas and I am so behind on that.  My goal right now is to try to get into some sort of routine for groceries and house cleaning and work and stuff.

I think that is enough for now.  I love your comments and feel free to email me...I love hearing from you.

Family, Fights and Fall

My sister and her husband came to visit us last week and we had a blast.  We went to the Parliament buildings again but this time we took a tour of the main building.  I may not have explained this before but the Parliament buildings are like our White House and Capitol buildings.  They are so beautiful every time I go but the beauty of the outside pales in comparison with the beauty of the inside.  We saw inside the House of Commons and the Senate and then the library.  Oh the Library.  I can't even describe it so here are a couple pictures of the library.

I definitely want to go do the other tours, including going up into the Peace Tower.  It is neat to see all of the royal history and influence but even some funnies.  The buildings burned down at one point and so they had to rebuild well the sculptors that were sculpting some Viking heads in one area actually sculpted self portraits and it wasn't discovered until it was too late to change so there are some viking heads and then some obviously not viking heads, one even has glasses.

My sister and I went and explored another small town, Merrickville.  This town again had some cool shops, including "Millers of Merrickville".  We thought that was cool since our maiden name is Miller.  Very cool store.  This town has a Christmas transformation so we will be heading back there shortly.  Connie and I took the girls and we also checked out a Victorian house museum that is in Smiths Falls.  It is an old Victorian house built by one of the original settlers in Smiths Falls, that the town has bought and renovated.  A lot of gorgeous antiques and a great story.  We learned more about the town we live in and got the taste for a small town museum.  There are two more museums in town that we will have to visit soon. 

One thing I am learning, is that I don't have any clothes suitable for layering and my fall/winter Colorado clothes are not warm enough.  So my sister was coaching me on things to look for and to invest not go cheap which is my inclination.  I did find this adorable sweater/jacket that I love...attractive and warm.  I bought it but passed on a gorgeous plaid skirt...thinking about going back for it.

I worked two more days this week at the new job.  It will be a fun job but it is challenging to learn.  Things are very laid back and it seems like alot of questions I ask are answered..."well it depends".  AAAHHHH!!  One thing I learned is if I don't go to work early, I park several streets away and walk.  When they built the building, I am not sure what they were thinking but there isn't any parking for staff..well there is parking but if staff parks there, then patients have no parking so staff parks on side streets.  Right now not an issue but when it snows, it will be a bear.  Oh well, if that is the worst part then no problem.  It is really busy when we are seeing patients but the days go by fast which is nice.  It looks like I will be working Tues, Wed and every other Fri starting in November.  They ended up offering me $24 an hour so I chuckle a bit at that.  After 9 years at the ortho office and being and office manager of 50+ employees, I was making just over $20 so this is AWESOME!  It takes me about 15 minutes to get to work so that is great for the fact that I am in a rural area.  Challenges? They want me to organize their office and rework some things.  I can do that no problem but how with the other nurse that has been there for 30+ years feel about that?  I hear she doesn't like change so that should be interesting.  My first goal?  They do all their appointment scheduling in a hand written book, then put it in the computer.  That is so redundant and inefficient.  All of their records are electronic...their EMR (electronic medical records) system is great.  They do everything on the computer so it doesn't make sense to do the scheduling this way.  We shall see.

Wil has been working on a snow blower attachment for our lawn tractor and with the help of my brother in law and one of Wil's friends, I think he finished it tonight.   So that is good news for him as winter is coming fast.

Tiana and Tabitha both had sleepovers this weekend so they are both tired tonight but they both had fun.  Tabitha had a friend here on Friday and Tiana went to a friends house yesterday.  Hopefully they will rest up because they are going to Canada's Wonderland for an overnight with their youth group on Friday.  Canada's Wonderland is a large amusement park in Toronto which is about 3 hours away.  Then Halloween on Sunday.  Busy girls I tell you.

Well, remember how I said that Wil and I bought season tickets to the Jr A hockey team in town.  Well they have been building a new arena and Friday was the first game in the new arena.  We were so excited to go check out our seats.  We had picked seats in the first row behind the players bench, so we could see the players and hear the coaches.  Great seats but there is one inherent problem with sitting that close to the players but I will let you guess what it is and tell you next time.  It was a great game and we WON!  You know the saying, I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out...that was it!  Lots of fighting...it was awesome.  These players obviously have alot to prove and they play so hard and it shows.  Lots of fun.  I miss football but I do love hockey and in person even better.

I have been having a hard time getting into the habit of working out.  Man I miss that lunch hour work out at the district.  There are so many distractions at home so as a reward for me working, I have decided to join Curves.  There is one in town, very close to the house so I am starting tomorrow.  They are very friendly and it will also give me another opportunity to meet some people and they even call you if you miss too much time.  I need the accountability so that will be good. 

We have all been battling the fall illness thing.  Tiana had it, Tabitha had it, Wil and I are fighting it hard and now Tiana seems to be coming down with it again.  Oh well, what can you do.  I got my flu shot last week and the girls will get theirs in a week or so at a clinic.  I doesn't help that it is rainy and cold right now.  The amount of rain we have had is just amazing and I guess unusual for the area but it rains and rains and rains and rains and rains.....and rains.  It is the end of October and our grass is as green as ever...weird.  The fall colors are pretty much gone because the leaves have fallen off most of the trees but we still see an occasional pretty tree.

I found a garden consultant who has been helping me identify what we should do on our land. She brought me some trees and large shrub starters so yesterday Wil helped me dig holes and I got about half of them planted.  We are planting sumac and false spirea around the edges or our property as a pretty natural border and then some amur maples.  Our house is surrounded on 2 sides by hedge cedars so we want to continue that on the 3rd side but our ground is SUPER rocky so digging holes is very tedious and time consuming so we won't get as much done this year as I wanted but we will just do what we can do.  Wil bought me a large DIY cedar container garden that we will have to figure out where to put and then put it together next year.  So right now I need to get the rest of the shrubs in the ground and then I want to outline my garden area and put a bunch of newspaper down to inhibit plant growth for next year.  Then if I have time maybe some bulbs or a couple hedge cedars.

I think that is it..until next time....Happy Halloween y'all.   Below is a pic of my sister, me and the two girls on the steps of the main Parliament building.



Back in the Saddle Again

Well, today was the day.  I started the new job.  I got up got laundry sorted, got the dishwasher unloaded and went and put my scrubs on.  It has been several years since I have regularly worn scrubs.  It was a familiar feeling but also very strange.  The medical field has been very good to me over the years but I also enjoyed taking a break and was very spoiled at the school district with a great job and a great boss.  It is hard to think I could find that again.  But here I go.  I left for work and figured it took about 15 minutes to get to work, very easy drive.  So I got in, and found out that there were no patients this morning.  That was really nice because I was able to play with the computer system and get pretty familiar with the basics before the craziness started.  Here is the run down.  It is one doctor and one staff person handling all the patients and phones and stuff.  At times this afternoon, it was very casual and smooth.  At other times it was super chaotic.  I have to get used to the different "issues" of a medical office in Canada.  The issues with provincial insurance and the different requirements.  I am walking into an office that is extremely well established.  The doctor is over 60 years old and I am replacing his wife who has been his nurse for 30 years.  The other lady that works the days that I don't has also been there 30 years.  So one of my big challenges is getting to know the patients and all there personalities.  The doctor has "trained" his patients well and the ones I met today were very friendly.  The nice thing is that it seems this doctor is pretty self sufficient and if I am busy he picks up and does what is needed, taking patients back etc.  I have to refresh myself on giving injections of all sorts, but that doesn't worry me.  There are a few nice things though, they don't have an answering machine so if you don't pick up a call then the person needs to call back.  Sucks for the patient but super nice for the staff.  Also I never work Friday afternoons.  So I will be working Tuesday and Wednesday and every other (or so) Friday morning.  That is perfect for me.  It should still give me a morning or two to volunteer at the shelter and still give me some time to work around the house and do some projects.  We shall see, I still worry about not being around enough for the girls but I will take it as it comes and go from there.  It seems like a nice place, a friendly place and an accommodating place.  From what I understand, finding a job local to where we live is really rare, so I praise God for providing this for me.

On another note, working at the shelter finally took its toll.  We adopted a cat.  His name is Simba.  He is a Himalayan mix.  He was a stray that was picked up with a bad flea infestation.  They had literally eaten most of his hair off.  So he is a little scruffy looking thing, but I happened to mention him to Wil and Wil fell in love.  He is adorable and so friendly and the dogs are doing pretty well adjusting.

That is a quick update.  Tomorrow I work at LAWS for the last time then I will just go work there for free..lol.  Then my sister is coming on Saturday, I think.  My brother in laws mother passed away yesterday so I wouldn't be surprised if they have to cancel.  My prayers are with them.

Until next time...blessings to everyone!

Colorado comes to Smiths Falls

Well I had the wonderful blessing of having a friend come visit me this week.  My friend Michelle from Colorado came in last Thursday and man, I was excited to see her.  I drove down to Syracuse on Thursday to pick her up.  It is about 2 1/2 hours.  It was a beautiful drive..lots of fall colors.  I was so excited to see her.  It was great to have a friend to chat with and cry with and just be.  It was wonderful.  Here is what we did....

We went and explored a little town called Westport.  Another friend who has been here over a year told me that it was a cute town and it was.  We looked at some cool little shops...one of them was a little shop face but inside kept going and going and we actually got turned around and lost in it.  Fun, unusual items..some neat clothes although quite pricey, but I got some ideas for some gifts for people.  We even found a candle with the scent of wood fire so you can have your house smell like campfire every day...really?  I love camping but really??  lol..   The colors were in full splendor and sooo beautiful. 

That night we went out with my other 2 friends for ladies night....had some green apple martinis, dinner, hot tubbing and lots of talking.  It was wonderful.  Then we came home and took her out for some really yummy poutine.  That night we went to Saunders farm with the girls.  It is a farm that has 11 mazes grown out of a variety of things, spruce, grape vines etc.  Then we went in the Bloody haunted Barn and the Haunted Hayride.  Really cool!

The next day we went to church and then headed into Ottawa to show off the Parliament Buildings and some of downtown Ottawa.

Monday was Canadian Thanksgiving so we cooked a full meal.  Turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, cranberries...all made from scratch...no cans!  Pumpkin pie and homemade whipped cream for dessert.  The pie was bought because I couldn't find any pumpkin and making it from a pumpkin was not an option.  Then we played a little Boccie, and some board games and then watched a movie and ate orange popcorn.  It was a great Thanksgiving! 

Today I had to take her back to Syracuse for her return trip to Colorado.  Oh how sad, the tears came easily.  It was wonderful to have someone to confide in and someone to see your life through a different set of eyes.  She was very encouraging and I have tears in my eyes as I write this...it was a wonderful visit and I will miss her dearly.  Thanks Michelle...you're the best!

As I was teary and driving back.  I heard a couple more songs that hit home.

Out of my Hands by Matthew West-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYST3RIcmWg   

                Wow-that is all I can say-Wow

King of the Jungle-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZFwLYvPi4c

                 Tiana sang this in a musical at church and it was on the ipod...interesting how these things come back to you when you need them.  It may be a kids song but it really hit home today.

When I call on Jesus by Nicole C Mullen-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpHSGP6U1Ws&ob=av2n

                  I really need to just listen to this song on a regular basis and maybe post the lyrics EVERYWHERE!

Funny story- so on the way back from the airport, I stopped in Watertown, NY to do a little shopping.  Specifically I was looking for crock pot liners...I am addicted to them and I haven't found them yet here.  So as I am going through a couple stores, I keep seeing Halloween stuff.  What was weird was none of it was on sale.  I kept thinking how weird that was...usually after Thanksgiving Halloween stuff is on sale.  It took about 3 stores for me to realize that even though we had Thanksgiving, we haven't had Halloween...I laughed and laughed.

Luckily I won't have any time to be too sad for too long.  I work at the shelter on Wednesday and Friday and I start my new job on Thursday.  Then Saturday my sister and bro-in-law come for a visit.  I have a fridge full of leftovers so I won't plan dinner until they are gone and that will give me time to plan and grocery shop for my sis.  I want to explore another little town with my sister and we will head to downtown Ottawa again and who knows what else...I want to do something we haven't done yet...so we shall see what I figure out.

How to speak Canadian:

Pasta/Mazda- the first a is short like the word at.

Needles-this is what they call shots or immunizations.  Has you daughter had her needles yet.

Hospital-He was in hospital for 4 days (not THE hospital, just hospital)

                            ..............to be continued

Ch..ch...ch...ch....Changes!

Well it has been raining here alot.  I mean like ridiculous amounts of rain.  So much that our flags got so weighed down that it broke our flag brackets.  So I have a couple perennials in pots that I wanted to get in the ground and we are getting so close to first freeze.  So today was partly cloudy and so I decided today was the day.  We have an area of the yard that we have set aside for a flower/rock garden but it is full of rocks so it can't be rototilled and so it is a slow manual process.  (I think God is teaching me patience again)  But Wil got me one corner of it dug up and we sifted it and cleaned it up so I had just enough room for my pansies and my mum.  The mum actually taught me a lesson.  I was lounging one day in the morning, in my sweats and shirt and looking pretty ragged when the doorbell rang....I went to the door and it was a lady from our neighborhood.  She is the oma (grandma) of the little girl that Tiana is babysitting.  She apologized for not getting over here sooner and gave me this beautiful mum.  We talked and her husband has Alzheimer's and she is definitely a Christian.  Lovely lady.  Lesson??  Get up and get dressed and be prepared for visitors.  LOL.  So if you look at the picture below you will see a colorful stone in the lower left corner.  It is a memory stone.  My family made it for me at my going away party.  Everyone put a stone in as they told a memory of me, Tiana, Tabitha or Wil.  It was very sweet and lots of tears and there is even a little fingerprint from where my little grand nephew poked his finger into the cement.  I am not sure it will stay right there but it will be an important part of my flower garden as I create it.

Now my newest news.  I have a new job.  Let me back up.  So as soon as I got my Social Insurance number, I half heartedly started looking for a job.  Not that I wanted to work but I felt I needed something to get me out of the house a couple days a week.  So half heartedly, I would look through the paper.  Well I sent a couple resumes in...not hoping for anything.  Smiths Falls supposedly has a high unemployment rate.  Well then I fell into the job at the shelter and was perfectly content.  I was a little worried about doing the job in the winter but figured I would do what I had to do until it was obvious I couldn't.  I mean you can power through anything a couple days a week.  Well last week I get a call about one of my resumes.  It is from a small doctors office in Perth which is about 5 miles away.  The doctor is a family practitioner and he has 2 nurses both of which have been with him 30 years.  His wife is one of the nurses and she is retiring so that is who they were replacing.  We did a phone interview and she asked me questions and I asked her some but when she asked me if the starting rate of 20-25 an hour was acceptable, I think I almost fell off my chair.  So I went for an interview on Tuesday and I know there were at least 2 other candidates and for once in my life I was not confident.  New country, different health system...I don't know...the devil has definitely been attacking me.  The interview went well and it seemed like a neat place but I was not going to get my hopes up.  The next day Anne (the doctors wife) called me and said they were really happy with the way the interview went and they needed my references and then they asked when I could start.  Wow, that was hard, I have a close friend and my sister coming in over the next 3 weeks and I didn't want to work while they were here so I told them I would start on the 20th, they were a little bummed which made me feel bad but I told them I would look at the calendar and see if I could squeeze them in.  The problem is I still have the job at the shelter.  So I dropped my references off with a list of 3 days I could work in between my other job and visitors.  Then I started thinking, do I want to work at a real job.  The shelter is a job but if I guess I kind of considered it a transitional, what the heck may as well, job.  This was a real job, like with lots of responsibilities and such.  How would it affect the girls next year when Wil goes to sea...oh the doubts went on and on.  Then after talking to the family, I did some thinking in the hot tub in the rain (that works really well by the way) and decided and told God, if they offer it to me I will take it and if they don't then it wasn't meant to be and I became very peaceful.  I also felt that not taking a job, this close to a small town with the good pay and part time was probably SUPER SELFISH and maybe even irresponsible.  So then the call came today, she didn't even ask if I wanted the job.  She told me my references turned out very well...thanks Jean, Mike and Tom.  She just asked me if I really wanted to work on one of my added days, I said sure and she said great well then we will see you then.  Cool!  So now the sad duty of resigning at the shelter although I am going to try to keep volunteering for them as I can.  I really like that place and will miss it but I think this is a better long term option.

That is the update for today.  I need to go buy mulch and an Ontario gardening book and some scrub pants that fit my expanded waistline.

My love to all and PTL!!!

If your going to be a bear be a grizzly!

Well, one thing that Wil and I did was to treat our family to season tickets to our towns hockey team.  The Smiths Falls Bears.  If you didn't know...lol...hockey is HUGE in Canada.  So I may not get all the football I want and you don't hear much about baseball but I will get my fill of Hockey.  The Bears are Junior A hockey team...which basically includes players 20 years and younger, many players are high school aged but this is like the minor minor major leagues.  So it is a developmental team but it is quite possible for the NHL to draft from Junior A in fact in 2008 3 players were drafted to the NHL from the Bears.  So Wil and I went to the first game last night.  Unfortunately we were in the youth arena because the brand new arena that is under construction isn't quite done so it wasn't super comfortable but it was fun.  It was strange not hearing the U. S. National Anthem...kind of sad but I will get used to that.  The other thing that was unusual was that I was cold and asked Wil to get me a hot chocolate.  He did and (unlike Colo Spgs) when he walked it back to me it was still hot...it gets better 15 minutes later when I drank the last little bit...it was still hot.  My tongue is proof this morning because it is definitely burnt.  What a difference low altitude makes.  Anyways, the hockey was great....lots of checking and even some fights.  You could tell that these guys are trying to prove something, it was very fast and furious.  We will enjoy getting to know the players and rooting on the Bears.

The girls went to their first school dance last night and from the little I hear, they had fun.  It is hard to get info from teens.

Our church had a guest speaker this week.  His name was Ian Juby and he was fantastic.  He is a scientist who is all about proving creation.  Here is his website: http://www.ianjuby.org/.  It was so cool.  He talked about humans and dinosaurs coexisting, even showing us fossils with human and dinosaur footprints.  He talked about the proof that the dinosaurs died in the flood...and went on and on.  It was really cool.

Speaking of church, Wil and I have settled on First Baptist Church.  It is a beautiful church founded in 1833 with a gorgeous old building.  The church has a very traditional feel with some contemporary added in.  It is a church I think my dad would have enjoyed.  They have been so welcoming and friendly not only to us but the youth pastor really has been great at reaching out to the girls.  The pastor actually called and invited us to lunch tomorrow.  Cool huh?

I think that is it right now...have a great weekend!