Rediscovery

I rediscovered my blog this evening while talking with a friend. I think it's time to dust off the thoughts and see if I can't make a go of this thing again. I'm pretty sure most of you have given up on ever seeing a post on here again, but I don't feel so bad because I've noticed that a few other friends have also stopped posting for awhile.

The biggest thing going on in my life right now is that I'm trying to sell my house. I've decided to downsize and clean up some of the debt. I need a little room to breathe financially and also would like to have a bit more flexibility otherwise too.

I recently got back from another trip east to visit family and friends. My parents and I headed to Timmins first after a quick stop over in Wawa. I hadn't been to Timmins for at least 5 years. It was time to get back there and visit my Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles. Grandpa is not doing well health-wise, but he's still hanging in there and we did have some good days with him while we were there.

We spent a week with Josh and Jenna. They had another baby girl August 17th and named her Hannah Alison. It was great to see the kids and get caught up with Josh and Jenna. It is so hard to be so far away from them!

This year has flown by and I can't recall most of why it's been so busy. I've started another memorizing challenge for this year. We'll see if I can do it. I'm doing 145 verses from the book of Hebrews. I've done Hebrews in quizzing before, so maybe this will be easy...

Hebrews 1:1-3, 5,8-9,&13

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by His Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

For to which of the angels did God ever say, 'You are my Son, today I have become your Father'?, or again, 'I will be his Father and he will be my Son'?

But about the Son he says, 'Your throne O God will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.'

To which of the angels did God ever say, 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet'?

Isn't it great to know that Jesus is 'sustaining all things by His powerful word'? Those first couple verses make me think of John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made, without him nothing was made that has been made.

These verses affirm that God's Son Jesus created the world and is sustaining the world today.

Jesus has been at work on this earth since the day it began. He created it, he provided salvation for its inhabitants and he continues to sustain it until the day comes when it will be destroyed and a new heaven and new earth take its place. Glad to know we're in good hands right?

This chapter gives us another pretty good picture of Jesus' roles in the trinity. It is amazing that God gives us these glimpses of how things started, and how things work.

Well those are my verses for chapter 1. These are the same key verses as what were used when I was in quizzing. This is pretty much review for me. It's good to know that all that work I put in years ago is still paying off today.

Vacation with Hilde

Wow what a week! We picked up where we left off three years ago and really enjoyed talking and just being together. :) We spent some time hiking and walking and biking and swimming. Here's a few pictures that sums it up.

Mmm..Salmon and Salad.

Of course she had to try true mennonite food!

St. Malo. What a perfect day for the beach!

Hiking in the Valley

Enjoying the Pembina Valley

We spent a lot of time just reading and talking too!

Food was a very important part of this vacation. :)

Making Waffles.

Enjoying a sunset in Winkler

All the pretty flowers and gardens in Winkler

:) :) :)

Wasn't quite sure what to name this post, but the smiles seem appropriate for what I have to share with you. Work has still been busy as usual with plenty to do and always new projects to figure out. I decided to take a few more online courses through work as well which I will be working on in the evenings when I have time.

It's already been more than a month since I was on vacation and it has flown by. I'm hoping the next month will fly by too, because.....

Hilde is coming to visit me on August 16th and is staying for a week!! Yay! She will hopefully have her flights booked soon so I know exactly when to pick her up. In the next month I will be doing some renovations in the spare room. I picked up some paint and supplies last night and will hopefully be moving furniture out today so I can wash walls and prep to paint. I didn't pick really exciting colors, but I think it will look really nice when it's done.

I'm doing shades of white and then I'm planning on doing a few paintings with green and brown to accent. I picked out two shades of white in two different finishes with plans of being slightly creative on one wall. I'll be doing a warm creamier white color in eggshell finish as the main color in the room and then I'll be using a slightly cooler white in semi-gloss to texture or add an artistic touch on an accent wall.

Does anyone have a little square or round table that they don't want anymore? Let me know if you do!

I guess I'd better get to work..have a great weekend!

A Visiting Vacation

For as long as I can remember my vacations have always consisted of traveling and visiting someone somewhere or other. I've sometimes wondered what it would be like to go on vacation and just travel somewhere for no specific reason other than to relax. Quite honestly..I don't think I could do it. It may be just my circumstances of being unattached with family and friends spread across the world, or it may be my nature to not want to go somewhere with no ambition but to sit on a beach and stay in a hotel. I'm not sure.. :) Also if I did decide to travel somewhere completely different I think I would want to stay for a few months instead of a few days. Anyway... I really enjoyed my time in Ontario. It was wonderful to see Josh and Jenna and their kids. The kids are growing up way too fast! I also enjoyed a visit with Aunt Myrna and Uncle Ron in Wawa. I was able to go to a beach for a little while between Sault Ste Marie and Wawa. It was tempting to stop at more places than just Katherine's Cove, but I managed to somewhat satisfy my Lake Superior craving with some time spent walking along the beach and taking pictures. It was good to spend Sunday morning at Wawa Baptist Church. It had been a few years since I had attended a service there and though it is small, it was a great time of fellowship and celebrating communion together as a small body of believers. The church is in my prayers as they make decisions regarding whether to move into town and into a different building or not.

Here are a few pictures of my time spent in Ontario.

The Family

Jenna and James

Chloe loves the slides!

Chloe and James

Katherine's Cove

Day 1

So today was my first day of holidays. It was amazing. :) I spent a few hours outside doing yard work this morning. I even have a blister to prove it. I'm satisfied that I won't be returning to Jurassic Park the Lost World. I made my very first good white cake this afternoon and headed over to Tim and Val's for the evening. We had a delicious dinner of chicken and potatoes with veggies and biscuits topped off with the cake (not the cake that Mack ate).

After supper we decided to take the dogs for a rollerblade..which basically consisted of the dogs pulling us down the streets of Morris. So fun. I need to get myself a dog!

Once the dogs were worn out and the sky looked like it was threatening rain we headed home and decided to watch a movie. None of us had seen Alice in Wonderland yet. Definitely one of the strangest movies I've watched. It was right up there with Edward Scissorhands. haha

I drove home around 10:00 and it was still light outside. Twilight really. I realized how much I take for granted the beauty of the prairies. I am truly a mountains, trees, and lakes girl at heart, but I love the prairies too. I was absolutely in awe of God while I was driving home tonight. Looking out to the right of the car I could see the remaining colors of the sunset lingering in the sky, golds and oranges and pinks. Looking in the rearview mirror I could see huge piles of cumulus clouds seeming to stack up higher and higher. To the left I could see a storm raging with lightning flashing in midnight blue clouds that were coming down to touch the earth in some places as the rain fell. Straight ahead of me I could see half a sky where the dark clouds were threatening more rain while still reflecting the colors of the sunset and the other half was a bright and clear twilight sky with a few stars starting to twinkle. The highway was littered with puddles from the recent rain and each puddle was a perfect reflection of the sky above. The grass on either side of the road was a lush emerald green with black soil beyond it in the fields.

I started thinking about how this was only one small piece of sky and land and that throughout the world people were looking at beautiful works of God's hands in their skies and lands. I hope they really see it and give glory to God! What a wonderful maker!

Waking up..

So last night was a bit of a sleepless one for me. Woke up at 1 because someone was screaming in my dream and I realized it was actually a cat outside. I am not a happy person when woken in the middle of the night and so you can imagine my violent leanings when the cat persisted in screaming as loud as it could.

I don't remember what time the storm started, but I was awake off and on listening to the thunder and my dishes shaking in the cupboard. I got up once, remembering that I often have water come in through my exhaust fan in the the kitchen and so I went and put a bucket there with a towel around it. Then I worried about whether I might have water in the basement if I had forgotten to put the drain troughs back on after I mowed the lawn. So I quickly ran out the front door to make sure they were on and I checked all the corners in the basement to make sure no rain was getting in. I thought I might as well check the dehumidifier right away to make sure it wasn't full, not to mention the sump pump to make sure it was running properly ...needless to say, it was awhile before I got back to bed.

This morning when I drove to work I was a bit scared of stalling the car in a huge puddle at the end of my street. The water came up to my doors on that one.

Anyway..usually I love thunderstorms, but this one was a doozy.

It's storming again now and I have to run out in it to get back to work. Probably should have stayed for lunch today..oh well.

Busy Busy Busy

Well the busyness is never ending, or so it seems. Actually vacation is coming up very soon. Only 4 more days at the office and 3 in Winnipeg. Yay! I can't wait to see Josh and Jenna, Chloe and James. I'm working on psyching myself up for the 16 hour drive. :)

Well, I'm not sure what to tell you about as most of my busyness relates to work.

I spent 4 days in Winnipeg 2 weeks ago for training on the new banking system. I'm actually quite excited about the new system. It was a good week. I am heading back in for 3 days next week. I will be staying at the Radisson again and one of the main highlights is the starbucks in the lobby. :) I'm sure I will be very glad to get home on Wednesday night and sleep in my own bed again.

I've been trying to spend quite a bit of time outside when I'm not at work. It's been a beautiful spring. I mowed my lawn last night and managed to get a slight sunburn (it's already faded to a tan). The rest of the evening was spent shopping for shower gifts for a lovely bride to be. I'll post pictures next week of what the gift is. :)

Well..I'm up early today and heading to work a bit early. I'd better finish doing my hair and such...

Hope you are all well and loving life!

How they love each other

By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another. John 13:35

How are you making yourself known as a disciple of Christ? Do people see the difference in you?

I was listening to a song by Downhere this morning "How They Love Each Other" and it talks about how believers are identified by their love for each other. It can be so easy to say all the right words, but can you really back it up? Can you follow through with your actions and reactions?

I was having a bit of a bad day today. Heard some bad news about my Grandpa's health last night and then to top it off I woke up 5 minutes before I usually leave for work. So on a bad day I can find it really hard to be gracious and loving. I'm glad I was listening to that song this morning because even though it's still not a great day, I can make sure I don't make it a bad day for someone else and maybe God will use me to touch someone else today.

Attitude check everybody's got x-ray vision
Spot a fake, walk away
'Cause he's not worth my time, precious attention
Does it make you scared to think you stand for something bigger?
But will I ever know 'til you say it with your life?

Chorus
How they love each other
How they shine
And they follow one
We would like to know ourselves

Not your fancy talk, not your upright walk
They're not enough, so chalk one up for love again
Here's the same old good news
When you love, you give
And you can never lose, no never
Does it make you scared to think you matter in the bigger picture?
But will I ever know 'til you say it with your life?

It's been a busy week!

So, life has been slightly crazy and it doesn't look like it's going to change much in the near future. This week was the last week of working in the basement with the F11 crew. :) Actually Wednesday was the last day. Tuesday we went out for Lunch together at Gingerwood, which was really good. We packed it up on Wednesday, since they finished the larger projects early. Thursday and Friday I was in Winnipeg for training. Early mornings are not my favorite! I was up at 5:30 each morning. So tired! Friday I stayed after training with Traycee for sushi. Yummy!

Yesterday I tried to sleep in, but it didn't work so well. I got up and did some yard work. I was very happy to find that my ferns came up again this year. I thought I had killed them last year, but they appear to be doing fairly well. :)

Dad's in South Africa now. He'll be home on Friday night. Mom is counting sleeps. :) It'll be nice to have him home for sure!

Well, it was a busy week, but not really exciting. Not much else to say. Time to get ready for church. Hope you all had a good week!

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning it's shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:2

Stop this Train!

Busy Busy! So life is still flying. I often feel like I don't have enough hours in a day to get stuff done. Constantly doing laundry on the fly. Emptying the dishwasher while I wait for the straightening iron. Cleaning the bathroom while waiting for my food to warm up. Chatting with a friend while cleaning up the kitchen or cooking...you get the picture. :)

This weekend was a busy one, but also really good. Friday night I went to a play with a friend and out for coffee after.

Saturday I went to a wedding and also for coffee with some girls from work between the reception and the dance. We went to Jonny's Java and had a great time. I think we may have scared some of the other people away, but oh well. The dance was fun. I loved watching all the girls from work dance. I didn't get up and dance, but it was great fun to watch. The live band was pretty good too.

Sunday Mom and I went to the city in the afternoon and then we stopped in at Tim and Val's for supper and a movie. It was great to hang out with them and their awesome animals. I love their pets. So fun. :)

Tonight I've gotta get over to Bible Quizzing. This is the last week I think. They have their last meet this weekend. Would love to go to the meet, but I am in Winnipeg for Thursday and Friday this week. Training..yay. :) Going for Sushi on Friday night with a girlfriend from work though so that should be good!

Well, life is good. I'm enjoying it most of the time. Haven't had a lot of energy to go running lately though. :( I was thinking of going today, but it wasn't very nice out. I'm getting spoiled by the nice weather we've had this spring.

This is the last week with the F11 crew in the basement. "F11" you ask? It's our team name, because the escape key for the banking system is F11. We use it a lot in our clean-up. :) We have an appreciation lunch and wind-up tomorrow at Gingerwood Lane. Looking forward to that!

I'm looking forward to being out of the basement, but it'll be bittersweet as well saying goodbye to my new friends.

But I'm going to embrace the next part of this work year. We have a busy summer ahead!

That's all for now. Till next time...