Big Blabbermouth...

Really I'm not trying to be secretive about the new house.
I am generally a big blabbermouth who will tell all the details.
However, I don't want to say to much until the papers are all signed.
We are meeting with the lawyer this week, and its all happening very quickly.
All the details will follow soon when papers are all signed.

Big Step Forward...

We are going to put in an offer on a house.

Birthday Wishes...

Today is my mother-in-law's birthday. She is awesome and deserves to have a great birthday.
I think she enjoyed herself tonight, which is what its all about as birthdays go.

I'm not going to say she's old because...quite frankly, she could still catch me and beat the tar out of me. So I won't give away her age, I'll just say that next year she will be 60 that way no one will figure out how old she is (except math geniuses).

So...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

MOTHER-IN-LAW!!!

Up and At 'Em Early Risers...

Every mother has experienced being awakened by young children at an hour which is reserved for ambitious birds and unfortunate worms, namely, early.
Too early.

When these early mornings are preceeded by a night suited to owls and hawks, the abrupt start to the day is particularly painful. Sleepy-eyed women the world over have stumbled out of bed and muttered incoherent "uh-huh"s to their chirpy, energetic pre-schoolers. Intelligent children capitalize on their mother's brain freeze by bombarding them with inane, unreasonable requests. Kids know that if mommy is ever going to agree to cookies for breakfast, today is the day. You gotta take that disheveled, stumbling, mumbling mommy for all she's worth!

I have decided that this is a universal experience of motherhood. Shell-shocked mothers in a state of sleep deprivation deserve some sort of ammunition while under the barrage of bouncy, happy, well-rested toddlers. (Just because they went to bed early, doesn't mean we did!)

In an attempt to correct this oversight, I have decided to provide sleepy mothers with some resources which may help in this situation. Perhaps I have discovered a gap in the book publishing world. The first step is write a few self-help books for mornings like this.
For Instance...

A Guide to Semi-Conscious Parenting

(The book would be marketed with a bonus first aid kit for when the three year old tries to make toast and tea on his own)

or

Caffeine Induced Parenting:

How Much Is Too Much?

or

Good Morning, I Love You, Now Leave Me Alone

or

Quick Reference Guide to Early Morning Children Programming

(that's what its there for people!)

or

A Parent's Guide to Imaginary Play

Includes variations on Sleeping Beauty and Rip Van Winkle

I could also tap into the children's market with some colorfully illustrated books for kids such as...

Mommy Takes A Nap

or

Shhh!!! Monsters Eat the Loud Kids First

or

Broken Bone Billy Jumps on Mommy's Bed: A Cautionary Tale

From there I could move into the territory of literary classics. Perhaps I re-write some great literary novels to help sleep-deprived mothers relate better to the themes. For Example...

A Tale of Two Pillows

War and Sleep

Sunrise and Punishment

The Old Man and the Nap

Napper in the Rye

Of Blankets and Pillows

The Great Snooze Button

Breakfast at Eleven

To Kill A Dreaming State

The Sun Also Rises, Way Too Early

A Brave New Bedtime

Any other classics you would like to see re-written?

C'mon, play along....its fun!

Pock Mark Update...

The pox count is up to 294.
I hope that's all of them.
Poor baby.

On the plus side, Rebecca's math skills have improved dramatically.
She used to be able to count to 20 or 30.
Now with all this pock counting, she can count to 70!!!

Who knew there was an upside to chicken pox?
(Besides all the popsicles you can eat)

Rebecca Pox...

Poor Rebecca.
After her bath tonight we counted her pock marks.
She has 183 so far.
Yikes!

Cathy and Cindy were right about the oatmeal bath stuff.
She didn't want to get out of the tub....ever...

While being sick and itchy is awful, there are some perks which seem to keep Rebecca in good spirits.

• Unlimited attention
• Frequent popsicle consumption
• No one making her eat
• Lots of concern over her appearance (by people other than herself)
• Unlimited television watching
• Unlimited "Mommy Cuddles"

All in all, she is weak in body but strong in spirit.

So far, so good.

Beware the Red Dots...

My poor little Rebecca has the chicken pox.
Poor baby girl!
So far, no dots on Isabella but we'll see what happens.

Missed Opportunities???

As I think about heading out of my twenties and stare down the barrel of the BIG THREE-O,
I become more introspective. I tend to look at my life thus far, and wonder about some of the choices I made or didn't make.

I grew up in a remote area, so many opportunities that might have been were not.
As my daughters are getting older and see all the possibilities available to them...ballet lessons (or any other form of dance), piano lessons (or any other instrument), skating lessons, martial arts, any kind of sports teams, horse-back riding, gymnastics, swimming...you name it...its all here and available to them!

I have to hold myself back from signing them up for everything under the sun just because I can. I think, "oh man I would have loved to do that, let's sign 'em up!". (But I must remember they are not me, and will have different interests so I must consult them before throwing them into advanced killer-monkey jui-jitsu).

This got me thinking about opportunities for myself, and maybe its not too late for me!
For example, I've always wanted to learn to dance a little (just for socials, weddings etc).
So is it too late? I don't think so.
Sure, I may need a chiropractor, and massage therapy after dance lessons. There is also a possibility that I may need physiotherapy or traction but isn't it worth a try?

With all these t.v. shows like Dance with the Stars or Skating with Celebrities, I'm inspired to try things just to try them. The intention is not to become an olympian or professional at any of these things, just to try it and possibly improve my life.
There are a couple differences between myself and the people in these shows.
While I don't have the advantage of a professional trainer, there is also no risk of public humilition so in the end I think I break even.

So today, I will try something new.
I don't want to look back when I'm 60 and say, why didn't I do such-and-such when I was only 30...what a missed opportunity!

Done! Done! Done!

We finished processing the provincial exams today at 4:00pm!
So the insanity will not continue into next week!
Yay!

Now to spend some time with my kids...

Quick Breather & Quick Blog...

This week I've been working 12 hours a day.
Go go go!!!!
I was hired to help process the provincial exams again.
The work is hard and fast so the hours go by quickly.
AND they feed you well.
Nice touch!
I'm off to work again at my other job.
Looking forward to Sunday when my life should return to normal
for awhile again.
Or will it????

Do You Know What Today Is???

Our neighbors to the south are celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. day today! Here is an exerpt from his "I have a dream" speech.
If you are in need of inspiration, this ought to do it!
Why is it that the world often recognizes prophetic voices as prophetic only after they are dead?

(I've taken the liberty of highlighting my favorite parts!)
Enjoy!

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope.

This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.

With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.

With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Amen! Let Freedom Ring all over Canada too!!!

Cute Story...

A man was out hunting. He just happened to be hunting bears. As he trudged through the forest looking for the beasts, he came upon a large and steep hill.
Thinking that perhaps there would be bear on the other side of the hill, he climbed up the steep incline and, just as he was pulling himself up over the last outcropping of rocks, a huge bear met him nose to nose.

The bear roared fiercely. The man was so scared that he lost his balance and fell down the hill with the bear not far behind.
As he tumbled down the hill, the man lost his gun. When he finally stopped at the bottom, he found that he had a broken leg.
Escape was impossible and so the man, who had never been particularly religious (in fact this just happened to be a Sunday morning), prayed, "God, if you will make this bear a Christian I will be happy with whatever lot you give me for the rest of my life."

The bear was no more than three feet away from the man when it stopped dead in its tracks... looked up to the heavens quizzically...
and then fell to its knees and prayed in a loud voice, "O Lord, bless this food of which I am about to partake."

Second Time Around...

I know I've said this a thousand times but its so true that I'll say it again...
It is the motivation of the heart that matters more than the behaviour.

If God looks past the facade, then why we do what we do is the thing that matters most.
For eg. reading the Bible...a good thing...but why is the behaviour happening?
Is it to appear "holy"? Is to become smarter than other people? Is it to learn all
the rules and principles to succeed in life? Or is it to get to know the author better?

Once again, I'm learning about the difference between motivation and behaviour:

When I was a teenie-bopper girl, I would wake up at insane hours of the morning to get
ready for school. I would spend hours primping and preening myself before exiting my home.
The effort was done in the hopes that Prince Charming would fall madly in love with me and carry me off into the sunset. That and I wanted people to think I was beautiful because I was really terrified that everyone on the planet thought I was an ugly, heinous beast.

In university, I wanted the best grades so all the primping went out the window. During exam time I wore sweats, no make-up, hair pulled back and glasses...In PUBLIC no less!!!

This sort of carried on into married life and motherhood was a whole new reason to avoid looking in the mirror. I have become very comfortable with a ponytail as "the look".

As my kids are getting older, and my job is becoming more prominent in my life, I find lately I have to dress for meetings, do my hair and put on make-up again. As I do alot of presenting and representing, I have to portray a certain image.

So I have come back to the mirror for the second time around.
However, this time the reflection is something quite different. There are no panic-stricken or fearful eyes staring back at me.
I need to primp again but this time the motivation is different.
I am putting together the image of a confident woman who has something to say, something to offer and things to accomplish.
This time around, its not about what everybody else thinks, its about what is right for me.
From wearing the clothes that I like instead of what is the latest fad to doing my hair the way I want because I already feel pretty rather than because I want to be pretty.

I think its so great when God allows me to re-visit the things of the past, because it reminds me of where I was and helps me see how far I've come.
It might be the same mirror, but the reflection is alot different the second time around!

Cutie Boo-Bear...

This morning Isabella asked me if God was imaginary.
Try answering that question 10X fast!

This afternoon she decided she would tell me the story of Snow White.
I think she may have a future in writing condensed stories for Reader's Digest.
Disney did the movie in an hour and she managed it in about a minute.

Here is Isabella's version of Snow White:

Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl named Snow White.
Her hair was black and her lips were blue.
The queen was bad so off she went and she cleaned up for some dwarfs.
Then she was tired from all the cleaning so the queen brought her a
poison apple and she took A BITE! (shouting)
Then she died.
Later she woke up again.
The end.

Update...

Tonight we looked at a house.
I thought it was good, D.J. did not like it.
He has higher standards than I do, which I think is an amazing gift to me.
I tend to settle.
He doesn't.
That is a blessing to me, as I always end up with "better than I imagined".
As he has more faith than I do for a fabulous house and is not willing to settle,
I will go along with his decision.
In the long run, it is better for me too.
In fact, its better in the short run too.
Its really better in all the runs.
ha ha
I said "runs".

Didg'ya Ever Wonder???

Did you ever wonder why people act like jerks?
Did you ever wonder if you were one?
I do.
To both questions.

Bedtime Story...

Tonight I had a quite a laugh as I tucked my little Rebecca in at story time.
We received a very lovely, hard cover book of bedtime stories this holiday.

I opened it up to the first story in the fairy tale section of the book, which
happened to be Hansel and Gretel by Hans Christian Anderson.

I could tell Rebecca was a little nervous as the story began with the parents planning
how to get rid of the children. I thought it might be a little scary for her so I asked if
she wanted me to stop the story but she wanted to see what happened.

I got as far as the witch (I said "old hag") saying "I'll fatten him up to eat him" when Rebecca
interrupted me...
"Okay wait! He's a little boy right?"
"Yes."
"She wants to eat a little boy? We better switch books mommy, this story is too craaaa-zy!"

We switched to a happier bed time tale!
I guess we'll save Hans Christian's tales for when she is a teenager!

Searching for a Home...

D.J. and I are searching for a new home.
We are ready for a bigger house.
We are doing what we can to prepare for a new and larger house.

That means getting the house we have now in order, and planning for the future.

It is an exciting time.

End of Holiday Holiday...

Now is the time of year when a lot of people need a post-holiday, holiday.
It takes a few days to recover from all the jovial events.

Today I didn't leave the house.
A friend came over, our kids played and we chatted and listened to music.
We made cookies, got a roast in the oven and played poker.

Sort of an anti-exhaustion kind of day.
Just what I needed.

Bridging the Gap...

Here is what I was thinking today while driving about to various places in the Peg.

If Jesus was comfortable hanging out with thieves, liars, prostitutes and the dregs of society, why does the idea of doing that make me uncomfortable?
If Jesus was holy, pure and perfect.
The gap between his purity and the sin of the people in his social circle was HUGE, but he was able (throught grace?) to bridge that gap.

The gap between his goodness and their sin, was MUCH bigger than the gap between my sinful nature and the sin of "those" guys.
YET...sometimes I feel like I don't know how to talk to drug addicts, prostitutes, theives etc. Should I not avoid people who live in this way? (Who make poor life choices???)
WHY?
Because I fear that they will suck me into that world of sex, drugs and violence?
Because I have become so much more pure and holy than they are?
Because I should only see them as a mission, or project that I can fix?
Because I make better life choices and deserve better?

The truth is that my sin is as great as any other sin, and by the grace of God I live where I live, I was raised where I was raised and I was blessed to be introduced to the living God at an early age.
I need not fear sin as more powerful in this day and age and worry about it overpowering me.
I need not fear or avoid sin or sinners. Jesus didn't.

The truth is that sin is not any worse now than it was in Jesus time.
Prostitution is the same now as it was then, drug addiction holds the same power, corruption is as evil now as it was when Jesus walked the earth. He didn't fear it, or avoid it but rather faced it head on. Is this the example set before me?

If He was holy, and pure and He could hang-out with the worst of the worst without fear of corruption...what am I doing, spending my time avoiding "the world"?

I do not want to become another Christian who is irrelevant to the world.

And those were my thoughts for the day....

If Heaven Exists...

I like the question that the host of Inside the Actor's Studio asks each of his guests at the end of the show. Here is the question...

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you
arrive at the pearly gates?

I think the way people answer this question is says something about the way they view God and themselves. It says something about what a person values and how they view the world. It is quite a revealing question. Below I will list some of the anwers given by some of Hollywood-types, and you can play along at home by using the comment section.

What would you like to hear God say to you when you arrive in Heaven?

• Harrison Ford - "You're much better looking in person"
• Anthony Hopkins - "What were you doing down there?"
• Michael Douglas - "Thought you'd never get here"
• Richard Dreyfuss - "Come on in, its not as boring as you thought."
• Danny Glover - "Thank you"
• Jerry Lewis - "Would you like to try again?"
• Gene Hackman - "Good job!"
• Kathy Bates - "Safe!"
• Gabrielle Byrne - "You see, I do exist."
• Ben Affleck - "Your friends are in the back, they were expecting you."
• Melanie Griffith - "Thank God you're here"
• Whoopi Goldberg - "Whoa!"
• Christopher Walken - "You were right"
• Mike Meyers - "He saw it"
• Julia Roberts - "Come on in"
• Roseanne - "Hello"
• Meryl Streep - "Everybody in"
• James Caan - "Nice to meet you"
• Sylvester Stallone - "Want something to eat?"
• Val Kilmer - "I love you"
• Alan Alda - "Just kidding about those earthquakes"
• Tom Hanks - "Ah! Ah! Ah! Back you go!"
• Helen Hunt - "You showed courage"
• Geena Davis - "The guinea pig was going to die anyway, its not your fault."
• Kevin Spacey - "Its about time!"
• Robin Williams - "I just want to hear God laugh"

So what's your answer?

Phone Manners...

If you are a night hawk or an early riser, you might have to keep your thoughts to yourself and wait before you phone the person you want to talk tell your thoughts too.

It is now 11:22pm. I have a thought I want to share with someone, but is it too late to call?

What are the rules for phoning?
How late is too late to phone?
How early is too early to phone?
Does it make a difference if the person has young kids?
What if the person doesn't have kids?

How are people supposed to know the rules for these things?