Living Outloud Trying to Be Quiet

2011-07-27T11:26:00.001-05:00

Never Alone

Sometimes it is hard to understand, that we can never really be alone. As someone who went through a season of depression in my early adult year and after my daughter was born I could have been in a room surrounded by people that loved me and yet somehow I still felt alone and that I didn't matter.

Depression is a tough thing, it is something that really can't be explained unless you have gone through it and it is also something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. How anyone can be so lonely and feeling lost is horrendous.

Yet there is hope, I battled against it and won. I woke up one morning fed up with feeling so blue and I determined with God that together we would walk through this to complete healing and freedom from depression.

It wasn't easy, I can't even pinpoint when exactly I was free because it was a process. In the beginning it was minute by minute asking God to help me through, speaking scripture. Then it became hour by hour, day by day and so on until I realized I no longer had those feelings of complete hopelessness.

One thing I know for sure is that depression is something that God did not design and He aches to see His children wrapped up in that bondage, because that is what it is. Depression is thoughts turned inward, and we were never meant to focus only on ourselves. Jesus' entire journey of life here on earth had an outward focus, it was helping others, reaching out to others, healing others, speaking words of wisdom and faith to others.

I believe that we can all be healed and free from depression by reaching out to our creator. His love can set us free, His words can set us free. There is a part we play though, we must be active participants in seeing this healing come to pass. It takes effort to study the word of God, it takes effort to speak the word of God and it takes effort to believe that what we are studying and speaking will come to pass. Yet I know without a shadow of doubt there can be freedom.

I know there will be people that read this and say its' just my cross to bear', 'i have clinical depression', 'you don't understand where I am coming from', 'I have lived with this for many years you don't understand'.........you are right I don't understand, but I know someone who does understand, I also know that God is no respecter of persons and what He did for me He can do for you no matter WHAT the circumstance. I know that God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and if he healed yesterday he can heal today and he can heal tomorrow.

I don't have all the answers by any means I can only share my journey to healing and that it came by connecting to my Saviour for dear life and seeking His purpose for my life, speaking His words of healing and scripture over my life and then walking out that process.

Do I still get attacked today by random feelings of depression, yes I do. Like I said its a process I now know how to fight and speak and continually speak. Trust me there were days when that is ALL I did was speak the word to fight. Overall though I have been set free and I am so incredibly grateful for that freedom.

I totally didn't sit down to write about this today, I had something completely different in mind and yet here it is. I know that many many people deal with depression and God wants you to know you are NOT ALONE, you will NEVER BE ALONE and most importantly you do not need to FIGHT this alone. He is the perfect guide, the perfect healer and the perfect friend and He has the way to to see you through to your healing.

God is love and He loves you so!!!!

Dear Heavenly Father
I ask you to be with each and every individual that reads this and especially with those that are fighting this nasty thing called depression. I pray that you give them a sense of peace and a knowing that they can fight this with you as their guide, Lord I pray for all thoughts of the enemy to be gone in the name of Jesus. Lord fill them with your love and your desire to see them set free and help them to see themselves as your child, a gentle kind Father that would do anything for their child. Help them to also realize that the price of depression was already paid on the cross by your son Jesus and it was never your will to see them suffer with this here on earth!
I pray all these things in the name of Jesus,
Amen

Some of the Scriptures that helped me on this journey

Deuteronomy 28:13
Jeremiah 29:11
Psalm 139:13
Isaiah 54:11-17
Matthew 6;26
Luke 11;11-13
Matthew 7:7
1 Corinthians 2:16
2 Corinthians 5;17
1 Peter 5:7
2 Corinthians 10:5
Proverbs 23:7

2011-06-17T10:16:00.000-05:00

Being Defined

Being a people pleaser I want every one's opinion of me to be a good one and so sometimes I find myself running around trying to get everyone to 'like' me, as you probably know this doesn't come without a cost.

I end up not being me.

I hide my true self and get myself to become the person they want me to be ,only to have them not like me in the end anyway.

So what is the point right?!

This can become a tiring effort with feelings of loneliness and inadequacy and just simply feeling never good enough.

This can be a hard place to be.

An author of a book gets attached to their main character they build this character up to be so real that it he/she has quirks, strengths, weaknesses, the author is so convincing that you can actually believe this person is real. Now would the author of this book go to someone else and say tell me about my main character and actually expect that person to know more than the author himself?! NO WAY the author knows everything about the character he created.

That is the same with Jesus,He is the author & creator of us. He knows everything about us, our strengths our weaknesses and all our quirks, our hidden secrets and the way we live our life out. Don't you think He is incredibly frustrated when we let our friends, spouse, job or a complete stranger define us and live our life out in that definition that we've been given.

'FAILURE, FAT, STUPID, CLUMSY, WORTHLESS, NEVER AMOUNT TO ANYTHING'.
Harsh cold definitions!!

There can also be good ones.
'PRETTY, FUNNY, CREATIVE, TALENTED, EXCELLENT COOK '.

Thing is we were never meant for the good or the bad of what others think to define who we really are. We can get so busy fitting every one's definition of us that we forget to go to our creator and find our real and true identity.....

Psalm 139:14
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Jeremiah 29:11
¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

1Thessollonians 1:3

It is clear to us, friends, that God not only loves you very much but also has put his hand on you for something special.

John 3:16
^16-18"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son.
Those are just a few thoughts of how the amazing author thinks of us.... YOU and ME!! He loves us so deeply and wants to know us so intimately so that we can know His love and be defined by His love.

Imagine for a moment that we could all grasp His love for us and walked around knowing that we are wonderfully made by the creator Himself.

I think this world would be a different place, not only would we see a change in the way people seek after fame but I think we would also see a change in the way people treat each other in every day life, coming in contact with strangers to friends a consistent peace in knowing who we are, not having to prove that we are worth something.

Knowing who we are allows us to be more of who we were created to be.
As only an author could define His characters let GOD define you today!!!
You won't be disappointed!
You are not a mistake!
You are here for such a time as this!

Ask Him,Pray and ask God to tell you what He loves about you, what He made uniquely you.....then Listen.

This I know for sure, He loves you and that will NEVER change!!!

2011-05-26T14:43:00.000-05:00

The Importance of Digging Deep

This week has been tiring; a struggle to keep my mindset positive. We are currently building a house ourselves, since ours sold quickly we have been living at my parents place...talk about going back in time. That's a story for a different day.
Back to our house build last week the excavator came and dug the hole for our future home. Then my hubby and I had framed out the footing all around so that it could be poured with concrete, we spent hours measuring and remeasuring my hubby spent hours digging. Then it rained.
Many sides of the dirt caved in and crushed and filled the footing. To say it was frustrating is an understatement.

We had to start digging out by shovel....

We spent many frustrating, tiring hours.

We spent days.

Often in silence.

As I literally had my hands in the clay God slowly began showing me the importance of a firm foundation. Believe me I didn't want to hear it! I wanted to blink and see it DONE but gently He showed me an important message;
TAKE THE TIME .
Take the time to build a firm foundation.
Take the time to remove the crumbly dirt and hit the hard clay.
Take the time to take the extra measurements to make sure the foundation will be correct.

Through the frustration and at times anger I could see it, I could see the message plain as day;

The world always wants the 'quick' fix . Pray JESUS JESUS where are you when I need you ?!
Not that He is not there, but again this is what He showed me,
Take the time to get to know Me, Jesus.
Take the time to study my Word, the Bible.
Take the time to pray, just talk to me.
These are things make up a firm foundation.
We live in a world where at anytime the sides can come caving in. Someone you trusted turns their back on you and spreads nasty things, a parent disowns you, a child walks away from Jesus, an illness, all these things can either cause one to fall apart or dig deep and stand on the firm foundation that is built over time by getting to know the one who absolutely loves you the most and that is Me,Jesus Christ.

Although all I really wanted WAS to take the 'quick fix' route and blink and see it all completed I know that the hours I spent there God was building something in me. A renewed sense of who He is and the importance of daily building on the foundation that He has promised to be if we only allow Him to be.

I know this is only the beginning of our build and I am sure I will learn a lot through the process. I know that no matter what whether its many ups or downs, He has a plan for this home. Patience will become the key to seeing this process through yet I am excited to see what else He wants to teach me through this process.

God Bless!

2011-05-11T16:38:00.000-05:00

"From the Darkness Shines A Light....."

Lately it seems that the pressures of the world having been pushing from all directions; a father in law diagnosed with cancer and undergoing treatment, a friend experiencing the loss of her dear brother far to early in life, another friend having her adoptive child being taken back by the birth parents, an attack on marriages all around and general struggles with various relationships.

Its easy to be overwhelmed with the pain, the hopelessness and the suffering and I admit there are times when I am just that, overwhelmed. I experience the pain so deeply that at times it feels my heart is literally breaking, its like I am getting a tiny tiny glimpse of the compassion God must feel towards those experiencing the direct affect of the hurt and suffering. So how do I move forward amidst the heartbreak?!

I know I must and I will.

For God SO loved that He gave....He GAVE that is my answer. That is what I must do, I must give of myself, of what I have. My time, a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on,unconditional forgiveness whatever it takes to those hurting and also share the HOPE that can only be found in HIM. He is only one who can truly soothe a broken heart and dry the tears of the mother aching to hold her child one more time or the pain and suffering that comes with cancer treatment or the separation that comes with strained relationships. He IS the answer, He IS the reason I must move on and fill my life with HOPE once again.

After all in only takes a tiny light to bring light into the darkness, I pray that I may always have the light to carry. When I feel as though the light is dimming that courage and faith would come from a relationship with my Saviour Jesus Christ to fan the flame brighter and brighter.

I fail... I fail each and everyday. Whether it be as a mother, friend, daughter or wife in some way or another I fail but there is always HOPE. Each and everyday is a new day to start again and I must do what I can to shine the light in the darkness.

I pray in some way, my prayers are making a difference to those hurting.

For now I ache with those hurting and know deep within that JOY comes in the morning!!

"I will remain confident in this I will see the goodness of the Lord, I put my hope in him, He is the EVERLASTING God " lyrics from Everlasting God

2010-10-20T09:27:00.002-05:00

Decluttering

I have been on a rampage of sorts going from room to room getting rid of the junk, putting some stuff in storage and organizing the rest. This has been somewhat of a liberating experience.

The reason why I am doing this is that we are thinking of selling our house, and in order to have anyone come through and have a look at our place we basically need to clear out the house and remove anything that is unpleasing to the eye.

As I have gone around decluttering I am realizing something else, there is a decluttering that needs to go on inside of me. I know I have allowed 'stuff' in that isn't really helping me out in life.

Take for example all the images that we see on tv or magazines of the 'perfect' woman, well I have been doing way to much comparing lately of myself to those images and finding that I fall far to short and then in turn put myself down and make myself feel as though I don't measure up if I can't look like that. That insecurity can absolutely go into the bin labeled 'junk'. I know that I will never be one of those women and I am unique and different and even though I can work on being a healthier version of me it is not something to be obsessed about and be my only goal in life.

Another example is fear, I have allowed fear to creep in. This is so deadly; fear of the future, fear of lack, fear that my children won't turn out, fear that I am a horrible mother etc. I could go on and on because quite frankly once fear is let in, it can be all consuming. Fear is another one that will be tossed in the 'junk' bin. I know that God is good and that He wants the best for me and even though I will go through trials and stuff along the way He will always be there beside me and there is nothing I should fear.

There I am walking through my house I have those gentle reminders of what I have let in, stuff that is now cluttering my thinking, my hopes and my dreams and they end up making me feel lonely and in despair. I know that is not how God wants me to live my life, I know better than to let these things in and yet I get busy living life. I get busy and think I can go on a weekly or bi-weekly dose of God and His word instead of starting everyday with a good dose of Him. If only I allowed Him to wash me clean everyday and allowed Him daily to point out areas where I have let something in that shouldn't be there. I am not perfect and I openly admit my laziness and busyness. That is how I end up here and know that without that daily dose of God life is not filled with the peace I long for.

So of I go to declutter my home in hopes of making it appealing to those who walk through the front doors. But first I need to go to THE ONE who knows me better than anyone else in this world and get a good decluttering on the inside so that what comes out of me can also but appealing and uplifting to those around me. I've already got a few bins full........

Have a great day everyone :) !

2010-09-23T08:15:00.002-05:00

Take up Your Cross and Follow Me ~ Mark 8:34

Sounds intimidating doesn't it? Sounds somewhat scary to me knowing what the cross symbolizes, the ultimate sacrifice that was given for us, every single one of us. So what does it really mean then? Are we to carry an actual cross? I have a few thoughts on this that I would love to share with you.

Think with me for a moment what it would be like to carry and actual cross on your back, my guess is it is extremely heavy with a rough wooden surface I know I would have to drag it because I couldn't possibly lift it off the ground. Also if I was carrying a cross my thoughts probably wouldn't be anywhere else, I would be so consumed with thinking about how to carry it, making sure I don't drop it, probably really realizing how heavy it is. See a parallel here?

We live in a world where it is all about self and a focus that turns inward, there is very little room for thoughts about others let alone thoughts about God. Every magazine shows us how to better our life, focusing mostly on the outside caring very little for what goes on on the inside. Therefore the end result is many lonely, empty, unhappy people because we have believed this false hope that if we change what is on the outside we will feel better on the inside but no matter how many surgeries, pounds lost and new clothes bought it cannot ultimately change the inside. Oh sure it can help what we 'feel' like temporarily but in the end that true sense of peace with oneself, that alone comes from a relationship with the one who created us to be unique and special. Does this mean that we shouldn't dress nice & take care of bodies? Absolutely we should, what I am saying is if it consumes our entire thought life and we become dependent on that for happiness, that is when it is a real concern.

Taking up the cross not only means that our focus should be on our Savior and His ways and what the word says, but the cross really symbolizes ultimate sacrifice. In the same way we must ultimately sacrifice our selfishness for a higher purpose. Turning our constantly streaming thoughts about ourselves into action for someone else. Reaching out, offering hope and encouragement to others. This will require sacrifice; a sacrifice of pride, sacrifice of time and at times a sacrifice financially. Just as the sacrifice on the cross for each one of us gave us the reward of eternal life, there is a reward for our sacrifice as well, it may come in the form of peace, new friendships, hope for the future and so many other unique ways.

What I do know for sure is that God has called us to an intimate relationship with Him and that verse actually pictures it perfectly. Following Him everyday,our thoughts turned to Him, focused on His goodness and His love. At the same time with every step we take we are ready and willing to sacrifice, having a heart ready to listen and act.

Have I arrived yet? Absolutely not, I am ashamed to admit how much I turn my thoughts inward and yet I know that each and everyday my desire is to grow closer to this model as described in Mark 8, not the model on the cover of a magazine. There will be times when I am carrying this cross that it may become heavy and I may need a rest, I may trip and fall but I know that no matter what there is one awesome, amazing God waiting to help me on this journey. He makes the journey exciting, offers forgiveness, grace and a peace that passes all understanding.

Will you join me on this journey?

Have a great week everyone!!

2010-08-16T12:27:00.003-05:00

Beside the Master

I hear a scratch at the door and see my puppy waiting at the door to be let outside, I open the door hook him up to his chain and let him out. I hear a bark a few minutes later and let him in again. A little while later I hear him by his water dish ding-ling for some water so I go over and give him some water.

Whatever my dog needs the only way he will get it is if I or someone else in my household hears him and we give him what he needs. Sure he could be out in the world alone and probably find some scraps for food and some puddles for water and maybe a corner somewhere for shelter but would that be the best place for him?

There are times when puppies run away and want the freedom the world has to offer and sadness overwhelms the family of the lost puppy, they post up signs asking for the return of the lost puppy, maybe even offering a reward. If the puppy comes back it is welcomed with open arms with joy and happiness, it doesn't get a beating or a stern talking to, the family is happy to receive it back into the safety of his home.

So much of life can be compared to the Masters plan for our life, guidelines set up not to hurt or harm us but to keep us safe because there is also an evil in this world. Just in the way I tether my dog to a chain when I let him out of the house, God wants for us to be tethered to Him as our guidance system through life. Beside the Master our needs are met we need to ask and believe, just as my pup in his own way asks for water or food and believes I will pull through for him , God is waiting for us to ask so that our needs are also met. When my pup is disobedient I discipline him and so does God as the perfect parent want us to have the best in life and we also need gentle reminders to apologize when we have done wrong or to stay away from certain situations, He offers gentle discipline to us his children.

Being beside Him every step of the way was the original plan for us but now the choice is ours. We can decide to be like the puppy who wants to run away and find our own way, do whatever we want OR we can fully rely on the good Master to be with us every step of the way. This is not an assurance of an easy life, I know I will still make mistakes,I will get hurt, I may still fall but the one thing I know for sure is that no matter what, I am not alone and in times when I need comfort, when I need a hand to reach out all I need to do is ask. He is faithful, He is more than able. The Master is waiting to receive you with arms wide open!!

My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus. ~ Philippians 4:19

What are your needs today? ~ a gentle touch from someone who truly loves you? freedom from hurt? healing in your body? a financial breakthrough? feeling alone in the world?

He is ALWAYS there, waiting for you!! Will you reach out to Him today?
Come near to God and He will come near to you. James 4:8

God sent His son Jesus just for you to die on a cross for everything you've ever done and ever will do wrong and rose again so that you can spend eternity with Him. No matter what you have done wrong he can forgive, His love is so strong~~ Will you trust Him today?

2010-07-26T15:35:00.003-05:00

Tantrums

The angry feeling rises and then it begins; kicking, stomping of the feet, gritting of the teeth, tears and sometimes yelling, all signs of a two year old temper tantrum. Now picture a 33 year old woman throwing a tantrum just like it. Seems ridiculous doesn’t it?!?! The sad thing is it is possible and it has happened.

Yes this happened to me, not to long ago either while dealing with one of my children. I had reached my limit and had enough and did not know how to ‘handle’ the situation any longer and I LOST it, completely freaked out and went into a tantrum and immediately after started heave sobbing and coming way to close to hyper ventilating. I could not and did not see a way out. It was a moment of complete loss of self-control. And yes unfortunately there were witnesses, two of my children stood by and watched this unfold.

As I lay there on my bed crying my eyes out, not knowing what to do next with this child of mine, feeling completely alone and hopeless with the weight of the world on my shoulders, yet inwardly begging for forgiveness for what I had done I heard that still, small voice, the conversation went like this.....

‘It is time, it is time to let go, for too long now you have been trying to parent on your own, for too long you have been doing this on your own strength.’

I just listened

‘I made your child, I know your child, do you trust me? I know the way he needs to be parented.’

“I am sorry God, so sorry.” I said through the sobs

‘Its okay my child, you are forgiven, go make it right with your children.’

“I will God, I will.”

‘Then every morning before you rise out of bed I want you to come to me, ask for my help, ask me how to parent your children and then be ready to listen and act on it.’

“Okay I will.”

For so long prior to this tantrum the heaviness weighed on my shoulders, pulling me down, not knowing how to parent this child,people getting on my case for being to hard on this child while seemingly not trying to understand. I was getting really close to giving up and in this moment of complete weakness which was meant for bad was turned around for the good only by the grace of God.

It made me humble myself so completely. I prayed with each child, I asked them each individually for forgiveness. Together we prayed and asked for a way to get through this, together we made things right again. Through it all God was so faithful to show me the individual way this had hurt each child so when I talked with them I could ask for forgiveness for the way it had hurt their little heart and this then opened up the conversation for ways to prevent this from happening in their own life. What they saw was a definite loss of self control and realized that their mom is flawed, but they also saw the redemptive power of Gods love and His forgiveness.

As soon as I asked for forgiveness the enemy did his best to fill me with condemnation and guilt and although it was tempting to linger on the guilt a while I knew in my heart what the word says about there being no condemnation in Christ Jesus and His forgiveness set me free from the guilt. I can move forward knowing that things have been made right between me and God and between me and my children.

After things calmed down God showed me that this is just one way depression so easily wraps people up. They are carrying a world of problems on their shoulders and along with the problems they carry guilt and condemnation. Each day that weight becomes heavier and heavier till they feel so weighed down they find it difficult to cope with even the little things. Instead of every minute, every hour and every day laying that burden at the foot of Jesus they are doing all the carrying, which they were never meant to do. I myself have travelled that lonely road of depression and I know that as children of the most high we are not meant and were never meant to walk that road.

So would you please join me today? Lay down that burden of being the perfect parent and doing it on your own strength. Lay down the guilt of having made mistakes. Now is the time to move forward with God at your side EVERY step of the way. He knows your child you are having difficulty with, he knows that spouse that confuses you, he knows your struggles, allow Him to give you the direction you need today and stop trying to do it all on your own.

Although I can recall that tantrum with great embarrassment I know that by being real with you today it will give some of you the freedom to know that you are not alone, there are more moms out there that make mistakes and although I am not justifying my actions ,because I am not, I am letting you know that you are normal!

The difference for you can be RUN to God before you ‘lose-it’ and He is MORE than able to help you out.

Matthew 11:28 Come to me all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens and I will give you rest.

Romans 8:1 Therefore there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

2Timothy 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

I would love to pray and believe with you for complete healing in the area of depression, if that is what you are facing today, please send me a message privately or post in the comment section and I will be praying for you.

2010-06-04T18:21:00.001-05:00

The Power of a Cheering Squad

Wow its been a while since I posted, busy mom stuff, life in general, and a lot of taking kids to soccer practice and games. That is how this post came about. Sitting at a soccer game the other day as I was watching my oldest son Noah play I noticed the amount of cheering going on, parents cheering on their kids, siblings cheering on siblings, omas cheering for their grand kids(loudly I might add), team-mates ......well you get the point. I noticed something in that moment, the team thrived when they heard the cheering, they got an extra bit of energy to push and see the play through.

Then today as I was standing at Noah's track meet and all the kids were competing the cheering was amazing, quite loud actually it was awesome. Noah even commented, ' the best event to take part in is the relay at the end of the day, because the whole school is cheering for you.'

Something struck me again at that moment, the kids swelled with pride and did not want to disappoint. Got me thinking to life, how many of us could use someone to cheer us along. Pick us up when we fall and give us words of encouragement no matter what the circumstance. Saying things like 'Keep on going, you can do it, don't give up, you are almost there, your team is with you'. If you happen to score a goal ,'yeah I knew you could do it' and then they celebrate with you.

I think deep inside each and everyone of us is a desire to be cheered on, a desire to know that someone is standing with us, willing to go along side us and cheer us on through the good plays in life and the plays in life where we fall and may even hurt ourselves. Everyone young and old wants to go this journey of life with companions especially positive companions.

There are also the people that sit on the sidelines jeer and poke, making negative comments consistently and never encourage the good plays. In our culture I think that those voices speak loud enough, we don't need anymore negative reinforcement!!

I can't help but think how many kids would have improved behavior if the parents were their biggest fans? How many teens would stay away from the temptations of drugs and alcohol? How many marriages could be saved? How many seniors could walk around with a joyful smile on their face? IF only....if only someone would come along side them and cheer them on and help them through the good and bad times of life telling them with words and showing them with actions that THEY ARE NOT ALONE.

I get that just the cheering may not change the circumstance but with God and a great positive cheering section I think that this world could see a whole lot of change. This takes action, not thinking about yourself and making movement to come alongside someone in need and cheer, cheer your heart out, loudly letting them know that no matter what they have someone there beside them.

Who are you going to cheer for today, and will they know that you are on their side??

2010-04-14T09:11:00.005-05:00

Makes My Eyes Water....

These were the words I heard from my son as he shared with me how on his walk home from school he shared Jesus with some friends. These friends asked questions and he answered as best as he could. He shared how they talked about heaven and about Jesus and how He loves us all, this was the point where I could see his eyes well up and he stopped and said 'talking about this is making my eyes water'.

At this point so were mine. My heart swelled not only with pride but also with a deep sense of knowing that this kid will be okay in life. See I have been hard on him about who he chooses as friends and making good choices, being sure that he wouldn't have bad influences in his life never really realizing that HE could be the influence, a good one. At age nine he has an incredible heart for those that don't know Jesus and I actually never thought (I will admit guilt here) that he would openly share his beliefs with those kids, yet here he was standing before me eyes watering telling me how he did in fact have the boldness to do just that.

He was visibly moved, his heart so tender, his desire so strong that these kids know the love of Jesus. He wants so badly for them to have a relationship with the Jesus he knows, he has invited them out to church.
I am in awe of my son and his guts to step out of his comfort zone and take the risk of appearing 'uncool' to share what he believes. I far to often fall into the trap of keeping to myself for fear of what others may think of me.

As I sat there listening to my son I was being taught a valuable lesson, God's love is to be shared with everyone and our hearts need to be sensitive to the voice of God when He is leading us to share His love with someone else, push aside the fear and step out of our comfort zone.

It still brings tears to my eyes when I think about this chat, I am so thankful that I am able to learn from people young and old. I pray that I am always open to these lessons and then have the boldness to live it out!!

2010-04-11T22:40:00.007-05:00

Expectation

Today as I was drinking my Tim Horton's Coffee I had an interesting revelation. For those of you that don't live in Canada, Tim Horton's is a popular brand of coffee and a hot spot for coffee lovers. Every year they have a roll up the rim promotion where you actually roll up the rim of the paper coffee cup to reveal a prize. You can win anything from a free cup or coffee to a new car.
As I was enjoying a coffee and anticipating a win at the end of my delicious cup I was reminded of Gods love. Interesting?! Yes interesting that I would think of God's love while drinking in a cup of goodness.
It wasn't so much His love but expectation of His love revealed in the day to day.
See here I was anticipating finishing this cup of coffee and rolling up the rim to find that I, in the very least, won a free cup of coffee. I got thinking about Gods goodness and His very nature and how we should be waking up each and every morning in anticipation of His love and the God that we serve revealing himself to us in an intimate and personal way.
Yet most people are content to enjoy the cup of ground goodness and forget to roll up the rim, so to speak.
God wants us to awake each and every morning in anticipation of things to come, His goodness revealed through and in our lives and at the very least his JOY and PEACE that passes all understanding.
Imagine for a moment what our lives could be like if we awoke each morning in anticipation of things to come instead of dread and weariness and being content to just finish the cup?! Let's roll up the rim to see what HE has in store for us today!!
Tomorrow and everyday there after I want to wake up with the expectation that God has GOOD things in store for me, that I can make a difference where I am at, that my life does matter!!
Anybody else with me!?!

John 10:10 A thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. But I came so that they may have life and life in abundance.

2010-03-26T08:17:00.005-06:00

JUST ENOUGH

The other day upon closer inspection of my underwear as I was 'wasting' some time I noticed the fabric contents and it stated there was 7% spandex and 93%nylon. Really of no significance at all until it dawned on me, hey I need the 7% spandex in the fabric so that my underwear stays on my body otherwise there would be some serious issues with this pair of undies.

As I was thinking more about this I thought , how strange that you only need a little bit of something for it to go a long way. Then I thought about my life and about how much time I am giving to the things around me, am I only giving just enough, the 7% required in order for it to 'stick' with me?

Brings me to my relationship with God, He in fact wants all of me, not just a percentage and how often do I say to Him, 'sorry I only got 10% that you can have today, maybe tomorrow will be a better day'. When He in fact in His still quiet voice is saying, give me your all and only then will you find the peace and happiness that you are longing for.

Often I think I can do everything on my own and when I become desperate only then do I reach out for help and give Him what is left instead of going to Him in the beginning and leaving ALL my cares and concerns at His capable feet and then rest in His loving arms. I so long to give God all my 100% knowing I won't lack in any area because I know that He cares for me and He truly wants the best for me.(Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, they are plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope.)

So today as I go about my day I want to remember to daily surrender my all to Him and not just enough'.... and to think these thoughts all started with a pair of pink undies.

God you are so good and faithful to reveal yourself even in the small things, today I am grateful for your love, your blessings and the peace that you offer me when I surrender my all to you.

2010-03-05T10:57:00.008-06:00

Decisions

How many of you out there are like me, you love to make decisions when they are easy, when they require little or no sacrifice? It's the decisions that require me to move out of my comfort zone into the unknown that are decisions that I may shrink away from.

What if this decision you know is the right one ,does it make it any easier?

In my case I don't think those decisions are necessarily 'easy' ones. For me the decisions that I know are right and require sacrifice are the tough ones. An important decision that will leave me without doing so much of what I want to do, that requires I have to give something up, is tough...seems selfish? It is selfish yes.

In one particular decision I am making there will be sacrifice, and yet I know there will also be reward. There will be a full reliance upon God, which is a good thing, and I know that He can do more than I can even ASK, THINK or IMAGINE(Eph 3:20).....isn't that incredible? Even though my flesh may not be in agreement my spirit is at peace. That is how I know the decision is the right one, however tough it may be.

Decisions are the crossroads in life, where there can be incredible growth, depth of insight and learning. Even though they may not be easy and require sacrifice on my part I believe that as long as I follow the peace of God in my decisions I am making the right ones.

Thank-you God today for being with me when I am making important decisions, it is only with you and through you that I know life is worth living. You alone can bring a peace that passes all understanding and today I trust and fully rely on you that you work all things for the good of those that love you. Praising you today Father ~ yours always ME

The doors we open and close everyday decide the lives we live. Flora Whittemore

2010-02-28T11:22:00.002-06:00

Goodbye

Last Sunday Conrad's grandfather went to be with Jesus at the age of 91. He lived a good long life and has such a legacy he is leaving behind with 10 children, 43 grandchildren and 55 great-grandchildren. He was a good man and we are happy that he is healthy and whole now in heaven.

I wanted to share this poem, it was found among his personal belongings in his handwriting and it was shared at the funeral :

T'will not matter not if cherished friends
On whom I leaned in vain
Have wounded me by word or deed
And left me with great pain
What matters is can I forgive again and yet again?
It's not "Have they been true?"
But " Lord, have I been true to them?"

T'will matter not when evening comes
How rough the road I've trod
If only I have walked with Him
And led some soul to God
For when I wake to be like Him

Who saved me by His grace
Earth's pain will vanish when I catch
One glimpse of His dear face.

Goodbye Grandpa, we know we will see you again :)

2010-02-03T10:39:00.007-06:00

Season of Change

Its not even spring or even close for that matter and yet I feel a season of change sweeping across the corners of my heart. I have realized without a doubt that whatever I focus on takes over my vision and whether it is good or bad it is the direction that I go.

I found myself heading in a bad direction with bad focus and was amazed at how easily my thoughts could turn from hopes and dreams of the future to an unbelievable sense that I had lost all faith in humanity and I have to say, what a scary place to be. In that dark moment that lasted an entire afternoon and moments in between days , God revealed himself to me in ways that were so powerful that I wanted to weep.

What was it that caused me such pain you may ask? It was a general sense that the world around me had lost all respect for themselves, each other and respect for marriages was out the window. It was an afternoon were low self worth and self-doubt made an ugly appearance. You see all around me there were women who were scantily clad to say the least, lets just say they left nothing to the imagination, there was heavy silicone involved and they all had bodies that had jumped out of the pages of magazines to inappropriate to look at.

Here I was walking around a tropical paradise and at every turn was another one of 'these women', and the thoughts that echoed in my head were disturbing....'how can you ever compete with that? Go on Louise, just give up already you are worthless, you are fat and ugly.' Thoughts I had long ago banished had appeared and were screaming for my attention. IT WAS HORRIBLE.
I am embarrassed to say that I allowed myself to linger upon those thoughts and actually for a moment had myself believing them. For that selfish moment it was all about the outward appearance for me and I had a hard time realizing that that is just a small part of the real true person.

In that moment I managed to pause and pray and ask God to help me get through this time and give me a glimpse of His hope and a glimpse of what He sees in me. I prayed, He answered...In that day alone I had a few random strangers stop and tell me how beautiful they thought I was, I had a friend offer kind words of encouragement, I had an elderly man tell my husband to make sure he takes good care of me, I had my husband put his arm around me and gaze lovingly into my eyes and tell me I was beautiful.

Then the moment that brought the most tears to my eyes, it was as if God orchestrated this moment perfectly, at dinner time we were seated by an elderly couple who were celebrating their anniversary of about 60 years. As I watched the waiters were singing them a love song they lovingly gazed into each others eyes and shared a moment with each other that could be felt across the room, gazes so loving that it was the perfect picture of love the way God intended it to be between a man and a woman. In that moment it wasn't about whether or not she had the perfect body, it wasn't about catching the gaze of every man in the room, it was about the memories and the sands of time that had created a love and a bond so powerful between these two that even though outward appearances had faded to beautiful wrinkles they saw beyond that to the core of each other and all that they had been through and looked as though they would rather be there together than any other place in the world.

In the recesses of my heart hope flickered again, God blew upon that flicker and allowed the flame to be restored in humanity and the love that is meant to be shared between a husband and a wife. The world has so many temptations around every bend, for man or woman, and yet if our focus remains on God our future can be so filled with hope and light that the temptation is a darkness we are not even tempted to enter.

I am so thankful to have a savior who cares enough for me to shine a light so bright that darkness doesn't stand a chance.

So what is the season of change for me? It is season of hope for the future and a constant reminder to consistently focus on that which is good and pure and crowd out the garbage that vies for my attention.

Philippians 4:8

^8-9Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

2010-01-01T11:27:00.002-06:00

Are you listening to me?

Walking through the mall in the busyness of the season I had an aha moment, a father with two young girls was walking by and I happened to overhear their conversation it went something like this :
Girl 1 - Dad she pushed me first
Girl 2- yeah well you shouldn't walk in front of me
Dad- girls is it not nice to treat each other like that, does that mean if someone pushes you you should push them back?!

At this point they got out of earshot and I thought I shouldn't follow them to find out what they said, might of been a bit creepy.

This conversation allowed me as a mom to breathe a sigh of relief, sometimes I feel like I am the only one who is constantly reminding my children to be kind, be nice, talk nice ....every where we go. It feels at times like I am a broken record and that I am constantly on their case.

As I was thinking about this I was gently reminded that God is constantly doing the same thing through His Holy Spirit, constantly sending gentle reminders to be kind to that person who has nothing, to speak softly to that child when I get angry, to love without conditions, to continue to pursue Him without ceasing. Imagine how frustrated He could become with me when I don't listen the first time and do things my own way thinking that I can do it better and yet He continues to gently remind me of a better way, His way.

This was my aha moment, as much as I want what is best for my children and I constantly find myself reminding them so that they can turn out as positive adults, how much more does God love them and me? How much more does He also want His best for us?

Thank-you Lord for your gentle reminders, help me to listen more and act on what you have asked me to do.

2009-12-14T12:02:00.003-06:00

Simple Thankfulness

Today as I was tidying my kitchen I emptied a box of apples into my fruit bowl when I had a memory flashback. It was this, a while back my mom shared part of her childhood memories with me, memories of life at home as the oldest sister learning to bake bread at age 5, helping to run the entire household at age 10 with 9 siblings to help care for. She shared at one point that through this all she dreamed of someday having a home and a family of her own and along with those one of her biggest wishes was to own a fridge with a drawer filled with apples. APPLES? I asked her, to which she replied yes it was a huge treat to get one apple a year as a Christmas gift so to her having a drawer full of them in her mind was the epitome of dream come true because that meant that life would be going really well to afford that.

So as I stood there cleaning my counters and placing the apples into the bowl I couldn't help but think about how far my parents have come, not only does she now have a fridge with much more in it than apples but she cares for her family in such a way that we always know that we are loved, she makes meals that are out of this world,my mom along with my dad have afforded us so many extra luxuries growing up.

In this season of 'accumulation of more stuff' I need to remind myself that a long time a long time ago my mom dreamed of a time where she could have unlimited apples and now I, her daughter, takes that so for-granted.

I am so thankful to God for opening up my eyes during times where I need a gentle reminder of the blessings that surround me each and everyday.

So today I say thanks for a bowl of apples.

2009-12-03T21:29:00.005-06:00

Fear and Faith

Fear has a way of creeping in, little by little with many varying thoughts ; she looked at me strangely she must have a negative impression of me, what if I never accomplish what I want to accomplish, what if my kids are rebellious, what if people make fun of me, getting up to high off the ground will cause me to freak out, I am afraid of rejection etc. add your own in their and basically it is common human everyday behavior. In fact couldn't gossip even be looked at as fear, fear that our life isn't 'good-enough' so we need to make someone else look bad so that we can think that our life is better. Fear seems to be so common place in everyday life and readily accepted, it is not uncommon to hear people on a regular basis speak fear-filled words and we don't even think twice about it.

Can the same be said for faith-filled words? In my opinion no probably not, it seems that faith-filled words these days spoken out loud seem to be looked at as kookey or 'super-spiritual' or simply not the norm. When someone speaks positive faith-filled words it tends to be viewed as unrealistic. The lean towards the negative fear aspect of things is so strong that it is sometimes easier to stay in fear than push back with faith.

I heard a quote recently that brought these two words together in a way that made perfect sense to me, it clicked, and these words were ~ Fear and Faith both ask you to believe in that which is unseen. That really got me thinking about my own life, what am I believing in the most; the voice of fear that always tells me that I'm never good enough, that I am so afraid of the 'what ifs' in life that I will never take the step over the fear, or am I listening to the voice of Faith that tells me that ALL things are possible, that no matter what the obstacles may be there will be a pathway out.

Is the road of fear sometimes the easier route? Possibly yes but it is not the route that will bring true happiness and contentment in life. Living by faith means taking the risk to face the fear no matter what our feelings may be. Turning down the voice of fear for me means constantly reminding myself to turn up the voice of faith so that the voice of faith is so loud the voice of fear is but a distant rumble.

That is my goal on this journey through life and although I may not always win against fear I will do my best and know that I am not perfect and where I fall short God is there through it all to help me, walk beside me and guide me because through Him ALL things truly are possible!!!

2Timothy 1:7 ~ God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.

2009-12-02T14:31:00.004-06:00

There is a Cookie......

There is a cookie calling my name. It sits on the counter all covered in sweet sprinkled icing shouting 'Louise come and get me'....' I am yummy'.....'you know you want to' ....'I taste so yummy with a tall glass of milk' ....and so the voice rings on, twice today I have answered that call and yet it continues to call to me.

Before you get all worried that I am truly hearing voices in my head, I'm not, I speak of the hold that those cookies seem to have on me every time I pass them. Generally when I make cookies I have no problem passing them by, not giving them a second thought, but these, these are different.

These are "Grandma's Cookies" and it was my first attempt at making them, they aren't as melt in my mouth yummy as my mom's version but none the less they are TASTY.....SO I decided to share this lip smacking recipe with you all. ENJOY but be careful, they will start calling your name too ;) I will now try very hard to avoid them at least till Friday ;)

Mom's Recipe Shhhhhhh

2 cups sugar
2 cups sourcream or liquid whip cream
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
4 cups flour - add more to make a soft dough not overly sticky

- refrigerate a fews hours or overnight
- either roll out approx. 1/2 inch thick and cut into circles or scoop out and roll into balls and flatten

- Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes

Make your favorite icing ( I use the one on the icing sugar bag) and spread on cookie. Cookie gets softer when stored in container, they also freeze well!

ENJOY :) !!

2009-11-23T21:38:00.003-06:00

Time Goes By...

It is hard to believe that in just over a month we will be celebrating Christmas. We are having unseasonably high temperatures and there is no snow on the ground, to say that it doesn't feel like the Christmas season is an understatement. At a time when malls are usually buzzing and Christmas music is playing there is strange silence.

This year has been a strange one for me usually when someone asks what I would like for Christmas I pull out a list the size of a scroll and could rattle of 100 things that I would find desirable, this year I really don't have a clue in terms of material gifts.

I do know that I desire wholeness, peace and love in my relationships. Unity that extends beyond appearances but affects change in my heart. To see people around me succeed at life, living their life to the full potential and growing into the people that God has created them to be.

Looking back over the past year it has been a good one, many unique experiences and many days that are everyday normal kind of days, that I love, knowing I am blessed to have the humdrum experience of routine.

I just pray that as Christmas rolls closer with each day that I gain a new perspective of what it means to celebrate this season, the reason that I hold it dear and hope that the feeling of Christmas will envelope myself and my loved ones with a knowing of something bigger something more dear than simply a time to get more stuff. I don't mind the stuff because I am a gifts person but I really want it to go further than that for me.

This past weekend we set up our tree, it was a lot of fun. I love our eclectic Christmas tree with all the random ornaments every year it becomes more exciting with the kids.

I hope you all are enjoying this season and for those of you to the south,

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-10-25T15:18:00.000-06:00

MOST amazing building in Barcelona, find the history here www.sagradafamilia.cat/

2009-10-24T12:49:00.009-05:00

Hello Friends

Here is a tiny glimpse of my journey so far.....

Big Ben, London

The London Eye

Sunset on the streets of London

Me trying to break into Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle..

The guards coming to arrest me.......lol....changing of the guard at Windsor Castle.

Me on the grounds outside Windsor Castle, the drive up is insanely stunning, can't imagine someone actually calls this home!!

It has been an amazing time so far and we've only just begun so many more adventures await.
Thanks so much for taking the time to come visit my blog!
Be blessed friends :)

2009-10-21T09:05:00.003-05:00

TODAY IS THE DAY.....

Today is the day I fly away, a day I have planned for almost a year. I hop on an airplane to take me over the pond, first stop London, England for two days of sightseeing and visiting some friends, then onto another grand adventure.
My stomach is turning with nervousness, I just finished saying goodbye to my kids. It was hard I was so strong holding back the tears till my middle child burst into tears while he was hugging me, telling me how much he loves me and that he will miss me.....well that was enough to open the flood gates, I cried openly. My oldest was a rock, strong hugs but no tears. My girlie was joking, laughing and smiling trying real hard to be strong telling me to have fun and that she too will miss me. So I stood there on the top step in the garage still in my jammies waving goodbye to my kids as they biked away from our house tears streaming down my cheeks. This is not easy. I have prepared little gifts for them, for at least every other day while I am gone along with a note from me, just a little token to remind them of how much I love them.
I know I will have a good time and I am blessed to have this experience of seeing the world with a friend, my prayer is for safety and protection my myself and my family and for my kids and hubby to have a good time at home together :)
Thanks everyone for your prayers, have a great day and I will post again along this adventure!!

2009-10-16T16:27:00.003-05:00

Adventureland....

Well I am off on the 21st of Oct on a European vacation with a girlfriend, we are going to London, Spain, Greece, Italy, France and Turkey I will be gone 17 days(actually coming home on the 18th day but who's counting ;) ). I will be away from my family which I will miss a lot I am sure, but I know I will have many great memories with my friend Lisa.
I am wanting to post here daily hopefully with a pic of the day included.
So until then I will be busy spending time with my family,doing laundry and packing.

Prayers for safety and protection would be greatly appreciated!

Bless you all :)

2009-10-05T08:31:00.003-05:00

Picture of Peace

Peace is something that I long for more in my life, peace in any circumstance. Knowing that no matter what I am walking through I can have a peace that passes all understanding.
I was struck by this as I watched my daughter fast asleep on the couch in the living room area of our home, there was busyness all around her, people talking, the t.v. on, the computer buzzing and all the while she slept in a peaceful slumber, her face the picture of utter contentment. It didn't matter what was going on around her she slept, she wasn't touched by the noise around her.
Isn't that a picture of life?! there is always noise around us, whether it is the world screaming at us to look and be different to fit the 'norm' or an actual physical noise of always having to be entertained, never a quiet moment to ourselves.
Looking at my daughter my soul longed for peace, for that special time alone with just me and my God, where I know without a shadow of doubt that I am loved unconditionally and completely and being filled with a supernatural peace a peace that cannot be stolen by the noise of the world.
This is my prayer today....God help me to be filled with your peace and filled with contentment that can only come from more of you in my life.

2009-09-01T09:33:00.005-05:00

Bearenstein Bears Lesson #1

Would you believe it if I told you that I learned a valuable lesson this morning while my kids were watching a half hour episode of the Bearenstein Bears?

Well yes I did, you see in this episode the school was getting ready for a talent show and the teacher saw that Brother Bear wasn't thrilled about this because he felt he didn't have a talent so the teacher gave him the task of being the talent scout for the show.

So Brother Bear proceeded to go along the hallways of the school looking for talent in others and encouraging them to perform the talent at the show. Through doing that Brother Bear in my opinion found he had a talent for encouraging others in their talent instead of being so wrapped up in what he couldn't do.

So often in life I find myself looking at people with obvious talents like a great singing voice, or acting ability and wish that I could do that. Life can pass me by as I sit there looking at someone else wishing I had the talent they had, when all along maybe I should just encourage someone else in their talent instead of feeling threatened by it, as if what I have to offer is worth any less. My talent may not be an obvious one but none the less I can choose to be thankful for what I have been given or waste my time wishing for a different one.

I truly believe that God has given each of us a gift and even though I may not know exactly what that is for me today and what direction I should take, I will do my best to encourage those around me in their gifting while waiting for discovery and direction in my own :)

So there it is a great lesson learned from a most unexpected place, The Bearenstein Bears.

2009-08-26T08:54:00.010-05:00

Bits and Pieces of Life

Summer is flying by and I am hanging on to the last little bits hoping that they won't slip through my fingers, I am not ready to see what is on the other side of summer~ school, schedules, fall and then the dreaded winter months ahead. So I am taking each day in stride, enjoying my kids and the outdoors as much as possible.

The other day I took the kids out to pose for their 'fall/school pictures' they turned out fantastic and I was thrilled that they went along with it, you see at times me and the camera in their face can become somewhat annoying for them, yet this time they were good sports. Ezra and Keziah are a hoot, each time they heard the shutter click they changed their poses, all I had to do was press the button, fun kids. As I was proofing the pictures I became very emotional, looking at these three kids and realizing that time doesn't and won't ever stand still, that they are growing up. Each day getting closer to the time they leave the safety of home. I know that the time will come soon enough but it really gave me an renewed appreciation for what I have in each of those three individuals, I feel incredibly blessed.

Out of the 279 pics that I took(crazy I know) here are a few :

Only two weeks till they head back to school, looking forward to that time and enjoying sleeping in till then :)

2009-08-04T16:33:00.007-05:00

Angel Hair

A while ago my daughter heard that people donate their own hair to help make wigs for people that have lost their hair due to cancer or other ailments.
After she heard that she wanted to help, so today was the day.
She cut 10 inches off of her hair to donate.

Here is the before picture :

Then during the cutting of the ponytails:

Then after it was all done:

The new hairstyle :

I think she is sweet, hair will always grow back and what she did showed so much kindness. I am proud of my girly and her willingness to help.

Here is more info on the organization if you want to help!!
http://www.angelhairfoundation.org/angelkids.cfm

2009-07-30T11:13:00.006-05:00

Something to do on a rainy day....

I made another canvas for my wall, I have these all over my house instead of artwork, here is my latest creation....
It is a recent picture I took of my daughter and I love the fact that the shadow on the hood of the vehicle looks like an angel, such a picture of praise for me.

Here is another one I made a while ago for my bathroom with pictures of my trip to France.

2009-07-26T12:55:00.007-05:00

Celebrating the Curviness in all of Us

A recent interesting conversation had us discussing what was considered beautiful, we came to somewhat of a conclusion that in American culture skinny model-types are what our culture finds beautiful and in many other cultures around our world women with 'a little bit more' are the picture of beauty.

Well this is somewhat disconcerting for someone like me who can't just pack up and leave and move to a different part of the world where my curves are appreciated by popular culture.

So imagine my shock when I read an interview with an actor named Michael Vartan a handsome cutie, seen in movies like Monster in Law and in the popular TV series Alias, well they were asking him 5 Reasons Women Make Life So Much Sweeter. This was his reason #4 Your Curves are Captivating ~ "I don't get where being rail-thin became attractive. Most guys I know like curves. I've been fortunate enough to work in small rural parts of America and the women there are real women. There is nothing sexier than a woman walking down the street who happens to be overweight but doesn't care and owns it. That's so refreshing and sexy and empowering because its and attitude, a part of her being and soul that can be seen just walking down the street. It's really cool. I love women who have the confidence to be who they are."

After I read that I nearly sang the entire rendition of the Hallelujah chorus not because I feel that Michael Vartan is the voice of reason but rather it was one voice although quiet needs to be heard by millions of women in our culture that are longing for comfort in their curves.

Thank goodness for a hubby who also embraces my curves with a smile( that sounds slightly kinky) well you know what I mean. I can now stand up with a even more confidence and celebrate 'my God -given, cheeseburger enhanced curves' and not be ashamed of all that I am.

Do I hear an Amen ladies (and men)? Continue on in your ventures to better health but enjoy every step along the way knowing that you truly are beautiful no matter what our popular culture may try to tell us. No matter what size you are, be who YOU ARE and celebrate the beauty that comes from inner confidence!!! Now go ahead do your strut.....oh to be a fly on the wall ;) .

**quote in interview from First magazine, August 3,2009

2009-07-18T15:14:00.005-05:00

A Great Week

There is a popular saying that goes like this " If life hands you lemons, make lemonade". Well this week the saying went something like this for our family " When spending a week at the lake and the weather is bad, use your imagination". That is exactly what my Noah did this week along with Papa and Keziah they built their very own raft and then took it sailing on the lake.
It was so neat to see my boy so very proud of his creation, he had a permanent smile on his face watching it float around.
Even though the weather was bad all week at the lake, we managed to have a great week spending time in close quarters. Lots of reading, games, walks in the rain and TV, and most importantly the kids had time with their granna and papa it was a quiet week but everyone needs those too :) . I had a great time with my in-laws they are such a blessing in our lives and the lives of my kids, we all get spoiled!

Coming home to a spotless house was wonderful, my mom surprised me by coming over while we were gone and cleaning my whole house, doing all my laundry and there were 10 jars of fresh strawberry/ rhubarb jam in my fridge and a new rug and my front door fixed. Such an incredible blessing!! Gotta love parents : ) !! Mine are truly the best!!

2009-07-13T07:52:00.009-05:00

Longing for Satisfaction in a Satisfaction Guaranteed World

These days everywhere you look whatever product you buy it reads 'satisfaction guaranteed or your money back'. Promising that if you are not 100% satisfied that you get a 100% return on your investment.

In my opinion people are living the same way in society today; tossing aside marriages because they are not 'satisfied' ;looking to other relationships of any sort for satisfaction; woman obsessing about their outer beauty longing for some sort of satisfaction(I know I am guilty of this one forsure); addictions of all sorts whether it be work or pornography searching for satisfaction.

What is satisfaction anyway? The dictionary describes it as; fulfillment of a need or desire,The pleasure obtained by such fulfillment and the source of such fulfillment.

Where does true satisfaction come from? I have asked myself this question a lot lately. Am I only satisfied when things are going the way I want them in my marriage, life with my kids or my friendships?

I think that if I am constantly looking to others whether it be my husband, my children, my friends, church etc. to help me feel satisfied it will always come up short. The only true satisfaction comes from having a close intimate relationship with the creator Himself, He longs to help fulfill my desires and help me live life to the full and overflowing, He is my source and my only 100% guarantee.

I am coming to the realization more and more everyday that as long as I am walking this road called life walking hand in hand with my creator I will have moments in my life of absolute satisfaction not only in my walk with Him but in my marriage, my family and my friendships as well.

With God I know I will have satisfaction guaranteed in all areas of my life, so I am 'losing my receipt' so to speak and living outloud for the one who made me who I am knowing that I'll never need my money back. After all He already paid the FULL price!!

John 10:10 - Jesus speaking " A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of" The Message Bible

2009-07-07T11:45:00.002-05:00

My Girl is Growing up......

I had so much fun doing these pictures, my sis-in-law did her hair and then we went into her field and took some pics.

(click on it to view a bigger picture)

2009-07-06T15:48:00.004-05:00

Living A Life....

That is what it is all about isn't it??.... Living a life. Ours is a once in a lifetime chance of living. Some days I honestly want to put my life on a shelf and have it sit there for a while and press pause, other days it couldn't go fast enough and some days it is just the right pace.

Each day is a new challenge, if its not dealing with the kids constantly fighting each other, it is a challenge in marriage or in just dealing with myself. Everyday I have the choice to do something or sit back and let life happen to me and truth be told I sometimes enjoy sitting back too often.

Right now though I am dealing with kids that are constantly fighting or arguing over something so being positive is really a choice. I realize that it is a normal part of growing up with siblings, doesn't make it any easier though for a mom to have to deal with it. I just gotta cling to the fact that I love my brothers now after all the fighting we did and I can hope and pray for the same things or my kids.

I do want this summer to be filled with making memories, with my kids, my family and my friends. I don't want my kids to remember me for just correcting them, nagging them etc. This means being proactive on my part and finding ideas of things to do. So I guess I better starting finding some good ideas quick because right now military school is sounding good ;) !!

To all you mothers out there dealing with kids all summer long, hats off to you all!! Hope you all have a fabulous summer!!

2009-06-29T10:36:00.003-05:00

When Frustration Breeds Discontentment

Many moments in the past little while I have found myself uttering these words ' this sucks I am going to go crazy'. Most often it is because of my children arguing, fighting, hurling words at each other that are downright awful and nothing I say seems to makes any difference.

I then sit back and get incredibly frustrated and discouraged and immediately it leaves me with a feeling of discontentment. Discontentment is a slippery slope, it allows thoughts of something never being enough, someone never doing the right thing, life just never going right.

Understandably there are times in life when I get frustrated because things aren't happening the way I would like them to go but when I allow the discontentment into my life that is when things take a turn for the worst. A simple argument between my children can lead to thoughts of wishing I had different kids....see?? a scary slope to be on and one that I believe God wants us so to guard our heart against. Instead of discontentment we are asked to be thankful in all things and to always be giving thanks.

In a moment of sheer frustration yesterday when the kids were once again hurling words and anger at each other in the van I turned to Conrad and said ' you know what? a parent of a sick child would have this any day over having to see their child suffer .' So in that moment even though my feelings may have been ones of frustration and anger I chose to thank God for my healthy children and that in that moment they were sitting in my van arguing with each other because I know I would rather have that any day over living a lonely, selfish existence of having things the way I think they should be.

I am sure there will be many moments of frustration over the period of summer holidays but I know for myself I want to guard against it breeding discontentment in my life because I know I have so much to be thankful for!!!

2009-06-23T18:21:00.014-05:00

MOMENTS to Remember

This weekend I got to know a little guy with the most beautiful smile that melts my heart and a twinkle in his eye that creates a longing inside of me to want to be a child again. I met a little girl whose laugh lights up a room, whose eyes are the most amazing hue of blue that pierce your heart. These two are my niece and nephew, my brother flew out for a visit I have not seen them 1.5 years and that is a long time when it comes to children, it took time for them to get to know me and I finally got little Blakey-Boy on my side just in time for them to leave again.

So many emotions were felt for me during this time of visiting, I longed to visit and share with my brother the way it had always been, I longed for complete family unity and seeing my family together and happy and lastly I longed for a memory to be created that would last a life-time not only for the kids but for the family here as well.

Here is what I can tell you, I did get to re-connect with my brother, not so much in heart to heart speaking but rather in time and in emotions felt through hugs a language much deeper than words. I did get to see family unity, a mother and son coming together also with words unspoken. A father and son spending some time alone together. And last but not least I got to see memories being created that will be taken with me for a lifetime.

Pictures were taken till it felt as though I couldn't take anymore, albums and DVD's were made for the kids so that they wouldn't forget their family here and most importantly peace was shared. I am thankful for so many things but right now most of all for family. A family that loves to laugh, hug and spend time together, it may get rowdy with 10 kids running around but the underlying feeling is love!

(click to enlarge photos)

Me and My brothers, and a small Fathers Day photo shoot.

My Beautiful Niece Amy~ you are a bright light little girl and I love your laugh and your stunning blue eyes.

My Nephew Blakey-Boy I will miss your smile, it really truly melts my heart!
You will be missed!!

Thanks Allan for taking the time to come and visit! Thanks Beck for lending us your family for the week, they are incredibly precious you are so blessed to have them as your family!!
Love you all so very much~

We also celebrated my honey's 39th birthday!!
Conrad you are the love of my life and I can't imagine my life without you!! I pray for many years of health and happiness, love you and can't wait to experience many more exciting moments with you!!

And of course Fathers Day, I am so blessed to have a father who I love so much and is tender, loving and a lot of fun and a Father-in-law that is an amazing grandparent and loves his family and we even get along ;) !!
Love you both!!

God is good and today as I rest my head on the pillow and shut my eyes there may be a few tears because I will miss my brother and his kids but I know without a doubt that I am blessed to be surrounded by the love of family whether near or far.

2009-06-14T17:32:00.004-05:00

Two Farmers

How do two farmers pass the time at a local town fair?

Talking fields, tractors, feeding systems, pigs and then repeat.

This is a picture of my dad and a fellow farmer that he met up with at the fair this weekend, they stood there chatting for over an hour and didn't notice the crowds passing by.

Some things never change, sure the time period and maybe the lack of overalls and a missing piece of straw in mouth but when two farmers come together with a common interest you might as well keep on walking and let them do their thing or find a seat close by and admire the passion that they have for what they do because after-all where would we be without the farmers in our world?

2009-06-07T19:58:00.004-05:00

Just Being There

Friday I spent time at Noah's track and field meet in a local town. It was freezing cold for a June day but decided to venture out to see him compete. As I was standing there watching him I found myself getting really emotional and I kept on telling myself 'Louise, seriously why are you tearing up, it is just a track meet with a bunch of kids', yet there I stood tears in my eyes watching my big boy.

His final event was a 100m relay with three other boys and as he ran his portion of the race I stood there screaming and cheering this time seriously welling up on the tears so I texted Conrad and I told him I thought it was crazy that I was crying watching Noah run because it isn't really a 'big -life' event, he quickly texted me back and said 'Louise ,they are all 'big-life' events and you are blessed to be able to share them with him, every moment that you share together is a 'life' moment. So I let the tears trickle and then quickly wiped them away before Noah could see I was so emotional, because afterall how cool would that be to an almost 11 year and his friends.

Living life is a series of 'life' moments strung together to make a lifetime of memories and I feel so blessed to have shared one of those moments with my son.

2009-06-04T10:49:00.003-05:00

Distraction of Comparison

Sitting in a room of friends looking around at everyone my mind can very easily wander and think up all sorts of not-so-positive things. A bunch of 'if-onlys' come to mind, you know what I mean, if only I was as creative as so and so, if only I had such a willingness to help others all the time like so and so, if only I could write as good as so and so, if only I was as smart as so and so. You know those thoughts and those are only the ones that we 'can't physically' see never mind the ones that we can see like someones nice legs, eyes, figure etc. It is so easy to become so wrapped up in what everyone has that we so easily forget what we have to offer.

There is such a negative flow of this in our culture today that we forget that there is a unique contribution to the Kingdom of God that only you or I can make. We are put here for a special purpose that only we can fulfill. That is the whole meaning of the body of Christ, God has placed unique abilities in everyone individually, I am not meant to fill the role of that one person who has such amazing God-given creative abilities in a certain area. So much time and effort is spent in trying to be like everyone else attempting to fill a role that I was never meant to fill. If only each member of the body of Christ could realize that they are here to be a part of the body not the entire body and if everyone does their part the body can function the way it was meant to function. That really helps me let go of all the frustration and the jealousy of trying to be like someone else and conjure up a gift inside of me that I just simply don't have? It really opens up the freedom to encourage someone in the role that they are meant to fill, without feeling like I am any 'less' of a person.

What it really boils down to is that if you are trying to be like everyone else and not doing what God put you here to do, I am missing out. Really, I am missing out, the world is missing out on that unique something that only you can share. There could be a book inside you that someone needs to read, there could be a message inside of you that will change someones life forever, there could be someone waiting to hear a life-changing song that you need to write, there could also be someone looking for the hand of God that only you can extend to them.

So just be you, don't be your neighbor, don't be your best friend, don't be the lady in your church that you admire so much..... Be you, because in God's eyes that IS good !! Don't get me wrong it is important to have good role models in our life but to want to be, just like them, is where I think we go wrong, unless of course that role model is Jesus.

I really didn't mean to get 'my preach on' but I really feel this is an area especially for women that we are battling and I really felt as though someone who reads my blog whether they comment or not needed to hear it. The most important thing I can to say to anyone is that God really loves you, He has amazing plans for your life and if you can catch even a glimpse of your potential in Him today then this post has served its purpose.

Have a great day everyone.

2009-05-27T21:43:00.003-05:00

Breath of Fresh Air.....

You know how it is when you feel like you've been going around the same problem in your head over and over again and somehow thinking that by going over it again and again that somehow it will be solved??

Then along comes someone and gives you a new perspective, a new take on it, a look from the outside and it feels like you have finally exhaled and taken in a long deep breath of fresh air.

I am the 'ask the questions and expect immediate answers' type person. I am so guilty of expecting God to show up and give me the answers when I think I need them instead of waiting for His timing and His presentation of the answer. Today that answer came in the form of a friend, someone that I am able to share my heart with completely without any judgement someone who inspires me to be a better person. What I got was not an 'Abra cadabra type make it all better type answer' but rather steps to walk out my questions. Taking actual steps forward so that direction can come with the overall outcome being real solid answers to questions that I have, after all you can't steer a car that is standing still.

This past couple of weeks has been tough searching for answers and each time feeling like I am coming up empty and today I feel like I have been a given a glimmer of light on my path and that I can take small steps everyday in becoming more of what God wants me to be.

Ask, Seek, Knock - Matt 7:7-11

⁷ "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who knock, the door will be opened.

Today I am thanking God for answers that come in His timing and His way!! and for friends who are willing to share their life without fear or intimidation with complete honesty and boldness!

2009-05-25T08:51:00.004-05:00

Morning Laughs....

With the pouring rain outside I drove my kids to school this morning and as I am about to park and let them hop out I say to them ' You are going to have to run because...(here I break out into song and sing loudly) 'It's raining men, Hallelujah, it's raining men.'

Keziah my seven year old jumps out of the van
and says ' Have a good day with all the men raining down, hope you find one.'

I laugh and say 'I already have one, remember? He is sitting at home.'

She replies matter-of-factly with a chuckle ' Well get him to rain down from the sky so you can catch him again.' and off she runs a big smile on her face.

I giggled all the way home.
My kids so often make me smile and laugh out loud, I hope that I will be remembered as a mom who was full of laughter and fun and that they will always know how much joy they bring to my life.

2009-05-18T12:29:00.006-05:00

Sweet Cuddles and an Abundance of Understanding

My brother and sis-in-law Candy bought a baby lamb, they have 40 acres of land and have the most beautiful place for this baby to eventually graze. It is the sweetest little thing named Andy. He loves to cuddle and sit among people and when there is no one around it has a little baa, very sweet.
My Ezra has fallen in love and spent many hours playing with Andy, running around and also cuddling. Andy spent time amusing all the kids as well as the adults, sat on my lap for a while and kept me warm.
I never knew that those animals were so sweet and loved being around us humans. Takes me to the parable in the bible (Matt 18:12-14)where the shepherd went back for the one lamb that was missing, a story to remind us all that no one is ever meant to be left behind and that God cares for each one of us as individuals. I can now see why they used that story to deliver that message to us. A sweet lamb with a precious little cry is enough to pull anybody's heart strings, how much more precious our cry out to God when we are lost and how much more His desire to meet us each where we are at.
A great reminder to me and a neat experience to hold this little lamb and know that we are both precious in the eyes of our creator.

2009-05-16T10:20:00.006-05:00

HAPPY 9th BIRTHDAY to my EZINATOR!!!!
You are an amazing kid with a big heart and a smile that lights up my world
not to mention the steel blue eyes and dimples
that make my heart smile.
You are blessed.
You are loved.
You have a great future ahead.
God loves you SO much
and so do we!!
~Hugs and Love,
from Mom, Dad, Noah and Keziah

2009-05-13T15:25:00.006-05:00

Special Times....

Today I had the pleasure of taking Ezra my middle child out for a date. I do this every year on or around their birthdays, take them out of school and make them feel special.
Our date started out going shopping and picking out a few special birthday gifts, small ones this year because I am taking all three kids to the Jonas Brothers in July and that is their big birthday gift.
So as we are walking through the mall Ezra grabs my hand and says ' thanks mom, this is the awesomest day ever'. Then we headed out to lunch at a 'fancy adult restaurant' as he calls it, as we approached the restaurant I noticed we'd be the first people there and I said that to him, he replies 'well then we will have a real date with each other and spend some quiet time together'...too cute. We had a fabulous/quiet lunch and were able to discuss so many different topics without his brother and sister there to interrupt. We talked about how he felt about being the 'middle child' and about how he is being disciplined and a bunch of other things....it was so special and it warmed my heart. He is such a special kid and I love going one on one with the kids and seeing a different side of them when they are alone.
He said so many special things one of them being ' no matter how much we argue mom I will always love you.'......sigh......Even though I fail too often it is amazing to see love and grace extended even from a child.

Happy Birthday Ezra, you are incredibly special and loved. You have an amazing future ahead of you!!
{{{{{Hugs}}}}}

**top picture taken at the restaurant with my crackberry
***other pic taken mothers day

2009-05-11T07:21:00.008-05:00

Mothers Day 09

What a wonderfully special day. Started out receiving a beautiful necklace, earrings and a card from my honey and the kids, the kids were so excited to give it to me they were huddled around me awaiting my response..too sweet. Then off to church and made to feel incredibly blessed and special, each mom received a bracelet and then charms could be purchased after church so my son Ezra bought me a charm for the bracelet.

After church it was off to brunch out at a local banquet center with my mom in law and father in law, I really appreciate them. They are incredible people and I am so thankful to have in laws that I love and get along with.

Then after a short nap it was off to supper at my mom and dad's place, that is always a place where we are guaranteed to have fun and a lot of laughs! I love the feeling of going home, grabbing a cup of fresh coffee and sitting with my mom and dad and my bros and their wives and chatting about our lives.

Life is good and my heart feels so full.

There are days when being a mother seems so overwhelming and filled with doubt but I know without a shadow of a doubt that I would never give up the opportunity to be the mom to my kids.

My heart goes out to all the women out there who are trying to conceive I am praying for you today and asking for God's hand upon you to heal, move and protect you today and grant you the desires of your heart!!

2009-05-04T19:15:00.005-05:00

NEW LIFE, NEW BEGINNINGS........

It truly amazes me how one can look at a little life so precious and not believe in God!
It also amazes me how a newborn knows how to turn to mom's breast for food and how they are unique with their own personality already. I am done the baby stage by almost 8 years and I am thankful I don't have to go back there but being around a newborn makes me realize how precious life truly is.
It is also a good reminder to me that each and everyday is a chance at a new beginning, even though I can't physically crawl back into the womb and be reborn I have each day to start anew, with new resolve. Each morning I have the opportunity to rise and spend time with the one who loves me the most and ask, where should I begin again? what should I leave behind? I have discovered a few answers to those questions and I am excited about some of the new beginnings in my life, one of them being leaving complete trust in God, knowing that He has my best interests at heart and even though things might not always work out the way I want them to I can trust that He knows what He is doing!!
I thought I'd share a new beginning with you, I had the honor of photographing my friend's newborn, his name is Cade....isn't he the sweetest ??

Have a blessed week , the start of a new beginning!!!

2009-04-30T11:09:00.003-05:00

Gripped.....

It seems in life we can be gripped by so many things, we allow things like fear, doubt, anxiety to take hold and grip us.
I got such an amazing picture of this the other day as I was tucking my sweet girl into bed, just moments before she was jumping around happy and laughing and giggling about something and then as soon as I pulled up the blanket up to her neck she looked at me and her eyes were full of tears. It was as if a wave had come over her and it had truly gripped her. I asked her what was wrong and she proceeded to tell me that she was so scared that something would happen to us and our house that it would be completely destroyed and everything would be lost. Wow this took me back a bit and then the preacher came out in this mama and I repeated 2Timothy 1:7 God has NOT given us a spirit of Fear but of Power, Love and a sound mind, and that means that this fear is not something that God has given to you and it is not something He wants you to think about, He wants you to have a SOUND mind, filled with peace and good thoughts. She asked me if I could print out the verse and put it up in her room so she could memorize it, which I did immediately and placed on her mirror, after we prayed she went on to have a peaceful sleep.
This is such a big deal in our society, every where I go there are people gripped walking around in a constant state of fear, anxiety,worry and it causes so many side affects, the biggest one being that we are not able to enjoy life the way that God intended us to enjoy it. Are there going to be issues in life to deal with and things pressed against us that may try to cause fear and anxiety? Absolutely put through it all with God as our source we are to be filled with a peace that passes all understanding and the JOY of the Lord as our strength.
I guess I am so passionate about this because I want my children to live life to the fullest, take time to be silly, to laugh, to love and live a full life and deals with issues as they arise but don't allow the problems in life to stop the joy and it breaks my mama heart when I see how easily fear can try to take hold and grip a child like that.
Of course there are days when I am sad or upset or just plain cranky because goodness I am human I just really don't want my circumstances to define me.
I love what someone once said, 'It is not about our circumstance because God IS our circumstance.' I want to purpose myself in life in such a way to try and live each day to the fullest even though I so often fall short I keep on keeping on because no matter what others may think GOD IS GOOD!!!

2009-04-19T12:43:00.004-05:00

Babies....

While my kids were helping my dad clean up my mom and dad's yard they came across a tiny discovery, two baby bunnies they didn't have their eyes open yet.

Ezra begged to take them home but I was not ready to feed them with droppers and explained to him they would be better off with their mom and if their mom doesn't come back then it is a natural process of life. He made my dad promise that he wouldn't kill them.

They were placed back in the bunny nest and covered up, on a side note did you know that the mother bunny sheds hair and places it over the nest in order to keep the babies warm?? really neat.

Here is a pic taken with my cell phone, not too clear. These are the babies in my 10 year old Noah's hands.

2009-04-14T17:21:00.008-05:00

We've Got a Flood...

On my way to work today and on the way home I took these pictures. We are experiencing flooding in the area due to the River flooding from melting snow and ice jams. Some houses are being destroyed, some are being protected by sandbags. Thankfully we are just out of reach of the flood and are not experiencing any difficulties. Our only inconvenience is that we will now have to drive 20-30mins extra in the morning to go to work, which is not bad considering there are a lot of people experiencing the stress of protecting their homes.
These are all taken along a highway outside of our town, even though it may look like a day at the lake it isn't this is all farm land....

2009-04-13T14:02:00.003-05:00

AGGRESSIVE TYPE WOMAN.....

Well the Easter weekend was exciting and somewhat uneventful. We took the kids plus and extra kid to a neighboring city for the weekend as Conrad had to work a home show on EASTER weekend,( I mean who plans a home show for Easter weekend), anyway.... So the kids spent every waking minute swimming and they felt super special to be able to order room service for supper twice, yup lazy mom not wanting to wait in line-ups with kids and wait in a restaurant for food so we ordered up, it was nice.

So I am driving my van home alone(3hour drive) with the kids on Sunday headed to my parents for a gathering as Conrad had to stay back to work Sunday all day. So we are approx. 1 hour into our drive when Ezra shouts from the back " Mom there is something making a really weird noise". I shut off the music and sure enough there is something strange going on. So I pull over climb out of the van in my four inch heals all dressed up for our gathering and bend down and check out the van from the bottom only to find my MUFFLER DRAGGING ON THE GROUND. Well I had a few choice words running through my head, none of which actually made an exit out of my mouth :) I climbed back in the vehicle and called Conrad, he explained he could be there in an hour to try and fix it or I could try and do it myself. Told him I would call him back and got changed into dirty clothes (in front of all the kids, to which Ezra said 'seriously mom that is sick' yes thank you son for that ego boosting comment). So once I had all my rolls safely hidden in place I asked one of the kids for their shoelaces. Once I got the shoelaces in hand I went the back of the vehicle to fix this thing, climbed under the van, tied up the muffler and IT WORKED, away we went, made it all the way home, dropped of the van at the shop and borrowed a vehicle to go to my gathering, which by the way was fabulous :) I love my family.

This morning I walked over to the shop to let the mechanic know what happened as I walked in the door he says 'Hey shoe lace lady' ah okay 'Hello.' I guess Conrad already called to explain. As I was explaining further what happened the mechanic says with a chuckle ' yes you are one of the aggressive type women'.......um say what???

As I am walking home I am pondering that statement, AGGRESSIVE TYPE WOMEN....is that a good thing? So I got the job done to drive the van home and that makes me an aggressive woman? Okay interesting....

So what do you think would you want to be called and AGRESSIVE TYPE WOMAN??

2009-04-04T12:27:00.007-06:00

Transformation....

While my daughter Keziah was away at Grandma's house for Spring Break I decided to re-do her room, it was a lot of fun and a lot of work but I think it was totally worth it, here are the pics :)

BEFORE

AFTER

Watching her face when she sees it for the first time : priceless

2009-04-01T15:48:00.006-06:00

Can I have that in Writing?

Those are the words I always say to my sweet Noah whenever:

*he tells me he will always love me

*and when we talk about what kind of woman he will marry

*and when I ask if he will still give me hugs and kisses.

Well imagine my surprise when this past weekend he told me that he actually wanted to put it into writing, 'um really?' I asked, 'that means that every time you are giving me a hard time later on in life I can walk you to my room, where it will be hanging, and show you what you promised'.

His response 'yup mom I know.'

So he actually nagged me for THREE days to get it done.......... I did it, got it done. Here it is
(Click to enlarge.)

2009-03-30T07:30:00.005-06:00

Spring Break.........

Kids are going to Granna & Papa's they leave this morning and come back on Friday night. So what do I have planned??

1) Re-doing my daughters room as a surprise for her, I am painting, the walls ,the furniture and hanging a cute chandelier. I hope to post before/after pics :)

2) Evenings chilling out with my man

3) Studying for my exam on Thursday..eeek

4) Sleeping in......

I am so blessed to have in-laws who take the kids every year for spring break, it is something the kids and the grandparents anticipate and gives me a great excuse to do some stuff around here and gives me time to relax and enjoy my man.

So in case you don't hear from me for a few days I am busy with one of the above.

I leave you with a pic of Conrad and Rex, who would have thought we'd ever have a dog and like having him around so much, this pic just goes to show you that anything is possible:)

2009-03-27T12:07:00.008-06:00

A Big Mess.....

A big huge mess, I can either get angry about it throw a mini-tantrum and then clean it up all the while still fuming letting it totally irritate me or I can look at it and deal with the fact that I made it, clean it up.

Got me thinking to all the times in my life where I have created a problem and stood there and stared at the problem, getting angry at it, calling it names, making excuses all the while thinking that the problem which I made to begin with would clean itself up. When I really could have used the other approach and looked at the problem, admitted my part in it and gone through the process of cleaning it up. Why does it sometimes seem easier to throw a tantrum at the problem rather than cleaning it up? when in actuality all I am doing is hurting myself. When do I become mature enough to stop creating excuses and begin taking the steps to cleaning up the problem.

This has been an ongoing struggle with me in terms of losing weight, believe me I can think of all the excuses in the book and I can throw a heck of a tantrum about it and beat myself up telling myself all sorts of nasty things when in all actuality I did this to myself. No one spoon fed me the cravings I had, nobody made me do anything that I didn't do to myself. Yet when I see the mountain I have to climb I can so easily allow myself into the thinking that it will never happen so why bother. As I was exactly on that thought process I heard a little voice inside of me say 'take it one day at a time Louise'. That is it, that is the key, God has promised to NEVER leave us or forsake us and He truly does care about my problems even though they may seem insignificant to the world, He loves and cares about me. Knowing that I am not on this journey alone is so reassuring. The world wants to compete for beauty, for weight for anything and everything, and yet I know for me this is a journey in cleaning up a mess a little bit everyday that I have made and do it with a good attitude.

I have failed in this area more times than I can count and who knows I may fail again but what I do know is that no matter what, as my daughter told me just the other day, ' It doesn't matter what the number on the scale says mom, all that matters is that you believe in yourself and that you love God.' wise words from a 7 year old.

So here I begin my process of cleaning up...............
Every Friday I am weighing in and will be doing updates every Friday I have a friend who has joined me on this journey for those of you who want to join us, please do.
Today I was down 2 :) It is a start up the mountain I must climb!!
I will entitle each post Cleaning Up the Mess Fridays.........stay tuned!

**** that picture above is a real mess that I made last night, I laughed it off and told the kids, 'there is no use crying over spilled milk' I managed to clean it up with a good attitude :) its a start!!

2009-03-26T09:40:00.009-06:00

MR. FANCY OFFICE PANTS.....

Well okay maybe not but imagine my delight when I saw my eldest son sitting by my laptop looking deep in thought clicking away wearing his shirt and tie.
These were my thoughts...
1) He is looking WAY to grown up.
2) Why is he dressed like this??...oh yes he was finding something suitable to wear to the symphony with his class...um looks good, too bad it was canceled due to another snow day :(
3) This might be what his work attire will be someday and if that is the case his wife better LOVE a man in a suit.
4) I really don't want him to grow up right now, is it true that age 10 is the perfect year for boys??? I mean which boys still love to cuddle and give their moms a big hug and WAIT for a smooch on the lips...I pray that lasts!
5) I SO love this boy who was a surprise for us and I feel so blessed that God gave him to me to parent, I pray that I do a good job and raise him to be a respectable, God-loving young man!!

****notice that lack of much snow out the back window? that was BEFORE the storm hit we now have at least a foot of snow...grrr and there we saw grass for a fleeting moment now it feels like Christmas all over again :(

2009-03-24T11:53:00.006-06:00

Trying to Fill Those Shoes........

I think the most important shoes to fill
are your own,
because after all no one can do
what you were born to do!
So don't compare yourself to others.
Be you, Be real and You WILL Shine :)

~LouiseH

**if you are looking for the UBP scroll down :)

2009-03-20T07:43:00.023-06:00

Welcome to my first ever UltimateBlog Party....

Grab a cup of coffee and lets have a chat.....

I am Louise Hoeppner, 32 years old living in the center of Canada. I have been married for 11 years to the most wonderful man Conrad(pictured with me above) who was a former pianist for the local professional ballet company, he switched careers to construction sales a few years back since he lost his love of music. He has since slowly regained his love of music and is currently writing and recording his own music on the side, stay tuned to my blog for recordings.

We have three children aged 10, 8 and 7. They are all in school full-time but keep me busy when they are around since they are at the lovely stage of constant 'conversation' as they like to call it, I call it bickering :) . I have been blessed though to stay at home with them while they were little and I don't regret it one bit!!

My oldest son Noah loves TaeKwondo is currently a yellow belt. I like to call him my future engineer he loves taking things apart, building and figuring everything out. He is the child that still asks why?how? at every turn constantly trying to learn more. I usually leave those questions for dad. What I love most is that he is still giving me big hugs and smooches....is 10 really the golden age for boys?

My middle child is Ezra he is definitely gifted at music this week he figured out Fur Elise by Beethoven by ear and also transposes music to guitar, he is also my strong-willed child I know that whatever he puts his mind to he will accomplish. Always the entertainer he keeps our family laughing with his random actions and comments.

My youngest is a girl named Keziah (Kez-ee-ah) huge High School Musical fan, a bit of a cheeky attitude but a heart of gold and is a bubble of energy, she also enjoys TaeKwondo and is working on her yellow stripe.
She is a bunch of fun when the camera comes, loves to bring out the silly poses.

Well that is my family, now about a bit about me I was a stay at home mom until this past year, I re-joined the travel industry. I love to travel we took the kids to Cuba for a week in January then my hubby and I went on a Caribbean Cruise. In October I am heading out on a trip to Europe to London then on to Barcelona for a 12 day Mediterranean cruise with a girlfriend.
If I could travel once a month I would but I know that right now my priority is raising those kids to become active/productive God -loving members of society. I am blessed to have a husband who encourages my travels and subsidizes :)

A few things I love, not in order:

1) First cup of coffee everyday
2) time with friends, sleepovers, coffeeing, watching the Bachelor - sad yes ;)
3) a great belly laugh, I love a good laugh
4) my kids they bring me amazement and wonder every single day
5) my amazing hubby even though there have been ups and downs we are still together going stronger than ever :)
6) prairie sunsets
7) scrapbooking
8)chocolate milk...well anything chocolate for that matter
9)my hubby playing piano till my kids fall asleep
10) snuggling in a blanket with a good book
11) my dog Rex ( big name for a little dog) pekingnese/shitzu cross
12) music-such a variety can't pinpoint my favorite
13) Jesus ,His Word and His unconditional love :)
14) taking pictures of anything and everything especially my kids

Life is good and there is so much more I could tell you all but I hope to see you again !!

Leave a comment and I'll be sure to stop by your party!

Have a fabulous day :) Again thanks for taking the time to stop by!

2009-03-16T12:14:00.006-06:00

Reflections of a Cookie Cutter Life...

As I was driving home from my in-laws last night this came to my mind, Louise you live a cookie cutter life, a cute little family, married and living in a suburb. I can't help but look at my life and believe I do have what the general population would call a 'cookie cutter life'.

The reason I say that is partly because of my family and Conrad's family, both our parents are still happily married , his for 43 years and mine for 36. My mom's parents are still together this year it will be 61 years, my dad's parents and Conrad's grandparents were together with their spouses until one of them passed away.

It is truly amazing in this day where most of the kids at school come from divorced families or have had their families affected by divorce or separation in some way. There is so much hurt all around and I have been fortunate enough to have not been affected by what society calls the 'norm' these days. I am happy and contented with my cookie cutter life. Growing up with parents that have always shown and given love, in-laws who I love dearly who I call Mom and Dad and they call me daughter and do so happily(I hope ;) )

As I continued driving and my children were sleeping behind me I prayed that they too could experience the 'cookie-cutter' life. Is our marriage always perfect and smooth? absolutely not, it takes work and time but I know that with God's help we can walk through this journey of life together and do so happily.

I know that people reading this may not have had the same experience as I, others will have. What I do know is that all of us have our own stories to tell about how circumstances in our life has affected who we today. I felt that I needed to express how blessed I was realizing this on my ride home, it made all the moments of 'growth' truly worth it.

What is your story?

2009-03-08T13:07:00.006-06:00

WHEN IS IT TIME TO LET GO?

My dear daughter has fallen in love not with a boy, but with a pair of mittens. These mittens go everywhere with her on these cold Canadian days. They follow her to school, church and even the doctors office where I get a strange look from the doctor and I reply to the look with, 'No really, we can afford new mittens, in fact she has not one but TWO other options to choose from' ...yet she hangs on to her favorite. The dear doctor then replies with a wink ' maybe these need to get lost?!'.....I begin to nod in agreement with the wise man when out of the corner of my eye I see my daughter fold her arms, her mittens safely resting in the fold of her arm and a glare beginning to form and then it comes ,THE threat 'don't even think of it mom.'
Every time I see these little friends I pick them up and walk them over to the 'bin of death' and as I am about to drop them into their new home I hear my daughter say 'don't even think of it mom' and I stop...
SO I send my daughter off to school everyday with her favorite mittens wishing, hoping that someday soon she will look at me and say...'okay mom I think it is time to let go.' It's either that or spring will hopefully come soon and she will no longer need mittens.
I could get into so many deep theories and thoughts on this topic but instead I have decided to share with you all the precious mittens that should really have a name of their own by now........here they are.....aren't they beautiful?! (if you want a close look, click on the pictures to view a larger image :} )

2009-03-04T09:54:00.006-06:00

WHAT DO YOU SAY?

This morning started like any other, parents and kids rushing around getting ready for our various things we had to do today when I stopped and looked at my middle son and had this conversation...

"Ezra did you ever apologize to that girl you kicked at school the other day?"

'Umm I think so.' Ez

"Not good enough, did you or did you not apologize?"

'I don't think so.' Ez

"Well then that is your job today at school, I want you to find that girl at school and apologize for kicking her"

'No mom I don't' want to, it wasn't my fault and I am not the only one'. Ez

" It doesn't matter whose fault it is, you have to take responsibility for your actions and apologize"

Insert wailing and gnashing of teeth from middle son Ezra.

Meanwhile I am standing my ground and not backing down, letting him know that Noah(oldest son) will find him at first recess and walk with him to find the girl and apologize and if he doesn't do that Noah will call me and I will call the principle and get her involved.

Insert MORE wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Then he stops and turns to me and says emphatically
'WHY DO YOU HAVE TO TAKE YOUR JOB SO SERIOUSLY?'

This caught a bit off guard and this is what I told him...

" Because I am not raising kids, I am raising adults and if you have such a difficult time humbling yourself to apologize to a girl that you hurt at school imagine what a rough time you will have apologizing to your wife someday when you hurt her, the only thing in the way is your pride."

So I dropped him off at school needless to say he was very angry with me and slammed the door and walked away....so today I am praying for my boy that he can swallow his pride and humbly walk to this girl and apologize.

As a mother I always hope I am doing the right thing and doing my best to raise my kids to be loving adults goodness knows it isn't easy but I really hope all this pays off......

****update Ezra came home from school and let me know that the girl wasn't there today but stated that he WOULD go and apologize to her tomorrow if she is there.....I guess with a little time to think it wasn't so bad afterall, now hopefully he remembers tomorrow..you can bet I'll remind him ;) thanks for all your words of encouragement!!
*********Update, Ezra did in fact apologize and shared that it felt really good to do that and that next time it won't be so hard!!! (AMEN my mother's heart smiles)

2009-02-27T18:01:00.004-06:00

When all else fails be thankful....

Do you ever experience those times in your life where everyday blends into the next? Where you get into the routine of life and not that it is a bad thing but it is monotonous. I am not complaining ,I am really enjoying my somewhat new job. I drive in to the big city 3-4 days a week and spend 5 hours in an office with great company, my friend Lisa. I love it I am enjoying the job and it is offering exciting opportunities for the future. But as for life in general it is LIFE.
Tomorrow me and my hubby go to a Marriage workshop for the day and the kiddies go to Oma and Opas for the weekend, that should be good/interesting.
What I do know is that even though all the days may be busy and blending into each other I have so very much to be thankful for.....
Health
Happiness
Peace
A WARM house
Great/Supportive/Kind/Loving Hubby
Awesome kids
An Abundance of Friends
Opportunities to see the world
A new TV(shallow I know ;) )
.......the list could go on and on and I guess that is really what is important after all, that no matter what that I remain thankful.

Have a great weekend bloggie friends.

2009-02-25T19:32:00.002-06:00

Apparently......

I still have nothing exciting to share but I did have someone who wanted to say hello :)

2009-02-20T09:21:00.004-06:00

You know how it is.....

I am sure you have all been there...sitting in front of your computer screen and nothing..just blank, nothing really to share, nothing deep to discuss its just blah. That is where I am these days. So till I have something worth blogging about I will post a picture or two.
Have a great weekend :)

2009-02-16T13:44:00.004-06:00

This Thing We Like To Call 'GEE'.....

So back in grade 5 my friend Brenda and I met and since then we have shared many memories together one of them happened when we were in about grade 9 and we were being silly and laying on our beds falling off and sticking out our arms making strange noises one of them being"GEEE" (just as it sounds). Since then this has been a joke of ours at totally random times. So when we went on the cruise together we thought ' why not take some pictures together' and ended up doing this pose...here it is....

The photographer laughed and said " Ah yes the proverbial Spider Man Pose" well this made us laugh even more...ahh good times. We did manage to get a 'normal picture' together.

A friend for a lifetime. Even though we may not see each other often when we do we pick up where we left off. I am SO blessed by this girl and her life is a testament to all those around her. Fun is always part of the equation when we are together complete with eye-rolling from our husbands.
Friends are such a blessing and today I am thankful for Brenda...GEE to you babe!!

** at sometime I will tell you all about a very interesting game to play at busy airports during a layover.....stay tuned ;) Brenda taught me!

2009-02-12T09:08:00.009-06:00

A tidbit about my trip.....

This one is entitled FRUSTRATED.
SO the week before we left on the cruise I went shopping for the perfect bathing suit, I spent HOURS searching for something I could wear and I finally found something that I actually liked. I packed it and was excited to wear it, I packed an old bathing suit of the same color as well just in case I needed another one. WELL we get to Minneapolis and decide to lighten our load a bit so that we can buy a few things at the other end, so I decided to take out my extra bathing suit and leave it in the vehicle. We arrive on our cruise and I am wanting to head to the spa and begin the search for my bathing suit top and realize...YUP I packed it in the vehicle with my old bathing suit..so here I was with bathing suit bottoms and no top...option number #1 topless all week..UM NOOOO, might get arrested for that, #2 borrow from my friend who is much smaller than me.... Can you say stuffing blimpie into a tube?! LOL #3 go shopping for one....the ship had none and I didn't want to go through the HOURS again while in port. SO here is what I did, I wore a lingerie top as my suit top(which actually was bathing suit material and was stretchy...no worries no lace here!!)....needless to say that most of my pictures have way too much cleavage for my liking....sigh....Tip to all travellers....DO NOT REPACK WHEN YOU HAVE ALREADY LEFT HOME!!!

WARNING:Following is a before and after shot of one of my favorite pictures of the trip at StingRay City in Grand Cayman and how I tried to 'fix' it.....proceed with caution.....sigh...

BEFORE

AND AFTER.....Ahhh much better.....

2009-02-09T14:50:00.008-06:00

Home Sweet Home...

We are home from an incredible trip. The Ruby Princess was more than I could have imagined, we were treated like royalty, I mean how many times to you get asked at dinner by your waiter if you'd like seconds of fresh Lobster, Shrimp and King Crab and then crack everything open for you and get the meat out in front of you and allow you to enjoy it...sigh...it was fabulous. (Yes it is always about the food for me ;) )
I got to spend a lot of time alone with Conrad we celebrated our 11th anniversary onboard and spent time with friends of ours. We also met a fabulous couple from England that shared a table at dinner with us about our parent's age and we now have a house all to ourselves for free to stay in England if we decide to travel there, they were super sweet. We got to laugh at all the unique sayings that they have over there that I was using that meant something altogether different than I had imagined...good times.
The ship itself was HUGE, so many different areas to explore and roam, there was movies under the stars outside ,which is a massive tv screen with amazing sound that played movies all day like The new Batman movie, 27 Dresses, U2 concert, Mama Mia and last Sunday the Super Bowl Live..it was amazing..really neat.
Conrad bought Brenda and I a one week pass to the Thermal Spa which again was just a treat and amazing. It consisted of heated marble contoured slabs to lay on, 3 different saunas.( 1 scented, 1 steam, and 1 dry heat with heated slabs to sit on), and 2 tropical showers and they only sold 40 passes for the entire ship so it was never full in there, it was a heavenly escape after a busy day.
All the stops were amazing as well.....Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Bahammas. I have pictures and will post more about our adventures soon.
Till then....I hope you all had a fabulous week!
I will post again soon I hope...have an exam this week and a bit behind :(

(click on pictures for larger images)

2009-01-28T17:30:00.002-06:00

We are off.....

Once again I am packing this time only for my hubby and myself, no guns(Jan 8th post) to worry about this time...whew.
This time we will be cruising on the Ruby Princess on a Western Caribbean cruise with some friends. I hope to have time for email and internet and if I do I will try and post, if not I'll be back on the 10th.
I am so thankful for my in-laws who are moving in for 11 days to take care of our kids, what a blessing....
Have a great week everyone.
{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}} to you all!

2009-01-23T08:04:00.004-06:00

11 Years ago today.....It was a Friday just like this...

I was nervous, my stomach was turning with apprehension and excitement I had just turned 21 and it was now my day to walk down the aisle with my dad. At the end of the aisle waiting for me was a young 27 year old beaming with happiness and a bit of apprehension too. I was four months pregnant and hoping to get through the day without any sort of 'morning-sickness'.

Does this sound like the perfect way to start a marriage? Many would say no, even I would have said it before it happened to me. Conrad says he knew he wanted to marry me a week after he met me, I wasn't so sure but as time passed by I realized too that this was the man I wanted to be with. It was after that realization that we found out we were expecting. BIG news for our families and friends and a shock for us. Yes I admit this was a tough time for all of us but we all came together .Conrad and I never once doubted that we wanted to be together,the moms basically planned the whole wedding as I was dealing with being tired, career college and morning sickness. I am SO incredibly grateful for the two moms who planned the perfect wedding day. It was beautiful, black and white with red roses.

We have come a LONG way since then it seems, Noah was born 5 months after we got married, that was a huge adjustment for us, never once have we looked at him as a mistake, he was our surprise and the time for him to be born was perfect. Since then we have added two more to our family had our share of ups and downs but I still choose Conrad everyday. He is definitely the one for me,he has a heart for God, he is patient, kind, an awesome father, friend and lover.

Yes the beginning might not have been 'the fairytale way' to begin but I don't regret it one bit I consider myself blessed to have married someone who is willing everyday to work on the marriage part and has blessed me so much as a friend.

I am praying for MANY more years together.....the best is yet to come!!

Happy Anniversary babe!!

2009-01-20T15:37:00.014-06:00

Time to breathe....

Since coming home I have needed time to breathe so here I sit and will make the time. I thought I would share with you all a little bit of what I wrote while on the road back to the airport from our hotel.....and a few pictures of course.....

January 16th, 2009 -9:30am
Driving through the countryside on route to the airport I have many thoughts on this 3 hour journey on rough roads destroyed by the hurricanes through various towns and villages. I see many things that I long to understand, I have had the privilege of traveling to many different countries and seeing people in various walks of life yet the Cuban people amaze me each time I visit. They seem so happy and contented with a life that we would deem extremely simple and yet there is a part of me that longs for simplicity.
I peer through a shuttered window and see a single rocking chair in a tiny room and think to myself what is the life of the person who sits there daily, what are their dreams? do they have a family? As I look through another window I see five women all sitting in a circle, is this their version of "morning coffee?" As we continue to drive along a kind lady blows me a kiss, a little boy smiles and waves, an elderly lady is sitting on her porch enjoying the fresh air, a young couple is sitting on a swing deep in conversation.... there are so many people everywhere.
What do they think of us people who travel into their country by the thousands most not wanting to immerse themselves in the country but rather want a speedy trip to the bubble of a 5 star hotel in the lap of 'Cuban luxury' while still complaining about the best that Cubans have to offer?!
We are without a doubt blessed by the wealth that we live in everyday just because we live in Canada, yet I am sure if you'd ask most Cubans they too would say they are blessed. For what is the standard by which we judge blessing and wealth is it by the stuff that we accumulate and the houses we live in? or is it by the love of family and friends that surrounds each of us.
Each time I visit I become so aware of the consumerism that surrounds our culture and how easily I fall into it and each time I make the resolution that I need to be more thankful everyday with what I have instead of always wanting more.
Goodbye Cuba I know I will visit again............

**** about 170 pictures on Facebook for those of you who know me on there ;)

2009-01-17T18:34:00.003-06:00

We are home.....

It was an awesome trip, great memories with the kids, my brother, his wife and my nephew.
Its been crazy since we got home and it will be for the next few days, I will post more when I have time .
Hope you are all doing well!
:)

2009-01-08T21:03:00.004-06:00

SERIOUSLY.....

Okay so most of you know how us moms work, they check and double check until they know that they have everything they need an upcoming trip. So imagine my horror when I found this item safely tucked into my middle son's CARRY ON luggage, I will give you a hint this is what it would look like on the security scan........

UM YEAH........

I can see the headlines now
"Family Misses Vacation While Waiting for Someone to Post Bail".....gotta wonder what these children think sometimes, they DO keep us on our toes. YIKERS close call!

We are off to the airport in 5 hours and I need to finish packing and maybe get a few ZZzzzzs.

Adios, catcha all later! :)

2009-01-07T09:14:00.002-06:00

Life moves at a steady pace.......

WOW things have been a little nuts around here since the holidays, I have officially started in the travel office in the big city, so far so good. I have been enjoying the commute and short days I work from 9:30-2pm and home early enough to get a bit done at home before the kids are home. So far I am only going in three days a week.
We leave in 48 hours for our family vacation to Cuba, I have a friends daughter coming to house sit so I have to have my house in order before I leave. I am almost finished packing and have a few last minute things to pick up. The kids are so excited they can hardly sleep at night. I am praying for good weather, safe travels and a lot of fun with the kids and my brother and his family.
So I won't be around till we get back.
Hope you are all well :)
HUGS to you ALL!

2008-12-28T22:07:00.007-06:00

Moments...

Family time is so precious.
Love expressed in time with each other.
Laughter.
Joy.
F-U-N !!
Thought I'd share a few of our moments this past week.

Frost on Ezra's lashes during skating at my brothers place. Yes it was cold but it was a lot of fun too, loved watching all the boys playing hockey and I skated too and managed not to fall and I even remembered how to stop :)

Me and my Sis-in-Law and Friend Candy. I love this girl she is so special and dear to me, we can have so many good laughs together and then get really serious and have great heart to hearts...love you Candy-balls!!

Me giving my brother Sheldon some love. I have grown very close to this brother of mine and I am so blessed to have him in my life. Most would say he is the male version of me and vice versa to him. We love to laugh and that is what we do best, he is so wonderful with my kids and they love their Uncle Sheldon.

Beautiful Sunset over the prairies on Christmas Eve. No photoshop was used ,these are the actual colors. God is amazing, I love how He paints us a picture each night.

There were many wonderful moments, many more pictures to share but of all the moments this one is near and dear to my heart as a mom.....pictured below are my second and third child in a very rare moment where they are not arguing and driving each other crazy, a moment where they are actually showing each other love and affection and to me that is one of my favorites gifts of this Christmas!! My prayer is that someday they will grow up to be friends, that would make my heart smile :)

Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas!!
Bless you all!!

2008-12-22T10:09:00.005-06:00

All things "L"...

As many of you know I love to scrapbook, make cards and do crafty things like that and my hubby built me a special room of my own to do just that. Well yesterday we were preparing for birthday party #1 with my family and he disappeared into the basement to 'work' on something.
At my birthday party it was revealed he made me a card and it had to do with all things "L"....so supposedly the theme for my birthday and Christmas this year is things that begin with L. So far I got Luggage, Lipgloss and Lingerie.....mmmm now I am thinking what else starts with L, any ideas??

Today is my official 32 birthday, I will be enjoying an evening out with a bunch of friends going out for dinner and then we are heading back to my place to indulge in the White Chocolate Cheesecake so lovingly prepared by Conrad....it is DELICIOUS I had a piece last night, yum yum!!

Have a great day :)

2008-12-20T10:31:00.005-06:00

Someone is thinking about the future.....

Every year for my birthday Conrad makes his White Chocolate Cheesecake and we have a bunch of people over to share it with. It is a hit, extremely rich but enjoyed by everyone. So this year as we were talking about it, this was the conversation between Noah(10) and Conrad.

Noah - 'Dad you are going to have to teach me how to make that cheesecake.'

Conrad- 'Okay, why is that?'

Noah- 'Well so I can make it for my wife for her birthday.'

Well I guess his wife better like cheesecake :)

Have a great weekend everyone!!

2008-12-18T18:12:00.004-06:00

Christmas Beauty.....

Tonight is the Christmas concert for my youngest two. Kezy took a bath , did her hair, got dressed all pretty then she comes to me and says ' I am only allowed to wear make-up for concerts' ...hmm interesting, I don't think I've ever told her that?! Anyway she had lipgloss on so I guess that isn't too over the top :) !!
Had to share a pic of my little princess who is growing up WAY too fast!!

2008-12-15T22:02:00.002-06:00

Feeling like a child again....

I feel like a kid again, my stomach doing flip-flops, daydreaming about coming events, imagining all the fun times the gatherings will bring. I absolutely love this time of year. I am filled with joy and peace. As I anticipate next week with all the eagerness of a child, I look forward to the love and the closeness with friends and family and the memories being built with each tick of the clock.
It passes by too quickly and I want to savor each moment. I am so blessed to be surrounded by love all around me, I will remember to pray for those who are hurting and alone and pray that I can be a blessing in return.
As the next week draws closer I want to continually take the time not to get caught up in the busyness of it all but remember to continually anticipate the coming week like that of a child and
never forget the reason
for it all
a cute little babe, who came for you and for me, so we may
have
JOY & PEACE
in our hearts
for all eternity!!

Enjoy the countdown everyone, blessings to you all!!!
HUGS

2008-12-14T16:40:00.003-06:00

I LOVE CHRISTMAS WITH FRIENDS

Laughter.
Presents.
Heart to Hearts.
Joy.
Love.
Blessings.
Food.
Fun.
Smiles.
Great times.

2008-12-12T08:08:00.004-06:00

Dreams DO Come True......

My hubby and I have been to Cuba three times and each time my heart has grown a stronger tie to the place, so much so that in the evenings we have been playing the music that we bought there and both me and my hubby felt 'homesick' for Cuba.
It has been a dream for us to take the kids there and show them a completely different way of life and have them see for themselves the children who receive some of their toys....WELL we booked a trip last night for our whole family! I am SO super excited!! Our kids are thrilled and already looking through their toys to see what they can bring to give away. This is going to be amazing, my heart is brimming with joy! We'll be spending one week there in early January.

It IS true, Dreams DO COME TRUE!!!

2008-12-10T22:32:00.004-06:00

My Son...

Noah just started Taekwondo in the fall and today he did his first test for yellow stripe. I am proud of that kid, he is usually so quiet and even tempered that doing something like this is a bit of a stretch for him with the yelling and all.
It surprises me that he is totally in his element, he is loving it!!
Keziah decided she will join in January instead of continuing on with dance so I am sure I will see a lot more of these tests in the future!
Tomorrow we find out whether or not he made his yellow stripe.
Thought I'd share some pics!
GREAT JOB NOAH!! I AM SO PROUD OF YOU :)

2008-12-09T00:09:00.003-06:00

Friends.....

I have been so lucky to have been blessed with an abundance of friends, I have such a variety of friends flowing in various different circles and each one is a special part of my life. Tonight I had the fortune of getting together with one bunch who is so special to me, one my friend and manager, one a life-long friend it seems even though it has only been 9.5 years she has been with me through the birth of two of my kids, one I have known for 8 years and the newest I have known for about two years. When we get together we laugh, we share and we eat, but we always have a great time. This time Lisa got the brilliant idea that she would bring all her stocking stuff to wrap...yeah STOCKING stuff, have you every seen so much stocking stuff....well since she is leaving for a cruise to Hawaii on Friday we decided we would be good friends and help...
We got a bit wild and scary looking but so much fun!
What a blessing!!
And what a great time of year to remember all the
people in our lives who make us laugh and smile!!

2008-12-05T10:32:00.002-06:00

Sign of Truth.....

This quote is posted on a local sign in our neighborhood and it got me thinking......

ENVY is the ART of counting someone else's blessings instead of your own. ~Harold Coffin

There is a lot of truth in that, so as I go into the weekend I will remember to count my own blessings, there are so many..where do I begin...
1) Health
2) my family
3) warm house
4) this awesome season
5) friends that are such a blessing in my life
I could go on and I will go on just not on here.....

Have a blessed weekend all!!

2008-12-04T09:24:00.007-06:00

Oh the things we do...

Okay maybe not everyone tortures their dog by making them wear little shirts or sweaters I happen to think it is cute.
On this particular occasion I got my pup to wear a hat, at first he didn't like it and took it off immediately but a little persistence pays off...heehee....one more try and he looks at me as if to say ' okay lady I'll indulge you but GET THIS OVER WITH'...so click,click,click goes the camera.

I'd like to call these pictures SANTA DOGGIE.....enjoy ;)

2008-12-02T08:56:00.003-06:00

Morning Sunshine...

I don't know about you but I am not a morning person, oh I force myself to get up early and do my exercise and devotions but it is not the time of day that I 'shine' . I am usually a 'talk to me after my first cup of coffee' type person. Then there are those that do shine in the morning, those that smile, say good morning cheerfully, are filled with hugs and kisses and I have not one but two of those people at my place I just happened to capture one this morning. It makes me smile to see my kids being able to start off the day with a good attitude(at least somedays ;) ).
So today as you get up and start your day my hope for you is that something in your life can make you smile!! HUGS friends :)

2008-11-30T12:34:00.004-06:00

Decorating the tree....

Yesterday we spent the morning with our Grandpa Hugh decorating the tree. The kids become so excited about placing their special ornaments on the tree, everything from Kindergarten crafts to their annual ornament from us. I call ours the 'Eclectic Christmas Tree', it is not designer, it is not matching but it is all from the heart, each ornament a special memory of a time not so long ago. This is my tree and I am proud.

As we spent time together as a family decorating our tree I was reminded that life isn't about me and what I can have and what I can get and what I can do to get someone else's approval, but it is about these moments- creating memories with my children, about growing closer in relationship with my hubby about reaching out to those around us and making them feel welcome in our lives.

I love this season and the special times with friends and family, I pray that I am reminded daily in my walk with God about the bigger picture, reaching out to others and making them feel welcome in my world.

2008-11-27T09:20:00.009-06:00

What a Dream Come True.....

So a few days back I shared that my friend got me a ticket to see Kenny Rogers Christmas/Hits Concert and I shared that it is so sentimental to me because we always listened to his Christmas album when I was growing up so I have so many memories tied into it. I listen to it now with my own family...WELL last night was the concert! It was amazing, I laughed he is such an entertainer and I cried, heave sobbed practically because I felt so humbled being able to listen to those songs live, I felt like a kid again. The most amazing moment of the evening for me was going on stage ,yup ON STAGE with Kenny to help sing the Twelve Days of Christmas, how I got this you might ask? Well I volunteered jumped up and down waving my hands like a crazed teenager, he looked at me and said 'have you been drinking?' I said 'nope no way' he said 'come on up but I swear if you have been drinking I will make this very difficult for you.' So I ran up there little did he know that what he thought was me being 'happy' was me just genuinely excited to be in his presence...lol....SO I started out at #10 but #2 couldn't sing she was so giggly so he walked her over to me then led me with his arm at my back to position number #2 Two Turtle Doves, what a funny, nervous experience my mouth went immediately dry and I was freaking a bit, but I got my act together and was able to fulfill my part. The man beside me (A Partridge in a Pear Tree) was amazing he had a great loud voice and flapped his arms, had the whole place in a fit of laughter including Kenny, so neat!! I had a few moments of direct eye contact with Kenny ( he was just probably making sure I hadn't had 'too' much) and at the end I thanked him SO much for this experience, it was a moment I will treasure forever, our little cards were autographed by him. The BEST part of it ALL, my mom and dad were in the audience to see it all happen, I couldn't have wished it any better myself I have tears just thinking about it!!

2008-11-24T20:03:00.006-06:00

Here it is...

Okay so I mentioned something last week that I wasn't able to share till Sunday and I've had a couple people asking me so here it is, NO I am not pregnant...teehee

About 3 months ago I got an invite in the mail to for a surprise celebration for one of Conrad's aunts her 60th birthday celebration(she seriously doesn't look a day over 40) it was to be a ladies only event that included arriving at the Fort Gary Hotel at noon then proceeding to the spa for a day of treatment, then dinner out to a fine dining location then a night at the hotel with the huge buffet breakfast the next morning which included a chocolate fountain and the best part? all paid for by her husband who wanted her to feel like a princess and feel completely and utterly loved. How sweet is that?

WELL that took place this past weekend from Saturday to Sunday, I must admit I was a little worried because our spa experience (The Haman Treatment and a facial) involved all of us to be oh what should I say, half naked...yeah a little cloth type thing wrapped around your completely naked body, does that sound like a good time?and yeah I have never been the smallest in the bunch so this was a tad intimidating . I have never been really close with Conrad's extended family, his aunts(except one) and his cousins and well my sister in law for that matter but this weekend I can honestly say changed all that. I got to see a side of them all that isn't usually shown at family gatherings, it was a lot of fun. I managed to get over my fear of being seen half naked in front of all my 'model like family' and thoroughly enjoyed this time. The treatment was amazing, and I would recommend it to everyone supposedly there are only two of these facilities in North America and we are fortunate to have one right here. It involves rubbing yourself down in a really hot steam room with salt and then laying on a heated marble slab and receiving a head to toe wash from an attendant and foot and leg massage and then a mud treatment all in this large dimly lit, really hot room, man it does wonders for the skin!! My aunt the birthday girl laughed at me as I lay there moaning. It was amazing...

The rest of the weekend went so well, I had Lobster for dinner then we all gathered for cake and coffee in her suite and enjoyed a few hearty laughs, and yes I couldn't disappoint the family by being invited along as the 'unofficial' entertainment so I managed to get a few good laughs going and had to apologize on Conrad's behalf the next day for any behaviour that was out of line.....ah yes you see in my family there is really no topic that isn't talked about or discussed and in Conrad's family we talk mainly about politics and the weather so I tried to do my part to keep the atmosphere light, I managed to get a few jaws dropping but all in good fun.

My roommate was one of Conrad's aunts who I get along with so well (and is almost my age ), we giggled till all hours of the night and had so many good laughs and grea t chats it was a night I won't soon forget!

I was blessed to have this experience and so thankful for this family who I got to know in a whole new light!

Happy 60th Birthday Aunt Mary hope you were blessed by this weekend and know how much you are loved!!

(Pictures seen here are of me and Auntie Charlotte...teehee)

2008-11-21T22:00:00.006-06:00

QUESTIONS ANSWERED....

Thank-you to everyone who participated in this... great questions!!
So get yourself a cup of coffee,tea or chocolate milk pull up a chair and enjoy, it is a long one...

Mama Geek asked -
What inspires you and where are you going on your next vacation?

Louise answered -Tough one to answer, so many different things inspire me at different times. When it comes to taking pictures it is seeing God's creation through the lens and trying as best as I can to capture a glimpse of it. In Marriage it is seeing people who have great marriages and learning from the secrets they share. In parenting it is following after a vision of my children being amazing adults who impact the world around them. That vision inspires me to discipline and spend the time and energy needed into my kids. But most of all it all boils down to my relationship with God and reading His Word, that inspires me to be a better person in all aspects of my life.

Next vacation is a Caribbean Cruise in January!! Very excited about that, just me and my hubby with some friends of ours, and then a Mediterannean Cruise in September.

Wanda asked
Who takes all those darling pictures of you and Conrad....the kids?

Well I will let you in on a little secret, the picture in my header for example if you look closely at my hand you will see a little wireless remote, (this was before I realized I could set it on a 2 sec. delay so I would have time to hide it). So yeah the pictures of me and Conrad are all with remote or me just holding up the camera.

Rose asked (my sis-in-law) -
Who has me for a ticket name this Christmas?

Wouldn't you love it if I actually knew, I actually didn't rig it this year. I know hard to believe but I actually don't know who anyone has except us and Al and Beck, Oh and Sheldon because he showed me..sorry!! :)

Roo asked
How did you meet? and fall in love?
I will let Conrad answer this one......We met on the beach at Falcon Lake. I was on my way to do some rock climbing in the Minaki area but decided to stop at Falcon Lake to camp for the night. In the morning I thought I would hang out at the beach for just 1 hr. and ended up staying all day. Volleyball with this young and pretty girl replaced climbing with sweaty unnattractive boys. We're still falling in love. Louise says of course that is the 'Coles' notes version so I will give you mine too, my friend Gaby and I headed to Falcon for the day and as we lay there on our blanket on the beach I looked up and saw this guy walking alone in the water and I said to my friend...'Can you imagine if a guy like that came up to us and started talking to us?' as I wiped the drool from my mouth, she said 'Nah he isn't my type.'...well no sooner had I said that then he walked right up to us and asked us if we wanted to play volleyball...I said yes of course, my friend sat and watched us the whole day and got the worst sunburn ever (thanks dear) and then he invited us to meet up with him at a movie later that evening ,my friend politely said she was busy and I said yes, we ended up walking and walking and walking instead of going to a movie and the rest they say is history....he knew after 2 weeks he wanted to marry me, it took me a little longer than that :) and yes our loves grows everyday, we are blessed!

Andrea asked
Where is your favorite place to take pictures?
I don't really have a favorite place I like exploring and finding new places to capture, I love traveling to new and exciting places so taking pictures there is a must, problem is sometimes you actually forget to enjoy the place without just seeing it through the lens. My favorite people to take pictures of are my kids and they indulge me very often in allowing me to do just that.

What are your love languages and in what ways do you bless each other with them?

Louise answered - Conrad's main love language is Touch and his Second is acts of service. So he really appreciates when we can sit close together when we go out to people's places or just at home, even now he is sitting beside me on the couch with his arm on my leg. I make sure I give him a hug as soon as he comes home from work and we hold hands a lot when we go out or drive etc. As for Acts of Service that is a work in progress for me, I try to have the house tidied when he comes home, cometing the sink in the kitchen is a thrill for him....if he sees me doing that he is beside himself...I know too funny.

Conrad answered - Louise's love language has been changing ( a sign of growth ). She used to be 100% gifts but now also enjoys words of encouragement. I think of her often and take the time to say so. Romantic cards on any occassion serve 2 purposes - it's a gift and tells her how much I love her. (I think I will commission Wanda to send me a box of her cards with romantic scenes. She does amazing watercolors)

Pam J asked-

1) Do you and Conrad do devotions together?

1) Louise answered - we both have our own devotion time he usually likes to do this in the evening reading his book and then reading the Bible, I do mine in the morning early before anyone else in the house is awake, this usually consists of spending time solely in the Word . What we do together is pray, we pray at night together and have found that this has brought incredible closeness in our marriage.

2) What do you plan on doing when you are 'retired'?

2) Conrad answered - Instead of 'retired' I want to get 'refired', never grow old mentally and spiritually and never become irrelevant. Continue pouring out of myself to others this I believe is something that doesn't start at retirement it begins now by having a constant look outward to see how I can be helpful to the world around me and it doesn't ever stop. It is tough to write the end of the story when you are still living the first chapter.

Louise answered - okay that was a tad serious...heehee...I do agree with him. I know that we will do a lot of traveling in our lives not just retirement and I hope to be able to help my kids out in any area they need help, like babysitting the grand kids(yikers that seems strange). I pray continually that our family will have great relationships and that we will always remain close. Who knows what the future holds all I know is that it will be exciting and I can always rely on the verse Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you.....

Jody asked -
1)If you could surprise your spouse with one thing - money no object - what would it be?

Louise answered - Oh this one is easy for me I know immediately what I would do, I would hire and expert mountaineer to train my hubby and set up an expedition to Mt.Everest. This would take many years of training but this would be the best surprise I think I could ever give my husband. Would it be tough to let him go? Absolutely but I know that I would be training alongside him just to be able to go to Everest Base Camp and wait for him there until he returned, and he WOULD return because I would be praying my face off....

Conrad answered - This too is easy. Louise loves people and travel. I would take a year or more and travel around the world with her. At special places I would arrange for friends and family (and Regis Philbin - yes she loves Regis, I hope you are reading this Reeg) to be flown in to join us for awhile. Some of our stops would be 5 star, others would be "mission" fields. All of it an adventure. At least 1 mountain on each continent.

2)What's your best piece of advice for newlyweds?

Conrad answered - I will read this question seriously because the answer will change someone's life.
Marriage is two complete individuals coming together to share of themselves, not half a person looking for the other half to be complete. Your mate will never fulfill that void in you which EVERY person naturally has. Just look at people searching for themsleves, running to this cause and that one, defining who they are by things and accomplishments. When that doesn't work we turn to our mates to complete the task. Something inside us is searching. We are built to seek out our creator. Our spirit is looking for Daddy, Father GOD! Many people mistake that inner longing as a need to be filled by our earthly companion. We end up placing so much pressure on a relationship to fill a void it can never fill. Don't misunderstand me now and think I'm against marriage. No, marriage is so beautiful and powerful for so many reasons, but it's not our ultimate fulfillment. Our marriage grows stronger and more powerful in direct proportion to the time we spend as individuals growing in God. Yes time togther is essential but not above time with God. When you approach marriage in this way you approach each other with hearts full and overflowing instead of looking to the other person with selfish expectations. It's the selfish needs that creep in to destroy a marriage when the hunnymoon is over. We begin to see the things that we don't like and if we're not careful we will blame our mate for the lack of "happiness" in our lives. Yes there are real and difficult issues and needs. They don't just vanish in some spiritual cloud because we call ourselves a Christian. How we approach those needs is the difference maker. It will either be a selfish approach, me me me, she/he doesn't do this for me anymore etc. Or we can approach our needs with a thankfulness and love that has been planted in our hearts which seeks others first. God so loved the world that He gave. His first thought is to give. Not ask or demand. No, His first action before we ever make a move toward Him is to give out of His abundance. This is a choice we can all make for our marriages. If we first fill ourselves up to overflowing with God's love, we will be free to share with our spouse out of our abundance.

Lili asked -
If you could only chose one quality about your spouse, what is the one thing you love/respect/admire the most?

Louise answered - wow great question, we have grown so much in our relationship even in the past month and seen our share of difficulties in our marriage but through it all I see so much good in him, he loves God and has a great desire to serve God in all areas of his life, he has such a love and compassion for people always looking to help someone out, he is an amazing dad and takes time for his kids by doing what is important to them, he is an amazing provider and husband he shows me everyday how much he cares for me but MOST of all he strives honestly each and every day to become a better person, I love/respect and admire him so very much it is really hard to choose just one quality I hope my answer was sufficient :)

Conrad answered - Boobs!...............mmmmmm...... What? That's a quality. OK, she has a big capacity too love. She feels life intensely. She has a soft heart. Her joy is contagious. Of course all of this flows out of her because she fills herself up with God first. Did you ask me for just one? I still like the first ;)

Thank-you for taking the time to take a look into our life, I hope that this has helped for you to get to know us a bit better :)
Hugs to you all!!

2008-11-20T13:03:00.003-06:00

Something different....

I have something interesting to blog about but I can't do it till Sunday, just in case some people I know check my blog ...this will all make sense then. SO I thought I'd do something different...
I have seen this on a few blogs most recently on Dana's blog, I thought I'd give you all a chance to either ask me or Conrad some questions, you can ask more than one and we will answer them together ASAP!
So SHOOT, anything...really I am like that..
So here are the rules:
Questions
For ME
or my hubby CONRAD...
Looking forward to it :)

2008-11-18T11:24:00.004-06:00

Blessed Beyond Measure....

My heart is overflowing right now I have reason to smile. Well truth be told I have many reasons to smile but this one in particular is making me act like a silly school girl, all giddy and excited. Let me give you some background info before I tell you why.

Growing up Christmas was always my favorite time of year, not just cause it was my birthday 3 days before Christmas but because it was such a special time. I remember my mom baking and baking and baking some more but it was never just for our families she would always bless everyone around us with her baking including the staff at the elementary school me and my brothers attended...you see we weren't the most wealthy family but my mom gave what she had to give and that was her baking, every year for the teachers gifts she made a HUGE tray of goodies and brought it to the staff room and each year the teachers anticipated this tray asking us if our mom was busy baking again and if they would get it this year and my mom never disappointed every year till my youngest brother left that school , they got the tray. I have so many good memories of my parents going Christmas shopping and hiding our gifts in garbage bags when they came home. The lights on our tree, sleeping by the tree, getting up really early in the morning on Christmas day to open gifts. And through this all there was music playing ALL the time, my mom loved and still loves music and the two staple albums all of our Christmas memories at home were Kenny Rogers Christmas Album and BonnieM. Those two were played continuously and when I got married my first Christmas albums were those two. So you can imagine my joy when I heard the Kenny Rogers is coming to my local city to do a Christmas and Favorites concert but was soon disappointed because Christmas isn't the easiest time to blow $100 on a concert so I didn't purchase tickets. I shared this with my friend Lisa that he was coming and a few of my memories and this morning I got a text from her saying ' Guess who is going to see Kenny Rogers 5th row on the floor for her birthday...yes YOU' I started jumping up and down with tears in my eyes, I couldn't believe first of all that my friend would be so generous and buy them for me and also that I will be able to hear him live singing songs that bring me such joy....I have tears in my eyes just thinking of it...kleenex will be a must for me.
I found this video on You Tube this morning and started crying...yes lame I know....it is just so amazing how powerful positive memories can be, my hope now is that I am creating those same memories with my kids.
If you have a moment check out the video!
Hugs all!

2008-11-13T07:50:00.006-06:00

Spending time with the people you love...

There are so many different ways to spend time with someone and show someone you love them and yesterday I felt loved.
My dear brother who lives far away emailed me a link to a radio station that he was listening to, he asked if I would put it on at my house too so that we could spend some time together...as he put it 'I want to hang with my sis for a while, we can listen to the same music, kinda like looking at the same moon, but weirder.' This made my day, a simple gesture to some but to me it signified the love of a brother that I can't always feel when he is so far away.
Thanks Al for making my day....I was blessed!!

Miles Between Us

Though miles come between us,
And distance keeps us apart,
Nothing can ever change
The love inside my heart….

I may not be there with you,
Every minute of the day,
But you’re always here with me,
In at least a thousand ways,

Whether it be a thought,
Or a moment that we’ve shared,
It only takes a second
To get from here to there….

Though I cannot really feel
You here at my side,
It’s always nice to know
I’ve got these memories in my mind

-Author Unknown

2008-11-12T10:28:00.002-06:00

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY.....

2008-11-11T10:25:00.002-06:00

REMEMBRANCE DAY...

Today in Canada is a day set aside for us to remember all those who have fought for our country so that we can live in freedom.
We wear a red poppy on our clothing to remember and this poem is spoken at most ceremonies around the country.

In Flander's Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flander's fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, tho poppies grow
In Flander's fields.

Liet. -Col. John McCrae

Thank you to all those who have fought and lost their lives for our country and for those who are still fighting for our freedom, today I remember you!

2008-11-09T17:07:00.006-06:00

I Must Confess

Okay there is something that I must share, I have someone who lives in my house who loves to
*clean
*organize
*dust
*do laundry
*move the fridge and clean behind it
*clean some more
and it isn't me!!
This is not something that I can say that I truly enjoy, I know it needs to be done and I try to get it done but along comes Mr.Clean who likes things done his way( which is a GOOD thing) equipped with his headlamp(yes seriously not joking a headlamp just so he doesn't miss anything...I mean COME ON who does that?!) and vacuum in hand his goes on a rampage through the house cleaning every nook and cranny and what am I doing? ....standing back of course watching this with a smile on my face saying a quiet thank-you to God for pairing me with someone who makes up for all my shortcomings.
Let me introduce you to my Mr.Clean aka Conrad Hoeppner.
Women/Wives eat your heart out...he is ALL mine!! LOL although he did say if he needs another job sometime he would start his own Molly Maid cleaning service, so who knows he might be out for hire....LOL!!

2008-11-07T14:46:00.005-06:00

And So it begins.....

Our first snowfall on the ground and all day it has been cold enough to keep it there. I guess this means winter is upon us.

I have a secret.....

I actually really like winter...there I said it! I do get somewhat tired of it by February(but a warm holiday helps that) and then I am eager for spring but right now I like it and I will enjoy it. Finally I feel as though Christmas is around the corner and I can get my shopping done, and I can listen to Christmas music, my hubby has been playing that for at least a week now on piano.

What are your thoughts on winter?? for those living with snow and those of my friends in a warmer climate, what do you enjoy about it?

And something on a side note, I completed a really LARGE canvas for my home. It is 3 feet by 4 feet approximately( I think) and it hangs by my table, it was meant to go above my stairway but hanging anything there is kinda tricky I really don't want my hubby to break his neck, so by the table it is.

Here is a pic of it....

(click to enlarge)

And where it hangs in our home....

Have a great weekend everyone!

Enjoy whatever season you are in ;)

GOD BLESS!

2008-11-05T08:15:00.003-06:00

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY...

2008-11-02T08:30:00.007-06:00

Happy to be back....I know it wasn't THAT long but you missed me right?!

Life is amazing. It has so many adventures to experience some happy and exciting others hard and trying but through it all the same truth remains, that the one who loves us completely, in the face of ALL things is REALLY there for us no matter what the circumstance and we can run full into His arms of grace and feel the peace that we long for.

It was an extremely tough and trying week, but God is so good and faithful to see me through anything, I have come through on the other side knowing without a shadow of a doubt that God IS love, that He longs to take the ALL the cares from me.....

My honey and I got to have a full day and night together alone and we went on a date to a nearby site and he encouraged me to take my camera along to get some shots and what I found moved me so profoundly I hope you see it too......

I am calling this first one...With Arms Open Wide.

The second one...When the Race is Through......

and then there are some fun ones of me and my babe, whom I love SO much and I am so excited about where God is taking our relationship....I REALLY can't say it enough God IS SO Good!!!

2008-10-25T12:32:00.001-05:00

*** a line from an awesome song on the new Hillsongs CD

Picture taken this morning from my kitchen window.

2008-10-22T21:58:00.005-05:00

THE QUESTION IS..............AND SOME TOTALLY RANDOM STUFF !

Those of you who read my previous post the answer is.......
COFFEE....yum yum, my favorite and my morning staple.
I should really do a tribute to this drink but instead I leave this thought with you all......

Whose Idea was it to set up a WALK-IN clinic ONE DAY only for all women to come in and have a PAP test...yup you read that right......(a 'free' one, we live in Canada isn't it always free?) Oh I could go SO many different directions with this but all I gotta say is....isn't the build up to the ONCE a year appointment enough?!?! Yeah I know that only 49% of women actually get it done and I know it is important for cancer screening etc. etc. but somehow I can't see a huge line forming at that walk-in...maybe its just me..
MUST be a male who thought of that one............

and with that I say...
Good night to you all!!

p.s. to those of you looking for more info click HERE ,there now don't say I didn't do my part to "Tell Every Woman" ;)

2008-10-21T11:27:00.005-05:00

WAY TO GOOD...not to share...

YUM YUM I have found a new favorite. These are melt in your mouth, super moist party-in-your-mouth muffins....mmmm

They are....

Banana Oatmeal Craisin Muffins

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 cup mashed banana (approx 3)

3/4 cup honey

1 tsp Vanilla

1 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup oatmeal

3/4 cup craisins or raisins or dried cranberries

Bake at 375

I bake them for about 30 minutes depending on your oven

Put your favorite icing or not (for the healthier version) on top and enjoy!!!! YUM YUM even my kids love them!

One more thing...can you guess what this is??? hint : a staple for Louise