the Braun Bunch

To My Grown Up Son

2009-12-21T09:56:00.000-08:00

Years ago, when Tye was very little, Mom gave me a copy of this poem. The other day I was going through some boxes of old pictures and found it. I thought that, since my grown up son was going to get married and move to Alberta, this might be a good time to share it.

My hands were busy through the day
I didn't have much time to play
the little games you asked me to.
I didn't have much time for you.

I'd wash your hands, I'd sew and cook,
but when you'd bring your picture book
and ask me, please to share your fun.
I'd say, "A little later, Son."

I'd tuck you in all safe at night.
I'd hear your prayers; turn out the light.
Then tiptoe softly to the door.
I wish I'd stayed a minute more.

For life is short. The years rush past.
A little boy grows up so fast.
No longer is he at your side,
his precious secrets to confide.

The picture books are put away.
There are no longer games to play.
No goodnight kiss, no prayers to hear.
That all belongs to yesteryear.

My hands, once busy, now are still.
The days are long and hard to fill.
I wish I could go back and do
the little things you asked me to.

This poem is full of regret and sadness, which is contrary to my life with my kids. As many of you, who have known me all my life, I didn't spend a lot of time caring for my house when my kids were young. I can remember many days of playing board games and reading to my boys. I think I read "What's The Matter With Job?" 55 times in a row to Jack. I still can recite the whole story by heart. If you doubt me, just ask me someday. We also played a lot of "hide and seek" in the dark, inside the house and out. My neighbour used to complain that we were screaming all the time and it hurt her cats' ears. It also made our dog, Katy, bark like crazy.
So even though this poem is not completely true, I do have some regrets about the time I spent, or didn't spend, with my kids. For all of Jack's childhood, I was either a student or I worked, which meant he was in daycare. If I had been married, things may have been different, but I think if you asked either one of them, they had a pretty good childhood. I guess I just am feeling a little nostalgic today.

Our family has found JOY!

2009-12-07T21:11:00.000-08:00

I am going to be a Mother-In-Law. I am so excited. Tyler and Joy are going to be husband and wife. We had a weekend together with her and it was such fun getting to know her. On Sunday evening we had the family over for coffee at Joy's request. She wanted to get to know them all. She has an amazing memory, too. By the end of the evening she could tell Tye each person's name. When she found out that this wasn't even close to half of them her eyes nearly popped out.

They are not wasting any time with long a engagement, either. They were thinking of a May long weekend wedding until I mentioned that Erica is getting married then so they decided that if they can't get married that weekend they would get married on May 1st. That way Tyler is at semester's end and they are planning a month long honeymoon here on the Island. So. That is the weekend everybody. I was given permission to put that in writing on here.

I have some pictures of her and him from this weekend, but they are still on my camera. When I get then onto my computer, I will write a new post. With pictures. Soon. I promise.

Last Day of November. YAY!

2009-11-30T20:31:00.000-08:00

I have never done this posting every day for a whole month before. Oh. Wait. I didn't do it now either. :) I did try, though, and that was hard enough.
So my last day and what do I have to say. Susan wrote a beautiful post about sisters, although some of it was a total fabrication. I could do one too, with pictures that would show a side to them they may not want broadcast . . . but, payback's a bi...t hard to take, so that's ruled out. What can I say?
Hmmm. OK. I have something!
Our church is candidating a new Worship leader. I don't remember his name, but he was really good. I really hope they hire him. It would be nice to have the same worship leader every Sunday.
Hmm . . . What else. OH!
Tyler's girlfriend, Joy Patterson is coming to visit us on Dec 5th. She is only staying for the weekend, but I am really looking forward to talking to her face to face instead of on the phone or the computer. Then in January Tyler is moving to Calgary. He will be living with a friend of Joy's and going to school at DeVry University. I am going to miss him like crazy. He has never lived that far away from home before. It is going to be hard not seeing him every weekend or at least every second weekend. He has been such a support to me for so many years, but never more so than the last few months since I got hurt. He was amazing.
OK. Now I am feeling sad and don't want to write anymore. I need to think of something more cheerful or I am going to quit altogether.
OK. I've been sitting here trying to come up with something cheerful to write about and . . . nothing! What a pathetic life. LOL So, since Susan stole my great idea I just can't come up with anything. So I guess I'll just say Goodnight and I'll write again next month.

OK. A Real Post.

2009-11-28T10:58:00.000-08:00

It's November 28th and I have completely failed at this NaBloPoMo. My life just isn't exciting enough to do this every day for a whole month. I can't wait for December 1st. Then I will continue to blog, but not every day. Hopefully then, I will be able to write something a little more interesting and read-worthy.

That's not the only reason I am looking December 1st. Paco is building me a table for my Christmas Village and I am hoping he will be done by next weekend. We are going to decorate the house next weekend including the tree and hopefully, the village. I love Christmas. this year we are doing something different for Christmas. Me and my kids, and David and Carolyn with their kids are going to Ucluelet for December 24, 25 and 26. We are going to be staying here. This is the Terrace Beach Resort. For any of you that are interested, it is owned by Jason Priestly and his parents.

They all come with a private hot tub and baebeque. They have an ocean view and trasils to wlak on and it is going to be completely different from our usual Christmas of too many gifts and not enough family togetherness. I am excited to be there.

Also in December is our family gathering. Since Mom won't be here for Christmas, we are having our gathering on the last Sunday before she leaves, which is on the 13th. it's a little earlier than we usually do it, but it is important to all of us that we do it with Mom here. So I am really looking forward to December 13th.

Now, both of the following will be interesting blogging. Telling you what I did yesterday or am going to do today would bore you all silly, since it consists of a lot of sitting, watching TV, making meals, going to therapy, and cleaning house. Although, yesterday, I had friends come over for dinner and the evening. I made homemade tomato noodle soup, and we played a four hour game of Settlers of Catan. that was fun. I should have taken a picture of our huge board to show you, but I didn't so you'll have to take my word for it.

OK. that is it. I have nothing more for you today. I will try to do something tomorrow, but don't hold your breath.

I'm just too tired.

2009-11-25T22:31:00.000-08:00

Sorry, but it's late and I was in Victoria all day. I am tired and want to go to bed. I will do a proper post tomorrow, I promise . . . to try really, really hard. OK then. Goodnight all.

AND . . . More doctor's appointments

2009-11-23T19:53:00.000-08:00

Today I went to see the surgeon who put my leg back together. He is a very nice doctor and even showed me pictures of my leg during surgery. He pointed out the hamstring and where it was supposed to be, but wasn't, and the sciatic nerve. It is huge! I always thought that nerves were these tiny hair-like things, but this nerve is huge! It as as big around as a man's thumb. Anyway, the picture was very cool. He also showed me pictures from my first MRI which was also very cool, and pictures of the MRI from 2 weeks ago. I have been having some pretty serious lower back pain and he just wanted to make sure that I hadn't done something serious when I first hurt myself. The back pain has two causes. Since I was first hurt, I have been sitting crooked, standing crooked and walking crooked. This has caused three discs in my lower back to slip out of place and one of them is just touching the sciatic nerve. So the pain from that is causing my leg to hurt and the slipped discs are causing my back to hurt. He said we have three options. Option #1 - put me in a drug induced coma until next July or August and then when I wake up we can start rebuilding the muscles. Option #2 - Do nothing. That means that it could take another year or two before I would be "better". Option #3 - Have an epidural. He did warn me though, that even though these were commonly used on women to assist with difficult deliveries that he wanted to stress that I would NOT get a baby at the end of this. Funny man. So we decided to go with option #3. He said that I could expect one of two things. The injection would fool the nerve into not feeling the pain which would in turn assist me with the therapy and rebuilding of my hamstring muscles. OR it could do nothing and then we go with option #2. So now I just wait to hear from the anesthesiologist in Victoria who will be performing the epidural, which should be in about 2 weeks. Then possibly another 2 weeks until the shot and another 2 weeks to go back and see Dr. Gutmanis, my surgeon. As for going back to work, he doesn't even want to talk about that until he sees me again in approximately 6 weeks. AARRGG!! So I will have to content myself with sitting and doing not a whole lot. I think i will have to have a scrap-booking day at my house very soon.

PS. I wish I had the picture he showed me of my thigh cut wide open. I'd post it for all of you. BUT, I don't so I'm sorry for all of you who would like to see that. :)

Too much fun.

2009-11-21T19:43:00.000-08:00

On the 19th I had a really lame post, but told you that I would try to do better on the 20th. The 20th came and went with no post. All I can say is...Oh well. You'll have to get over it. My Mom is here and I don't want to write a long post when i could be playing skipbo or golf with her. So in the future, if there is nothing written here, you'll know why. OK. Gotta go. I think it's my turn to deal.

NaBloPoMo

2009-11-19T10:26:00.000-08:00

I am completely terrible at this. I haven't gone to check how many days I have missed and I'm not going to. Today is not much different. I am at a loss for what to write about so here is my big post.
My daughter, Alethea has started to blog. This is where you can read it.
http://aletheabraun.blogspot.com
She really wants to do this and, I know for myself that if I get comments, I feel like doing it again.
So that's it for today. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

I Miss Summer. Already

2009-11-16T20:33:00.000-08:00

I know it's only November, but having been injured and immobile all summer, i feel like I missed the whole thing. now I miss the sunsets from the Beach Hut.

Isn't that a beautiful sight? Sitting there with family, while a warm breeze blows, the waves gently come into shore and the sun goes down.

I also miss going to the lake. We only went once this summer. Last year we went at least 8 times and spent the whole day, laying on the beach, eating, swimming and laying on the beach again.

Now we can look forward to the following for at least another 3 months. We do get some sunny days too, but this is the story of our winter.

Mitz, Mom and I found this umbrella last year in Whippletree Junction. It pretty much sums up the way it is here right now.

Mocha.

2009-11-14T11:07:00.000-08:00

All you who think this blog is going to be about Tim Hortons or Starbucks, you are in for a disappointment. I love both of those places and I love a good mocha. Not too often because they go straight to the hips.
The Mocha I am talking about is Alethea's pet rabbit. She is cute enough as rabbits go, (actually she is cuter than most) but she is still a rabbit. She is a dwarf with perky little ears and a very nice color.

So she's pretty cute, right? Well, I think this rabbit has issues. She has a nice big cage with beautiful clean wood shavings, a water bottle, a little house for that safe feeling, (which she never uses) and even toys for entertainment. In the summer I don't even mind her, but now that it is colder and rainy outside, she lives in the house. She puts her nose down in the wood shavings and pushes them around until she has a pile of them on the floor. She doesn't seem to care that she pushes her nose right into the corner where she poops and pees. So now I have wet wood shavings and little round balls of poop on my floor. And she stinks. Not her cage so much because Alethea cleans it regularly. She, Mocha, stinks. If Alethea or Grace hold her while they watch TV, I can smell it on their cloths later. I don't know why she stinks. She just does. I think I would rather have Chris's Frankie in my house. I might change my mind if I tried it for a while, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't.

Anyway, this is what you get for a blog when I am supposed to do this every day. I know, I know. I missed yesterday. I was busy with Mom. And then later with Jack. So this is all I have. I need to go get ready for Shawn and Steph's wedding.

Laundry.

2009-11-10T20:43:00.000-08:00

I hate doing laundry. I mean I really hate doing laundry. Most of all I hate putting it away. I wash it, fold it and put it in the laundry basket to bring to where it belongs and then . . . I just run out of motivation. I would rather rearrange my basement, clean the bathroom, wash windows, almost anything besides laundry. But, I did laundry today. Five loads of towels and sheets. I have the last load in the dryer as I write this. All the other loads are folded and in a laundry basket and on neatly folded stacks on the coffee table in my living room, waiting to be put away. It would help if I had a proper place to put them. I would, too, if I had a good place to store all my small appliances and other kitchen gadgets, but I had to store these in the linen closet because it's just outside of the kitchen. So my linen closet is full of small appliances and kitchen gadgets. I like kitchen gadgets and small appliances. I mean I really like them. But I digress. this is about why my laundry is neatly folded in my living room. Oops. It's not even about that. It's about me hating laundry. This is one thing I did NOT inherit from my mother. She loves doing laundry. She will go around asking people if they have laundry to do. I know that you all know how much she loves doing laundry. Dad used to say that she wouldn't even wait for him to get his socks off at night before she was taking them to the laundry room.
So, you might wonder why I am posting about laundry. Well, my Mom is coming here tomorrow and is staying for just over a month. I did not want her to come over and head straight for my laundry room and start washing towels. So I am depriving her of one of her greatest joys and doing something I hate. Why am I doing this? Because even though I am over 50, I still look for my mother's approval. Weird. I don't so much in other areas, but this is one area that I do. I'm not a great gardener and Mom loves it, but it doesn't matter if she thinks I'm a loser in this area. Just my laundry. I think I might need some therapy regarding this.

My short weekend.

2009-11-09T16:43:00.000-08:00

I am tired. I did very little more than lay in bed, watch TV, nap and read. I got there Saturday at 6 pm and went with Brent and Rhea to Brent's friend Tim's house for supper. It was a bit awkward until Tim's fiancé came and gave me a hug and told me that she always wanted to be a wedding crasher. LOL We went back to the hotel around 9, sat and chatted and had a beer and went to bed around 11. On Sunday morning we went for breakfast and then decided that since we had all seen Craigdarrock Castle before we would go see Hatley Castle. We drove way across Victoria and then when we got there we could only go to the gift shop in the basement. The castle was closed to the public. It would have been nice if that was posted on the website. By the time we got back to the hotel there wasn't enough time to go to Craigdarrock Castle so we just went to the grocery store and picked up some food and went back to the hotel for lunch. Then Brent and Rhea went to the wedding and I stayed in the room and did the afore-mentioned. It was actually quiet nice.
The train ride was also nice. I think all the beauty the Via Rail website brags about must happen North of here because from here to Victoria was nice enough, but nothing I would brag about. You see more beautiful scenery if you drive. Most of the tracks are in heavy forest so there isn't much to see and when it isn't in forest it runs behind most buildings so I got to see some unbeleivably messy back yards but also some beautifully manicured yards. Other than that there wasn't much to see. But it was relaxing. I fell asleep on the way there when it got dark.

VIA Rail, here I come.

2009-11-06T08:45:00.000-08:00

I am going to Victoria this week to spend a day and a half with my good friend Rhea. She and her husband Brent are flying here from Calgary for Brent's best friend's wedding. So I am taking the train to Victoria to spend time with Rhea while Brent is busy with Tim. We are going to have so much fun. We are going to Craigdurrock Castle,

And the inside foyer

And Hatley Castle

We might find time to go to the inner Harbor, but by that time I might be ready to lay down and die so we'll play it by ear. Taking the train from here to Victoria is only $18. It has been said that this train ride runs along some of the most beautiful country in Canada.

I am looking forward to finding out.

I'm bored

2009-11-05T17:22:00.000-08:00

Lately, every day I go for physio or just to the pool and then back home to watch the grass grow and the rain fall. I can't go for walks and it's not because of the rain either. It's because I have trouble walking, and I'm sick of it. If I was healthy I could go to work and my days would be busy again. if I had kids at home I would love to be a stay at home Mom. Now I do a little housework and then sit down to either read a book or watch TV. I make dinner sometimes, and I bake occasionally, but I can only do that for a little while and then I need to sit down because my back is sore.

OK. This is such a loser post. My life had better get a little more exciting or this NaBloPoMo is going to be really, really tricky.

E-Harmony

2009-11-03T07:20:00.000-08:00

There are many opinions about dating sites out there. To some it is a place to meet people and maybe, if you're lucky, find a person you could date, get to know, and again, if you're lucky, actually get married to. To others it is a shopping mall for sexual predators. To others, still, it is a multitude of desperate people to pick up, use, abuse and toss aside. BUT, to some, very select people it is a chance to find their soul mate.

My son, Tyler has been thinking of the whole possibility of getting a "girlfriend" and maybe, some day, getting married. Last year at school, he met a girl at university he thought might be that girl. Her name is Ruth, she's a Christian and she lived in his building. He tried. He talked to her every chance he got, he even drove her to her Bible camp (where she worked for the summer) in Cowichan, but no luck. So this summer, he went on e-harmony on one of their free weekends. The way e-harmony works is, you have to fill out a very lengthy, detailed questionnaire about yourself and the person you are looking for. Then there are 5 steps to go before you even get to email each other. If both parties are not quick to respond to each other the weekend is over and you lose the opportunity to connect. Thankfully, for Tye, they both were quick enough to get to the email section before the end of the weekend. And that is how he met Joy.
Joy is exactly what Tye has been looking for in a woman. She is a very strong Christian, loves the outdoors, hiking, climbing, camping, swimming, snowboarding and even white water rafting. She is a little shy, but opens right up when she gets to know you. She isn't a girly-girl who likes all the attention focused on her. She almost never wears dresses or make-up. She has long strawberry blond, almost red hair and freckles. Tye said it was as if God looked around the planet and found Joy for him.

So does e-harmony work? It would seem so. So I got to thinking...maybe I should give it a try. So I joined and . . . nothing. Three profiles were sent my way and they all live in either Washington State or Vancouver. None of them are willing to relocate and neither am I, at least not to either of those places. So I'll wait until the year is up and then maybe I could be in a TV commercial telling about the ones that don't work. I think I should have stuck to the free weekend.

NaBloPoMo

2009-11-02T09:10:00.001-08:00

I am doing this for Chris. I haven't blogged regularly in a long time, so I may miss a day or two, but I will do my best.

My son, Jack was almost stranded in Sask. He went there for John's funeral with David and Carolyn and now they have been sick for the last week. Also, Jack was exposed to a confirmed case of the Swine Flu while staying at Jake and Colleen's when Emily got sick. That means that he could get sick while on the way home in the van. David and Carolyn are quiet convinced that their kids, as well as Carolyn and possibly David, have all had it over the past week. The kids displayed almost all of the symptoms. So they aren't too worried about being exposed, but if Jack got sick while in the van, he would have to doctor himself. If he stays at Mom's until the possibility of having the Swine flu passes then he could fly here with her, unless he is still sick...or there is also the possibility that Mom could have caught it on the weekend. Do you see my dilemma? He is also missing work which has been quite and ordeal for Carrie, since she is picking up the slack for him.
So I went online to book him a flight to come home with Mom on the 11th, but couldn't get on the phone with Westjet and when I went online I needed Mom's user name and password, which she couldn't remember. So I called David to talk to him and it looks like their biggest worry is that if Jack gets really sick on the way home, how to best deal with that. Jack said to just take him out of the way somewhere and shoot him, because he doesn't want the test for the Swine flu. (Up the nose with a long, long Q-tip.) Now it looks like he will be leaving tomorrow morning and arriving home on Wednesday. Unless Cadence is still running a fever. They will take it day by day. I'm so sorry Carrie. I wish I could come and do his shift. Not really, but kind of.

I am sad.

2009-10-28T11:28:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that it has been this long since I have written here. I am on Face Book almost every day, but the only blogs I have been reading for months are Chris's and Becky's. I am sad to say that I stopped checking John's after he stopped posting for a few months. I wish I had checked more often.
John tagged me on his last post about "Honest Scrap", so I am going to do it now.

1. I love the ocean. Last Night I took Grace to her school for an evening function and had to drive along the Island Highway along the coast. The wind out on the ocean must have been pretty strong. The waves were crashing onto the rocks along the sea wall and I just had to stop and listen. I walked out onto the rocks a little way and sat down on a log and listened. Did you know that when the water retreats between waves the rocks make a tinkling noise? It is so beautiful. It's as if they were singing. So I sat there and sang the song "Give Me Jesus" and cried. I miss my brother and my Dad.

2. I love my house. It is on a very quiet road. It has big rooms and lots of sunlight. I really like my kitchen. My back yard is very nice. My front yard will be by this time next year. I have fruit trees in my back yard. Apple, Yellow Plum, Green Grape, Kiwi, Bing Cherry, and I have been told a Peach. I can't wait for next Spring.

3. I have many regrets. I usually don't waste a lot of time on regrets. Just long enough to realize that I need to make some changes. One of my biggest regrets is not calling my family in Saskatchewan and Alberta enough. We always say we are going to do better, but then when it really matters we find ourselves busy with everyday life. I really, really want to change that. I am a little envious of my sister Sue, who spent a lot of time with John and Chris before John passed away and the same with my Dad. I am going to try to do better.

4. I hate driving in snow. I am not the world's worst driver, but neither am I the best. That isn't what makes winter driving so terrible though. It's all those drivers on the road who think they are the world's best drivers that frighten me. I am really hoping for very little snow this year. Living closer to the water does make that a little more realistic than last year when I lived close to the mountain.

5. When I was young I wanted to be a missionary. My Mom used to give my sisters and I the Sears catalogue when it would expire. We would cut out our favorite moms and dads and kids and furniture and paste them to pieces of cardboard paper Mom would save from her packages of nylons. Then we would cut them out and make our little families. Susan and Mitz would have a Mom and Dad and 10 - 15 kids. I would have only as Mom and about 35 -40 kids and would be the owner of an orphanage. Now you all know why I am a foster parent. God created me to be a missionary.

6. I drive a two-tone, panel-sided, 1992 Oldsmobile Cutlass station wagon. I love my car. I bought it 4 years ago at an auction for $600. Two years ago I paid $1200 for and engine repair and other than that it has been normal maintenance. So let's say then that I paid $1800 for my car. It has almost 400,000 kms on it. When it was new it was a very fancy care. Everything is power. Seats, A/C, tilt, cruise, pretty much loaded. Everything still works accept the cassette player. It does 27 mpg weather I am driving just around here or all the way to Sask. It doesn't use oil. It is like the energizer bunny. It just keeps going ang going and... I love my car.

7. I have a need to help people. I don't know if it's the "missionary" personality I have, but it's not always good for me. I let people use me and take advantage of me. They suck me dry. It's not as if they want to spend time with me. They only call me when they need something, never just to spend time together. I have a hard time saying no because I hate confrontation.

8. I, like my Mom and apparently my brother John, am a pack rat. I am getting better, but I am still a pack rat. It used to be I had a hard time getting rid of things and in that I am much better. My main problem now, lies in that I see something that I think would be useful and buy it. I do a lot of shopping (browsing) in second hand stores and I love garage sales. My main weakness is kitchen gadgets. I have so many gadgets that I have never used, but can't see any good reason to get rid of them. After all, they don't take up a lot of space and I keep thinking that I will need it one day and then I won't have it. That is not good.

9. I am very, very afraid of spiders. i hate all insects, but nothing can freak me out like a spider. Even if it is no bigger than the end of a pencil. The bigger the spider, of course, the worse it is. Over the years I have gotten to where I can kill a small spider, but we have Wolf Spiders here and they can get pretty big. I killed one about a year ago, but only because I was home alone and I knew that if I didn't, it would be in the house and I wouldn't know where. That is more than I can stand, so I killed it. With my shoe. It took about 2 minutes of deep breathing and praying for me to be able to get close enough to hit it. Even then I just wanted to throw up, because I had to look at it to kill it. If I am watching TV and there is a spider on the screen, I can't look. My throat closes and I feel trapped. I hate spiders.

10. I love the name Meemo. It was given to me by my nephew, Ethan when he was 2. Now I am Meemo to all the little children in my life. When I become a grandma, I am going to tell my children that I am Meemo to their children.

That's it. I am done. I had a hard time coming up with some of this. I know. By the amount I wrote you wouldn't know that, but I did. So, I am going to tag a few people.

1. Sue
2. Mitz
3. Carol

Almost a year.

2009-01-19T06:18:00.000-08:00

It has been almost a year since my last post. I was going to post exactly a year to the date and now, because I got tagged, I have to post early. :) My brother John tagged me.

So here goes.
1) I am mostly a country girl, but I do like living in town. Here's why I am both. Living in town, I can send the kids to the store if I need something quick. The kids can walk to and from school so I don't have to worry about them missing the bus and having to drive them. OK. That's the only reasons I can come up with.
Living in the country. If I sit in my back yard I can hear the water running in the creek in my backyard instead of the steady stream of traffic revving their engines to make it up the hill beside my house. I can also sleep with my window opened, and again, hear the creek, birds, the breeze in the trees, and, you guessed it, no traffic.

2) I am over weight. I have struggled with my weight since having a hysterectomy in 1989. It is the one thing I struggle with on a continual basis. When I was a smoker (back in the 70's) I smoked almost 2 packs a day. I also drank about 30 cups of coffee in a day. Talk about addicted. Then one day God sent me a vision and I made a decision to quit. It was so hard. Mom took Tye over to spend the weekend with them and I curled up in my apartment and was sick for 3 days. But I quit. Losing weight is so much more difficult. When I quit smoking, I got rid of my leftover cigarettes and just didn't have any in my house. I could quit. I can't do that with food, though. I have to buy food. I have to prepare it for my children. I have to eat it. The trick is to stop eating before you get full and to eat the right foods. It would be so much easier if I could just quit buying, preparing and eating. One day, when I get to Heaven, I will weigh my ideal 135 lbs and I will look so good. :) In the meantime, I will work and struggle with my weight.

3) When I grow up, I want to be a missionary. I watched a show the other day and I saw older, single women, living in villages in all different parts of the world, being house mothers for up to 15 children in a house. They had two daytime helpers, but the "mothers" lived in the house and took care of the children. At one of the homes the oldest children were around 10 and the youngest were toddlers. That's my home.
However, the fact that this is an almost unreachable dream, is something I have almost come to terms with...almost. My life choices when I was young made this unattainable at the time, as have my life choices now that I am almost old. Don't get me wrong. I love what I do. I am a mother to 5 children, 2 grown up boys I gave birth to and 3 girls I adopted. I love my family. I have a job I wouldn't want to give up for any other. But I believe that God implants in each of us desires and a purpose for our life. He tells us in His word that He will give us the desires of our heart, (Ps 37:4) which tells me that we have desires. I believe these are also given to us by God. My desire has always been to be a missionary, working with children. So I have made some adjustments. I do it in my own country and I have been a missionary to more than 50 children. So, in a way, I have attained my dream and maybe even grown up a bit.

4) I drive old cars. I haven't had a new car, or even newer, since I became a mother. I am currently driving a "92 Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser, that my kids call the "loser cruiser". I totally believe they love the car and that this is an affectionate nickname for our beloved, wood paneled, brown station wagon with a "turn around" seat in the back. When I drive up at their school to pick them up, everyone looks and points at me and I know they are talking about what a cute car I drive. My children are so humble, though. They quietly walk up to the car with their heads bowed and get in, sitting quietly while we drive away. I am so proud of them. They could be strutting up to the car, bragging and gloating in front of the whole school, but they don't. I was going to get a new car, but I know that my children would be sad to see our "loser cruiser" laid to rest so I think I will keep it until I know longer get to pick them up at school.

5) I am loud. I don't like it, but I do recognize that it is a fact. I think it is partly a family trait, but I wish I had inherited a different one. I am working on not being loud, but it's hard changing something that has been a part of you for so many years. When I was a child, I was so shy that I wouldn't talk to anyone outside of family. Starting school was so traumatic. I remember peeing my pants when I was asked to share with the class for show and tell. Even as a teenager, I was shy. I talked to my siblings and I'm sure that on occasions, I was loud then, but it didn't seem to become a part of my character until I was about 18. I was working at a sewing factory (GWG) and had no friends. I was shy, awkward and not very cute. I had a broken tooth and bad skin. One day I was riding Rusty (my amazing little horse) out in the field and pretending I was popular and pretty. I knew this was really not "normal" to be pretending in my head, but it seemed the only place I was what I wanted to be. I made a decision that day. I was either going to change or I was going to run away forever. I talked it over with Rusty and decided that living without my family would be too difficult so I decided to change. It wasn't easy. I started approaching people and starting conversations with them. I liked how it felt and I think I learned to cover up my shyness that way. I am still shy and have to urge myself to talk when I am around new people. The problem with this is that I have created a monster. I can't stop it and I have become a loud, shy person, which is an oxymoron, I know, but still a fact.

So, there you have it. I am going to do what John did and tag a few people.

Sue
Chris
Carrie

Gimme a Break.

2008-03-28T07:07:00.001-07:00

I have had such a busy Spring Break that I am thinking, I need a break. Yes, I need a break from Spring Break. Don't get me wrong. I have had a great time. I'm just tired from all the fun. I'm sick, too, but I refuse to acknowledge it. I don't have time to wipe my nose or cough so I just don't have a runny nose and I don't cough. Talk about self control. Yeah, right. I should be so lucky. The part about not having time to be sick is true. The rest? All I can say is "cough cough" "sniff sniff" "I wanna go to bed". That last past is said with a nasal whine. Did you hear that?

My Spring Break started out with 3 day, 2 nights in Vancouver at the Teacher's Convention. We stayed at a 5 star hotel overlooking the Water, downtown and Stanley Park. The beds were amazing, the service was perfection, and hanging out with friends during and between workshops was pretty cool, too. We went to "The Old Spaghetti Factory" in Gastown for lunch one day. We walked along the sea wall during the one hour that we didn't have rain. It was quite relaxing. Then I went home.

First thing to do was a thorough house cleaning. After all, Tye was here and "in charge" while I was gone for 3 days and he is a guy, after all. So Monday I cleaned the house, Tuesday I did all my shopping, Wednesday' Thursday and Friday I tried to have some time with my kids and my Mom. Then on Saturday I went to the airport in Comox to pick up Brent and Rhea and their twins at the airport. About 10 kms before the exit into Courtney I noticed that my car was no longer heating. I checked my engine heat gauge and it showed just below 100* which is where it is supposed to be. Then I slowed down to take the exit and the needle suddenly jumped to the red line. I pulled over and I could hear the fluid bubbling. Now I was still about 20 minutes from the airport and my car broke down. The first thing I did was call Tye in Nanaimo, who dropped everything and came flying, and I mean flying, to my rescue. I tried to call the airport to see if I could get a message to Rhea, but all I got was voice messages. Then I called Carolyn for some numbers for tow trucks and arranged to have my car towed. Just at that time, a good Samaritan pulled up and drove me to the airport. Tye got there about 15 minutes after me. We had a few days with Brent and Rhea, but couldn't take them anywhere because my car was parked in Comox and the van doesn't seat 10 people. So we went to a few places close by and the rest of the time we stayed around town or at the beach. On Monday I took them to the train station and then had the rest of the day and the next day to spend with Mom and my kids. Then on Wednesday I picked up my friend Marge Giesbrecht, at the Nanaimo airport. She is going home tomorrow around noon and then I get to spend a few days with my kids and see my Mom again for a few days before I start back to school.

So, I need a break from my break.

On another note, which you Saskatchewanians are going to enjoy and you BCers aren't going to believe. Yesterday, I was going to take my friend Marge to the Cathedral Grove and got just past the gas bar at Whiskey Creek. It started to snow! I'm not talking about a few flakes that were rain and then turned a little flaky. I'm talking big, white, heavy snowflakes, and lots of them. I stopped my car and decided that I didn't want to get caught in a white out. I took some pictures with my phone, which didn't do it justice, and turned around to go home. As I turned around and started to drive the snow disappeared. I looked back at a wall of white. Again, I took a picture with my phone, but you can't tell what it was supposed to be. I am so ticked! Snow in March! Lots of snow, not just a few flakes. It stuck to my windshield and to the grass at the side of the road. To top it all off, as i am sitting here writing this I looked out the window and, you guessed it, SNOW! What in the world is happening? I feel like I am back in Saskatchewan! I think they should change the name of this province to British Saskatchewan. B.S. Yeah. That's it. "Where do you live?" "I live in Qualicum Beach, B.S." That's all I've got to say.

Gimme A Break!

2008-03-17T08:26:00.000-07:00

Chris sent me this a couple of weeks ago and I haven't had time to do it until now. So, now that I'm on my 2 week Spring Break, I thought it would be a good time to do it.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain.
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game (Watched the Calgary Flames beat some American team. I forget who)
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse (I didn't win, but I bet on a horse that belonged to Mr. Zaretski, a teacher at Valley Manor Elementary)
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can (Had a contest with Jack. I lost.)
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and didn’t care who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love - with that person!
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke ( I bought Allysysn a karaoke machine for Christmas and we had a singing night.
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theatre
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party (Chris, Glenda, Sue and I crashed Becky's bacheloret party dressed up to the nines)
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days (It was for a week. I was fasting. i drank loads of water and Chicken broth)
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on a television news program as an “expert”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over (I've actually done that a few times. Now I think I'll stay put since i can't think of any place better to live)
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived (It wasn't car accident, but when a 100 pound horse falls and rolls over you, I think it counts)
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds (Sadly, I've gained back about 45 lbs)
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart ( this was a long, long time ago)
111. Helped an animal give birth (I grew up on a farm. I had to help a mare while working at the Horses For the Handicapped)
112. Won money on a TV game show
113. Broken a bone (Had a horse roll over me. That would break one or two bones)
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for 30 hours in a 48 hour period
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. States
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school (Dropped out halfway through 9th grade and went back to adult education when I was 36. Took 3 years of school, grade 12 and 2 years of Rehab Work at SIAST Kelsey Campus)
l131. Para sailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (Well maybe I didn't actually do the killing part myself but I was there and helped with the butchering)
137. Skipped all your school reunions (I wouldn't attend anything at WW Brown School. I hated that place. hence dropping out half-way through grade 9)
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language (The other person only used ASL - American Sign Language)
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts (My son, Tye did this many times before)
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life (Did CPR until the paramedics got there. I found out later that the person survived.)

Westin Bayshore, Here I Come!

2008-03-10T17:50:00.000-07:00

I am looking forward to this weekend. You may ask why, so I will tell you. I am going to Vancouver for a Special Ed Teachers Convention. We stay at the Westin Bayshore Inn. You should look it up online. It is a very nice Hotel right on the water, overlooking Stanley Park. They serve amazing food, they have amazing rooms with amazing beds, and best of all, I don't have to take care of any children. Not one. Only me. We get a wine and cheese social on Thursday evening with loads of appetizers and one free glass of wine. you can stay inside or go to the huge terrace and sit around while the waiters come around with trays of food. You can buy more wine or other drinks after your first glass or you can have amazing fruit drinks. And did I mention there won't be any children? Last year we went out for dinner on Friday night and had such a good time. This year there are more of us going, which will only make the time away from the convention more fun. I am praying for good weather for those three days. The weather network is saying it is going to rain, but they have been known to be wrong on the odd occasion, as we all know. I am praying for good weather, anyway. Even if it rains the whole time, it will still be a magnificent three days. No kids! Yay!! I will take some pictures of the room and surroundings and put them on Facebook. I might even shock all of you who read this and post them on here. Or I might just come home feeling so rested that I will blog about something totally unrelated.
Anyway, I am really looking forward to going to Vancouver. Jack told me that I have been sad and angry and stressed for a long time so I am hoping this will help me to feel a little less stressed. So, that's all for today.

Tagged: again.

2008-02-14T17:43:00.000-08:00

I have been tagged by Sue. So here are the rules.

1. Pick up the nearest book ( of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people. & post a comment here once you post it to your blog, so I can come see.

"No, I read about her arrest in the morning paper, and volunteered my services."
"Why on earth would you do that?"
"I don't know. I guess I just felt a sense of obligation."

This is from a book I borrowed from Mitz about a year ago called. "Puppet" by Joy Fielding.
I haven't read it yet, but I read a different one by Joy Fielding called "Run Jane Run." which is very good.

So now I will tag Jude, Carrie, and Brittany. i think all my other blogging family and friends have been tagged already, at least once.

My Amazing Mother

2008-01-31T06:35:00.000-08:00

This picture was taken last year in March. When we all heard that my brother John had cancer, we went to Saskatchewan to visit him. I stayed with Mom and Dad and one day we went to Jake and Colleen's to visit them. Jake and Dad were sitting in the living room and Jake was playing a bunch of old songs. Mom and Dad were talking about how this was the kind of song they used to dance to. Then Dad got up and asked Mom to dance with him.

I'm not sure what event this was taken at, but it just seems like they are thinking their thoughts to each other. Such a deep connection.

I have listened so often to Becky's song "My heart Knows" and every time I hear it I think of Mom at the River at Dad's memorial. Becky, I think this song speaks so deeply of your Grandma's heart and I am sitting here crying for her as I listen to your song, again. You have blessed me beyond anything I can put into words. Thank you for sharing the gift of music that God has given you. You should go share it with your Grandma.

Please, family, don't forget to pray for Mom. She is so lonely for Dad at times and I think her heart must be breaking.

Sorry this is such a weepy post, but I just wanted to say how much I love my Mom and wish I could take some of her pain for her. I just pray that God will lift her head.

Chris made me do it.

2008-01-28T18:32:00.000-08:00

I am not the best blogger. This is evidenced by the time laps between my posts. I like doing it, but just can't seem to find the time. I have time for reading other blogs, but with blogger, Facebook and email, I just don't seem to have a lot of time for posting. But, Chris tagged me and that means I have to do this, so...here goes.

Famous Singer - Micheal Jackson. Not much of a start to this list, but there are 19 more to go so I'm not going to hurt my brain this early in the show.

Four Letter Word - Mine. I hear this word quite a lot in my house. "Hey! that's mine! Give it to me." OK. I know this one is kinda lame, but you come up with something better.

Street - Memorial Ave. This is the street that runs right by my house on the way to the most amazing spot in all of Canada; the Beach Hut, which I hope opens in early March. I can't wait to sit on the deck with a coffee and a smokie smothered in sauteed onions and cheese. Their poutine are also totally amazing. Then there's the Screamers. A cold drink made of 1/4 slurpy and the rest is ice cream. They have over 30 flavors to chose from and my favorites are Black cherry and orange creamsicle. Oh man. I wish it was open right now. I would take a warm blanket and go there even if it's freezing outside.

Color - Magenta. All I can say is . . . phewey.

Gift/Present - Mini-van. Tye drives it because I like my Oldsmobile better. It was given to me by one of the teachers at my school. Donna Beauvette is the Special Ed teacher and she got a new van and heard that Tye needed a vehicle so she gave - yes, you heard right, gave - me her '91 Chrysler mini-van. It runs great and was well maintained.

Vehicle - See above. LOL Just kidding. Mercedes. I drive an Oldsmobile, but I dream it is a Mercedes. Then, when my car starts to go in the ditch I open my eyes and realize, it was only a dream.

Things In A Souvenir Shop - Marbles. I know you probably think this is lame, but I found a bag of marbles with a Canadian flag inside of them at a little shop here in Qualicum Beach. They were actually quite pretty.

Boy's Name - Micheal. I have always loved that name. Even if you shorten it to Mike, I still like it. Mickey Mouse Micheal the police man? Well.. still pretty cool.

Girl's Name - Mavis. I only ever knew 2 girls with that name. One was a girl from Langham school, whom I don't remember well enough to even remember her last name. Wait a minute. Her name was Avis Blushki. That means I only ever knew one Mavis. The one and only Mavis Braun. My cousin who went to be with the Lord. For all who were privileged enough to know her, she was amazing.

Movie Title - Maverick. A funny Western adventure with James Garner, Mel Gibson and Jody Foster.

Drink - What else would I say, but a Margarita. I don't like them much. I like a Monkey's Lunch. Banana liqueur, Kahlua and milk. You should try it.

Occupation - Musician. I love to sing (even though I'm not spectacular) and wish I knew how to play the piano.

Celebrity - Mel Gibson. I like that he doesn't get talked about a lot in all of those celebrity "rags". He's still married to the mother of his children and to my knowledge, has not had an affair. I'm sure that would be "news" in the Inquirer. Plus the "Passion Of The Christ".

Magazine - Mademoiselle. I have seen it on the racks, but have never read one.

City - Melbourne, Australia. One of the places in this world that I would like to visit some day. My first thought was to say Martensville, but I didn't know if a town would qualify. I would really like to visit there some day, also. :)

Sport - Mud Wrestling. This is a pretty poor excuse for a sport, but I challenge you to come up with something better.

Fruit - Mango. I don't eat them very often, but I do like them. Especially if they are the flavoring in a Screamer at the Beach Hut. Mmmm.

Reason For Being Late For Work - Migraine. I used to get them often when I was in my early twenties and then they stopped when I got pregnant with Tye. In the last few months I have had a few again. I'm not sure if it's stress or age. Maybe a little of both. All I know for sure is that I won't get pregnant again to get rid of them. Advil Liquid-gels is my new best friend.

Something To Throw Away - Mittens. It almost never gets cold enough here to need mittens. This winter is the exception, though.

Something You Shout - MOM!!! OK. I don't shout it, but I hear it. Often!

There you go. I found some of these quite difficult. You probably don't need me to tell you that, the words speak for themselves. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to come up with so many M words. I would tag a couple of people, but when I check my blogs every morning, I don't think too many people even read them very often, let alone post anything. So, I won't. Just . . . I hope you found this entertaining.

Oh Spring, Where Art Thou.

2008-01-13T07:47:00.000-08:00

I don't want to sound whiny or ungrateful, but I am seriously tired of rain and cloudy skies. This week, we had one day - yes, only one day - where the sun shone for any length of time. I came home from work, grabbed my old shoes and Grace, she was the only one who was home and wanted to come along, and went to Englishman River Falls. With all the rain, not to mention the snow, we've had, the Falls were pretty amazing. The logs that have been caught in the crevasse for years were shot out last year by the huge amount of water coming off the mountain. That means that this year, even though there is still a huge amount of water coming off the mountain, the spray is not quite as high so the bridge across the Falls isn't as slippery, but the view isn't quite as "Wow!" as it was before the logs were moved. Is that a run-on sentence? It feels a little run-on. Oh, well. Anyway, this is what it looked like from the bridge. As you can see, there was even some sunshine.

So, to continue with my whining, Grace and I were going to go for a walk around to the Lower Falls, but I was not willing to let my nine year old slide down the "switch-back" part of the trail. It was so muddy and slippery that we had to turn back and go back to the car. We did walk around the back side of the falls a little way, but again, the path was so wet and muddy. So we went to the beach and sat and threw rocks and talked. This actually turned out to be quite fun, until it started raining again. Oh, well. I guess we can't have everything good. Carolyn's roses are blooming in front of their house and I have an amazing view out of my kitchen window, so I guess I'll quit whining now. Anyway, I read that the Beach Hut is supposed to open in early March and Coombs Market has been open all Winter so things are still pretty good. To continue on with my complaining actually seems quite ungrateful. I have a house full of healthy children, I am mostly healthy, I have a great job, great friends and a great family. On that note, putting up with a little rain seems kind of small and unimportant. I guess I just would love to get out and hike more than the rain allows.

I would have posted some new pictures I took, but somebody borrowed my cable to connect my camera to the computer, so my pictures are there, but inaccessible. When I find said cable, I will post again with more pictures.

2007 wrapped up. I was tagged.

2008-01-06T06:43:00.000-08:00

This is probably the shortest post I have ever written and yet the longest post I have ever published. I know that people will likely say to themselves, "Margaret, this is your best post of the month?" Well, a lot of times it was my only post of the month.

I am not going to tag anyone, though, because Chris already tagged everyone who might have one or more posts a month. So, this branch of Chris's tag fizzles out here. Sorry Chris.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Christmas Hoopla

Ok. Chris tagged me so here goes.

Christmas Baking.
First we have this project at school called "Cookies for Inmates". We get the kids and their families to bake a ton of cookies and then the kids decorate those brown lunch bags with a Christmas scene. We put a bunch of the cookies in each bag and send them to the Correctional Centre in Nanaimo for each of the inmates there. Not only have I baked for that, but I also baked 10 dozen cookies for The Bethlehem Walk. Needless to say, I haven't gotten a lot of baking done for my own family, although I did keep some of the other baking for us. As usual it disappeared about as fast as i could bake it.

Decorating the Tree and the House.
I have had the same tree for about 15 years. It was quite expensive when I bought it so, to me, it still looks fine. Jack is my Christmas Critic and this year he decided that we needed a change. My rule of thumb is, "If it's not broke, don't fix it." However, now that Jack has a full time job he has gone a little nuts with his buying decorations. So we have a bunch of new stuff to put up this year. Sadly, for Jack anyway, we still have our old tree. I think it looks quite nice.

Christmas Shopping.
I made myself a promise last year at this time that I was going to be done my shopping by December 1st. Sadly these promises go the same way my New Years Resolutions go. Real strong until it just isn't a priority any more. I have to go shopping with Jack today. We have to get some groceries and I still have all my stocking stuffers to buy. Jack also has one more gift to buy, but that doesn't concern me. Oh, wait. It does, since he is shopping for me.

Cleaning my House.
This gets done almost every day, but then along comes a family gathering and any of you who have been to my house know that I have quite old carpets. They look exactly like the carpets Mom and Dad had in their house in Osler. The brown, sculpted ones. I have shampooed it 3 times in the past 2 years, but it still look like garbage. So, at each family gathering I spray it with Febreze Alergen and then vacuum like crazy. Somehow, though, my bedroom always gets left to the absolute last. I'm not even sure if I will get it done this year. So all my guests will have to out their coats in Jasmine's room.

Relaxing
Another thing Jack did this year was buy a bunch of Christmas movies. So we have been watching the old Christmas Classics like Miracle on 34th St., It's a Wonderful Life, The Grinch That Stole Christmas, and then a truckload of Claymation Christmas Stories. On Christmas Eve we will watch A Nightmare Before Christmas, The Nativity, and if we have time The Polar Express.

Christmas Eve Party.
Ever since Emmett moved in with us we started having a Christmas Eve party with just me and the kids. Every year this party has become more and more elaborate. Now we have reached the stage where we have a feast of snack food like crab dip and chips, taco chips with melted cheese and salsa, candy, candy candy, punch, fruit platter, veggies and dip, and the list goes on. This is also when we watch the list of movies from the previous paragraph. Just before we start to wind down we each open one of our small gifts. Then I read the real Christmas story form the Bible. Then we pray for a blessed Christmas for our family and friends. Then it's finally bedtime around 11 PM.

Christmas Morning.
I had to make a rule years ago that the kids could not wake me up until 6 AM on Christmas morning. Well, I have gotten older and since I had the car accident almost 3 years ago, I wake up every morning at about 4:45. So, for the last couple of years my wake up time has shifted a bit, to 5 AM. Tye is usually the first to get up and he wakes up Jack. The the two of them wake up the girls and they all crowd around my door ready to "surprise" me awake. The girls have not had much for Christmas traditions so this one seems really important to them. Once we are all up, we go into the living room and open gifts. It is wonderful to see how the kids all want me to open their gifts first> I will get a gift for Gracie and she opens it. Then she gets a gift for Jasmine and she opens it. Then she gets one for Alethea and so it goes form youngest to oldest until we are all done. Then I make pancakes and bacon for breakfast and we all eat together. Then it's time for relaxing again with a movie, which someone got for Christmas or a board game.

So that's my Christmas Hoopla. Now I will tag;
Jude Saskwatch
Abe This WOrld is Not My Home

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

I Feel Scolded

I just read my sister-in-law's post and I feel like I should feel. Lazy about posting. I need a good scolding. Thanks, Chris. I agree with you about facebook. I still check my blogs every morning, but I never post. I just seems easier to check all the status reports, my email, and then play a quick game of Scrabulous before getting my girls up for school. So, I am going to do what Chris did. Random ranting.

1. What's up with people who demand that you meet them for an important "meeting" and then not show up for that very meeting. I hate that. My girls' birth mom set up this meeting for her and I to meet with the adoption worker, who had to come all the way from Campbell River, and told the social worker that this was an important meeting and could she please call and make sure that I knew how important it was. Then she doesn't show up! What's up with that? I hate stupid people.

2. Why do good people always get burned/used by their so-called friends. Tye had this friend, Eli, who has had a terrible childhood and has chosen to take that kind of life style right into adult hood. He is now 27 years and still always makes excuses for his bad choices. When I came home from Saskatchewan this past summer Eli was staying here because the last place he was staying, his best friend, had asked him to leave because Eli owed him quite a bit for room and board. Since Eli can't hold down a job, he wasn't paying anything. So I told li that he could sleep in the tent in the back yard and he had to pay at least $100.00 a week for groceries for a month until he could find a place to live.. He agreed and then ended up staying for 3 flipping months! then, when it got too clod in the tent at night he found a place to stay in the Old Dutch Inn down the street. That's when he borrowed $800.00 from Tye's student loan money for rent. Tye trusted him to pay it back in 3 installments. When I found out I was so upset. I knew he wouldn't pay it back and guess what? I was right. Not only did he not pay it back, but he didn't use it for rent either. As soon as Tye paid it he moved out and got the money back and disappeared. What a creep! I hate creeps!

3. This is not really a rant; more of an observation. I have noticed that when you smile at people they smile back, but the smile never reaches their eyes, but if you make eye contact for at least 5 seconds, smile and say "good morning/afternoon" or whatever, they actually smile. I also noticed that old people smile at you, really smile, much more often than young/middle aged people do. Maybe it's because they are no longer caught up in making something happen in their busy lives. They have time to stop and look out at the world and notice people. I love old people.

4. This weekend we had a storm go through and, apparently, it went all the way to Sask before it finally quit taking down trees and power lines. (I heard it on the news last night) Anyway, when the wind died down a bit I went down to the beach with a cup of coffee and a warm blanket. I sat on a log and sang some song, One Day At a Time, Homesick, I can only Imagine and some of the hymns we sang in the hospital. Then I prayed and cried and then I sang again, David's song for Dad. I was there for about an hour and when I got up to leave there was this old couple sitting on a bench behind me and the lady said, "Oh, are you leaving? We so enjoyed your singing. We got up to leave when you were praying, but then you sang again so we stayed. I hope you don't mind?" Of course I said no, I didn't mind. It felt a little weird, but I thought they were so sweet. Oh, and the waves were so big and crashed into the rocks at the edge of the beach. Later that afternoon I went back there with the girls and we fed seagulls bread that we threw up for them to catch. We also ran into the water and froze our feet, but we brought our good shoes to change into. What a great place to be. I love the Island.

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Refreshment!

When we think of the word "refreshment" we usually think of a cool drink on a hot day, and for you in Saskatchewan, on a hot, windy day. :) Normally refreshment come after not having had a drink for quite some time and you are thirsty.
I need refreshment. I can't find a church that gives me the longing to go back. Most of the churches here are either filled with oldsters and are really slow or they are a bit hyper-charismatic. Neither feels right to me and so I haven't gone to church very often. So the only place I go regularly for Christian fellowship is my job. How blessed I am to have that. So I do get to have devotions at home with my kids as well as at school with the teachers, but there is something to be said for being in a room full of Christians and raising our voices and our hands in worship. I miss doing that. The last church I went to where I enjoyed being a part of that kind of worship was Midsun Community Church in Calgary.
Don't get me wrong. We still go to church. We attend the Oceanside Community Church on the Alberni Highway and it is a wonderful Church full of wonderful people. Mostly over 70 people. I have been invited to the Alliance Church by one of the teachers at school and we probably will try it, but that means driving all the way into Nanaimo and not just North Nanaimo, but almost into the downtown core. Do I want to drive that far to church every Sunday? I don't know. I just know that I need more continuing refreshment and I need to find somewhere that I can get what my heart yearns for. A church to belong.
So, I am going to a teacher's conference for Christian schools in Lyndon, Wash on Wednesday. I will have the evening of Wednesday, all day Thursday, and Friday morning to be with a large group of Christian adults who all believe in Jesus. There will be praise and worship, prayer and workshops. There will also be other opportunities to fellowship with other Christians.
I am so looking forward to this conference. My girls are in school every day so will only be alone for about 2 hours after school. Then Tye comes home to assist with making dinner. Then at 8 PM my wonderful, amazing niece, Carrie, will come and get the girls to bed. She will sleep here and get the girls up in the morning and out to school. On Friday I will return and be a new woman. Well, maybe not new, but refreshed.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

It Has Been A While.

I am so hooked on facebook now that I haven't really taken the time for blogger the way I used to, but since Becky did go to all the work of making my blog so pretty I will try to post at least once a month. At least. So, first I want to brag a bit about where I live. We have had a few weeks of beautiful weather. The kind of weather that calls you to the Beach Hut for a coffee and maybe a visit with family or friends. If you get there and you don't know anyone, it's OK too. Sitting and watching the sunn go down and drinking a coffee or a Screamer is a great way to unwind after a busy day of laying on the beach or walking along the beach stomping gooey ducks, which can be very hard on the feet.

Here is what you could see in the evening if you were fortunate
enough to live in Canada's paradise.
This was taken while Mom and Sue were visiting this summer.

This was a very sad day for me even though it looks like it should
have been fun. This was taken at Qualicum Beach
On David and Carolyn's last day living here. They actually left early
the next morning, but this was the last day I spent with them before they moved.

At first it was a little chilly, but it didn't take long to warm up
after the sun came out. Ethan didn't have a jacket
so he wore David's sweater. It didn't take long and he was stripping
down until he was in his shorts.

This has nothing to do with anything. I just love this picture.

Doesn't this just pull you back here, David?

This video was taken at Stamp Falls. It's about 20 minutes from my house and we went there with David and Carolyn and our families for a day of fun in the river.

I was going to start off bragging about BC and I ended up finishing the same way. Sorry, people. I just can't help it.

August, 2007

Hmmm. Again with nothing.

Friday, July 06, 2007

Holidays!

I am going to Sask! The ministry gave me money again this summer to take the girls to visit their relatives in Regina. That means I get to see my family and friends as well. So we are leaving tomorrow evening, spending the night at my friend Pauline Meakin in Vancouver and leaving early Sunday morning. We will stop for the night in Vermilion with my "adopted" daughter, Allysyn. Then we will leave for Saskatoon on Monday. We will meet the girls Aunt and Uncle in Saskatoon and the girls will visit there for a week. Then I will go spend a few days with them on the farm. Then we will come back to Saskatoon for a day or two and then leave again for home. On the way home we may need to stay at a hotel, though. Getting to Sask late at night is one thing, but if we get to Vancouver late we don't get a ferry. So, I will see all of my Sask family in a few days. I have a new motor in my car, new tires, transmission check and new brakes a couple of months ago so I pray we will have a safe, uneventful trip. See you all soon.

June, 2007

My Big News!

Some of you are very confused, like Melanie. I wasn't going to say anything until it became official, but I guess the cat's out of the bag. That'll teach me for not telling people that this is kind of a secret. My girls don't read my blog, so I will share my news. Now I will say to all of you who live here and see my girls, this is a secret from them until the social worker comes and talks to them and gets them to sign their consent. Then they will officially be mine. I have been approved for adoption! It has been about a week since I found out and the girls should find out today after school. So that is my good news.

I do have another little praise item, if you all are interested, I found out yesterday that the funding came through for my student, which means that I will be back at work in September. I will also get a raise, which will be nice.

So, I hope I have stopped the confusion for everyone on my pregnancy and labor. I will post again soon with an update.

Sunday, May 06, 2007

Summer. Where Art Thou?

I'm tired. And sick. I'm tired of being sick. I have been sick since Christmas, on and off. Mostly on. I don't want to cough anymore. I'm tired of the adoption thing taking so long. I'm tired of the must have routine of school days. I'm tired of homework, permission slips, field trips, making lunches and getting up at 5 AM. Oh yeah. I'm tired of getting up at 5 am. I want to be one of those people who goes to bed about 10:30 pm and sleeps till around 7:30 or 8 the next morning. It doesn't matter what time I go to sleep, I wake up at 5 am. I want summer to be here. I want to stay in bed until 7 am and then get up and go for my walk/run and stop at the Beach Hut for a coffee with my sister before coming home to start my day as a parent. I want a car that won't break down ever 2 to 3 thousand kms. No I want a brand new mini-van, and Becky, I would be happy with taupe. The problem with a brand new mini-van is the brand new payments which I don't want. I want a clean house. I'm not talking about a clean house on the weekend because I've finally had the time to spend with Jack and the girls doing a thorough cleaning, only to have it disappear by Sunday night. I mean a clean house like Mitz or like Mom or Orlah always have. I want to know that I can call a friend to meet me at my house right after work and know that it will be clean. The problem is I want kids and somehow I can't have both. I think mostly I'm tired of being alone. I want someone to come home to that isn't a kid. OK. Tye isn't a kid, but he's my kid. So is Jack. I want Tye to not have to feel like he needs to take care of me. I want to go visit him in his house and bring him summa borscht because I know he'll never make it himself. I want Jack to do better at school and get a job. I want him to be excited about growing up and moving out with friends, but he's not. I want him to get his driver's and a life. I guess I'm just feeling a little battle bruised today. Sorry for such a depressing post. When I think of my brother John and his family I feel like a big baby writing this.

April, 2007

I am sorry to say, I have no post for April. Life must have been REAL exciting. :)

Thursday, March 01, 2007

When We Were Young

I went through some of my old pictures and decided to share some of them. I love looking at pictures and it seems, by looking at our family's blogs, that you all do to. So have fun.

Oh how I wish I was that skinny now. The glasses leave some to be desired, though. I must have been about 21 or 22 here.

This is a blast from the past. Mom wearing that kerchief. Is it just me or does it almost look like Mom is holding Connor?

This picture is one of my favorites. This is the way I want to remember Aunt Lena. Here she is holding Abe and Jake shortly after they were born.

I saved the best one for last. This one is a really old one. You can't really tell unless you enlarge it, but the calendar on the wall has a date of Feb. 1958. I was only one year, 9 months old. As you can see I had a real problem looking straight ahead. My focus point was quite skewed and Dad is on the right pointing, trying to get me to look at the camera. I am looking at the camera. What he should have done is have someone on the right distract me and I would have looked at them and it would have looked like I was looking at the camera. Anyway, from top left to right we are Helen Mansuay, me, Reg Andres, brother Henry. Bottom row is brother John, Kathy Kalyn (sp), Dave Braun (Hawk), Ron Andres, and Ken Andres. I don't know where brother Peter was when this picture was taken.

Well, that's it for today. I have a few more, but I will save those for another post. Keep you in suspense, so to speak.

Who Am I?

When I was a young girl I always thought that I would never grow up to be like my Mother. I was going to be a great Mom. I would be my children's' best friend. I would never yell at them, I would teach them all the right things and they would love me more than anyone in the world. I was so smart. I knew it all and my mother didn't.

Now I am 50 years old and I am so much like my mother. I do all the things I said I would never do. I yell at my kids. I do things myself instead of teaching my kids to do it because it's easier and quicker. I think my kids love me, but I think they love video games more. LOL

When I look back now, as an adult, I can see that I am not the parent my Mom was. So what happened? Who changed? Me or my Mom? I think the answer to that is, both of us have changed. She became more mellow and I turned into my Mom. I don't know how often I have heard my family say to me, "You are just like Mom." When I was young I probably would have been offended by that, but now I look at her and I take it completely as a compliment. I wish I were more like her in some ways than others. I am forgetful like her. I have some weird ideas like her, and some people say I look like her. There are many ways I am not like her, though. I think she was much more patient than I am. I think she taught her children much more than I have taught mine. All in all, I think she was pretty smart and a pretty great mother. I'm not sure how my resolution to not become my mother suddenly became much more attractive than it was when I was young.

So, to sum it all up, I think my Mom is a pretty great person. I think that if I could be thought of the way most people think of her, I would be a very fortunate woman. I think the greatest legacy a parent can leave is their morals, ideals, and values and in that my parents have not fallen short. What a family to be a part of. What a legacy to hand down to our children. I pray I will live up to it.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

I didn't get very many pictures this Christmas, but I will post the ones I have. We had a real feast again this year with Art bringing his cabbage rolls, I did a turkey, Mitz did a ham and Carolyn brought a huge pot of mashed potatoes. We had Pumpkin pie, cherry pie, and apple pie. I don't believe anybody left the table hungry and a also think that many of us should have left the table sooner. We sat around and talked about everybody in Saskatchewan and how we missed the gatherings where the whole family was together at the hall in Grandora. We played the white elephant game and this year there were probably more tools there than there were girlie gifts. It took about an hour and a half to play the game and there was plenty of laughing and gift stealing.

We instated a new rule at Thanksgiving this year that the adults sit at the big table in the dining room. They also got to eat first. Real adults consist of Mom and Dad's kids and friends from the same generation. The young adults took their plates into the livingroom and the kids 18 and under took their plates downstairs to the family room.

The young guys sitting in the livingroom after we finished eating. Jack is teaching Paco what NOT to do on his PSP. Seated on the couch are Colevin, Peter (Melanie's husband) and Reagan.

Luke is such a cutie and a more content baby you would have to search for long and hard.

This is Connor, who has one of the quickest smiles I have seen. What a cutie.

Christmas Hoopla

2007-12-22T10:33:00.001-08:00

I Feel Scolded

2007-11-14T16:53:00.000-08:00

Refreshment!

2007-10-02T06:16:00.000-07:00

It Has Been A While.

2007-09-16T16:15:00.000-07:00

Here is what you could see in the evening if you were fortunate
enough to live in Canada's paradise.
This was taken while Mom and Sue were visiting this summer.

This has nothing to do with anything. I just love this picture.

Doesn't this just pull you back here, David?

Holidays!

2007-07-06T17:55:00.000-07:00

My Big News!

2007-06-15T06:12:00.000-07:00

Just for Footsack

2007-06-13T16:52:00.000-07:00

Since you were the last one to comment on my blog I will dedicate this new post to you. You asked what I do with all my spare time. What the heck is spare time?!! I go to work, come home, check my blogs and emails, make sure dinner is at least started, try to do a little housework, finish making dinner, eat, clean up, start putting kids to bed and then go to bed myself. SPARE TIME!!! Oh. I forgot there are actually weekends. That's when I do laundry, spend a little time trying to have fun with my kids, and . . . you guessed it, do a thorough cleaning of the house. Maybe we should try to get together some time before I forget what it's like. I'm off Friday the 15th. The sun is supposed to be out and my kids will all be at school. How's the Beach Hut for coffee? Call me.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2007-06-02T12:35:00.001-07:00

My birthday was on May 30th and, as you can see, I turned 51. David and Carolyn had a party for me at their house. My kids and I went there for supper and then at around 7 pm Art and Carol, Ken and Mitz and Robyn came for cake and coffee. We had a great time, but most of it was at my expense. Everyone knows that I don't like any form of my name, but Marge is the worst. About two weeks ago we were at David and Carolyn's playing Phase 10 and Jack told Carolyn that I hated being called Marge. That was the start of the rest of the evening being spent harassing me and calling me Marge. I told Carolyn that if she didn't stop I wouldn't invite her to my birthday. She said that she wasn't worried because she was going to have my birthday party at her house. Then she told me that if I didn't stop threatening her, she would put up a banner that said "Happy Birthday Marge".
When I walked into their back yard there was a banner that said, you guessed it, "Happy Birthday Marge". Not funny.

As you can see I am NOT happy.

Then Ethan said, Happy Birthday, Memo and I cheered up.

Canadian, eh?

2007-05-08T06:21:00.000-07:00

What do you know? Like Becky, I am often mistaken for a Canadian. Unfortunately, unlike Becky, I am never mistaken for a computer whiz. I don't know how you are supposed to copy your test results to your blog. I hope this works. What American accent do you have? Your Result: North Central "North Central" is what professional linguists call the Minnesota accent. If you saw "Fargo" you probably didn't think the characters sounded very out of the ordinary. Outsiders probably mistake you for a Canadian a lot.
The West
Boston
The Midland
The Inland North
The Northeast
The South
Philadelphia

Summer. Where Art Thou?

2007-05-06T15:24:00.000-07:00

Idiot Drivers

2007-03-26T16:46:00.000-07:00

I don't usually make this a forum for griping about life, but today I am making an exception. On my way home from work today I was doing about 3 kms over speed limit and caught up to a big, shiny blue Dodge Ram. I pulled into the passing lane and went around him and continued on my way. Within a couple of minutes the idiot driving this big, shiny blue Dodge Ram caught up to me and went around me. I thought, "OK. You like to be in front.". As soon as the jerk got in front of me he slowed down to about 5 kms below speed limit. I followed him for a minute or two thinking he would speed up again. He didn't, so I pulled out to pass him again. This happened at least three times. I have to admit it I was thinking of a few not very nice names for him. Anyway, I pulled around him again and then decided to get ahead of him a ways and maybe he would stay behind me. As soon as I got beside him he sped up and stayed level with me. If I slowed down, so did he. If I sped up, so did he. I thought maybe he wanted to get my attention so I looked over at him. If he had been about 30 years older I would have thought maybe he's coming on to me, but the punk was only about 25 and he was glaring at me! I couldn't believe it! He was mad at me! I almost flipped him a bird, but thought better of it. Instead I winked at him, gave him a suggestive smile and blew him a kiss. I thought his head was going to explode! It was hilarious! He looked so totally shocked that an old lady would flirt with him. He put his foot to the floor and pulled away from me and was gone. This was just the therapy I needed. I wasn't mad anymore and actually had a good laugh. What a loser.

Jack's recovery

2007-03-11T07:12:00.000-07:00

First I want to thank my family and friends for all their prayers and support. We are at the end of that dark tunnel. Jack has been getting stronger every day. Yesterday we went shopping and he actually came along. OK. He's 18 and that is rare for any 18 year old. The real proof that he is getting better is that he is back to teasing Grace again, which she enjoys immensely. He is also the most difficult person to go shopping with. I don't know why he wanted to come with me. I even told him I was going to buy groceries and he still wanted to come along. I thought he'd be happy to have the house to himself, but "No". I think he was tired of being cooped up inside. I hate grocery shopping with my kids. So, with all that evidence I would say that Jack is on the mend. The tests are not all back yet, but the drs think it was a mutated virus that attacked the fluid surrounding his brain. It caused severe headaches, fever and all the other strange things that happened to him. They have no other evidence of anything medically wrong with him. They call it "idiopathic symptoms". My doctor said they call it that because it makes them feel like idiots when they can only find out what isn't wrong with a person. They know it is not an aneurysm, a brain tumor or meningitis. It is not the bird flu, toxoplasmosis, or the Rocky Mountain virus. They are still waiting on tests for a rare virus that could be transfered by pets that have access to water inhabited by birds. I don't remember the name, though.
Anyway, Jack is much better. He is going back to school on Monday and a little worried about catching up all the time he lost there. So, thanks again for all your prayers and concern. I love you all.

Thanks for praying.

2007-03-06T16:50:00.000-08:00

On Monday morning I took Jack to see my doctor, Dr. McCarri. While we were in the examining room with the doc, Jack went totally pail, his lips were completely colorless, his fever temperature went to 40.5 C (which is about 105 F). He started slurring his speech, and lapsing in and out of consciousness. His blood pressure went to 60/20. That was when Dr.McCarri said he needed to go to the ER and he needed to go in an ambulance. He called them and they picked Jack up and we went to Nanaimo General. They did a CT scan, blood tests, and a spinal tap. That was the worst. As if Jack's headache wasn't bad enough, the spinal tap was terrible. The results, so far, are good. The doctors at the hospital all believe that he has a mutated virus that attacked locally and on Jack it went to the brain. His white blood count is normal, he does not have bacterial meningitis or viral meningitis. He does not have a tumor or an aneurysm. They are going to test for a few other rare, but serious viruses and call Dr. McCarri with the results in the next day or two. We got home at about 9:30 last night and Jack has been sleeping most of the time. His headache has gotten a lot less severe, but yesterday they gave him Tylonol3 with codeine and it didn't faze him. by this morning they were helping, though so I pray he is on the road to recovery. He is still running a fever, but it is manageable with the Tylonol3s. He is still not eating, but he is drinking loads of water, which is good. I am quite sure he will not be going to school tomorrow, but hopefully he will be well enough to go on Thursday. So thank you all for praying for him. We did a lot of that yesterday and the day before and God is faithful. I am so thankful for my family and friends that prayed. The staff at my school also held a prayer vigil for Jack yesterday morning.This has been a difficult couple of days, but I can't imagine going through it without the support of you all if things had not gone well. So thank you all. I love you.

Please pray for Jack

2007-03-04T14:20:00.000-08:00

We have all been fighting the flu here for the past 6 weeks. I have been coughing since mid January and now I am getting another cold. I haven't even gotten over the last one. Alethea has a bad head and chest cold and has lost her voice since Thursday. Jack, however has me quite concerned. He didn't get a bad cold and it has been gone for about 3 weeks. Then last weekend he got a headache that completely stopped him in his tracks. He went to school on Monday, but came home after his first class. All week he has tried to be in school, but every day ends up coming home and going to bed. Now he has such a bad headache that most of the time he can't even lay down. He sits up with ice packs over his eyes and often holding one to each of his temples. Yesterday, he could barely see from his left eye, but didn't tell me until this morning. He has been taking Advil, Tylenol, and Ibuprofen and nothing helps. In the morning he gets up around 6 and takes something for pain and goes back to bed. By around 7:30 he can function enough to go to school, but then ends up at home again by 11 am. He is worried, but hopes it is only because he needs glasses. I am worried because I think it may be an infection from having the 'flu. So please pray that he will be alright. We are going to the after hours clinic as soon as I finish posting this.

When We Were Young

2007-03-01T16:21:00.000-08:00

I went through some of my old pictures and decided to share some of them. I love looking at pictures and it seems, by looking at our family's blogs, that you all do to. So have fun.

Oh how I wish I was that skinny now. The glasses leave some to be desired, though. I must have been about 21 or 22 here.

This is a blast from the past. Mom wearing that kerchief. Is it just me or does it almost look like Mom is holding Connor?

This picture is one of my favorites. This is the way I want to remember Aunt Lena. Here she is holding Abe and Jake shortly after they were born.

Well, that's it for today. I have a few more, but I will save those for another post. Keep you in suspense, so to speak.

I Love Becky!

2007-02-27T21:03:00.000-08:00

Becky has saved me from blogger boredom. I have a new home, or my blog does. I should have sent her my log-in info months ago. Isn't it awesome? The Braun Bunch with a bunch of bananas. It fits our whole family, but I like it for just mine.Thank you Becky for my new and very vibrant blog. Not only did I get this awesome new blog, but I got to chat with Becky and with Ben. He is so cute on the phone. He even said "I love you" to me. I just wanted to squish him.
I'm not sure how old Becky is in this picture, but I just thought that I should give her some kind of pay for this new blog. Ang, you just get to sit there and look cute. Do you still do that?

Who Am I?

2007-02-27T18:35:00.000-08:00

Stupid, stupid blogger!

2007-02-25T08:04:00.000-08:00

I am NOT happy! I scanned a load of old pictures and was going to put them on a new post. Yes, Mitz a new post! Stupid blogger won't work. I can't even get the browzer window to open when I click on the Add Image window. It does NOTHING! AAARRRGGGHHH! So, unless and until someone knows how to fix this problem for me - well, if I can't post with pictures I'm just not going to post at all.

Praise the Lord and Halleluya!

2007-02-09T21:36:00.000-08:00

I have my car back. Thank God for honest mechanics. Mine is not only honest, but he is letting me take my car and paying him next week. Here's what he fixed. Most of this won't mean a thing to most of you women, but trust me. He did this all very cheaply. Not all of it was from the accident, but it all needed to be done.
First the wheel I smashed up. $320 - parts and labor.
Whole new exhaust system. $140 - parts and labor
Catelitic converter. $135 - parts and labor
New battery. $85
Towing the car to his place2o kms away. $60
So the total for my car was $740.
This might sound like a lot of money to spend on a 14 year old car, but he said the compression was good and that it could easily last for another year. The way I look at it is that I paid $600 for the car 14 months ago. I have put about $1000 into it over that time including what I just had done. So now I have a really good beater that has cost me about $130 a month for car payments and I have a car for possibly another year or more and no car payments. I bet you couldn't buy a good car for that in too many places.
The best thing is, I don't have any car payments to make now. Well, OK. One big one, but now I have an 8 passenger car that runs great and that makes me feel pretty good. I did NOT want to go into debt.
Other than that, life is hectic, but good. I'm liking my job more every day and the adoption home study is almost done. I have been sick and coughing for 2 1/2 weeks now, but I haven't broken a rib like John has. Of course, I haven't had Mom and Dad bring me heina zup either. I'd make my own, but I can't have pasta for another 40 pounds so that would be kind of stupid. The broth tastes good, but heina zup without noodles? Not good. Also, we have had loads of rain and quite a bit of fog, but I can still go to work without going out to start my vehicle to warm up, or worse, plug it in for the night. I am not shovelling snow and it isn't -25 outside. So all in all, things are pretty peachy. The only thing that would make it pretty much great would be if all of you in Sask and Alberta would come out here this summer for a huge beach party. All 75 of us. We could rent the beach hut and put "Off limits" signs up. What a party!
So, that's it. God has answered my prayers about my car problems and life is good.

What to do.

2007-01-25T06:11:00.000-08:00

Last week we had snow. I hate snow and have hated it since I learned to drive in it. You are always on edge and worry that you're going to end up in the ditch or, even worse, in oncoming traffic, doing a perfect pirouette, as if driving on a snow covered highway is a choreographed dance or something. Well, my dance ended, or took a short break anyway, last week when it snowed. I left my house to go to work. The snow was just starting to come down and the girls were so excited. I wasn't. Well, on my way to work I drop Tye off at his job in Coombs. By the time we got half way there I seriously debated turning around and going home. It was snowing so hard that when I went under the flashing lights warning you that you are approaching a lighted intersection I only noticed it was flashing just as I went under. I told Tye that our greatest danger was all those people who have lived in BC all their lives and never learned to drive in slippery conditions. Well, to make a long story short and painful, when I turned into Tye's driveway at work, which is quite a steep driveway, I started to slide and, stupid me, with all my winter driving experience, try to make the turn instead of going straight and coming around the back side of the building. Have you ever noticed how quickly the brain registers that you have just made a bad decision, but you don't have time to correct? I knew I was in trouble at the same instant that I knew it was too late to do anything about it. So I slid down the driveway sideways and smacked my front right wheel hard into a sidewalk. I stopped the car and checked the wheel and moaned. It had a huge dent in the hub cap, the tire, and the rim. It still held air, but I knew I was not going to make it to work. I couldn't even change the tire, because I couldn't get to one of the nuts. So I limped the car home and called my principal that I wouldn't be in that day. A mechanic looked at it and told me that the whole "carraige" for that corner of the car would need replacement. The whole wheel is pushed back about 1" and then turned in avout 2". Trying to keep that car on the road was unbelievable! I never went over 20kph and it would jump right or left so hard, I thought I was going to be dead any minute. (small exaggeration) I
am now driving Tye's little Firefly and now I have to decide what to do. I need at least a 6 passenger vehicle and the Firefly is 4. The school secretary's husband said he would take a look at it and let me know what he could do it for and if it is too much then he would give me a few hundred dollars for it and he would fix and sell it. So now I am praying that he can fix it. I don't want to go into debt and have a monthly payment to make, and I'm not crazy about buying another junker that could have worse problems than mine. So, as sooon as I get paid, my car is getting towed to Nanoose and then I will have a better idea of what I am facing. I will keep you all posted.

2007-01-02T17:26:00.000-08:00

2006-12-21T07:01:00.000-08:00

What should be the most blessed time of year has, this year especially, turned into one of the most hectic Christmas seasons I've had in a long time. Here it is the 21st and I am not even done my shopping yet. I still have at least 6 gifts left to buy. I need to do some baking and I have to get to house ready for the gathering on the 23rd. I have to go buy groceries and I just found out that the girls brother, Charlie who is still living with the original adoptive parents has been told that they are not celebrating Cristmas this year and that he should call and ask if he can have Christmas with us. Of course I said yes when he called. He is coming on Christmas Eve and staying as long as he feels he needs to. The adoptive parents are cutting all ties to the four kids in the new year so Charlie is going to a new foster home. He's 17 and has been pretty much allowed to come and go as he pleased so I think he would really struggle living in our house where he would actually have to follow rules. We'll see how Christmas goes.
My kids were actually wishing for snow at Christmas and I would much rather have had it at Christmas than when we did get it. I hated driving in it, although with the school closed half the time I didn't need to drive, but then I didn't get to go to work either. It looks like we will have a wet Christmas this year if you can believe the weather network. It is calling for rain and +9 on Christmas Day. Rain aside, I am looking forward to Christmas. The gathering should be loads of fun and if I ever get organized things should turn out pretty wonderful.
So, to all of you in Saskatchewan this Christmas, I hope you have a wonderful time with your families. I especially hope you have a wonderful time at Henry and Margaret's on the 30th, which I just remembered is Jerrod's birthday. I wish we could be there with you all.
I may not find the time for another post before Christmas, so Merry Christmas!

Thank God for Christian schools

2006-12-09T06:38:00.000-08:00

I got the following little story in an email from my social worker. As a special ed T.A. this humerous little story really made me see the delema our public school teachers are in, not to mention our country.

"THE TEACHER APPLICANT"

After being interviewed by the school administration, the young teaching applicant said, "Let me see if I've got this right.
"You want me to into that room with all those kids, correct and discipline their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse, monitor their dress habits, sensor their t-shirt messages and instill in them a love for learning.
"You want me to inspect their backpacks for weapons, wage war on drugs and sexually transmitted deseases, and raise their sense of self esteem and personal pride.
"You want me to teach them patriotism and good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play, how to register to vote, balance a checkbook and how to apply for a job.
"You want me to check their heads for lice, recognize signs of antisocial behavior and make sure they all pass their state exams.
"You want me to provide them with an equal education regardless of handicaps, and communicate regularly with their parents by telephone, letter, newsletter and report card.
"You want me to do all this with a piece of chalk, a blackboard, a few books, a big smile and a starting salary that qualifies me for food stamps.
"You want me to do all of this and then you tell me . . . I CAN'T PRAY!!!"

Working Girl!

2006-11-14T06:11:00.000-08:00

Today I start my new job! Yes, you read right; my new job! I am now employed full time at Beacon Christian School as the Special Education Teacher Assistant. I will be working in the grade 5/6 classroom. I was hired primarily to work with a girl in grade 6 who has mild cerebral palsy and also working with 5 other students who have varying degrees of learning disabilities and behavior problems. Because it is a privately funded school my wages are less than with the school board and my benefits are limited, but I got a raise of $12.50/hour starting today! I also get to work with a group of people that start their day with prayer for their school, their teachers and their students. How great is it that I will be working where God is welcome and invited to be in our midst? So, in saying that, thank you Father for this blessing that you have given to me. Amen.

Finally! The promised Thanksgiving post.

2006-10-29T05:56:00.000-08:00

I have tried 4 times, unsuccessfully, to publish this post. This is the fifth. Every time I tried to either save the draft or publish the post it froze up. So we try again.

We had Thanksgiving at my house with everyone attending. Everyone accept Ken and Mitz and their family. Mitz and I had a fight and I told her to stay away. JOKING!! She and Ken were helping Melanie and Peter move into their apartment, and having all 14 members of their family over that same evening, so they just couldn't make it. I still had quite a house full, though. Art and Carol and their 4, David and Carolyn and their 2, Mike, and Joe and Connie and their 4. So with me and my 5 that was still a good group.

The older kids sat in the livingrom and Ethan just had to sit with Jack. He also wanted to sit on the stool that he always sits on when they come to my house for a meal. So the following is the result.

He was getting a little annoyed at his predicament, but refused to sit on a different seat. Eventually, Jack helped him by holding his plate where he could reach it. What a funny boy.
We had quite a feast, as usual. Everybody looks quite intent on their plates.
After the meal the men knew just what to do. They all sat around in the livingroom while the women cleaned up the meal. I don't have any pictures of the women in the kitchen, but you all know that I am telling the truth, because the best indicator of present behavior is past behavior. So no further proof is necessary. We did play Balderdash later, but it would have been more fun if certain other people would have been here. We were playing with some rather young people so the answers stayed kind of tame.
Anyway, that was our Thanksgiving and fun was had by all.

I hate Blogger!

2006-10-26T06:53:00.000-07:00

I have composed a post about thanksgiving 3 times and every time I either save the draft or post the complete thing it freezes up and I loose it. I'm really ticked off!!

Happy Thanksgiving

2006-10-08T06:38:00.000-07:00

I know it's not actually Thanksgiving day yet, but I know that I will be way too busy on that day to post so I am doing it today. Thanksgiving will be at my house on Monday around 1 pm so any of you family out there . . . bring food and come join us. There will be around 30 people here and we will have a great time. Ken and Mitz might be able to come for coffee, but will not be joining us for the day since Mitz just got back from the States to help Mel and Peter move back to BC from Wyoming. They will be moving them into their own place today (Sunday) and then having their Thanksgiving on Monday for supper.
I will take pictures and write a new post next week. Just wanted to let my family know how thankful I am to have been chosen by God to be a member of this amazing family. I love you all and am so thankful for each one of you. Have a great Thanksgiving holiday and you out there in Saskatchewan, when you give Mom and Dad a hug tell them how much they mean to us all. You can never hear that too much. I miss you all. Happy Thanksgiving!

The fruit stand.

2006-09-15T06:23:00.000-07:00

On our way back from Saskatchewan, which was an . . . . OK, adventure, we stopped at a fruit stand just East of Hope. I bought a bag of apples and a basket of nectarines. I was tired, emotionally drained and in a hurry to make the ferry, since our trip back had not been as wonderful as our trip there. It was late and I was in a hurry. I went from a very bright sun in my eyes to a covered fruit stand so I couldn't see in the dark very well, but I was in a hurry so I just paid my 12 bucks and left. I stopped for Gas right in Hope and bought a bag of buns and a package of balony and we had supper. Sandwiches and fruit. It reminded me of those trips we took with Mom and Dad when we woke up in the car hungry and we would get a bun and a hunk of garlic sausage and an apple. It felt good to remember that and the necterines were unbelievable. So sweet and so juicy that you had to suck on it after your teeth sank in because if you just bit it off the juice would run down your face and down your arm. Mmmm. I want a necterine. Ok. Where was I. Well, we made the ferry and got home at 10:45 pm. We all went in and straight to bed, deciding to unpack the car in the morning. I was congratulating myself that I had managed to make the whole trip on the $900 the ministry gave me to take the girls to see their family. That included a car repair in Valemount of $90. Little did I know that I had more to be proud of. The next morning I sent the kids off to school and then decided to go check my email, blogs and my online banking to see just how much money I had left over. I couldn't believe it! I still had $49 to last me a week until I got my monthly check. Then I went to my transactions page and all my pride at how frugal I was went straight down the crapper. That bag of apples and basket of necterines . . . no wonder those necterines tasted so good. Have you ever tasted $112 necterines? They are so juicy! Yeah. Instead of $12 I paid $112 for my fruit. There. Now you can all have a nice little chuckle at my expense and then can we get on with life?

On the upside of this hilarious story is this. I took 5 people on a 9 day vacation with 2 $90 ferry rides, 2 hotel room stays, a $90 car repair for $800. Can any of you say you have ever done that. So, yeah. I paid a lot for fruit, but I am still the bets holiday planner this side of Manitoba.

Dancing a two-step.

2006-09-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

While we were in Saskatchewan last week we went to Jake and Colleen's for a day and took Mom and Dad along, since they hadn't seen them since they were in BC. Jake and Dad were in the livingroom listening to music (old time bluegrass) when Mom went in to see what they were doing. Dad got up and grabbed Mom and started dancing with her. They danced for about 5 minutes and did a very nice two-step. Jake said he had never seen them dance together. They danced at my house in Nanoose Bay when they were here last Christmas, but I think the time I remember that means the most to me was back in Martensville. I think I was about 8 or so. Dad came home from work and Mom was at the stove. Maybe it was Mom's birthday or some other special occassion. Dad had a flower for her and when he came into the kitchen from outside he grabbed Mom and danced her around the kitchen. She was laughing and telling him to stop being slly in front of the kids, but you could tell she loved it. I remember clearly how I felt very secure and loved at that time. Strange how the behavior of the parents translates to a child. For me, knowing that my parents loved each other and enjoyed each other made me feel loved. Anyway, I wish I had gotten this on video with sound and all that, but these pictures will have to do.

Hicksville, BC

2006-08-21T07:15:00.000-07:00

When I moved to BC I learned that all places are not equal. If you live in Errington or Coombs you are considered a bit of a rednack. I you live in Whiskey Creek you are often suspected of being a pot head. Well, I just came home from a weekend trip to Lasqueti Island. (pronounced Laskeetee) It is a 45 minute ferry ride to this beautiful, quiet little Island. The ferry is a walk-on only. People on Lasqueti have cars, but they are kept on the Isand and are originally brought there by barge. If you live on the Island you normally keep a car on the main Island to use for things like shopping and just normal life. If you have kids in school, there is a school (kind of) where you can send them until they reach grade 9. At that time they have to have a place to stay in either Qualicum or Parksville for the week and then home to Lasqueti for the weekend since none of the parents want to continue with home-schooling through high-school. They have no electricity on Lasqueti so each family has a generator which they use sparingly. Usually 3 hours a day to keep the refrigerator cool and summer only. Most families still use lanterns for lights unless they have guests, then they run the generator and use electic lights. They don't use toasters, microwaves, coffee makers, or any appliances that have elements since they put too much strain on the generators. The people we stayed with did have an automatic washer, but she said that many of the oldies still wash with a wringer-washer and there is not an electric dryer on the Island. They have gas stoves and water heaters and their animals roam all over the Island, except for milking cows and laying hens. If you want fresh meat you go out and shoot a sheep or if you're desperate you can shoot a mountain goat. Nobody waits for hunting season or bothers with a fishing liscence. If you need food you either go out and shoot it or gather it or wait until someone is making a shopping trip to the main Island and the neither send a list or tag along. Most of them have their own boats, but will only use them for a shopping trip if the water isn't rough.
We were invited to Lasqueti for a camping weekend which was set up by one of the foster families I met at my bi-weekly support meetings. Their family owns the "resort" on Lasqueti Island. They have a large building that has a kitchen, 5 bedrooms, a large common room, and a huge swimming pool as well as their own homes. This "resort" is only open to invited guests during the summer because it is used as the school from Sept to June. It is set in a small cove with its own beach that they use to teach science as well as for recreation. Even the 4 year old goes snorkling and learns all about the underwater world. They use the pool for phys-ed and the kitchen for cooking class. They even have a computer lab with 4 very top of the line computers. The generator is turned on when they need to use the computers. Thankfully they have telephones so they have access to the internet, but talk about parental controls. The generator is locked in a shed and the parents have the keys. They did have indoor plumbing, but asked that we use the outside toilets if possible since it takes electricity to run the sewer pumps and costs about $600 to have the tanks emptied.
I felt like I stepped beck in time. In some ways it reminded me of when we first moved to the farm. We had no electricity for the first few months we lived there, either. We stored our milk, cream, butter and other "fridge" food in a tub which was hung down a well, I think I remember correctly. We used lanterns and everyone stayed in the room where the light was.
Anyway, I had a great time and when on Lasqueti you can't help but be relaxed. Now we are back home and back to the worries of the world. Life like the people on Lasqueti have seems very far away.
I am going to have a very busy week. My friends, Chris and Rueben Peters from Calgary are here on holiday so I want to spend some time with them. My girls grandparents are visiting them from Yellowknife, so I will have to arrange times with them and I just got offered money from the ministry to take the girls to Saskatchewan for a week at the end of this month so I am trying to figure out if I can find a vehicle that is more reliable than my car and if I can't do I dare take my car and trust that God can get us there and back safely. If we go then we would leave on the 25th 0r 26th and would have to be back by the 4th of Sept. The girls need to go to Regina, since that is where their family is and I, of course, want to go to Saskatoon since that is where my family and friends are and sometime between now and the 4th of Sept I have to buy school supplies and get all of us ready for school.
Aaaahhhh!!!!! I want to go back to a Laqueti kind of life-style!

Junkers and Beaters. I hates them.

2006-08-10T08:02:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know I drive a 1992 Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser. As a foster parent I needed a care that was at least a 7 passenger and this car seats 8. It has a seat that folds out in the very back that can seat 2 children. It does not too bad on gas, looks OK, and has many accessaries which all work. Oh, with the exception of the cassette player. The radio works though. And, yes, I do still have cassettes to play in this ancient music system.
Anyway, about a month ago I was on my way to a friend's house when the car just kind of coasted to a stop. It was still running, but wouldn't move forward. Art came out and found the transmission fluid hose came apart and squirted all my transmission fluid all over the engine. We put more fluid in and away it went. When I got home Tye tightened the clamp I showed him and I thought my car troubles we over. NOT!! Two days later I was going through the Tim Horton's drive through (yes Mel, Tim Horton's) and all of a sudden there is steam coming out from under the hood and my stupid car is overheating. I got out of line and parked on the parking lot and walked to my meeting. After the meeting I drove to a service station and parked again for a bit before I could add water to my radiator. I finally got the car home. I figured it was the thermostat so I took a bunch of stuff off the motor and as it turned out Art had to come to my rescue again. He got me a new thermostat and came over and put it in. I thought my car problems were over. Again, NOT!! It was still overheating and losing water. Now there was a hole in my radiator. I got a radiator from an auto-wrecker for $90. As my rescuer (Art) was putting it in he noticed that the fan plug was completely melted so I had to get the fan from the auto-wrecker for $35. Art put it all together and I thought my car troubles were over. NOT!! it still over heats and loses water! I hate old cars. i hate car troubles. I hate being house bound unless other people take pity on me. I hate pity. I want a good job so that I can get a good car so that people don't have to take pity on me and I don't have to be a burden. I could drive Tye's car, but it needs a new altenater. I HATE CAR TROUBLES!!!
OK. I feel a bit better. Only a bit. I will feel a lot better when I have a car that actually gets me from point A to B.

Blogger is really bugging me!

2006-08-08T15:06:00.000-07:00

I had this great post all set up in my mind and when I try to upload pictures this stupid little window pops up and tells me "this document contains no datta." What the heck is wrong with Blogger? It's been a while since I posted anything new and now all you get is this complaint. If I can uplaod any pictures later maybe I'll try again. If not, maybe I'll just switch to "myspace" like Mel and Peter.

My baby is a man!

2006-07-27T08:46:00.000-07:00

Today my youngest turns 18. This picture was taken this Spring, I think it was In March during Spring break. He is and always has been a very happy, goofy, and personable child. Now he is a young man. For those of you who haven't seen him in a while he is 6'2" and weighs in at a whopping 160 lbs.
In some provinces he can go to the bar, in all provinces he can vote, get married without consent, and buy a gun. I am so thankful that ha will not be doing any of those. He goes to youth and to church, he prays for important things and not so important things. He plays hide and seek with the kids, he jumps on the trampling with them and absolutely loves water fights. In many ways he is still a child, which I hope he doesn't loose, but legally he is a man. I think that makes me
old . . . or maybe it keeps me young. Hey, hope springs eternal.

NEW JOB!!!!

2006-07-05T15:34:00.000-07:00

I went for a job interview on Monday and found out yesterday that I got the job. I will be starting on September 5th at Beacon Christian School as a Special Needs Educational Assistant. How do you like that for a big fancy shmancy title. I won't get paid as much as if I was with the public school, but I get to pray for and with my students and teachers. I start out at $12.08/hr with a pay raise in 3 months and again at the end of the school year. I am so excited. I love this kind of job and the hours are fabulous. Days off with my kids, never work weekend or evenings and I can still be a foster parent if I want, which I still do. I am truly blessed.

Beautiful BC

2006-06-29T08:31:00.000-07:00

Here is Dad, holding Tye up on this great big log in Cathedral Grove. The fact that his walker is in the foreground makes this picture quite funny. Dad loves being here. He says it makes him feel very close to God. Last time we were there he said that he found it amazing that most of these trees were under God's care hundreds of years ago and if God could take care of trees like that then how much must He love us.

This is Tye last year at the top of Little Mountain. You can actually drive all the way to the top and Then a short walk and the back side of Little Mountain just falls away leaving this spectacular view of Errington.

I would post new pictures, but I lost the USB cable for my camera.

Yesterday I took Mom and Dad to the airport and said good-bye. We had a wonderful time with them this month. We didn't go to as many places as we did last time they were here because Dad's legs just couldn't do what they could last time. One thing that we did, though, that we haven't done before is go down the path to the river's edge at Englishman River, where we used to go swimming when I lived at the river. Jake and Colleen were taking their kids down there one last time before moving back to Sask, and asked if we wanted to join them. Mom and I thought that there was no way Dad could go down that steep trail let alone make it back up, but Dad said, "If that is what Jake wants then let's do it. I will slide down that path and crawl up on my hands and knees if I have to." Going down was actually not too difficult. Jake went down backwards pushing on the walker and Me and Josh held Dad steady and he made it down nicely. We sat there at the river watching the kids swim in that ice cold water for about 1 1/2 hours. We had a snack and than decide to go back to Jake and Colleen's. Mitch carried Dad's walker and Dad went up the hill with his hands on the ground to steady himself. Me, Mom, Jake, and Colleen were still gathering up our stuff when we looked up and Jack, Josh, and Mitch had already gotten Dad half way up the hill. I couldn't believe it. He made it back to the car triumphant, but very tired. Later he said he wouldn't have missed it for the world. He is an amazing man. I feel totally blessed to think that God chose me to be born to these two people.

2006-05-28T17:46:00.000-07:00

I thought it was time to write a new post. These are pictures of my family as it looks now. From left to right are Alethea - 14, Gracie - 7, Jasmine - 12, Jack - 17, and Tye - 25. This picture was taken at Englishman River. Tye will be moving out in August to go to university in Nanaimo, which will change the way my at home family will look.

Here they are again at Pipers Lagoon in Nanaimo. This park is a great place to go hiking. The path leads to big rocks that jut right out of the ocean and you climb on top and you get the most beautiful view of the ocean and mountains. We were there a couple of weeks ago and there was so much wind that the waves were crashing against the rocks. When I looked down from the top of the cliff I thought how easy it would be to fall. When the waves crash against the rocks below like that and you look down it makes you a little dizzy. I can't wait until the weather turns nice so we can go swimming in the ocean and lying on the beach.

My friend Judy Quiring was visiting this last week from Saskatchewan. We went to the beach a couple of times, I took her to Englishman River Falls and Little Qualicum Falls. We did my usual 5 km hike a couple of times and we went to the wharf in downtown Nanaimo. I have been there once before and there are such cute shops there. We ate lunch one day at the wharf at a floating fish and chips place. They serve their fish from that day's catch. It was so good. We also spent one day walking around Qualicum Beach. She loved all the shops down town. I love showing people around my home town and actually having something to show them that is more interesting than the local restaurant or the schools. In Martensville I could have shown people Henry's Cafe or the Corner Store. Maybe the Police Station or the woodlands behind the elementary school. Oh, I forgot about the (lake) on the West end of Matensville. Apparently a dog drowned in that lake many years ago. His name was Spike so now the locals call it Spike Lake. Calling that puddle a lake is about as hilarious as calling Blackstrap a mountain. Don't get me wrong. Saskatchewan is a great place to come from. It has many beautiful things to offer. My parents, my sister, my brothers, their families, my friend, and we can't forget Loon Lake. That is truly a beautiful place to go camping. I apologise to all you prairie people for talking this way about your chosen place to live. I guess I just can't get enough of this country. I sometimes still catch my breath when Mount Arrowsmith shines white and beautiful on a sunny day or when I drive on the highway to Nanaimo and I see the ocean stretch out on one side and the mountains standing tall on the other and the amazing amount of trees that grow three times as tall as prairie trees. So forgive me for talking negatively about the prairies and bragging up BC, but I really do feel so thankful for this part of Canada.

How high can it go?

2006-05-04T08:15:00.000-07:00

I went to the gas station yesterday to fill up with gas. I still had about 1/4 tank so I was thinking that it should cost about $40 to fill up, but do you want to know what it actually cost? $55 stinking dollars!! I don't know about you, but I think that's outrageous! If my tank is empty it casts about $70 to fill up. I have foster kids that need to be driven to their bus stop and picked up every day. They also have appointments in Nanaimo once a week and in Parksville every two weeks. I spend about $300 a month on gas! What are my options? The same as everyone else's, I guess. Just say, "Screw it." to appointments and walk the girls to the bus and home every day. It's about 3kms so it's is do-able. Hmmm...doable...do-able...Oh who cares you know what I mean. Anyway, paying 113.9 per liter of gas is insane. And I heard this morning on the news that we haven't seen the end of these gas prices. The Americans are crying because they pay $3.40 for gas. That's like $.81 per liter! I wish! Sorry Peter. Personally, I have never heard you cry, so you are not one of those cry-baby Americans. The ones I'm talking about were in New York. Anyway, That's my little tirade about gas prices. I am sick of it!!!

2006-04-09T06:52:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted in a while, but I have an excuse. My life is NOT very exciting. It has been very busy, but I guess I could still post, since I get up around 5:30 am and am alone until I start getting my kids up at 6:30 am for school. I Just haven't had anything to say. Or at least nothing exciting, or deep like Jen, no new babies, although I do have new kids, they're just not babies.

When I moved here, we lived in our little brown house by the river in Errington. Then it was sold and we had to move. We moved to a really nice 5 bedroom house in Nanoose Bay and I started fostering again. I started out with a 13 year old boy who was with me for about 6 weeks until he moved with his mom to Prince George. Before he moved out a 12 year old girl moved in. The sad thing about both of these kids is that they both smoked cigarettes, and pot, and they both drank. Anyway, she moved out after 3 months and is now living in an abandoned school bus with her mom. Then came Kyle. Everyone from out here has met Kyle. He started out funny and not too bad to look after. He has quite a few challenges and is very easy to exploit. He lived with me for 10 months and is now in a group home with the first boy I had living with me. He also smoked pot and then his supplier started lacing it with crystal meth, which made him impossible to live with. Before he moved out an 11 year old girl moved in. It was supposed to be for a few months, but has turned into indefinitely. Then in January we moved to Qualicum Beach. The house was a four bedroom with an attached, double garage, which we quickly turned into 2 bedrooms. We live 3 blocks from the beach and 2 blocks from Jack's school, which he loves. Now every day at lunch I have Jack, Josh, Mitchel, Keagan, and sometimes a couple of other boys come eat their lunch here and watch an episode of "Friends" Anyway, a month ago Jasmine's two sisters moved in, also. They were being adopted by a couple in Nanoose Bay and, but for many different reasons they decided not to go through with the adoption, so now I have all 3 girls living with me. That's what my life has been busy with in the past month.

I haven't been working since last April. We were in Nanaimo and got rear ended and I got whip-lash. I don't think it would have been so bad if I hadn't been half turned in my seat, shoulder checking. I was driving my Firefly and got hit by a fairly large SUV. So, now I go to the gym 3 times a week, and for physiotherapy twice a week to strengthen my back and neck muscles. I am still waiting on a settlement through ICBC, but it could be a while.

I guess the only other thing I have to ponder and pray about (really, really pray about) is the future of the three girls who live with me. The social workers involved have already asked me if I could see myself raising these three until adulthood (the youngest is 7) and if so would I consider adoption. With post adoption assistance it as a financial possibility, but I need to really believe that I can make that kind of commitment, long term. I also need to know that this would be God's plan for us, not just my bleeding heart making decisions for me and my family. So I would appreciate all of your prayers. I told the workers that I would not decide for a few months.

Other than that, life has been good. I go to the beach every day and for a 5 km hike at least 3 times a week. I go for coffee with Mitz or Colleen or Carolyn. I get to play with Ethan, and now Conner, and my life is fairly satisfying. I am losing weight again, albeit a little more slowly than I would like. I'm talking to my lawyer and doctor on Monday about going back to work as a housekeeper in a hotel. That's when my diet was the most successful. And one other thing I am excited about is that Tye got accepted to Malespina University-College. He is taking a 4 year course in business management accounting. So life is good and God has blessed us.

What a mean famoly. :-)

2006-03-22T15:06:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that you all are so mean to me. One stupid spelling mistake and every last one of you perfect spellers gets on my case. I hope you all have a very long healthy laugh at my expense. I ran the stupid spell checker, but grove and groove are both words so I didn't catch it. Aren't;t you all glad that you have a less than perfect speller in the family to make yourselves all look soooo smart. You better all hope you don't make any spelling mistakes.

Why Can't I Get in the Grove?

2006-03-20T14:48:00.000-08:00

I am in a slump. I can't think of what to blog about, I can't get motivated to do any baking, and I can't get back to being strict with myself about losing more weight. I have been trying to find some motivation somewhere, but I think I misplaced it. Not all of it, mind you. I still go for walks almost every day. I walk about 5 kms at least 4 times a week. That doesn't include going to Englishman River Falls or Little Qualicum Falls with the kids. This is early in the morning walking fast and furious for exercise. I love to walk. The problem is, I also love bread from Coombs market, and pasta and potatoes. That is when I realize I have misplaced my motivation. Last year when we moved here I started working at the Sand Castle Inn as a housekeeper. I lost about 15 pounds that summer, but didn't have much fun. My family would go to the beach and I would go to work. I think I could have sweat off 15 pounds just lying on the beach in the sun. The only thing is that at almost 300 pounds I didn't like wearing a bathing suit or even shorts and a sleeveless top. So, I went to work and lost about 15 pounds. Then Carlie went on the South Beach Diet and lost 20 pounds very quickly. Since I had been on many diets, I still hesitated, but finally took that leap. It was really hard at first, but it got easier as time went by. In 6 months I had lost another 80 pounds. I felt great and the strain on my legs was so relieved I could even enjoy walking again. I have lost a total of 108 pounds and feel so much better than I have in about 15 years.
This brings me to my misplaced motivation. I have gained back about 10 pounds in the last two months and that scares me. That's how I put on that extra 150 pounds; one pound at a time. I have tried three times to get back to doing phase one of this diet. I have about 40 pounds to go so somehow I have to find the motivation to do this. I will do it. I have to do this. I wish I had a friend that wanted to do this with me. Last time Ken and Mitz, Art and the boys, Carlie and Melanie were all doing it with me. Since I had the most to lose I was the biggest loser. Now I just feel like a loser. Not really. That just kind of sounded like it should be said and I wanted to make sure that nobody else got the chance. Anyway, I will find the motivation to lose more weight, do some baking and now I have posted something new. By the way Trav, Tye says he will comment on blogs occassionally, but he never caught the "bug" the way the rest of us did.

A Day at the Beach.

2006-03-06T06:06:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning it rained, again. We have had so much rain for the past 6 months that I was getting just a little bit of cabin fever. So at about 3:30 pm I noticed that the sky was starting to clear and the rain had stopped so we headed down the hill to the beach. The tide was out far enough so that we could walk along the sand. What a great time to walk on the beach. There were hundreds of sea gulls and a good number of herring boats out. We even saw a pod of seals come quite close to the shore. And we stomped on gooey ducks. It is so weird how your feet hurt already, but you still can't quit stomping. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, when the tide goes out it leaves behind these creatures that look like giant worms. They burrow down in the sand leaving a small mound of sand and a hole marking their resting place until the tide comes in again. When you walk on the beach and see these holes, if you stomp beside the hole the "gooey duck" will squirt a stream of sea water out of the hole. Sometimes they shoot this water 6 feet high or higher. Lots of times when they squirt you can't get out of the way in time and you get wet. It's hilarious! Anyway, we stomped gooey ducks all the way down the beach way past the Shady Rest and back. We watched the seals, sea gulls and fishermen catching herring and got some fresh air. What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. The only way it could have been better would be if the beach hut had been opened. Then I could have had a cup of coffee and maybe a smokie. Oh, well. Next week. Today I am going to Port Alberni with Carolyn and Ethan. I get to spend the afternoon with Ethan. That should be fun.

Memories

2006-02-27T13:22:00.000-08:00

This is why I was homesick last week. I was looking through old photos and found a bunch that brought back memories of less stressful times. I thought I would post this one. I can't believe how young we all look. If we knew then what we know now about where our lives were going to take us I wonder what we would have differently. Our family is truly blessed. We are all still here and mostly quite healthy.
Yesterday afternoon I found out that my cousin Mavis passed away from cancer. She had only one sister and 2 nephews and her parents. Uncle Henry has not been gone that long and now Aunt Anne had to say goodbye to her youngest child. Such a small family and already so much grief. Including Mom and Dad we are a family of 70 and have not had any deaths or terrible illness. God has truly shone on this family. I just wanted to say that I am very grateful for this family that God chose for me. I pray we will all be able to get together this summer.

Today I Am Homesick.

2006-02-23T06:40:00.000-08:00

If I had the money I would go to the airport and buy a round-trip ticket to Saskatoon. I can't believe I actually said that! Saskatoon! I know, all you people who think it should be Mexico or the Carribean or some place like that; you all think I need my head examined, and maybe I do. It's just that I would love to go to Susan's and have coffee. Then we could decide to go to Value Village with Jen, Cindi, Jack, and Mom. Strange how Jack always came to Value Village with us. Now he hates shopping for cloths or anything else at Value village. He only comes along if I go with Carolyn and Ethan, and then only to keep Ethan company. I also want to go to Henry's in Martensville for breakfast with Liz and Mary Anne. I would love to go to the Saigon on 33rd for a bowl of pan-fried beef on rice noodles.
Most of all I want to sit at Mom and Dad's table having coffee and planning the day. We could call Sue and invite her to take the day off work and join us in a day of hanging out in Saskatoon, or we could make perogies, or kielke, or compst borscht or something like that. Then Mom could invite a bunch of the family over for supper and we could sit and chat and I could tell them all what a great place Vancouver Island is to live. Then they would all agree to pack up their lives and move here. OK. OK. That last part just got away from me.
You all notice how I never said I wanted to live there, but have a round trip ticket. The best would be if my whole family lived out here. Then I could go to Mom and Dad's and invite Sue to go for a walk on the beach with me or I could go to John and Chris's for coffee. OK. Now I am making myself even more homesick. I think I might be so homesick because I have been sick for about 2 months. That's right, people. 2 months. I have not been sick to the stomach, but with a cough that won't let go. Just when I think I'm getting over it I get a sore throat and start up again. I even went so far as to follow Mom's advice and have a mustard bath. It was absolutely revolting and didn't really help at all. I just got yellow like I was when I had Hep A in 1992.
You know, I just reread what I wrote and this whole thing sounds really pathetic. If it wasn't so long I would start over, but I am waaayyy to lazy to do that. Not only that, but this way I can blame John for my lousy blog. If you wouldn't bug me about getting a new post up you could have waited until I feel a little more human.

Our little house by the river.

2006-02-13T19:31:00.000-08:00

This is our first home here on the Island. It had two small bedromms, 1 bathroom, and a great room that was actually quite small, but since we spent most of our time outside by the river a small house wasn't a problem.

Carol taught me to upload pictures!

2006-02-13T19:15:00.000-08:00

I just thought I would put a pictures of my favorite nephew on my blog. That is my 2nd fave. Trav...you are #1. LOL

I hate weekends!

2006-02-12T07:55:00.000-08:00

Here's why I hate weekends.
#1. I don't have a life.
All my family and friends are a part of a couple. That means that they get together with other couples on weekends when they have time off work. That also means that all my friends are busy and I am stuck with only my kids for company for the weekend. Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with my kids, but I see them every week night as it is. During the week and during the day I see my sisters and friends, but Friday night rolls around and my social life goes down the crapper. Oh well. I'm single in a couples world.
#2. All of you have lives.
Every morning I get up at about 5:00. I have my devotions or my quiet time with God - whatever you want to call it- and then come to read all of your blogs ..... and ..... nothing. Because you all have a life you don't blog on weekends. So I come every day, yes, even on weekends, to see if anything new is happening. Occassionally, one of you has a spare moment and at least comments on someone's blog and I get to read something new. So, I think I will reserve my posting for weekends. That way I have something to do.

ps. Hhmm..I sound just a little pathetic. There you go Trav. I, too am pathetic. Now you are not alone.

Revenge...kinda.

2006-02-11T08:08:00.000-08:00

In 1978 I bought a car that would have made most men cry. It was a 1975 Nova SS. It had the back jacked up, 14 inch wide tires, an American big block 450 engine, a Holly double-pumper carberator and enough "giddy-up" to leave a Corvet behind. I know. The guys who read this probably are thinking, "She tries so hard to sound like she knows what she's talking about." I don't really. I was told that it had all this by the dealer from Ens Toyota used cars. He really bragged up the car and told me the engine was in great shape and, well ... you know how that shpeel goes. I wasn't very happy at all when I found out all the problems this car had. I think the most amazing part of this car is that my Dad co-signed for it.
Anyway. I started working in Carrot River at a children's home while I had this car. I would start out from the farm with the gas tank and the oil topped up and drive as far as P.A. and there would stop at a gas station and get 2 l's of oil. By the time I got to Carrrot River I would have to add oil again. I drove this car for a year and then decided to trade it in for something smaller and more economical, so of course went back to Ens Toyota. Even though the car had more problems than a math text book, I loved it. However, I couldn't think of anyone I would rather sell the car to than the crook who slod it to me so I drove it to Ens and traded it in on a brand ne Carolla and sadly let my car go.
About a month after the trade in I drove by their used car lot and saw my Nova sitting on the lot. The same sailsman who sold it to me was now showing it to a young man and his father. I drove up and walked over. At first I just showed interest in the car as a perspective buyer, asking the dealer some very pointed questions like, "doesn't a big engine like that use alot of oil?" and "How good is the engine." and pretty much sounding like I knew nothing about cars. He kept bragging it up and finally I thought he had swallowed enough of the hook. I told the perspective buyers that I used to own this car and that I really loved it, but that they should be careful of this dealer since he didn't seem to know very much about how cars should work. The dealer had already started the car, but I knew that if you pumped the gas once before starting it up it would send out a huge cloud of smoke and back-fire at least twice before settling down to run. I asked the dealer if it still used as much oil as it had a month ago. He said they had completly rebuilt the engine after I traded it. I asked him if I could start it up, but didn't wait for an answer. I got in, pumped it once, and started it up. I belched out this huge cloud of smoke, back-fired once, and stalled. I got out and said, "Hmmm. I wonder if you people need to hire new mechanics or maybe new car dealers. I smiled and went back to my car. The man and his son walked away laughing and the dealer just stood there stunned. I felt so good.
I'm not sure if this was the revenge story you were talking about or not John, but I couldn't think of any other time when revenge tasted sweeter. If I do, I'll post again.

Flowers are blooming!

2006-02-07T16:25:00.000-08:00

This morning I was once again thankful that I live on Vancouver Isand. I went for a walk with Mitz and Colleen. We walked from my house down to the beach, then along the beach about 2 kms. Then we turned away from the ocean and followed a stream up a long trail through the forest which is also about 2 kms long. The whole hike is about 5 kms and a nice workout. Anyway, while walking along the beach we passed a house with a very nice large rododendron growing beside their fence and it was in bloom. A few flowers were completely open with loads of buds at different stages of opening. There were also some trees that had leaves budding and lots of crocuses (sp) blooming. We stopped and admired them and then continued on our hike. I love this place.

I've had a malfunction.

2006-02-06T06:13:00.000-08:00

Apperently blogspot has been having trouble. Yesterday I couldn't get on for a few hours and today the post I published yesterday has disappeared. So I will do it again.
I talked to Mom yesterday. Mavis is back in the hospital. She went for another CAT scan on Friday and the tumor they removed on Jan 2 had returned with a vengence and was now bigger than it was when first removed. Mavis didn't know what was going to happen except that they were going to start radiation immediately and schedule another surgury. She told Mom that she appreciated all of us praying. Mom gave me here phone number and mailing address so if any of you out there would like, you can call me.
Our family is so blessed. We have not lost one member to accident or illness. Dad has Parkinson's and that is the most serious illness we have had to deal with. I wonder how unimportant some of the "issues" we have would become if we were suddenly faced with the immenent death of one of our immediate family. Would we still see all the hurtfull things said or done in haste or without thought? Or would we suddenly see how much we value each other and how trivial these things really are. We are a family of 70 and we are all still speaking to each other. We have drifted apart in miles, but I would love to see all 70 of us together one more time. I haven't talked to Peter and Orla, Abe and Margaret, or Henry and Margaret in so long. The rest of you in Sk. I talk to here so I still feel connected, but it would be wonderful to see you, too.
So in closing I want to say how much I love my family. The rest of you have your in law family, also, but I have only one family and your it. So, if I have hurt any of you, I ask you to overlook my short-comings as I will do. I love you all way too much to lose you to a difference of oppinion.
I have become quite sappy with this post, but with Mavis being sick it has opened my eyes to how easily we can lose each other and how important it is to feel accepted and loved by your family.

I've been tagged!

2006-02-03T15:24:00.000-08:00

I had to spend some time reading other blogs before I could do this.

1. Four jobs I've had.
1. Waitress.
2. Special Care Aid ( at many, many places)
3. Teacher Assistant
4. Fostermom

2. Four movies I love.
1. Six days Seven Nights.
2. Ghost
3. Brave Heart.
4. What's Eating Gilbert Grape

3. Four Places I've Lived.
1. Martensville
2. High Level, AB
3. Calgary
4. Qualicum Beach. (this is by far the best move I ever made)

4. Four TV Shows I watch. (I just got TV back after 11 months of nothing so I'm not sure.)
1. Dr. Phil. (I need him. What can I say)
2. Reba (The funniest sit-com on TV)
3. CSI I like all three but the first is my favorite.
4. Law and Order - SVU

5. Four holidays.
1. Nowhere.
2. Nowhere
3. Nowhere
4. Nowhere. OK. It just feels like that when I read Mel's or Mitz's. LOL Now for real.

1. Vancouver (When I was living in Saskatoon and married to Bruce.)
2. The lake usually Loon Lake.
3. Souix Lookout, Ont. (I tokk Tye to see his dad when Tye was 1 year old)
4. Radium Hot Springs for Easter the year we lived in Calgary.

6. Dishes I love.
1. Mom's cabbage borscht
2. Farmer sausage, perogies and cream gravy.
3. Vietnamese food at the Saigon in Saskatoon.
4. Buffalo steak done on Ken's barbeque.

7. Sites I visit
1. Blogs of course. Just like every one of you.
2. Jobbank
3. The food network
4. The Weather Network.

8. Four people I tag.
1. Tye
2. If there is still someone out there who has not been tagged. Consider yourself tagged now.

I'm baaack!

2006-02-03T14:51:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody. Moving didn't take that long, but getting my internet hooked up did. I finally got it back today. I am so excited! I feel like I have been alone and far away from every one for a long time. Oh yeah. I have. I tried to go on David and Carolyn's computer, but couldn't even enter a comment. Anyway, I'm back on. I will write a longer post when I have a little more time. I have to leave in 45 minutes to pick up Jasmine from school and I haven't even read anybody's pages. So, tomorrow I will do a proper post. Love you all.

2006-01-03T07:02:00.000-08:00

Just a short note to all of you in Saskatchewan. I am moving. Yes. Again! I currently live in a 4 bedroom house 100 yards off the busiest highway on the Island. It is a 50 year old house with next to no insulation, crappy windows and an oil furnace which needs to be fed about $400/month. Then my electricity bill is another $120/month and my rent is $1050/month. So, I found a 4 bedroom house in Qualicum Beach. It does not have an oil furnace, but is heated with electricity and wood. The people living there said that if they heat with wood the hydro bill is about $130/month and if they don't it is about $180/month. So, it will be cheaper to live there and I get to move away from all the noise. I know, living in town will not be like it was on the river, but no seams with their Jake brakes. So I am moving this weekend. I may not blog for a week or so. AAAHHH!!! WITHDRAWAL!!!

And We Start Again.

2006-01-02T06:42:00.000-08:00

Well, we have made it through another year. The world has seen a multitude of events that effect our future; the capture of Saddam Hussein, the tsunami in Indonesia, Katrina in the U.S. and a multitude of other, lesser known events. These events, as horrible as they were, has shown the dark side as well as the good side of humanity. While some people were looting and rioting in the midst of the horror, others were giving their own lives to assist others. After the worst had past, or sometimes while still in the middle of it, the world rallied around those caught in the tragedy. Assistance, both financial and with physical labour, poured into these regions. Stories of survival and heroism came across the airwaves, as did stories of the depths human beings can sink to. It is at times like these I wonder, "How long will you wait, Lord Jesus?"
And now, for other tragic news:
Vancouver Island has seen winds for days now that are strong enough to break branches off trees and throw them on power lines causing power outages all over the Island. People here don't know how to handle the long periods of time without heat and end up huddled under covers in the +8 - +12 degree temperatures, waiting to be rescued.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

2005-12-25T07:55:00.000-08:00

Ok. I gues I will have to post a new blog just so I can read something new. Man the Christmas holidays come around and nobody takes the time to journal anymore. Come on people. I need my morning fix.

We had a wonderful Christmas morning. Mine started at about 4 am. I got up to get my turkey in on time. On the 23rd I was the last one to arrive at Mitz and Ken's for the gathering, which was fantastic by the way. The gathering I mean, not being last. Oh no. I was not the last to arrive. David and Carolyn were. Anyway. I had a 27 pound turkey for the gathering. I checked on the internet for cooking times and it said to cook it at 250* for 6 hours. I put my turkey in at 11 am at 400* and at 5 pm I cranked the heat to 600*. It was done by 6 pm but just barely. OK. What was I talking about? Oh yeah. As you can see this turkey thing had me a little ticked. I hate being late.
Anyway, back to this morning. I got up at 4:00 this morning to get my turkey in the oven and Jasmine walked in. For those who don't know, Jasmine is my new 11 year old foster child. She asked if it was too early to open gifts. I tried to get her to go back to bed. I know, I know, I'm a big meany. Anyway, it didn't work. Jack woke up from the talking and came upstairs. Tye was already up, so I figured that we might as well get started.
I think the thing I liked the most was seeing my kids get all excited when I opened my gifts. They made me wait until all their presents were all opened because my presents were all linked and they didn't want to give me an idea until I could open them all. They got me a miniature village. I have wanted one for years and now I have one. 10 pieces and I love it. But, as I was saying, the best part was watching them watch me. God really meant it when he said "It is more blessed to give than to receive." I love my kids.

What A Night

2005-12-17T06:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I took Christmas shopping with 4 young people. It would have been three, but I made Tye come along so that we could split up to buy for each other. I did not expect this to be even close to fun, but I had a great time. At one point I was abandoned and told to stay in the sewing department until they came to get me. They had a blast! I, on the other hand was feeling very much like I did as a 13 year old waiting, and waiting, and waiting for Mom to finish looking at fabric she wasn't going to buy. These memories came flooding back to me, but I was instructed to stay in the fabric department. So I stayed. Mercifully, my children are quick shoppers and already knew what they were getting for me, so I didn't start crying or anything equally embarrassing. Then all the way home, they kept talking about how they couldn't wait for Christmas so they could watch me open my gifts. I already knew that was the best part of the whole Christmas gift exchange, but to see that awakened again in my kids was quite fun to watch. I'll admit, though. I can't wait either to see what I got. So we shopped, went to the food court for a bite to eat, and shopped some more. I was not looking forward to shopping with these four young people, but it was actually fun! Except for the fabric department. When we got home at about 8 pm, the kids all went to the family room to wrap my gifts. One by one they came upstairs and put a gift under the tree, smiling like they had a secret. I think I had as much fun as they did. So, Thank you God for the priviledge of raising these children. Help me to always remember that they are your and that I do my best to represent you while I do this job.

Smiling All The Way

2005-12-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

Last night I went to the Christmas concert for one of my foster kids. Jasmine is 11 years old and an extreme extrovert. She reminds me so much of Allysyn that it almost hurts. Anyway, the concert was at the Christian Fellowship Church in Qualicum Beach. Jasmine goes to the Beacan Christian School. From the start to the finish I couldn't quit smiling. The name of the play was "Angel Alert" so there were about 45 - 50 kids on stage all dressed in white angel costumes. Once they were all standing on stage the flood lights came on and there they stood. It almost made you catch your breath. One man in the audience sang out loud the "Hallelujah" that often accompanies angel appearances. I couldn't stop smiling. Now, I haven't been to a children's Christmas concert since Martensville, but then they were not centered around the birth of our Savior. Before last night my Christmas spirit was low and very hard to find. I was worrying about how I was going to buy the gifts I still have not been able to afford. I have less than two weeks before Christmas and still have not even gotten to the halfway point with my Christmas shopping. I was supposed to get paid for Jasmine for December, but since she comes from the Courtney office I likely won't see any money for her until mid January. Plus the ministry over paid me in the summer and decided that November and December would be the best time to recover that money. OK. Enough whining. This is the point of this whole letter. I wish the whole world could just scrap the whole commercialism of Christmas. Give a small gift to each family member and then focus on what we really should be celebrating- the birth of a baby that would save the world, one generation after another. I can totally understand how the world can see Christmas as nothing more than a holiday to over shop, over eat and over indulge with drinking. If I, as a Christian, could forget that, then how can I expect the world to see Christmas for what it really is? I mean, you can't even say "Merry Christmas" if you work with the public, but you can say "Happy Holidays". I would like to know how this could be a happy holiday for those who don't have enough money to buy a happy holiday and also don't have the "real" meaning of this holiday. So if I whine anymore t

A Book By It's Cover.

2005-12-12T16:50:00.000-08:00

Last week I was driving in Parksville when I noticed a teenager hitch-hiking. As we passed him my 16 year old foster kid flipped him the bird. I was so incensed by this, I slammed on the brake, turned around and went back telling Kyle had to apologize to the kid that was hitch hiking. The young man showed a lot of class by shaking Kyle's hand and saying "no problem." I told Kyle that this young man showed a lot more class than he did. As it turned out Kyle didn't even know the kid, he just flipped him the bird because he saw it was a kid around his age. Ok. Here's the point I'm trying to make. Teenagers are often seen as disrespectful, mouthy, potsmoking little snotbags. (You can probably see that I think that way at times too, but I digress.) Anyway, this kid was very polite, very forgiving, and actually tried to have a conversation with Kyle as I drove him to his destination. So, not all teenagers are like this. Some are. I have one. He makes me totally understand why some animals eat their young. LOL But the kid I picked up, had long hair, he wore baggy pants, and looked the part of the usual loser teenager, but was actually a very nice man. OK. What was my point? Oh yeah. It doesn't pay to judge people by their appearance or their stereotype.
To prove my point, Trav looks like a "mean, not so lean, security guard machine", but he has to take his doggy out for a "poo". So there is another example of someone not fitting the stereotype. Sorry Trav. LOL
Anyway, when I told my social worker what happened she laughed and thought it would have been hilarious if I would have made Kyle walk and given the kid a ride. Kyle. Watch out next time your finger sticks out where it doesn't belong. :-)

Can You believe it?

2005-12-11T07:44:00.000-08:00

This is probably the wierdest thing I have ever done, but I figure that if my brother (who by the way is a grandfather) can have a blog, surely his much younger sister can too. So, I am now a blogger.
My first posting is going to be rather serious. I would like to see a new law written into existence. Any woman who gives birth to a child with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome should immediately have her uterus removed. I have had 47 foster kids in my home since 1994 and about 75% of them have FAS, but the 16 year old I have now is by far the worst. He will never be able to drive a car, get a job or live by himself. The thing that makes me so angry about this is that he knows he has FAS and that his life is changed forever because of his birth mom's totally selfish and destructive behavior. All a woman has to do is not drink for 9 months of her life. If she wants to be a drunk after that she throws her life down the toilet. Her kids can be put into a good foster home or adopted to a good family and have a chance at becoming productive members of society. Nine stinking months is all it takes. If she doesn't care about herself, she affects only herself. If she doesn't care about her kids they can be removed and given to someone who will care for them. The 16 year old who now lives with me has 3 brothers and a sister. The brothers have all been adopted to separate families and the sister, who was in a good home until she was 15. The sister is now living on the streets in Vancouver as a prostitute. She has already had 3 children taken from her, all with FAS. She has to agree to having her tubes tied, which she won't do, and the government is helpless to stop her from having more babies with FAS. And then those kids grow up and do the same thing. And the problem perpetually gets bigger. So, now I am done ranting on this subject. I will probably revisit this topic from time to time as events unfold in my home.