It's Still Chtristmas ...

Terry and I got together tonight to exchange gifts (I predict there will be a craft night in the very near future), have supper and see a movie:I met her at the White Spot right after my doctor's appointment. So much nicer getting together with a friend after something like that than going home to an empty house.

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. S'all good.

2. Tree is down (thanks Jul for burning it for us) and all the decorations have been put away. A record! (Last year I got things put away the week before Valentine's Day.)

3. Dates have been finalized: I'm doing a house swap with the director of the U.K. Arrow office. For three weeks this summer, I'll be living in ENGLAND. (In a town about 90 minutes north of London,) I KNOW! How cool is that? I'm terribly excited.

Shalom,

Dear Gallblatter,

So. It was you all along.

Jerk.

Did you have a deal going with that clinic doc? Huh? DID YOU? What was in it for him? I can see where you'd benefit from a misdiagnoses - Obviously you got to stay in my glorious, comfy, well-padded body for an extra year and a half.... But why would he say that I just had "gas" when clearly I did not? Huh? Why? Oh how you must've laughed when I started crunching back Tums like they were sweet tarts every time you flared up with a tempter tantrum.

And what the heck were you doing when the ultrasound technician tried to take some pics of you? You HID? Were you embarrassed by all the scar tissue? Did you sink so low because of all the stones? Oh my goodness, you have been a pain. And you know what? I'm tired of being afraid of you.

So this is it.

It's over.

One less organ in my life can't be a bad thing.

Count your days buddy, because by Easter you'll be gone.

Sincerly,

Your host body.

Happy Birthday Mom.

In 1940, whilst the world was still at war with itself, tiny Hilda Jean Neumann was born in a small house behind the park in Yarrow.Her days in the country were numbered, however. Before long her family moved to the big city where she was raised to be a princess. Her royalty was recognized by the town folk and when she was 10 years old, she was crowned "May Queen of Vancouver." She still has the tiara and her picture was in the Vancouver Sun.
In recognition of her highness's 70th birthday, I took her out for dinner tonight. She had a whopper at Burger KING,
then we went to see Princess Victoria get her man and her crown in The Young Victoria.

Don't you just love "theme" evenings?

Don't you just love your mom?

I do.

Happy Birthday mom. You're the best.

And by the way, the movie was nice. Something you could take your mom to and not squirm in your seat because of inappropriateness. (Did I tell you about the time I took her to see Brokeback Mountain?)

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. Drew was home from Sun Peaks when I got home. He has friends over. I love having people in the house. It's one way to ensure I put pants on.

2. I have an awesome mom.

3. Facebook. There I said it. I am thankful for Facebook.

Shalom,

Mennonite in Costco jeans reads ...

... and loved it.

If you were born in the '60's, have a last name that rhymes with schmeizen, schmause, schmoerksen, or schmebert ... you will probably enjoy it too.

Rhoda was raised in a Menno community in California, that seems to me, could just as easily be on the outskirts of Winkler, Manitoba. Her parent's lifestyle seems more like my grandparent's lifestyle, but whatever. Her and I are roughly the same age; OK she might be a year or four younger than me but what's 48 months? Nothing in light of eternity.

She has a wicked sense of humor, is divorced, has a phd but no children and wrote her memoir while on an extended visit to her parent's place in California. (I'm guessing Fresno.) She took a cooking course in France, sews her own jeans, brings hollapse (pronounced hull up see) to potluck dinners, and ends up dating a 27 year old Friesen boy who drives a crotch rocket and banters with her about his Oma (who set them up). (I have just spent the past half hour searching the internet to see if she is still dating him. Absolutely NO information on her personal life anywhere. What a useless research tool this intraweb thing is.) I tempted to ask her to be my friend on facebook. Maybe she and I can wall talk.

Rhoda (I'm calling her that because it's her name, and I feel like we're sisters) left the Mennos behind when she went to grad school. She hooked up a bi-polar atheist and supported him through 15 years of marriage until he left her for a guy named Bob that he met on gay.com. (I just checked. There is such a site.) By the way, this is all from the first paragraph of the cover sleeve - I'm not spoiling the story by telling you this.

Know what I love about her? The way she makes fun of the Mennonites. And I'm OK with her doing so because she loves us and IS one of us. Someone named O'Leary could not pull this off. O'Leary would come across as mean spirited if he were to write, "As a people, they are pale as porkchops, flavored by centuries of inbreeding and shame." But when she says it, "As a people WE are pale as pork chops..." see what I mean?

Because I was reading my mom's copy of the book, I couldn't underline my fav parts. So I posted sticky notes on the pages I loved. I used a whole pad of yellow sticky notes, so the last chapters are decorated with pink post-its.

Here are a few:

What is it about being Mennonite that teaches little girls not to challenge authority?

Show me a Mennonite woman, and I'll show you a woman who sucks at asserting herself in her personal life.

(Rhoda and her sister Hannah were talking about Rhoda's 15 year marriage to a fella who behaved badly through most of it. She is saying, now, in retrospect, she should have said, "No matter how I feel about him, I will not expose myself to his damage." He refused to take depression or bipolar meds and consequently had horrific rages.) I'm wondering if we stay in bad marriages longer than we should because of the whole "for better or worse" thing we promise at the altar? When we end up with 15 years of "worse" we cloak ourselves with the martyr jacket.

Regarding being told by a teacher that she was to dance in the school's talent event:

As appalled as I was, I would have done whatever Mr. Handwerker had asked. I didn't know how to resist. I wasn't even aware that resistance existed as an option.

I love Rhoda's mom. Mary. Mary Janzen. When Rhoda noticed that her two brothers, who stayed Mennonite were far more conservative (read judgmental and critical) than her mom, she asked her about that. Her mom said, "They will mellow over time. When you're young, faith is often a matter of rules. What you should do and shouldn't do, that kind of thing. But as you get older, you realize that faith is really a matter of relationship - with God, with the people around you, and with members of your community."

Here are the first three paragraphs of chapter nine:

I was making myself a tuna salad for lunch in my parent's kitchen, draining the can of tuna into a small bowl. "Hey," I said, "are there any cats in the neighborhood who would appreciate this juice?"

My mother looked at me as if I had entered the final stages of dementia. She swiped the bowl, chugged the tuna juice, and said, "Schmekt gut!"

Then she asked me if I would run to the grocery store for corn on the cob and heavy cream. You can never have enough corn on the cob and heavy cream is what I always say, and it's a pleasure to provide them for a mother who does tuna shooters.

Tuna shooters.

Love that.

So.

There you go.

First book of the new year is a gooder.

Thirty One Questions to start the New Year

The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop, look up, and get our bearings. To that end, here are some questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God.

(Questions taken from Donald S Whitney's website.)

1. What's one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

2. What's the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

3. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?

5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?

6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?

7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

8. What's the most important way you will, by God's grace, try to make this year different from last year?

9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?

11. What's the most important decision you need to make this year?

12. What area of your life most needs simplifying, and what's one way you could simplify in that area?

13. What's the most important need you feel burdened to meet this year?

14. What habit would you most like to establish this year?

15. Who is the person you most want to encourage this year?

16. What is your most important financial goal this year, and what is the most important step you can take toward achieving it?

17. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your work life this year?

18. What's one new way you could be a blessing to your pastor (or to another who ministers to you) this year?

19. What's one thing you could do this year to enrich the spiritual legacy you will leave to your children and grandchildren?

20. What book, in addition to the Bible, do you most want to read this year?

21. What one thing do you most regret about last year, and what will you do about it this year?

22. What single blessing from God do you want to seek most earnestly this year?

23. In what area of your life do you most need growth, and what will you do about it this year?

24. What's the most important trip you want to take this year?

25. What skill do you most want to learn or improve this year?

26. To what need or ministry will you try to give an unprecedented amount this year?

27. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your commute this year?

28. What one biblical doctrine do you most want to understand better this year, and what will you do about it?

29. If those who know you best gave you one piece of advice, what would they say? Would they be right? What will you do about it?

30. What's the most important new item you want to buy this year?

31. In what area of your life do you most need change, and what will you do about it this year?

2009 - Year In Review

This year, as the year wound down, I browsed through a couple thousand photos, remembering the best parts of 2009.

My boy got baptized.

My other boy bought a car. And my third boy (not pictured bought a truck.)
I spent many evenings at the beach, walking. And taking. And taking pics.
In February, I zipped over to Winnipeg to visit Vern and meet Lawrence and Ellie's twins, Noah and Anna.
While I was there, Drew broke his collarbone.
Dad only had one health emergency this year, yay! His hospital visit was short and sweet this time. He will probably outlive us all...
And yay for having another son with a driver's license... Max passed his road test during the week that dad was in the hospital:
In March while Drew and Max were in Florida, enjoying the sunshine and the beach, I went to Cultus with a puzzle-addicted friend and enjoyed a freak snowstorm.
In April, Jesse married Sharalin
and we're so glad he did
she's a welcome addition to our family.
Clint was one of his groomsmen...
Then in May,
Stuart joined the family by marrying Vanessa. Yay for weddings.
In June, for the first time in 9 years, Clint, Max, Drew and I went on a vacation together. We went to New York City.

We stayed in a brownstone in Harlem. And lived to tell about it.
We were there for 5 whirlwind, memorable days. The day we arrived my mom fell down the stairs at home and broke her ankle.

We saw The Lion King on Broadway, went to the top of the Empire State Building at midnight, strolled through Central Park, saw the amateur show at the Apollo, were in Times Square the day Michael Jackson died, walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, spent hours in museums, shopped in SoHo, took a Harbour cruise and and and and got caught in a number of epic rain storms.

Three days after we got home, Clint took a quick jaunt over to Winkler, Manitoba and then two days after that, left for Paraguay and Brazil.

While he was videotaping the MB World Conference highlights, Mandi, Max, Drew and I joined dad and mom and their friends on an Alaskan cruise:
It was fabulous.
We tanned, played games, ate continually, read alot of books, saw shows, visited ports,
saw ice bergs and glaciers
talked
and enjoyed spectacular scenery.





Three days after we got home, Drew and I rented a motorhome and joined our friends at Creationfest.

While we were there, Clint was sick in Brazil. He was quarantined and bed ridden for a week, poor boy.
By the end of the summer, was all better.

2009 saw him make some big changes in his life; he quit his job at Northview, moved out home and became a fulltime Arts student at UFV. He loves it. Both living on his own, and being a student.

In October, I went on a bizarre, unbelievably awesome 6 day cross-Canada trip with Arrow. I spent the weekend on Prince Edward Island, then was in Moncton on Monday, Toronto on Tuesday, Edmonton on Wednesday and Calgary on Thursday.
So much fun.
I live in a beautiful country.
In December, Max followed Clint's lead and moved out too. He's living at his dad's place and working at Langley Concrete with the rest of the O's.
So. 2009 brought some changes to our lives; (living arrangements, job situations, the color of my house) while some things stayed the same (none of us got married, I still feel blessed by my family & friends, and I still drive the Durango).

As I look to the new year, I love the quote that my friend Tricia had as her facebook status this evening (apparently it is from King George VI's new year's speech, years ago...)

"I said to the man who stood at the gate of the new year: 'Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the known.' And he replied: 'Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to thee better than light and safer than a known way.'"

So, this is me, during the early morning of a brand new year, putting my hand in God's.

And on and on it goes, this good week of mine...

Do you have a friend that lol's?

(Laughs out loud.)

At movies?

Go see this movie with her:
Because it was funny.

And it was fun because I was with two friends who both laughed.

Belly laughed.

Laughed out loud and kinda snorted and were infectious to others in our area.

And the other part that was awesome?

Was about three quarters the way through, when we wished we could pause the movie and talk about possible ending scenarios. Because this movie is about relationships. And us women? We are experts at talking about relationship possibilities. Should Meryl keep things going with her ex? Or start something fresh with the architect?

We went out for tea afterwards and dissected that movie ten ways from Sunday and back again. I LOVE that. Exploring a movie to death afterwards.

And the VERY BEST part of the movie? Jim from The Office was in it. (Really. It was John Krasinski playing a character that was exactly Jim. Only his name is Harley) September? You have to see this movie for that reason alone.

I love Meryl. I think in real life we could be friends.

And I admire Alec Baldwin for doing so many scenes with no clothes on. He's got one big hairy body and it was awesome.

I mean, awesome because he's not all chiseled and toned and yet there he was, being real.

Something refreshing about that.

Oh and seeing John/Jim/Harley in tight pink floral tights/pajamas was worth the price of admission.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This morning I joined alot of incredible women that I had never met before for a breakfast celebration to bless our friend, Janice on her 40th birthday. Waaayyyyy out of my comfort zone for sure, especially first thing in the morning - but a person only turns 40 once in their life so I sucked it up buttercup and sat beside Maureen for clingy insecure reasons and it ended up being a great event.

Happy 40th, Janice. I am eagerly looking forward to all that God is going to do through you in the coming years. You inspire and motivate me in ways no one else ever has. I'm so glad you were born.

And thanks, Maureen for organizing it all.

I went to work for a few hours this afternoon because I'm responsible like that- then met Sandra and her girls at Colossus to see ANOTHER movie:

Yeah.

I love him.

It was a dark movie, but I am a big fan of guyfriend movies... I love the banter between two fellas who work closely together and have a not-shallow friendship. Holmes and Watson = wittiness. Loved their one liners.

Overall, it wasn't as good as it could have been. The potential was there. RDJ and Jude Law are great actors. And incredibly easy on the eyes. Yessireebob.

But it wasn't a 10 out of 10 movie.

I'd give it a C+.

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. Friends who are OK hanging out at the BUSIEST location in the lower mainland. HOLY COW there are alot of folks seeing movies these days. Did everyone's kids go away for the holiday? Manoliving.

2. Everything that could possibly washed in the washing machine is now clean. Yay for getting every towel, throw blanket, piece of bedding and article of clothing CLEAN and dry and folded and put away.

3. Yay for Christmas. And Jesus being born. And Yay for new years. Time to start something ...

Shalom,

I am Going to Have a Great Week

I finished this book, finally:

Of all the sections in this book (Margaret visits a shepherd, a farmer, a beekeeper and a vintner) the part about the sheep has had the greatest impact on me. Specifically this:

"Always remember the strength and safety that comes in community."

The shepherd is referring to her sheep and how they need each other. And I was thinking about us and how we need each other too.

Margaret took the shepherd's comment and applied it to Christians in a church context... "I know many people who have left the safety and protection of the flock of the church to pursue God on their own. I applaud their desire for an authentic relationship with Jesus, but I wonder if a parallel exists between the safety found in a flock under the care of a good shepherd and the safety found in a church under the care of a good pastor."

When Murrayville closed, the kids and I started sitting in the back row at Northview a couple weekends each month were the preaching was fabulous and the music was outstanding. We've done this for 2 years.

In December, Drew joined some friends at the local church where most of his friends attend and he received a warm, enthusiastic reception. They wanted him to sit with them, but our two years at Northview had impacted him. His response to them was, "I go to church to listen to the sermon, not visit with my friends."

And that struck me as sad. I don't think church is just supposed to be about listening to the preacher. It's about community. And sitting with your friends. And having someone be happy that you came. And making someone else happy that they came. And being part of a flock. So that when predators (doubt, temptations, bitterness, confusion) come around, you've got the support, safety and company of your friends to protect you.

We were not created to be solitary creatures.

Which is a great segue into the second part of this post; I saw this movie tonight:

And yeesh, if there ever was a movie that supported the idea that man should not live alone, this is it.

George does have nice eyes, but he doesn't do it for me. I'm weird that way.

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. Tomorrow is another day, another movie. Anyone want to see "It's Complicated" with me?

:)

2. In spite of all the sleeping in, reading and movie-watching, I did a load of dishes and two loads of laundry this afternoon. So I can sleep tonight, knowing I have been responsible.

3. Aren't gas fireplaces the best inventions ever?

Shalom,

Bright and Sunny Here. How's it in Your Neck of the Woods?

Awesome day to move around in the sunshine, let me tell you.

And my camera, which is PMSing, allowed me to take 4 pictures today.

Thank you camera.
Three other things I'm thankful for:
1. Summer house swap opportunity. I watched The Holiday tonight (Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet swap houses and find true love. ) And I'm getting excited about my upcoming trip.
2. I have seasons 3 and 4 of Reba to watch when I get bored this week.
3. I had a really good evening with Clint yesterday. We both loved Avatar. "Are you going to blog a movie review, mom?" I'm kinda thrilled that he'd think I have anything to say about a movie that blew us away with it's special effects. Because, truth be told, and that's what this blog is all about - the truth, Clint is far more qualified to blog about the wow factor, whilst I can discuss at length the crushability of the star, Sam Worthington. Am I right? Cute, no?

I will say this, thought. The first half, is pure candy for your eyes. I LOVED the creatures, the jungle, the wildlife, the colors, the 3-Dness of it all. Have you ever watched the Planet Earth DVD's on BluRay/HD? I think some of those obscure fishes and bugses are what inspired James Cameron when he made this movie. I kept sighing as one beautiful scene flowed into another. Spectacular.

Unfortunately, for me, the story was a little weak. But that's just me. You will probably really like it. And, for me, it was a little long. Three hours is a little show-offy, I thought. He had a captive audience so he was going to keep us there, pounding us with his brilliance. He coulda tightened up the story quite abit and made it 145 minutes, in my humble opinion.

But the 3-D factor? Mind blowing.

Go see it.

Shalom,

Stripe Generator

Do you crochet blankets? Knit scarves? Like to doodle with felt pens? Like to draw colored rows with crayons?

Do you want to see what the colors you've chosen will look like even before you've started?

Try out this handydandysuperskookum "stripe generator" here.

See?

How fun is this?

I just said goodbye to my kids. They're off to SunPeaks for the rest of the holiday.

And I'm sitting here in my pajamas generating stripes.

Saw Avatar tonight with Clint, Mandi and Daryl.

It was OUTSTANDING.

I took a few pics these past few days. You can see them here.

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. Bright sunny, crisp days with NO rain.

2. My family.

3. Turkey leftovers.

Shalom

Books n Boys

I was planning on posting a pic of the gift bags (that the book club I'm in) put together. We all brought used copies of some of our favorite books (as well as chocolate and boxes of tea) to donate to a women's shelter.

I volunteered to get the books to their new owners, not fully realizing that I don't really know where any shelters are.
Then, tonight, when I got home from my mom's at 10:30 pm ("Mom", Drew asked, earlier in the evening, "can you drive me and my friends over to Nan's for a sleepover?") there was a blue pickup truck in my driveway.

It's So nice coming home to someone, no?

Clint was eating a chicken pot pie in the family room with the TV and fireplace on while reading a book. He's got a head cold. I've got Cold FX and food.

Anyway, he knows of a women's recovery house in Abby (he does alot of work with the homeless through 5 and 2 Ministries) and said he'd take my gift bags to them. He thought they'd appreciate having contributions to their library.

So, yay for book clubs and sons.

Craftiness

Back in November, I started to make some embossed cards for the Fundy Christmas Gala. They never got finished because things got derailed the next day; consequently they've been sitting in a craft drawer for the past few weeks. I pulled them out last Thursday and reworked them. Instead of making these sparkly wreaths into seasonal stationary, I gave them a new purpose.
I put an "If" question on the back of each one. And put them in one of my now vacated Christmas card boxes:
And we will use them on Christmas as conversation starters while we're eating:
(We did a practice run last Friday, and it was enlightening.) (And a little bit funny.)

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. Shopping is all done.

2. My Amazon order arrived today.

3. And the other gift I ordered will be ready for pick up on Wednesday.

Shalom,

Back and Forth

"Hey mom. Can you drive me and my friends to Seymour on Sunday afternoon."

"Sure. If you come to church with me on Saturday night."

And there you have it folks, parenting at it's finest.

Mandi joined us, so it was like a party. A going-to-church party.

Unfortunately it was the 'Children's Christmas Program Extravaganza' which is the highlight of the year if it's your child or grandchild on stage and not so much if you're unrelated to everyone in Abbotsford under 15.

But we went and heard a good sermon where the concluding line was, "And I think I speak for God when I say, Merry Christmas."

(Which is interesting because Jon of Stuff Christians Like mentioned that he's never seen the words Merry Christmas in the Bible.)

When we got home, Maureen came over because we both have crushes on Ryan Reynolds. Drew and Mandi left because they don't.

We watched this:

Yeah.

A chubby Ryan Reynolds.

So easy not to lust.

Of course he lost a ton of weight in the movie and it ended with him looking lustable again.
At 1 am I drove over to Surrey to pick Drew up from Mandi's.

This is what vehicles and gasoline are for. For driving.

At 2 am once we got home, I watched Johnny Depp as John Dillinger in Public Enemies.

Meh.

At 2 pm this afternoon, we left our house. I picked up his friends at their assorted homes and dropped them off at Seymour at 3:30 pm. It was pouring.

"Are you sure you want to stay? You're going to get soaked..."
"You don't get it do you? We're boarders."
So, I left them there and drove home. Arriving back in Langley at 5 pm. I thought I'd have 2 - 3 hours to do the stuff moms do before Christmas.
I got a call at 5:30, "Can you come get us? We're wet. And cold."

So I drove back to the mountain and picked them up at 7 pm. And got them all delivered safe and sound to their respective homes by 8:30 pm.

"Mom? Can you drive us all to the theatre? We want to see a movie... yes, I'll do chores tomorrow."

So at 9 pm, I picked them all up and dropped them off at the Colossus at 9:30 pm.

And on my way down 200th, I remembered something.

Walmart is open 24 hours.

!

So I stopped in. And in 20 minutes had all my last-minute stuff done. There was a woman who was in the market for the same item that I was. She called over a salesman and asked for help. I pointed to the cabinet and said, "Which one do you own?"

"That one," he said.

"Are you happy with it?" I asked.

"Very."

"OK, I'll take three of them."

The other shopper said, "Well, if it's good enough for him and you, I'll take one too."

We both paid for our purchases and then she said, "Thanks so much for making that decision so easy, I loved the question you asked him. You are a smart shopper."

"Actually, I'm a lazy shopper," I corrected her.

"Well, I gotta go. Twenty minutes til closing..."

"They're open 24 hours - you don't have to rush," I informed her.

"Oh. Are you sticking around for awhile? What else are you shopping for? Maybe I can just shop with you?"

Hahahahaha.

"Uh, well, I've just got socks and boxers left to pick up... Good luck with the rest of your purchases ... Merry Christmas."

Gotta love Walmart shoppers.

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. Gelato

2. Opportunities to be with Drew and his friends. If you were keeping score, I spent almost 7 hours driving today - most of those in the company of some awfully nice 15, 16 and 17 year olds.

3. If I mail my Christmas cards tomorrow, Canada Post will get most of them delivered in time for Christmas. Phew.

Shalom,

There's Nothing Better than Having a House Full of Happy People:

We had dinner then played games:

This is the girl's team.

We rocked.
Mad Lib.

So fun.
Boys team.
The guys played chess too.
And we played Scattegories.
We should do games nights more often.
I should laugh more often.
Three things I'm thankful for:

1.Pulled pork. YUM.

2. It's the WEEKEND! I'm sleeping in.

3. Big dining rooms.

Shalom,

Blue Christmas

For the second time in 26 years, I bought a pre-cut tree from a lot.

The first time was one of those early Christmases when I was on my own... and the backlash from doing so was heartbreaking. The sobbing. The crying. The temper tantrums... "But it's TRADITION! We HAVE to cut down our own! This isn't right. It doesn't feel like Christmas. I want things the way they used to be..." And then we'd have a long talk about divorce and daddy still loving them, and how we'll be fine making new traditions, and see isn't this fun - let's have some friends over to help us decorate, and then let's have friends over to help us undecorate... and so on.

From that point on, I made sure the four of us went to a tree farm every December to use weapons (erhm, tools) to kill our meticulously chosen tree. They'd hunt for at least an hour for the perfect one, and I'd take pictures. It was a lovely tradition.

But all of a sudden, just like, that, *snaps fingers* they don't care anymore. The older two don't live here, and Drew did the tree farm thing with his step mom already this year, so "it doesn't matter, mom."

And this year, I'm the one who's crying, "this just doesn't feel right. It's tradition. We always do it... I want things to be the way they used to."

Max and Drew helped me get it into my truck and then into the family room. (Which is also a break from tradition - we've always set it up at the front of the house. In for a penny, in for a pound. Let's really shake things us this year.)
Once it was standing upright, they ate all my Eggo waffles, borrowed some money and left.
So, I decorated it by myself, listening to the Glee soundtracks.

Not a single one of my 3 multi-coloured-100 bulb strands of lights worked this year, so I ended up covering the tree with blue lights only.
Kinda matches my mood, so I'm leaving it.

I've never had a matchy-matchy tree. We have about 50 ornaments that 'mean' something, along with a bunch of glass and plastic baubles chosen (by the kids) mostly when I worked at Billies. So as I put each special ornament on a branch, a flood of memories washed over me. Sucks.

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. The ending of this phase of parenting/traditions is opening up opportunities for us to establish new ones. Might an artificial tree be part of my future? Shudder.

2. Maybe with the lack of distractions (not that kids are distractions, exactly...) I will spend some time thinking about the real reason for the season? And let THAT fill me with joy.

3. My holy echo:

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" Isa. 41:10

Shalom,

Book Club

Is your book club looking for a "theme" evening?

Would you like to borrow ours?

It was fab.

First- we discussed this book, which if you'll recall, I read last Christmas:
It's about a book club that met during WWII.

Great book. Awesome discussion.

And then, we watched this:
(The movie that inspired us to start the book club originally.)

Too fun.

You're welcome.

That's what friends are for - to share ideas.

What fun thing has your group done lately? Do tell...

Find Me Somebody to Lov v v v v v v e

The house is pretty quiet these days; with both Clint and Max moved out, and Drew gone at least 3 nights a week ... I have alot of square footage all to myself.

So I moved my speakers from the corner in the living room to the counter in the kitchen and connected them to my laptop.

And the thing that I had picked up for Rachel as a 'glad you don't have cancer, Merry Christmas, your sister is awesome, hey we both like the same show' gift got opened:

I changed into track pants, put on some thick socks and turned the volume up. And then I skitted around my tile floor dancing my ass off and singing along with Rachel and Finn... Find Me Somebody to Love. And with Puck: Sweet Caroline. And Finn: Having My Baby. And Arty: Proud Mary. And with everyone: Jump.

I can't move into a condo. I need there to be space between my walls and my neighbour's walls on nights when I need to sing.

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. Music

2. A kitchen floor that is good for jumping on.

3. An empty house so that I can sing like no one's listening.

Shalom,

Click on this.

See my starting word?I am so going to win this game.

Love is in the Air

My friend Sandra's son, Dane got engaged to Stacy last weekend.

My friend Denise's son, Derek got engaged to Liz this weekend.

Tonight my dad asked me if I was going to be at their place on Christmas.

"Sure am. I want to see what present you got me. Better be a big one, I've been good this year."

He smiled. "Do you want a husband?"

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. This business of being afraid to eat has it's positive side. A person will lose weight if they stop putting food in their mouth. So, thanks gallbladder, for objecting to dairy, breads, potatoes, pasta, chocolate, caffeine, spicy food, sweet foods, yeasty foods, fried foods, red meat, pork, and juices. I'm so thankful for salmon, rice, bananas and cucumbers.

2. My kitchen faucet no longer drips or squirts randomly. (A new set of issues has presented itself, but at least I can use it again.) Thanks, Uncle Johnny (he's my mom's uncle) for taking the broken bits to Moen and reminding them of their life-time guarantee.

3. There are some awfully good looking movies coming out over Christmas. This year, while the kids are at SunPeaks, I'll be at Colossus. So, thanks Meryl and George for working this year.

Shalom,

Oh and CONGRATS Dane, Stacy, Derek and Liz. Have FUN planning your weddings - but have even more fun getting ready for the rest of your lives.

Tis Snowing ...

... and as I sit here at my dining room table, thinking that it'd be nice to get another message from God today, my Bible falls open to Isaiah 55. (Probably because it's right in the middle.)

And this is what I read while listening to the Trans Siberian Orchestra fill my empty house with big Christmas sounds:

The rain and snow come down from heaven and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with My word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.

You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and the hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands...

Dear God,

Thank you for sending today's snow and Your Word. I pray that both will accomplish all that You want them to. Can you pull the ear plugs out of our ears, so that today, when Your Word falls onto us, we can really hear You?

Amen

Three Times

ANOTHER Holy echo.

First time? During a Scrabble game. My usually non-chatty opponent typed it into the chat box a few days ago.

Second time? During a staff meeting yesterday, it was quoted.

Third time? A few minutes ago it was in a message in my facebook inbox.

Want to know what God is anxious for me to hear?

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" Isa. 41:10

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. Friends who pray.

2. Answered prayer.

3. Tiny white indoor Christmas lights.

Shalom,

Golly Gee, Mollee Glee

I'm a little bit addicted to this show, Glee:And cried with Mollee when she got voted off So You Think You Can Dance:
(I love, love, LOVED her in last night's dances... that Viennese Waltz in the yellow skirt. Soooo romantic. Pretty. Feminine.)

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. My great uncle Johnny is coming over tomorrow to fix/replace my kitchen faucet which is spewing water in every direction both above and below the countertop.

2. For the first time in 13 years, my son had a facebook status that didn't offend or embarrass me. It was this; "I am eating 10 almonds very very slowly." And I said to myself, "hey, those are my words." (Exclamation point!) So my comment was, "you reading my blog?" Which of course is not cool. (Both me commenting on his facebook page and referencing this blog.) Naturally he had no choice but to deny he ever reads this drivel, he does have a reputation to uphold afterall. Turns out some random girl from Moosejaw added him to facebook and discovered my blog and was reading it.

So, Hi Random Girl from Moosejaw. What's the weather like out your way? Thanks for stopping by. Feels like I should offer you a welcome gift, like they used to do, in the olden days, to folks who visited a church for the first time. Here. Have this. Pretend I've just given you a mug with the PixnProse logo on it. Wait. I have no logo. This blog has not been branded. What a loser. Oy.

3. I'm thankful for hope.

Shalom,

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

My favorite part about Christmas?

Besides baby Jesus being born?

Is the stationary.

I love papers and cards and envelopes and the artwork and the chance to connect with friends via postage stamp.

The other day I was part of a conversation with a few professional women and it was surprising to me what they said they'd like to do (for a job) if they left their current position.

Get this....

One of them wanted to clean houses.

One of them wanted to refinish old furniture.

One of them wanted to work retail.

I think I'd like to be involved in the greeting card industry.

Or be part of a graphics design firm. A small lowly part. I simply like being in creative environments.

So, that's why, of all the things a person like myself needs to purchase this time of year, I most look forward to choosing Christmas cards. I shop for clothes in one store only. And I give myself about 20 minutes every 3 months to do so.

But Christmas cards? I hit at least half a dozen stores and look at every single box. Hours. I spend hours every November buying Christmas cards.

And tonight, I sat down to add my greetings.

Know what I should have bought?

A good pen.

Because a not-good pen ruins all the fun.

I'll test drive pens tomorrow. I'll let you know how I do.

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. I'm still reading that Scouting the Divine Book (yes, it's taking me forever. We had some unexpected issues happen around here and you need to give me a break already. Oh. You weren't judging me? I overreacted? Get over myself?) and whilst at Grouse yesterday, I read this part:

She (Margaret Feinberg) is on a farm, asking the farmer about wheat and tare. Can I say something here? She writes an awful lot like Donald Miller - the Blue Like Jazz guy. Like, they both write out conversations they had with people, including, what they think, are funny comments they made during the conversation THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE POINT. For example, Margaret, still on the farm, suggests she and her husband help the farmer's sister and her twenty-something year old son with the tomato canning in a coy way, "I bet Joe would love to can tomatoes for the loving mom who worked so hard to support him, nurture him, and care for him all these years," I said with a twinkle in my eyes.

What? Who writes about twinkles in their own eyes?

And then, a little later, she writes, "I call skinning the tomatoes," I yelled like a teenager calling shotgun.

Or, as she's asking Joe questions about farming, she writes, "How'd you get so smart?" I said with a razzing tone.

When she gets around to making a point, it's worthwhile. Thought-worthy. Underlinable. But in between those zingers, I can't say I'm keen to read about all her twinkling, yelling and razzing.

So, all of that to say, you are very lucky. I'm slogging through the, the, the whatever it is that irks me about the book, in order to share the gems I find deep in the mine.

Here's the one I'm thankful for finding:

Joe (the twenty something year old who is so smart and got conned into canning tomatoes because of Margarets twinkling eyes) says:

"If you're just walking through a field and looking at the wheat, then you take for granted that all of it is good. It looks good. But if you pluck a shaft of wheat and roll it in your fingers, you'll find that some shafts have good seed, while others have nothing at all. They're empty husks. You can't tell in the fields.... You have to grab, squeeze and crush it to find out whether it's real or not. I think that's true of the spiritual life. Some people can look really good on the outside, but when it comes to the pressures of life and getting crushed, that's when the fruit really shows."

I'm in the midst of a season of pressing, crushing, and plucking.

Again.

And some days it's overwhelming.

When I read that paragraph, I recognized myself. It is a timely reminder that I do not want to be like an empty wheat husk as I get rolled through circumstance's fingers. When I get squeezed, those fruits of the Spirit (love, faith, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and the partridge from the pear tree) better ooze out of me.

I am thankful for books that challenge, encourage and strengthen me.

2. I am thankful for "Holy Echoes". Err. Ok. They're actually called "Sacred Echoes" and hmmmpf, Margaret Feinberg is the author of that term too. I heard her talk about them at Creationfest last summer, and then Carolyn wrote about it here.

So, the Holy echo I heard?

A friend was talking about the death of a close family member, who passed away without ever accepting Jesus as their Savior. She had prayed for years about this, and believed (as far as I could tell) that God would woo her dad in such an irresistible way, that he, like she did, many years ago, would be overcome by His love have no choice but to respond. But that never happened. And she totally accepted it, with no bitterness or anger or sadness, saying, "But we know that God is good. We KNOW it."

Know what? Until she said that, I wasn't thinking He was so good. I've got alot of questions I need to ask Him, and if I could take a list with me to heaven, I'd have started it by now. But her comment, "God is good", amazed me. It is such a simple statement. And if you accept it as truth, it simplifies things, doesn't it? I don't need to analyze, or justify or figure out His motives or reasons. He is good. And that's all I need to know.

That was on Friday.

On Saturday I went to church. And there, in the middle of the sermon that I was having trouble staying attentive for, these words came up on the screen, "There are two things you need to know about God. 1. God is big. (I think that's what it said. I can't remember. But the next statement I totally remember, because it was a Holy echo:) and 2. God is good."

And then on Sunday I heard/read it again. For the life of me I cannot recall the details (but in all probability, I read it on someone's blog.) I did so. I remember saying to myself, "THREE. That's the third time I've heard, "God is good."

This might not be a big deal with you. For you, you're thinking, "Duh. 'course He's good. What's the big deal? Just lookit all the blessings... lookit the mountains.... lookit that awesome moon that takes up the whole sky some nights... can't you feel the love?

Know what? Sometimes I just don't feel the love. Actually, alot of times I don't. Sometimes, His goodness just doesn't even occur to me. Sometimes, I don't feel His goodness. And right now, in this season of new babies and heralding angels and wise guys with expensive gifts, I have to set aside my feelings (or lack thereof) and trust my brain. And just KNOW that He is good.

It's who He is.

Good.

The things He does are good.

And His goodness doesn't allow Him to be mean, inconsiderate, unkind or negligent. When He doesn't answer prayer the way we think He should, it doesn't mean He's ignored us. Or that He's tired of us. Or fed up. He's good.

Good with a capital G. He's Good - like a noun. In the dictionary, there should be a picture of God as the definition of good.

Anyway. I am thankful for Holy Echoes. They make me feel special. They make me feel like God is making a huge effort to communicate with me. And in this case, His Holy echo to me is reminding me that He has heard my prayers. And He is good. He'll look after it.

3. I am thankful for my sister. Jule? I love you. God is good.

Shalom,

An Afternoon/Evening/Night on Grouse:

Hey mom? Can you drive me and my friends to Grouse after school?

I picked them up from school at 2:45 pm

And got back home at midnight.
"Smile"
"K. We're going snowboarding now, bye."
I watched the sun set from the chalet.
Then toured the Christmas Tree display:

At 8 pm, I met the kids at the fire by the skating rink:

Santa was here:
Danica and Holly:
Not sure why the spacing on these is wonky?




Three things I'm thankful for:

1. Beautiful, clear evening.

2. Opportunities to be in the same vehicle as my kids.

3. Aslan is on the move.

Shalom,