A week in Paris..pt 2

OK, so here we go with the rest of the trip....now where were we?   Oh, we were on Saturday at Notre Dame Cathedral.  It was beautiful.  One thing we were introduced to while we were in line for the tower was vin chaud (hot wine).  YUM!  From that time on we would try all the vendors of vin chaud that we came across.  All were good but some were spectacular.  I must figure out how to make that at home.  As we were walking around Notre Dame, we walked around the Latin Quarter. Now that was really fun for me...lots of street vendors and then we hit the restaurants....greek food, french food and...wait for it...wait for it....FONDUE! The fun part was all of the restaurant "owners" were in front of their restaurant trying to woo you into their restaurant. I love that! It is so fun to see what they will come up with. Now I love fondue. I mean it is one of my all time favorite foods.So we decided that we would head back there for dinner one of the next nights.  Anyways, we headed toward the Eiffel Tower to see it at night and to go up to the top since it was a relatively clear night.  So we got there and we got to see it twinkle.  See every hour on the hour they have twinkling lights on it and for 5 minutes it twinkles...very cool effect.  So we stood in line (only about 30 min) and we headed up.  Remember how I said you can't explain how big it is unless you are there...well we got to the first level where you can get off and see the view and it was REALLY HIGH!  Now I am not scared of heights but I am not a huge fan of them either and I was a little nervous.  I really didn't want to go up to the top at that point but I knew that if I didn't I would regret it for the rest of my life so I went up with Tiana and Wil.  Tabitha had had enough at that level and I don't blame her.  So we went up to the top and guess what...we got stuck in a cloud.  Darn it....but we did it...we went to the top.  Since it was winter time...none of the lines we had to go in were too long.  The weather was like fall.  Not very cold but not too hot.  It really was lovely.

Now I need to interject something I forgot about.  Let's just talk pastries.  The first day we were there the girls and I stopped at a local bakery and picked up some beignets and some chocolate bread and some other yummy chocolate breads.  Well let me just say...all were fantabulous but I fell in love with the chocolate beignets...specifically the mini beignets which are bite size.  I could have one and not feel guilty or over stuffed.  Needless to say we stopped at that bakery almost every day for something, including the morning that we stopped and got Tiana a fresh baguette because one thing she had to do in Paris was eat a fresh baguette.

Sunday we decided to go do some shopping, not realizing that most shops are closed on Sunday in Paris.  Well, we walked around, saw some more of the city and then we decided to head back to the apartment and go for dinner. So we all got dressed up and headed back to the Latin Quarter and see who offered us the best deal on a fondue dinner. We settled on one place (they offered us a free round of drinks for all of us). We had a wonderful dinner (Wil bought us all roses), probably the best cheese fondue I have ever had...a yummy meat fondue, oh wait! We had frog legs and escargot for appetizers....c'mon we were in Paris...we had to try them. So, great appetizers, wonderful dinner..now for dessert. The girls ordered some ice cream desserts, I ordered creme brulee and Wil had chocolate mousse. All very good. At that point, we headed back to the apartment and called it a night.

Monday we headed to the Champs Elysees.  I knew we wouldn't be able to shop really but we could say we were there.  The girls went in enough shops that they realized how expensive stuff was.  We went in the Disney store and found a few presents.  Then they had an area with little wood snow shacks set up that had vendors in them with food are other interesting stuff.  It was fun to see everything...we had more vin chaud....and bought some neat things.  Then we headed back to the apartment.  We stopped and got the girls some pizza (each with an egg on them...a french thing) and Wil and I headed out to find somewhere for dinner.  We found a place, after a bit of walking, and went in and had dinner to celebrate our anniversary since he will be at sea for our anniversary.  (We had a bit of a struggle finding a place that was open because in France you eat dinner around 8 or 9 so nowhere was open at 7 when we were looking, but we found one.)  We had a nice dinner and then went back to the apartment and gathered the family and headed to the Eiffel Tower for one last look.  So we got on the metro and headed to the Eiffel Tower the way that we had gone before and then at one of the transfer stations, Tiana noticed a picture of the Eiffel Tower and an arrow.  We were confused but it was 10 minutes to "Twinkle Time" and we wanted to get there so that we wouldn't have to wait an hour to see it...so we took a chance and we followed the sign.  Well we ended up at the most gorgeous look out spot with a whole different view that was fabulous.  We took a couple final pictures and headed back to the apartment for one last night together.

We all headed home the next day.  We said good bye to Wil at the apartment as we were flying out of two different airports...and that was that.  It was a wonderful trip on so many different levels that I just can't describe it accurately.  I will remember it forever as will the rest of the family I am sure.



A week in Paris..pt 1

I am so sorry it has taken me so long to sit and write up our trip to Paris, but with birthdays and Christmas and illness, it has been quite chaotic around here.  So as I sit and enjoy watching the Broncos on TV (usually I don't get the games but since they are playing the Patriots I get this one) I thought I would go ahead and try to get this written.

Let me start by saying that the trip was fantastic, at points even surreal..but here is a summary of the trip. 

So on Monday, we left Ottawa and flew to Montreal and then had a small layover and flew to Paris.  We had no problems with our flights or security and we were on our way.  Our tickets said that we would get breakfast so we ate in Montreal and then when we got on the plane, we got dinner....oh well, we ate again.  It was an overnight flight so we tried to sleep.  Now all seasoned travelers know that you don't sleep comfortably on planes but this was Tabitha's first experience with it.  Needless to say, we all slept but not very well.  But we did sleep.  We did get breakfast and then we waited to land.  We rented an apartment in Paris and the lady we rented from helped us arrange for a taxi driver, Mr. Patrick, to pick us up at the airport.  So the girls thought it was cool to have someone waiting for us with a name sign at the airport.  All our bags were there and off we went.  We got into Paris on Tuesday morning and began driving to the apartment at morning rush hour and man the traffic was crazy.  I was super glad that we weren't driving.  We got to the apartment and then took some time to settle in and even took a bit of a nap.  Then we got up and walked around the neighborhood a bit, checked out the shops, stopped at a bakery and got some groceries.  Then it was back to the apartment, we made some dinner and went to bed and slept well.

Wednesday, we slept in a bit and had some breakfast and then did a bit of shopping.  We were in Bolougne which was about 10 km west of the Eiffel tower.  It was a lovely neighborhood with some neat little shops.  We walked and walked and walked and enjoyed looking at the differences in types of shops that we are used to.  Tiana also noticed that all the locals were bundled up as if it was really cold.  They had their mitts and hats and scarves on and coats buttoned.  Now it is winter time but it was about 10-15 degrees every day, so we had our fall coats on unbuttoned most of the time.  We headed back to the apartment to wait for Wil.  His flight got in around 5 pm and he was taking the metro so we figured he would be at the apartment around 7 so we waited anxiously.  He arrived safely and we had a lovely evening watching him open his Christmas gifts and receiving some gifts he brought us and just catching up.  Then we all fell into bed and prepared for the days to come.

Thursday we figured we had to go see the Eiffel Tower so that was where we headed.  We had gotten glimpses of it including one from the plane that was very cool but this was going to be fun.  So we headed to the metro and got going.  The metro in Paris was very cool.  It took us every where.  We bought 5 day unlimited passes and we got our monies worth.  As we walked up to the Eiffel Tower, I can not express how big it is.  It is huge and I was awestruck.  We walked around it, took some family pics and Tiana and I played tribute to the Broncos....can you guess what we were doing?

We decided not to go up to the top that day because it was foggy so we headed to the Louvre.  We walked to the Louvre and the girls got their first experience of a scammer.  A guy asked us if we had dropped a gold ring, when we said no, he "gave" it to us as if being nice then as we walked away, he asked for some money for food and when we said no...he suddenly wanted the gold ring back...hmmm.  Anyways, it was a good experience for them to see.  So we got to the Louvre and with no lines, got right in.  Again, I can not express the enormity of the Louvre.  The building itself is amazing.  You walk into one hall and you just see how big it is and I think my mouth stayed open in awe the whole time.  We of course saw the Mona Lisa and as we were looking at it, Tiana asked "why is it so famous?".  I said I have no idea, great question.  What was astounding is that it is a normal sized painting, not too big, not too small but in the scheme of the grandiose painting that we saw, it is tiny and do I dare say it??? not that impressive.  Still we saw it and it was lovely, but we saw some astonishingly gorgeous art.  We didn't plan it well and we ended up at the Louvre on a day when it closes early so we only had about 4 hours and we didn't even get 1/2 of it done.  It is absolutely amazing.  We ended the day by heading to the Hard Rock Cafe.  Tiana has eaten at 1 in 3 countries so we thought we would make it 4 but they were having a private party so we got a souvenir since we were inside it and we went and had dinner at a nearby restaurant and headed back to the apartment.

Friday we headed to the Arc de Triumphe first.  It was here where we witnessed our first accident at the huge roundabout surrounding it.  Not surprised with all the crazy driving but the Arc was beautiful.  We went up to the top and had a beautiful view of the city.  Then we went to the Moulin Rouge and were a little disappointed.  We thought the windmill would be bigger.  Then we went to Luxembourg gardens to search for the Statue of Liberty.  After getting some bad directions from a gardener, we did finally find her.  There is another one by the Eiffel Tower and I saw her but we didn't get a chance to get back and get a picture.  Then we headed to the Crypts of Paris.  If you get a chance it is a great story about them relocating thousands of bones to these crypts.  It was quite sobering to walk through all of these bones and see the amount of work that went into relocating them.  We then headed back to the apartment.

Saturday we started our day by having some French crepes.  Ok, I have had crepes at local eateries in the states but those are mini crepes.  As you can see by the picture, I think those are big enough for a family but we each ordered one and enjoyed them fully.  Then we headed to Notre Dame Cathedral.  What a gorgeous old church.  We decided to head up the tower first to see the bell and the view and then go inside.  So we did.  287 steps up and we felt every bit of it especially after all the walking we had done the last couple of days, but we did it.  The view was yet again fantastic and the bell was huge.  Then we headed 287 steps down and went in to the church.  I got a bit emotional as I thought about the fact that I am sure my dad had been in this same church at some point during his travels and he would have loved it as did I.  It was so beautiful with all the stained glass and sculptures and artwork.  We went and saw some of the religious artifacts, including a piece of the cross of Christ and a picture of the actual crown of thorns which is kept in the basement and only comes out once a month.  The artwork was phenomenal and told such stories from the Bible in a new and fantastic way.  The pipe organ was huge and made me want to come back and go to a service to hear it play.

OK, I got interrupted by a sick daughter, we ended up at emerg and are recouping.  I will post this now and finish the trip in another post later this week.  More to come.

Excitement and anxiety

Today is the day, today we head to Paris!  We will leave Ottawa, take a short flight to Montreal, then we have a couple of hours there and then leave around 8pm to Paris.  We will get to Paris at 8:45 am and somewhere in there we lose 6 hours. 
I am so excited for this trip...reuniting with Wil, the sites we will see..the food...the wine but there is also a lot of anxiety.  It is my first long flight since I went to Africa with my dad when I was 15.  That is a long time between transatlantic flights.  It will also be my first time in Europe.  It is Tiana's first long flight since she went to Australia.  It is Tabitha's first long flight and actually her first time off the North American continent.  It will be an overnight flight, so I am hoping that we will all sleep a little otherwise I might be in teenage boredom hell.  We get in on Tuesday morning and Wil doesn't come in until Wednesday evening so we will be on our own for 2 days and none of us speak French.  I know most of them will speak English but I really prefer to speak the native language.  This time that won't happen, my Spanish won't help me so I either need to stick to Spanish speaking countries or travel with Wil.  Hopefully this will be my last long trip by myself.  Well we are renting an apartment outside of Paris so the girls and I will explore the neighborhood and hopefully get some groceries.  Or maybe we will just stay in bed ....doesn't that just sound like Parisian heaven?  Laying in bed, not having to get up for animals, work or school...now if I can convince Wil to cook and clean, I will be in good shape...lol. 
I am so excited to see Wil again.  It has been 7 months but man it has been a loooonnngggg 7 months.  It is weird to think of being together again.

Last night on the Amazing Race they had to memorize this quote by Hans Christian Andersen. "To move, to breath, to fly, to float, To gain all while you give, To roam the roads of lands remote: To travel is to live."  I love this quote and feel it to the depths of my core.  If finances afforded it, I would travel so much more, but I thank the Lord for the opportunities I have been given and I am so excited to pass a little bit of that on to the girls.

Today we LIVE!

God Bless and talk to you on the other side of the trip!

Pain, Paris and Paychecks

Well, our first foster puppy Jesse left and I got asked to foster another one.  It was a long hair with a lot of issues and I told them no for several reasons.  Then they asked if I could just foster a different one for a couple days.  So I caved and said yes.  That is how we got Copper, a jack russell terrier and dachshund mix.  Well I have never had a jack russell before.  Holy cow, the energy was amazing.  He could jump super high, he almost could jump up on my kitchen counters.  He was very fun but just too much energy for his owners.  They just couldn't understand why he wouldn't ever calm down.  Come to find out they were kenneling him for 14 hours a day.  REALLY!  Poor pup.  He bounced off the walls for the first couple of days then he settled in.  Well he was with us almost a week and the we got notice he was going to be picked up.  Well the night before he left, I was getting ready to kennel him and I was walking around the house and grabbing a toy for Lizzy and for Coppers kennels.  As I bent down to pick up the toy he jumped up to meet me and his head met my eye socket.  OUCH!  I felt immediate pain and fell to the ground.  I hobbled downstairs and had Tiana look at it because I was afraid it had broken the skin but no...just a large lump started immediately and I was left with a very painful black eye.  The next day I had a horrible headache in addition to the eye..the headache went away as the eye got prettier.  It has now been 4 weeks and I still have a small lump under the skin that is very painful when touched.  Try washing your face without touching around your eye.  Well we are on to our next foster pup.   I picked him up today and he is precious.  His name was Bradley and the rescue wanted a new name so the girls and I came up with Prince.  He is charming and much more laid back.

The bigger news is:  WE ARE GOING TO PARIS!  The military is paying my way to meet Wil for a week off at the end of November.  We decided that since 2 our our way is paid, why not take advantage and bring the girls.  So the girls and I are traveling to Paris where we will meet Wil and enjoy our week together.  I think that it will be super hard to leave but I am so excited.  It is somewhere I really never thought I would get to go.  It will be great to see Wil for the first time in 7 months.  Seems like forever.  YAY!

Tiana finished her first job.  She was working at a place called Saunders Farm for the month of October in the Barn of Terror.  Anyways, it was so fun to pick her up at night.  I never knew what she would look like...here is an example:

She learned about the sacrifices of having a job and the joy of that  paycheck.  She did a great job.  She will take a bit of time off and concentrate on school and drivers training and then start looking for another job probably.

I celebrated my one year anniversary at my job.  I still love it and it has been a wonderful distraction and source of information and friends.  I praise God for putting that job in my life.

Not much else.  Life is day by day around here.  I try not to worry about what lies ahead but it is difficult.  It is very lonely at times but I am learning some lessons that God has probably tried to teach me before.

My love to all!

You've heard of cash cab...what about Teen Taxi!

I don't have much updating to do.  The last several weeks have been full of extra working days and getting back into the routine of school and all the fall activities.  Here is what our schedule looks like at this point in time. 

Each morning the girls get up for school.  Tabitha catches the bus for school around 7:15 and Tiana catches the bus around 8:15.  Tabitha gets home around 2:40 and Tiana around 3:20.  On Mondays Tiana has dance class from 5-6.  On Tuesday, I work from 8:30-4:30,  Tabitha has bagpipes from 6:30 to 7:30 and I drop Tiana off at youth group at 7:00, then Tabitha heads to youth group after pipes are done and I pick them up at 9:00.  Wednesday is free...so far.  That is my long day at work (8:00-5 ot 6) so it is good that the evening is clear.  Thursday the girls have a different youth group at 6:30 and I have bell choir at 6:30, then I have choir at 7:30.  My stuff ends at 9:00 and the girls at 9:30.  Friday is fairly open (although I usually work 8-noon) as is Saturday although there is free skate on those days so I am sure we will be skating shortly.  Sunday the girls have skating lessons at 8:00 am until 9:00 am then I take them home and I go back to church around 10:00.  That's our week.  Now add in the I want to hang with some friends and a job that Tiana will be working for the month of October and I have officially turned into a Teen Taxi.  I rely so heavily on my car and I pray it continues to work well and get the girls and me where we need to be.

Meet Jesse, our foster puppy.  As you know we lost Molly in April and Lizzy has been very lonely.   Well I certainly do not want the commitment of another dog so I got this brilliant idea to become a foster parent for the Canadian Dachshund Rescue.  Jesse is our first foster.  He is soooo sweet, but very exhausting.  I have come to realize that fostering may not be possible with our busy schedule, but we'll see.  We certainly are having an adventure with this little guy.  He is a real snuggler and follows you everywhere, has a little separation anxiety and likes to sit on the back of our couches.  I have realized how much I really enjoy having only one dog.  I may rethink and do paperwork for the rescue or wait a bit until our schedules mellow.  He came to us on Wednesday and he had an possible adopter come see him on Saturday and he decided to take him home to be a friend to his other doxie, Axel.  So he will pick him up on Wednesday. 

Wil called this weekend from Greece.  They are in port again for a couple days.  He was very excited to have his first day to be able to sleep in since July 10.  It is always good to hear his voice.  Whew!  I don't know how he is doing it...long days and continuous days.  He is a much stronger person than I.  His equipment is still working and overall things are ok but the stress of the trip is evident.  I don't have much more information.  It still looks like he will be there until the end of the year and maybe back in BC around February.  When he is coming back here??? No clue.  There might be something exciting coming up..but I don't want to jinx it so I will keep it a secret for now.

I am debating about whether to decorate for Halloween.  It is alot of work for one person and Tiana will probably be working.  Actually putting it up will be fun but taking it down is what I dread.  Maybe I will just go smaller this year...I don't know.  I am not feeling the holidays this year at all.  I would just soon skip them.  We were practicing a song in choir for the Christmas cantata called home for Christmas and I started to tear up.  I don't think anyone saw but that will be a tough song to sing.   Don't get me wrong, I don't want to go home for Christmas...I hate traveling in the winter.  As it gets closer and I put the tree up I am sure I will get more festive.  I will have my Christmas shopping done by the end of October.  Well that is my goal at least, I will let you know how I do.

We have finally entered fall although today was a blast of summer.  The air is crisp and the leaves are just beginning to turn and fall.  The sugar maples are just spectacular.  I really do enjoy the colors and it seems that on every drive I take I see a new color.  This summer sure did go by quickly, it seems that just yesterday I was excited to see leaves budding.  I cut the lawn for the what I hope is the last time yesterday, now to prepare for snow removal...YUCK!  This week I will work on changing the furnace filter and the HRV filter and winterizing stuff.

I think that is it...this is my last week of working extra hours, my coworker will return from Italy on Thursday.  YAY!  It hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be and the girls have not complained once about lack of groceries or thrown together dinners or tired, cranky me but I am glad it is over.

Well until next time, my love to all. 

Do you remember? I do!

As I sit here on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I remember that day so clearly as I am sure many do.  I remember watching the 2nd plane hit the tower.  I remember agonizing over whether or not to take Tiana to school.  She was in full day kindergarten and being in Colorado Springs, you know that NORAD is a possible target, so do I take her to school and risk the possibility of another attack and Tiana and wouldn't be able to get to her.  It was the hardest thing for me.  I remember one of the towers falling on my way to kindergarten.  I remember listening to the drama unfold all day at work.  The other huge thing I remember is the eery quiet of the skies over Colorado Springs the next day.  Colorado Springs is a huge military town and there are always planes flying and the quiet was deafening.  I never knew that lack of sound could be so loud.  Even though in my head I know that Wil is probably safer where he is because he is at sea and an attack there would be unlikely, I still wish that he was here with me.  I will watch much of the coverage today and I am having the girls watch it so that they can know and understand what happened on this horrible day 10 years ago.  I have to say that it seems to be a bit of a muted anniversary here.  It is acknowledged but it is a more distant tragedy here. 

What else happened lately?  Well Tiana got a job.  She will be working at a place called Saunders Farm.  Here is a link to their website:  http://www.saundersfarm.com/haunting-day/stufftodo.  We went there last year with my friend, Michelle and Tiana has been talking about working there ever since.  She is hired for what is called the Haunting Season so just for the month of October.  We don't know exactly what she will be doing yet but she has asked to work in the Haunted Barn which is like a haunted house so makeup and costume.  She goes to ghoul school on the 24 the to find out more.  She is very excited and this could open the door for a summer job next year as the farm is open all summer as well.

I am working full time this month although I have to say it is not really full time.  Technically I am working 5 days a week for the month of September because Joan, my coworker in in Italy on holidays.  However, because of the way we schedule and some stuff my doctor has to do I am really only working 4 days a week and even then some of those days are short.  It is a great reminder or how much I love working part time.  Thank you Wil for making it possible to work part time.

Lizzy had surgery.  We had been noticing that Lizzy was peeing in her crate.  Then we noticed that she was going outside and peeing , walking peeing etc.  First 2-3 times and then 4-5 and then 20+.  Never a complaint.  So we took her to the vet and, long story short, she had a bladder stone the size of a large grape.  So she had to have surgery on Thursday to remove it.  She is doing ok.  She is obviously not feeling well.  She saw a rabbit yesterday and she started to go after it and stopped quickly and turned around and sadly came back in.  She will be on a special diet for an unknown time, I need to do some research on bladder stones.  She is 9 years old and we have had here since she was just 5.  So I hope that she will recuperate and be around for a bit longer.

Fall has recently arrived.  The mornings are crisp and the mosquitoes are decreasing.  I have decided that fall is my favorite season.  You get the beautiful colors of flowers and then leaves changing.  You get nice warm weather during the day but it cools off nicely.  There are lots of fairs and festivals and other things to be done outside.  So why not spring...because in the fall the grass isn't growing like crazy and I don't have to spend all of my spare time mowing the land that we have.  I love mowing but in the spring, I have to mow at LEAST once a week and for this amount of land that is a lot of time.  So FALL it is. 

Both girls are back in school.  Last week was the first week of 10th grade.  I think they were excited but that diminished each morning as they got used to the early mornings.  They are both happy to not be at the bottom of the food chain in high school any more.  I am hoping it will be a great year for both of them.  I can't believe they will be graduating in 3 years.  Where does time go?




Well, I have joined the choir.  For years in several churches I have tried to use my gifts.  Usually it is working with kids (taking after my dad).   Well at this church I thought that I would try a different gift.  So I joined the choir.  We have had 2 practices and we sang today.  It went well!  I wasn't even nervous except for the fact that I had been crying all morning watching the memorial services...lol.  Anyways, along with the choir, I joined the hand bell choir.  It has always fascinated me and sounds so beautiful so why not.  Well let me tell you, we have had 1 practice and it is so much harder than any instrument.  Why?  Because you are only reading 2 or 3 notes in between other notes so if you lose your place...whew!  Anyways, it will give me something to do and help me make some closer connections, I hope.  Plus I love, love, love music!

I think that's it.  Talk to you all soon.  I love you and I wish I could hug each and every one of you today.

A birthday gift from God!

So today is my birthday! 42 years ago today I was born in Liberia, West Africa a country that still today I consider home.  My girls have done a wonderful job of making this a great day.  Tiana has been confiscating all of my gifts and cards so that I wouldn't open them until today.  I had cinnamon rolls for breakfast and we are making Cincinnati chili for a late lunch.  Then I am going to try a new recipe for dessert.  And in between there I am going out for a drink with a friend.

But I have to share with you the gift God gave me while I was at church.  I have to say I almost didn't go because I knew that they would sing to me.  They sing to anyone that has a birthday on Sunday and if you know me I don't really like being the center of attention but my relationship with the Lord has been very important as of late so I really felt like the devil was pushing me away so I went.  After all what is more wonderful than being sung to on your birthday.  So they sang, I smiled and then service started.

Now let me back up a bit.  Over the last couple of weeks I have really been doing some soul searching about friendships, relationships and such.  One area that I have been working on is facebook.  I really enjoy keeping up with people as I live so far away.  But I really have felt like I waste a lot of time reading a bunch of "friends" statuses that I have no interaction with and no real relationship with.  So why do we call them friends.  As I have thought more about it...aren't we all stalkers a bit?  We watch people, look at pics of them doing all sorts of things, and we see inside their lives but we never really talk to them or really know them.  Why is that necessary to us...what does it benefit us, what does it benefit them.  Specifically how does it benefit me.  It doesn't.  Disclaimer:  these are my opinions that I am sharing, this is not a judgement on anyone else.  So, I decided that I was going to start going through my friends list and delete people that I have no interactions with.  Not to offend anyone but to make facebook a more effective tool for me.  I want to make facebook work for me not against me.  I want it to benefit me and my friends and family not suck me into the well known facebook coma.  Well, as I went through the first time, I didn't delete too many because, well they might talk to me sometime....or I would like to talk to them sometime.  So I walked away and I just kept having a nagging feeling to do more.  So I really started thinking about it and decided to delete some more.  So I started going through one by one and asking several questions including....Do they impact my life?  Do I impact their life?  What will I miss if I delete them?  Stuff like that.  So after I did that, I walked away again.  Then I started thinking about some others that I might be able to delete and then the guilt set in.  Will I offend them?  Will I offend someone else by deleting them?  And on and on.  That is where it stood when I went to church this morning.

So as the sermon begins...I begin to take notes.  Part of that is because when I was a kid and I started sitting with friends, my parents made me take notes during the sermon to prove that I was listening.  I stopped doing it for a while but my mind wanders so easily that I find taking notes keeps my mind on the sermon and not other things.  Now as I take notes, I tend to doodle, flowers stars and such, only in between sermon points to keep my mind from drifting too much.  Today it was a balloon.  One single balloon.  As I drew it, I heard a voice say "what is more beautiful, one balloon or many balloons?"  As I thought about it I heard "facebook friends are like balloons".  As I thought more about it I saw and heard in my heard my dad preaching a sermon about friends and balloons.  Now, this was given to me in the context of a sermon so as you read my thought picture a pastor using the balloons as an illustration in a sermon and then hopefully the use of the word balloon and friend interchangeably will make sense.  Here is how it went:

On the stage are 2 sets of balloons, on the left one balloon, in the middle 15-20 balloons and on the right 100 balloons.  So my dad starts by asking everyone which bundle do you think is prettier?  Do more balloons make it better, prettier, not necessarily.  It may be more awe inspiring but not prettier.  I look at them and think the bunch in the middle.  Then the thought came, friends are like balloons.  (This was all I saw and heard my dad say but the rest formulated as I wrote it down, so here is the rest) When you have 100 friends (or on facebook 562) it is awe inspiring.  Everyone would be amazed at how many friends you have.  You may even get lifted off the ground with a false sense of security.   You might feel special.   But what happens when you lose one?  What would happen when one balloon pops?  Nothing.  They are gone and you may not even know.  You can't enjoy them all, they can be alot to manage and they take alot of room (or in facebooks case, time).  How special are you now? 

Now one friend/balloon is safe and maybe even easier at times.  You don't have to worry about much of anything except the one balloon.  But God made us for relationships and one of my favorite sayings is "it takes a village"  well one balloon is not a village.  What happens when you need someone else (when the balloon pops)?  You are left all alone and off balance. 

So how many balloons/friends is good?  I don't think there is a right or wrong number and I think that the number will change during you life and your circumstances and I am only using 15-20 as an example of a medium number, the actual number is different for everyone.  Anyways, this number gives you stability, and at times it may help give you some air and help you along your way.   This number is able to be managed and each friend/balloon can be enjoyed and interacted with and the relationships can be nurtured because if one leaves (a balloon pops) you know, you can react and you can care.  You know in the "olden days"  friendship was so intentional.  We wrote letters, we sent cards that we signed ourselves, we made phone calls.  You can do this with a smaller number, you just can't do it with the larger number...not well and not by yourself.  Technology makes it too easy to keep in touch quickly and with less thought.

This is where it stopped, although my thoughts are still formulating and I am just amazed at how simple it is.  Now I don't remember my dad ever doing a sermon on balloons so I don't think this is a memory but it is possible.  I am sure if he did my family will let me know as they read this.  But I know what I saw and heard this morning as I was in church and as I got into my car and drove home, I broke out crying with excitement and sadness.  My dad was an amazing preacher and I didn't appreciate hearing him as a preacher for many years and I would give anything to hear him again.  Well, I heard him today and it was amazing!  Even as my thoughts formulated, I heard his voice encouraging me or affirming my thoughts.  It was bittersweet.  He was so inspiring to many people including his family, I love him and miss him daily.

Now, don't get me wrong, I think technology is great but I really feel that our relationships may be suffering because of how we use it.  So I am choosing to work on  my bouquet of balloons.  My bouquet of friends/balloons will have several levels, some will be closer to me than others because I interact with them more, some will be farther away because I want to keep in touch and see them regularly and they add a beauty and strength to my bouquet that would be dearly missed without them.  Those layers are what make my friend bouquet beautiful.

I will not have guilt anymore.  I know that I am not doing this maliciously and I certainly don't mean to offend anyone.  But I really want to focus on the people that can be supportive and have a positive influence on my life and I on theirs.  I want facebook to be a tool to use in my friendships not the entire friendship.

My love to all,
Brenda

The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain....

Well, I will start with an update on Wil.  That line about Spain was all that was going through my head when I found out that Wil was off the coast of Spain.  I don't know why but it cracked me up.  Anyways, there long trip is almost over.  They are off the coast of Spain, where they met up with the Charlottetown (the ship that they are replacing) getting fuel, parts, mail and doing repairs and anything last minute before their final push to the waters off Libya.  I was blessed to be able to talk to him twice.  He was glad to be in port but he was still very busy.  He was working hard at trying to get all of his systems repaired before leaving again.  As of yesterday, things were looking up...most of the repairs were complete and he was feeling better about the status of his systems.  Unfortunately, he had been so busy in port that he hadn't had a chance to explore the area he was in but hopefully he will get to explore before he leaves.  They will be leaving from Spain and making a very brief stop in Italy and then it is on patrol they go.  They will not go in to port again for about a month so that will be my next conversation with him.  I gave him a hard time about getting pictures to me but what I didn't realize is that the ship has been having problems with the satellite and so they haven't had enough band width to send pics so if that gets fixed then he will send some as he can.  Otherwise, we will get to see them when he gets home.  Anyways, I am glad I got to speak to him and that he got to speak to both girls as well.  It was great to hear his voice.

bird bath

Well, as I was talking to him, I was standing on our back porch.  It was a lovely day and I was just enjoying the sunshine when all of the sudden I saw a flurry of wings and there was a beautiful little hummingbird.  A hummingbird!  It was so beautiful and tiny and it darted back and forth from my tomato plant to one of my hanging flower baskets.  It was precious.  So if you follow my facebook posts, I am addicted to birds right now.  I have 4 feeders (different types for different birds) and most recently I added a small bird bath (a birthday gift from my mom).  But now I will have to go get another shepherds hook and get my hummingbird feeder out.  I had it out earlier this year but didn't see any humming birds but now that I have proof, I will have to start trying to attract them and feed them.  I am an equal opportunity bird feeder.  I go out every morning and put food out for my birds.  I have to ration it because they eat so much that I could go broke feeding them but I do enjoy watching them out of my front window.

Well, we are gearing up for school which starts the day after Labor Day.  On Monday we will go to Tiana's school for a uniform sale to get her a couple more pieces of clothing to wear and then we will take them to an alterations place to get them fitted to her.  She doesn't appreciate it right now but she is what I would classify as petite so normal clothes are a bit long and baggy on her.  Oh I wish I had that problem.  Yesterday we signed her up for a dance class.  She took a belly dancing/hip hop class at a school last spring and really enjoyed it so this year she will take another hip hop class and then I think she will take the bellyfit class again and I think that Tabitha is interested in joining her this year.  At this point I am doing what ever I can to get the girls involved in stuff and busy.  It means alot of driving for me but I would rather drive them around like crazy than having them sitting at home idle.  It is much better for everyone. 

Fall is in the air here.  It is much cooler in the mornings and isn't getting as hot during the day.  I am super close to turning the air conditioning off for the year.  Last night we had a super rainstorm in the middle of the night and it is cloudy and damp today.  I am hoping it will rain again, we need it.  The grass is pretty brown because it has been very hot and dry lately.  Well, as I am writing this, it has begun to rain like crazy..YAY!

The next two weeks are going to be focused on getting the girls ready for school.  The lady that I share the job with is going on holidays for 3 weeks in September starting the first week of school so I will be working full time for 3 weeks so I need to make sure everything is set.  I do have to say that full time will still give me a bit of time during the week and I think the doctor is going to skip working Fridays for the month to give me a break so it really won't be bad but it is still enough of a change that it will throw the schedule out of whack, especially with school, dance classes and youth groups starting up at that same time.  September will come and go and I may not even realize it. 

Today is church and then we are heading up to see some friends for the afternoon.  Then on Saturday, the girls and I are going on a dinner cruise around the 1000 Islands.  I am very excited about that, I only wish Wil was joining us.

My love to all!

Canadian Evolution and a long awaited update

Sorry for the long time in between posts.  I am going to try to be more regular from now on.  It isn't like I have been busy but sometimes I just don't feel like dwelling on the situation long enough to write it down.  Sometimes I like just ignoring things.  But I would like to hear from people more so if I want to hear from people then I should make the effort to update you more regularly so you know what is going on.
So I thought I would start with something that is amusing to me and amazing to me.  I am calling this my Canadian evolution.  How has Canada changed me in the last year. 

walking stick on side of house

Well, lets start with bugs.  Yes, bugs.  I am not a fan and living in Colorado (high altitude, very few bugs) has made me a bit wimpy.  Well when we got here in the middle of summer it was bug mania.  I was swatting and jumping and smashing and killing left and right.  I got bit by an earwig, I had mosquito bites everywhere and I was constantly jumping out of the way of the large bees, spiders, snakes and colorful creepy crawlies that we had here.  So how has that changed.  Well, I don't know how it changed but the other day as I was working in the garden, I felt something crawling on my chest and looked down to see a spider crawling inside my shirt...INSIDE...ON MY SKIN...I didn't even jump...I just flicked it off and went on weeding...then I thought about it and I laughed.  Today I was out in the garden again, deadheading my flowers and there were a couple bees that were sharing the same flowers I was working on...I wasn't nervous, I didn't freeze, I just kept on going.  Ok, I did still jump when I picked up my curling iron and there was a spider sitting under it but I got a Kleenex, flushed it down the toilet and curled my hair.  This is from a girl who called Wil to come kill a spider in my bedroom before we were married...lol.  OK, if her were here, I would still call him, cuz I don't like bugs, but I have just become more one with the nature we share.

Heat and humidity,  I love the heat and I don't mind the humidity.  Now don't get me wrong, I love coming inside to cool off in my air conditioned house, but, I really enjoy the heat and I love working in the yard in the heat and humidity and coming in dripping with sweat.  It makes every thing I do seem like twice the work out it really is...lol.  Now, I am reasonable and when it gets up to 40 (104F), I am inside.  But I love it around 25 (77F) with the humidity and whats the best part?  Warm Rain!  I remember playing in the rain in Africa and in Chicago and you just don't do that in Colorado cuz the rain is darn chilly.  But here, I can sit on the porch and listen to it rain, we can play in the rain, we can work in the rain.  It is lovely.  I was born on the ocean and I truly believe that I am meant to be in a warm climate with water nearby.  I do love the colors that come with the heat/humidity and seasons.  It is amazing the brilliance of flowers and plants.  Just beautiful.

There are more things but those are the two that hit me hard last year and this year, I am enjoying or adapting to them.

Now to the family.

Tiana had a great time in Colorado, she stayed with many people, visited lots of old haunts, did a bunch of fun stuff and came back exhausted but refreshed and happy.  She made her first flight by herself with a connecting flight in Philadelphia.  Of course, I was hoping that it would go smoothly but it didn't.  Her flight was delayed and then canceled (they boarded, taxied and then deplaned) and then she was rebooked for 4 hours later.  She was stuck in the Philly airport for about 6 hours by herself.  I was very proud.  She only panicked once and that is because of the poor service from the airline but she calmed right down and did great.  She was back a couple days and then she went to New York with her youth group to a Christian festival called Kingdom Bound.  It was at an amusement park and there were a bunch of Christian concerts and she had a ball.  She is getting her resume together and is going to try to get a part time job to earn some money towards a car since she starts driving this year.

Tabitha came home on Thursday.  She had a great time with her mom from what I hear and she came home with a cute new haircut.  She will be adjusting to the time change for the next little bit but I think she is glad to be home.

School starts for the girls on the Tuesday after Labor Day.  Tiana will be at St. Johns still and Tabitha will stay at SFDCI.  I am hopeful that this school year will be a bit less traumatic as last year but its high school so I am also being realistic.

Wil looking up at radar equipment while his guys are working

Wil is in the Atlantic somewhere.  I hear from him on and off through email.  I wouldn't say regularly...it is sporadic.  They are getting close to their destination (Libya) and he said it is getting more and more stressful the closer they get.  He is dealing with some major equipment issues which has been very frustrating.  He said that he gets one thing fixed and another thing breaks.  This makes his relationship with his boss a bit stressful so he his hoping at the next port when the parts and repair crew gets there that the equipment will get up and running and things will smooth out.  I talked to him on the 31st of July and he sounded exhausted.  Since he is the Head of Department, he is not getting much sleep.  Anytime something goes wrong, which has been alot, he has to be awakened.  This sea tour is a lot different for him and although he is glad for the opportunity and is enjoying parts of it, I think he misses being home more than he thought he would.  That is just my conjecture so I could be wrong, just a gut feeling.  We still don't have a date for him to come home but we are guessing February sometime.  I am not holding my breath.

Me, I am trucking along.  I told the girls my favorite thing about them being gone was that I didn't have to grocery shop or cook.  I also told them that it really showed me how much work they cause and don't help with.  That is going to change. (I hope)  How am I doing?  I am doing...that is all I can say.  I have good days and I have bad days.  The hardest thing is not being able to communicate with Wil on a regular basis.  I miss him terribly.  It is hard not having someone just to chat with on a regular basis.  I am so thankful....soooooo thankful though that this didn't happen last year.  It is hard enough to do it after being settled in, I can't imagine what it would have been like last year.  I am ever thankful for my job.  It gets me out of the house and I get to interact with some wonderful ladies who are a wealth of information for my stupid Canadian questions...lol.  I am excited for the girls to start school and to get back into a routine.  I am trying to start a new habit.  When I get super stressed or angry or frustrated, I go work out or go for a walk, or do something physical.  We will see whether this works but I figure it should be a good thing!

Lizzy is doing pretty well without Molly.  She has lost a lot of weight....I think just from me being able to regulate her food intake.  She was pretty fat which is not healthy for any dog but especially a doxie so she is much healthier now.   I am sure she used to eat some of Molly's.  She comes with me anytime I go for a drive where I am not leaving the car...the bank, dropping the girls here and there, etc.  She has turned into quite the little rider.  She just curls up on the seat and hangs out.  She really likes it when no one is in the front seat.  I miss Molly daily.  She was very special to me.

Simba has gotten quite large on the other hand.  He is a big cat.  I  can't tell if he is fat or just big.  He is a character, a bit of a diva and probably one of the best cats I have ever had.  Although the amount of fur he sheds is just nasty.  I need to brush him more.  One of our favorite things to do is scratch his butt, because he starts licking and when we stop, he stops and it just goes on and on...very funny.  We bought a furminator this morning off of kijiji (like craigs list).  I have been brushing him with it ever since we got home and holy moly...hair just keeps coming off of him.  Piles and piles of it.  I am hoping that it will decrease the amount of hair laying around the house.  He sure is pretty but I will not have a long hair cat again. 

I think that is enough for now.  What do we have coming up.  We have a dinner cruise on the 1000 Islands, we have a Christian concert at a church in Ottawa, and maybe another trip to Niagara to meet with some family.  Yes the holidays, but honestly, I am not really looking forward to them this year...I wouldn't mind just skipping them, but here is what we have Canadian Thanksgiving, Tabithas 15th Birthday, American Thanksgiving, Tiana's 16th birthday, Christmas and our Anniversary.  (woohoo...NOT).

My love you all, I miss you and wish I was closer!

What is my Legacy!

Well, I keep thinking that I need to update my blog...and I just don't know what to say...there is so much I have to say but what do people want to hear...well let me see what I can come up with.

The family reunion was awesome!  I had a great time with my family.  It was a wonderful time although I think it was too short.  Our theme was LEGACY.  We went back to Ohio which is where my dad grew up and where his parents died.  We went to two of his childhood homes.  The first one, my dad's sister had contacted the owners and they said we could go inside.  They let all 30 of us trounce through their house and reminisce.  The owners had really done a fabulous job of renovating but preserving the house.  The original wood floors were in..some of the original windows and such.  It was lovely!  Then we went to another house.  This house we hadn't contacted the owners...now let me back up.  Many of us had red shirts on.  We had red shirts made for the reunion for all of us to wear the the Reds game we were going to later.  So as all of these red shirted people invaded this little community I decided I should go tell the owners (if they were home) why we were standing in front of their house taking pictures.  So I go up to the door and a gentleman answers and I said, "I just wanted to let you know why we are taking pictures of your house.  You see my family used to own this house"....the man at this point interrupts and says "You mean the Millers?"  I almost fainted.  It turns out that these owners are the people that bought it from my grandmother 40+ years ago.  How cool is that.  We chatted with the owner for quite awhile and had a lovely time.  Then we went to a Reds game.  It was the Reds versus the Indians and although the Reds lost, the last 3 innings were so fantastic, it was a great day!

We had many devotions about legacy.  We talked about family tree and genealogies.  I specifically poked and prodded my aunt and uncle and my mom about stories and such for me to write down.  What I have found as I research genealogies I realize that the mundane stories that are our day to day lives, get lost even 2 generations out so it needs to be recorded now for future generations.  I did alot of thinking over the time we were there and I feel that I have probably done at very poor job at passing on the legacy that was passed to me.  We sat one night and sang hymns and songs that we grew up with and my girls don't know most of them.  We talked one night about the fact that one legacy that was strong in our family was that there was always unconditional love.  I can attest to that...no matter what I did in my life, no matter what came up, although I knew mom and dad would be upset, I never questioned their love.  I can only hope that I have passed that on to my family. 

What was the most significant thing of the weekend???  Well there was so much but I was overwhelmed with the power of my grandparents story.   They were not raised Christian and both became Christians later in life and then before they had children they prayed for their children to go into some form of ministry.  They had 3 children: 1 girl-missionary, 1 boy-pastor and missionary, 1 boy- pastor.  And let me say...lifetime service also.  That is AMAZING to me!  God is AMAZING!  I felt very ineffective and a bit embarrassed by what I think may be the lack of legacy that I have passed down. 

Tiana then flew with my mom and her cousin to Colorado and is spending several weeks there.  So Tabitha and I drove home.  I had hoped that I would have some time to do some family tree research but my time was limited but I pushed hard to have a couple hours to check out some cemeteries and I found the grave of some long lost relatives.  It was such a rush (I am sure that that is weird to some of you).  I also got some great contacts for other cemeteries but didn't have time to do the looking while I was there.  I have since found that Tabitha and I were standing in one of the cemeteries where my grandparents graves are..but I didn't know it...bummer.  But that is ok..I know where they are now...so I may make another trip down there for some pics.  I was very proud of Tabitha for being gracious and helping me do all the searching of these graves.  I think she might have enjoyed it a little also.

We got back and the next day Tabitha flew to Edmonton to spend a month with her mom.  So I am alone for a couple weeks.  When I tell people that, most people say, oh you'll be lonely.  Um, no, not so much.  I am decompressing from a very stressful and emotional year.  Last Saturday was the first Saturday that I didn't HAVE to go anywhere for a very long time.  It was wonderful.  I rearranged the kitchen a bit and have started planning a couple projects.  I am only alone for about 2 1/2 weeks and I threw in a colonoscopy in there too so no, I am not lonely most of the time.  I am peacefully content.  Tiana comes back next week and Tabitha will be back in August.

Wil finally deployed on the 10th.  He is heading to Libya on the HMCS Vancouver.  They are going to replace the HMCS Charlottetown.  I don't know how long he will be over there...my guess is about 6 months.  It takes a month to get there so I can't see it being much less than that.  I don't hear much from him, so I don't have much more to say.  I pray for him regularly and I miss him terribly.  I know he is glad that they are finally at sea...it was very stressful to not have a plan and try to plan for every possibility.  Now he has a specific mission to plan for and that will be a bit easier.  I still have no idea when he will be back so he'll be back when he is back.  I know I am on my own for the next little bit at least.

What is on the horizon?  Not much.  The girls and I will have all of August to finish up summer and then school starts after Labor Day. (I can't believe I have two 10th graders).  Tiana will stay at St Johns and Tabitha will stay at SFDCI.  I am thinking about making a trip to Michigan this fall but I am not sure about that.  No other plans for 2011 at this point.  Well, I think it is time to paint something too...lol.

2 countries and 3 states in 1 day...

There is a lot to say but I will update you briefly on our trip.  The girls and I left on Tuesday and we headed to Niagara Falls.  As I began the drive I realized that this trip is possible because of the trip we made last year from Colorado.  I am not a driver, I do not like driving.  I don't know if it is all the trips we took in the car as a kid or what but I am a flyer.  Well we drove from Colorado last year to Ontario and I pulled our big trailer the whole way.  I was so proud of myself for doing it and not having to stop any extra except for gas and because of that drive I didn't panic when I found out Wil wasn't going to be here for this one and I would have to drive it alone!  So thanks be to God for preparing me for this...last year. I love seeing things like that in my life...now on to the trip.

I drove through Toronto for the first time since our trip last year where the Trailblazer broke down there and felt a great sense of relief when we were through it and were still driving.  Then on to the Falls.  Needless to say it was beautiful.  What a great little touristy, fun town.  We went on a Maid of the Mist boat tour and got so close to the falls that even with rain ponchos we got drenched.  But it was soooooo coool.  We had a lovely night and decided we will definately have to come back.

Wednesday we headed for Ohio and Cedar Point.  Again, no problems.  We crossed to border and had a not so pleasant border guard, no smiles.  I kept thinking "just the facts, ma'am".  It was my first time bringing Tabitha across without Wil but he only asked me how I knew Tiana.  Funny...but I think it is because her last name is different...even though our passports are blue (US) and Tabithas is green (Canadian).  So on to the States.  We got caught in a lot of construction in Pennsylvania so that slowed us a bit but we made it to Sanduskey.  We stayed at a hotel that has a water park inside so that is what we did for the afternoon and then just chilled for dinner.  Then Thursday it was all about Cedar Point.

Because of the hotel we stayed at, we got in to the park 1 hour early.  Very cool.  So we went on the newest ride first "WindSeeker".  A very high swing.  It was fun but we all agreed, we were all a bit let down after all the hype.  Then we went on to conquer "Top Thrill Dragster".  This ride Tiana and I chickened out on the last time we were here and I have regreted it ever since.  It is extremely high and a super fast ride but we were determined to just do it.  Well Tabitha is not the experience coaster rider that Tiana and I are but she was determined to do it to.  I was so proud of her.  So we all did it.  Tiana and Tabitha sat together and I sat behind them and WHOOSH!  It was over.  It was a blast so we turned around and did it again right away.  That was the highlight of the day for Tabitha and I.  Tiana's hightlight was her doing the Sky Swing.  She paid extra to be strapped in to one of those swings where they pull you up, up, up, up, up.....forever and then she pulled the cord and plummeted toward the earth (ok that is what it looked like for mom).  She has wanted to do that for so long and I was so proud and extremely freaked out watching it.  We did a bunch of other rides and had some good amusement park food including Panda Express (they don't have that in Canada), frozen bananas, funnel cake fries and dippin dots and we walked until our feet couldn't walk anymore.  Oh, we had fun. 

At the end of the day we went down on the beach.  Oh, how I love the beach.  I stood with my feet in the sand and once again just felt "right".  That is how I always feel when on a beach and I realized that I think one of the reasons that I enjoy Ontario is because I am so much closer to water.  I love Colorado but I love beaches and warm water so much more.  It is so much a part of me and who I am.  I stood in the lake and listened to the waves yesterday and it just brought me peace.  I love it...and could have stayed there longer.

As I did at Niagara, I stood there and was very sad that Wil couldn't share this fantastic trip with us.  It was announced yesterday that the HMCS Vancouver (his ship) will be sailing to relieve the HMCS Charlottetown in Libya this month.  So, I get to be one of those wives that says, my husband is going to a war zone.  Even though I knew this was  probably going to happen, now it is real and I am struggling with it.  That is all I will say for now.  I can't dwell on it.

So today is on to Louisville, Kentucky for a family reunion.  I am so excited to see everyone.  Our reunion is themed "Legacy".  We will be revisiting old haunts and homes of my father and his siblings, we will see a Cincinnati Reds game and we will have fun remembering.  I am excited to show all my geneology work too!

I don't know what my legacy will be but it sure has made me think!  Denver and the Mile High Orchestra has a song called Legacy that is appropriate but I can't find it online right now so if you get a chance to hear it....it really hits home.

Love you all!

Crisis mode or maybe just the new normal!

my first iris....first of many!

So sorry for it being so long since the last update but I haven't really felt like blogging...mainly because it would all be negative as of late and I choose to try not to dwell on that stuff and really to not bring others down with me.  But it is time to update everyone so here goes.

As you know Wil left in April and you know how when your husband leaves, the garage door stops working and then he comes home and it works fine.  Well it has been  of that only Wil isn't coming home to get them working so I have been working on trying to get things fixed without breaking the bank.  So here is the list of the things I have had fixed, are fixing or will be fixing: brush hog, gas weed eater, lawn tractor, Trailblazer, computer server, computers, various lights and on and on.  Whew!  It has just been so steady of crisis management that when I clean up one mess, I just wait for the next thing to crash.  I am praying that soon things will smooth out because this is no fun.

We have had a lot of rain so that means a lot a lot a lot of mowing for me and with all the lawn items not working it has been a trick.  All my equipment is working now so I am excited to be able to use it all this weekend.  Well, excited is not the word...the 2.1 acres is kicking my butt.  I am just trying to keep it at bay right now.  It feels like a jungle that is alive and creeping forward and I stand with my machete...keeping it back.  Some days I win and some days I lose but I will not quit.

On a lighter note, my mom came to visit.  We had a lot of fun.  We went on a cruise around the 1000 Islands area.  That just makes me want to go on more cruises in that area...very cool.  We showed her around our area, and of course took her downtown to the Parliament buildings.  We rented a wheelchair because of all the walking around and the girls and I had fun pushing grandma around in a light rain.  Then we had lunch at the Hard Rock (Tiana has now eaten at Hard Rock in 3 countries) and did some shopping at a nearby market.

The dirt is moved...wow...10 cubic yard is a lot of dirt to move.  I can tell you my arms got a great work out, but it is done.  So now I get to start planting and, of course, weeding.  It will take a couple years for the rock garden to really come to life but the area is mapped, there is soil and now it is implementation time.  I have the antique plow and a garden flag (thanks mom) and the family memory "rock" that I brought from Colorado.  I am going to find a couple nice boulders to add in and a bunch of irises and we shall see where it goes from there.  I probably made too large of an area in retrospect...I should have started small and expanded as I had time but you know what they say about hind sight.

The girls are anxiously waiting the end of school.  The really only have full days through Thursday then a couple finals and they are out.  They have done really well but they are sooooooo done and ready for summer.  Now part of it could be that on the 28th we leave for a family reunion in Ohio.  I am ready to get away.  We haven't had a vacation since June of 2009 and no! moving is not a vacation.  This isn't my idea of a vacation per se ( I hate driving) but it will still be fun!  We are stopping at Niagara Falls, none of us have been there so it will be very cool.  Then on to Cedar Point (Tiana and my favorite amusement park).  Then on to the Cinci area for the reunion. 

This reunion is all about Legacy and I have been working on updating our family tree.  It was addictive when I started it many years ago and I have been just as obsessed this time.  I have found some very cool things and am really looking at things differently.  I challenge everyone to think...what legacy have I left.  In the simplest of thing...what stories have we passed on that will be lost with us.  I haven't left as much as I could so I am working to fix that.  Why OHIO, well that is where my dad's family grew up and we are going to go see some of the local haunts from his childhood.  I am very excited.

After the reunion, Tiana flies to Colorado and Tabitha and I drive back to Smiths Falls in time for Tabitha to leave for a visit with her mom and then I will go home and crash!  I will miss the girls but I am looking forward to some time to decompress and really process everything that has happened in this last year.  Then before I know it Tiana will be back and then Tabitha will be back and then school will start...but that is too far ahead to think.  Ok, not totally too far, I found out there is an African safari park a couple hours from here and I am thinking that is where I want to go for my birthday...I will have to look into it some more.  It won't be as exciting as the safari in Kenya I went on with my dad but I bet it will still be fun.

We still don't know where Wil is going...hopefully we will know soon.  He still thinks they are leaving in July sometime.  He is extremely stressed out and exhausted.  I don't get to talk to him as often as I would like and there has definitely been a HUGE time of adjustment but I am hoping we have settled in at this point into some sort of non routine routine...lol.  I spoke with him last night and he was very sick.  He could definitely use your prayers as could I.

On the good side, my birds are multiplying and my flowers are flourishing and I am now feeding squirrels and rabbits also which is fine except someone ate one of my plants  :(.    I will end with a pic of some of my flowers.

Thats all for now.

Brenda