The 11th Commandment?

Tonight was so funny, I just had to share! I was putting Brie to bed and we were reading a story in her kid's bible about Moses. Last time we read about the 10 Commandments so as a refresher I thought I would ask her if she remembers any of them.

She got a very serious look and said:
"Do not kill". (Check!)
"Do not lie". (Check!)
"Do not run across the street". (HUH?)

I didn't have the heart to correct her, it was just too funny!

After this topic ended, we somehow ended up talking about heaven. This is sorta how it went:

Brie - Do your Grandma and Grandpa live in heaven?
Me - Yes they do.
Brie - Is heaven in the sky?
Me - Uh.....well, yeah.....sorta.....(sure we'll go with that for now)
Brie - How do you get there?
Me - Well, honey, we only go to heaven after we die.
Brie - But Jessie and Bailey won't go there, right? (those are our cats)
Me - Yes, sweetie, only people can go to heaven.
Brie - Can we go to heaven now?
Me - Uh, no honey, because that would mean we would have to die first.
Brie - I think we could get there in an airplane.
Me - (snickering quietly to self) No we can't get to heaven in an airplane, only God can take us there.
Brie - We should go to heaven tomorrow after breakfast!
Me - Uh.....(I really hadn't planned on it!)....No sweetie, we won't go there for a long time.
Brie - Oh okay. (somewhat resigned attitude)

Natural Church Development

Yesterday was a great day to be in our church! I don't often go home thinking this, which is really sad, but I am so thankful that God allowed both John and I to be there. We had a speaker come in from the MB (Mennonite Brethren) denomination. Our church is I think one of 6 in the province that belong to the EMMC (Evangelical Mennonite Mission Conference) and along with every other church in Wynyard, it is a very small struggling church. Fortunately, the MB has offered to "partner" with us and help get something going here. Originally I believe the MB wanted to do a church-plant here, but frankly they changed their minds because why would they waste their money to support another empty small-town church? So they are helping with their resources, etc.

We have attended WGC (Wynyard Gospel Church) for almost 3 years. It is a very bland, senior-oriented, hymn-loving, non-changing church. We currently have some interim pastors that are also from the MB. They are partially retired but they are excited about their faith, they want to involve everyone, and they want to see progress before their time here is done.

Yesterday we all filled out a survey related to our church's health, or rather, lack thereof. This survey is done through Natural Church Development which I found out today is affiliated with Willow Creek Canada, where my friend Jacqui works. NCD compiles all of our answers and analyzes where our greatest weaknesses are. Usually they only take about 30 surveys, but as this is the majority of our congregation we all filled one out.

I am so glad that our voices will be heard! We are only one of 2 families that have ever been in a growing church before so we know what we are missing. Our 2 families had our surveys completed long before anyone else. Questions were ranked on a 1-5 scale. Let me just say that most of my answers were a 4 (hardly) or 5 (not at all). I am hoping that the seniors will have given honest answers and that their stubbornness would not get in the way of seeing some much-needed changes. Realistically, this church is going to die, unless we make some major changes to invite new members and those who are seeking God. It is very sad to see people staying within their comfort zones and never trying to adapt for the needs of others.

We are only here for another 2-ish years. I am now hopeful that we will see some positive changes before we have to move! Yay!

Guitar Solo

My nephew Steven is having a contest with a friend of his to see how many hits their videos can get. So I thought I could help him out and post his video here for all to see! He is 14 and playing Crazy Train on his guitar. Very impressive!

Here it is.

Crazy Eights

Well since I was tagged by Tara I figured that I should try this list too.


8 Things I'm Passionate About:

God
John
My Girls
Family
Friends
Singing
Kids
Reading


8 Things I Want To Do Before I Die:

Go to Africa, especially a safari
Take the girls to Disney (world or land...I'm not picky!)
Have a 50th wedding anniversary
Go white-water rafting again
See my girls grow up to be beautiful Christian women
Help deliver shoeboxes from Operation Christmas Child
Be more giving of myself and our resources
Be involved in a growing church again


8 Things I Say Often:

I love you
Girls!
Stop making a mess!
Clean that up right now
I have another headache
What should I make for supper?
Oh my goodness
You're kidding


8 Books I've Read Recently:

(there's been more than 8 recently)

Romancing Your Husband by Debra White Smith
Poor Mrs. Rigsby by Kathy Herman
Someday by Karen Kingsbury
The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Caught by Neta Jackson
The Yada Yada Prayer Group books 1-4
Seasons books 1-4 by Terri Blackstock and Beverly LaHaye


8 Songs I Could Listen to Over and Over:

(can I just say how difficult this is because it totally depends on my mood)

How Great is Our God by Chris Tomlin
Holy is the Lord by Chris Tomlin
You Reign by MercyMe
East to West by Casting Crowns
Donkey Riding by Fiddler's Green (no choice but to listen to it over and over)
Anything from Music Pups because I teach it
Anything by Norah Jones
Anything by Michael Buble


8 Things That Attract Me to my Best Friends:

Honesty
Compassionate
Caring
Faith
Understanding
Serving
Fun
Kids

8 People I Think Should Do Crazy Eights:

(I don't have 8 but here's a few:)
Jinny
Colin
Colleen


Whew! I'm done. That takes some good thinking. Thanks Tara.

Lunar Eclipse

I've been outside 3 times tonight watching the changes in the moon as it enters into the earth's shadow. So cool! This type of thing never used to interest me, I guess John's love of astronomy must have rubbed off on me over time.

I tried to take some pictures but I can't leave my house as I obviously can't leave the girls at home by themselves. We have 1 stupid street light on our cul-de-sac and it happens to be exactly underneath the moon tonight. So I will just have to keep it in my memory.

John is trying out his Christmas present tonight on some grid road in the dark. I bought him a starter telescope so hopefully he is enjoying it lots tonight. I also hope that he doesn't have to cut it short as he is "working" tonight. This counts as his coffee break I guess.

Romancing My Husband

Yesterday was the perfect timing to get a package in the mail. A little while ago I bought a pile of stuff from here. I bought a variety of things...coloring books, small gifts, parenting books, christian books, and finally I found a book for $5.00 called "Romancing Your Husband" by Debra White Smith. I thought it might have some good ideas, and it was cheap, so why not give it a try?

I am so glad that I bought it and it came yesterday. This week has seemed to be a very discouraging one for John, for reasons that I won't go into. Plus, I am a bad one for nitpicking at things that HE is doing wrong in our marriage. Never is it me that is at fault...only him. Poor guy. So I started reading this book almost as soon as I got it.

A friend and I recently had a discussion that we both missed the "romance" in our lives. Where did it go to? What happened? Why aren't our husbands doing anything to fix it? Etc.

Well here's a quote from the book on page 16: "If romance is what you need then YOU pour romantic energies into your marriage." The author says that when she started implementing this into her own marriage, it went from "good to extraordinary".

So I started writing a letter to John yesterday but decided in the end to scrap it. Instead I got an idea online, to come up with a compliment for every letter of the alphabet. So from A-Z I had to come up with 26 characteristics that I appreciate about my husband. It took a while, but I think that it was really worth it. He hasn't been wallowing in his discouragement but instead today he was happier. I'm sorry that I haven't thought to do anything sooner for him.

I'm even thinking of buying another book by Debra White Smith, "101 Ways to Romance Your Marriage". I'll have to save that for my next book order!

Never Ever Say Never

I think I must be losing my mind. When we moved here almost 3 years ago, I had no idea what people did for fun in a small town. I laughed at the prospect of scrapbooking or doing other crafts. Not me, I said. Never would be. Not gonna happen. I was not going to turn into "Susie Homemaker" and join a quilting group. Heh heh heh. Well, obviously I scrapbook, as you can see by my previous post. I got involved in a Stampin Up group this summer. Now what am I considering......?

Quilting! The idea is so ridiculous to me that I can't stop laughing. Why am I considering the very things I laughed at only a few years ago? It's boredom, pure boredom, I tell you! (honestly) I have actually been looking online for very simple ideas for making patch quilts. There are some great videos on YouTube that demonstrate how to start quilting, right down to the tools and terminologies of this craft. How did I end up here?

2 years ago when Ella was born, my friend Kristi made a beautiful crib-sized quilt for her. It looks so "simple", just strips of fabric in various sizes that are sewn together and it has a fleece back. Very pretty. She has shown me some other quilts she has made and they are equally impressive, especially the one made out of old jeans and pants. It's a great way to use up old (stained) clothes and therefore better for the environment too!

I saw another neat video on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1toYc0zqZFQ that is quite inspiring. I would love to be able to make something for each of my girls that would be personalized this way. Maybe this is too ambitious to start but I think I would like to try. Good time to dust off the sewing machine I bought several years back with my splurge group money. That poor thing has been shoved into a closet for most of its pathetic life. Maybe it's time to put it to good use. The question is.....can I do it?

I Figured It Out!

Well it took lots of fiddling on the computer, but I managed to figure out how to add videos. Hopefully it works. Sorry it's a little long, I'm just happy that I could do this at all!

My Little Genius

Caution: Mommy Bragging Ahead!

Last night Brie read her very first book from start to finish! Hop On Pop by Dr. Seuss. It's quite a long book to read, 64 pages to be exact. She only needed help with a few words, like "out". I still can't believe how well she does with different letter combinations, like "sh" "wh" or "th". So amazing! My little 4 year old is reading, and doing a great job already. This is definitely a big deal in our household. She was so excited that she actually read the entire book twice last night. Very cute to watch! I have some video of it, but I'm not quite computer savvy enough to figure out how to transfer it from the camcorder to this blog. Maybe in time I will figure it out?!? (Wish me luck...I may need it!)

Anyways, I've been noticing lately just how messed up our English language really is. Trying to reach Brie to sound out words doesn't always work. Rhyming words don't always look the same (two, blue, shoe, new, boo). Very confusing! I'm so glad that she is smart and has a great memory. Not too long ago she was spelling words as she hears them. Balrenu (ballerina) is the one we are most impressed with. She just totally takes the initiative to figure it out on her own, without asking for help.

The only problem now, is what do I do with her for the next year and half before she starts kindergarten? The cutoff for school is Dec. 31 and Brie's birthday is Jan. 2. So she misses kindergarten by about 36 hours. Poor girl. Lots of people tell us that it is a good thing to be the oldest in a class, but we are worried that she will be really bored and end up not trying (like both John and I did in our much younger years). I'm considering looking up some homeschooling stuff, not to actually take on that task myself but just to keep her mind active and challenged. Preschool, although fun, is not really a learning experience for her. She is only there to get the social interaction that she needs once a week. If she wants to learn, we will teach her. Definitely have to encourage this road she in on!

Scrappin'

Today I finally pulled out some old photos to print off and worked on the girls scrapbooks. This has been so overdue, I barely know where to begin! I figured with the frosty (-52) day that I shouldn't just wallow in my self-pity but that I should find something productive to do. I'm still working on stuff from the summer. Pretty much around the same time that I started stamping. Brie always combines the two names and says I am scrappin. Clever name I think! Anyways, it was really nice to look at photos of us at the park...wearing shorts...and summer hats...ah if only I could go back in time I would be there now. Either that, or somewhere on a beach would be good too!

Well I have finished 2 small pages, one for each of the girls books. Now to work on the fall, Christmas and birthdays in their books. Yikes! This may take a while. I am fully aware that I need to do it now, before the weather does actually get warm, because once that happens I am outta here! Back to work I go.

S.A.D. Anyone?

It is usually around this time of year when I simply can't take it anymore! My house is looking like a war zone, and unfortunately I cannot blame it all on the children. I just seem to lose all motivation for keeping things tidy. Although I don't think it's SAD (seasonal affective disorder) I certainly fall into the category of having the winter blues. I am cranky, slightly depressed and very unmotivated.

I wish we could just go outside and play in the grass. Unfortunately there is no grass to be seen. Just a white "wonderland" outside. Today a storm is brewing and headed this way sometime today. I am so tired of the whiteness and grey skies. I want our beautiful blue skies and green fields again. I'm not usually one to want to skip time, but right now I really wish I could fast-forward to May-ish. Getting ready for summer and working in the yard. Sigh. It seems like a dream right now.

We get so housebound in the winter, which I have always hated. I want to get out and do something! Unfortunately being in small town Sask, there is nowhere to escape to. Just the grocery store and the post office. Thrilling! Last week was even worse when everything was cancelled so Brie had no dance or preschool. She goes crazy like I do when we are cooped up in the house for too long. We make for a fun bunch!

To beat these blues, I tend to have a psychotic episode at least a few times a week. We break out the loud music and have a crazy singing and dancing party. I would be absolutely humiliated if anyone was to ever witness these such episodes (other than my kids and husband, because of course they know this is "normal") but it sure helps to break up the monotony of the housebound days.

I am sure looking forward to next weekend! We are going to Saskatoon for a couple of nights. I mentioned the idea of going bowling as a family. I just want something to do other than Walmart when we go there so I thought this might be a fun adventure. Plus, John is taking me out on a date for my birthday. Yay! No idea what we are doing, but who cares? It's a date and I won't complain!!

Using My Brain

I just realized this week that it is up to me to make up the T4s for the employees at the preschool. Yikes! So I've been busy trying to figure this all out, and hoping that I don't screw it up for anyone. At first I thought that it would just be for the teacher and the two assistants this year. Then I realized that there was also an assistant from last year that was paid from January-May. Lots of calculating for me. Good thing I have Excel or I would be much slower. I just love setting up formulas on Excel so that it can do all the work for me. That is nerdy I know, but I enjoy it!



Another nerdy thing is my anticipation of getting a filing cabinet for the preschool. It should come in by next week! I guess all my years working as a "receptionist" (or if you want the real title, Customer Relations Coordinator) I am looking forward to not having to leave the paycheques out in the open for all to see, or to have them get lost in the mess of papers on the junky old desk. This way, everyone can have their own hanging file and keeps it looking clean and neat. Yay!