Board Books

A question was posed to me by a friend last week. We were shopping in a thrift store and looking through the books. She paged through one and then put it down. She then asked, "How many books does a kid need, anyway?" Well, Chad & I are really into books. We'd much rather buy books (generally second-hand) than borrow. Simply because if you need to reference the book, or want to read it again, you can. Plus we tend to recommend many of the books we've read to friends, and then we can simply loan them out. We have found that if you recommend a book and leave it up to a person to find it on their own, most likely they will forget or not be able to find it, but if you own it you can simply hand it over to them so they can also enjoy it.
Today I was in Asher's room putting his books back on the shelf b/c he has a tendency to take all the books off the shelf if he's looking for a specific one. As I put them back I decided to count how many he has. There are over 100 board books on his shelf! I was astounded by the number, yet I find it interesting that we are already getting sick of reading many of the books b/c we seem to read them over & over again. I am very thankful that he has that many and not just a dozen or so! He must get his love for books from his parents. I can't wait until he can really start to read on his own though. I know that we'll still get asked to read books to him, but he's already starting to look at them on his own a bit. What I REALLY can't wait for is when he gets past the board book stage into the paper book stage, b/c I've been stocking up!

Fire is....... HOT!

Last week while we were at Chad's parents I figured we should build a fire in the fireplace, so I asked Asher to please ask Chad to make a fire in the fireplace. He walked across the room to where Chad was, looked him in the eye, said, "Sssss" (meaning Please) "Hot!" Because we always tell Asher that the fireplace is hot..... What a cutie, not that I'm partial or anything.

Mail Call!

Yesterday I got home from visiting a friend (we were supposed to go shopping in the States, but I forgot our passports!). I get pretty excited about getting the mail at this time of the year b/c more often than not I actually get something! I love getting mail, and Christmas brings it in by the boatload.....
Anyway, I went to get the mail, and there was a Christmas card from my brother (thanks Brian & Brenda) and a BROWN ENVELOPE! I'm going through the process to obtain Canadain citizenship right now, so brown envelopes are usually a long time in coming. I was pretty excited about that BROWN ENVELOPE, so of course I opened my Christmas card first and left the BROWN ENVELOPE for last. I opened the aforementioned BROWN ENVELOPE with trepidation saying "please let it be good news" under my breath. (I've already waited the appropriate amount of time as a Landed Immigrant, I applied for Citizenship in Aug of 2005, but since we lived outside of Canada b/c of Chad's schooling our situation is a bit abnormal, so I had to fill out a supplementary form. I've even taken the test for Citizenship (I scored 100%, thank you).) So I opened the BROWN ENVELOPE......
Inside was an appointment to appear before the Citizenship Judge next week. I am super excited! After this all that's left (if I'm approved) is to go back to take the Oath of Citizenship. This has been a long process. It all started when we got married 8 1/2 years ago. Needless to say I'll be really happy when it's all said and done and please pray that I answer all the Judge's questions satisfactorily so I can finally get my Citizenship b/c then it won't matter about if we have to leave the country for awhile, I'll always be able to come back, and I won't have to go through any more processes.

A Week in Paradise

We just got back from visiting Chad's family. We had a really good time.... or rather, I had a really good time, for the others it maybe wasn't so good. Our flight out wasn't so bad, we left around 8pm and got into Calgary around 1am. Asher slept for about 1/2 the flight, so he was pretty tired but not cranky when we got there. He settled into Alberta time pretty well. All was good until................
Day 2 (cue scary music). Asher started puking and well, lets just say it was the flu and it affected both ends. It wasn't pretty. The thing about a kid this age, is they don't tell you, or run to the loo when they have to barf. They just do it, on you, in the bed, it doesn't matter where they are. So, after numerous wardrobe changes, many loads of laundry, and a week of generally grumpiness, Asher was better...... But not before infecting Chad, Mum, Dad, Amber, Spencer, Paige, Owen, 2 Aunties, 2 Uncles, and apparently most the church. Somehow I managed to steer clear of it all!
So finally 2 days before we left everyone in the household was feeling pretty normal again. We played in the snow, we had a fire, watched movies, played games.... ahhhh good times.
The return flight was not so great. We flew out of Calgary at 1am. Asher stayed awake the whole time, running around and being cranky. Luckily there were extra seats so we could take the carseat aboard again (it's always nice to be able to bind your child into a seat). The main problem (I think) was there were about 5 babies on this flight and Asher wasn't too happy about being in his seat anyway, but once he'd fall asleep, a wail would pierce the silence and cue another child to start screeching. Asher would wake up and we'd have to try all over again to get him to go to sleep. We got into London around 6am, and home around 7:30. Luckily it was still dark out when we got home so we could just put Asher to bed, but he only slept for 3 hours, so we were all pretty tired.
Moral of the story??? Yes, travelling at night with little ones may work, but you have to try to get started a little earlier than midnight.

Playback

The other day I was thinking how cool it would be if life had a playback button. Not a REWIND button, as most people would prefer I'm sure, but just a playback. Like if your whole life were recorded, and you could just take an hour every now and then to review something. "That's what we have memories for!" I can hear you say, but they don't always stay true to how things were either. And I'm not just talking about WATCHING things in the past, but also to remember the feelings you had while you were in that moment. Ok, this would be nice for big things like your wedding, or the birth of your children (minus the painful parts), but also for some decisions you made. Sometimes I wonder what was going through my head when I made some decisions, not that I want to change them, I'm perfectly happy with where those choices have gotten me, but I just wonder what was going on in the snippets of memory that aren't there anymore, you know?
For instance, I'd like to see the part of my life where Katie and April and I made our club in the woods. Some of the times when our whole neighbourhood would get together in the evenings and play softball on the field across from our house. I'd like to relive some of the Cross Country races from highschool. I want to remember more of the times I spent with Theresa in junior high. The 8th grade camping trip to Oswald West state park. Camping with the youth group at Jesus Northwest & Creation. Clarissa and I shopping at Value Village. Dordt pit parties, and going to Twisters. Dancing with Ian & Fiona at Walkabout in London. Playing Dutch Blitz with the cousins at Christmas. Camping with Rubinos. I remember these times were fun, but I don't remember anything really specific about them. Maybe part of that comes with getting older, that your memory fails you more.... But I don't even just mean the good times. Sometimes I'd like to be able to remember the rotten times better too, maybe so I could see how far past that I've gotten......
I suppose in some ways this should also be a lesson to cherish the everyday times more right now so I DO remember more later in life..... and take lots of PICTURES!!
(and if any of you could help out with any of these memorable moments, I'd welcome your reminiscence.)

Living in Boxes

I really feel sometimes like life is still on hold. The whole time Chad's been in school we felt like we couldn't have kids, couldn't really start to plan the future b/c we never really knew where God was leading us..... Guess what, not a whole lot has changed, nor do I think it will.... ever.
Perhaps part of it is due to being a pastor in the CRC, moving every 5-7 years is kinda expected, but we learned a few years back that you can't live life on hold or you'll never do anything, and you'll never really be happy. So on that note, since we'll be moving in 7 months, do I unpack all the boxes of games that I have, or do I keep them in their boxes, making it easier when we move? Trust me, it's no easy chore getting them all packed, there's a ton of them. Do I try to go through the storeage room to find the bibs that I so stupidly packed away, and now really need, or do I just go buy more?

Death

The other day I heard someone say they were afraid of death. I started thinking about that, and I kinda think it's silly (if you're a Christian) to be afraid of death. Maybe the actual dying part, being painful, but after you're dead you get to be with God. We live in an imperfect world where there is hurt, pain, sadness, sickness.... (you get the idea). But when we get die, that's all gone. We'll be in heaven where everything is perfect. I actually LOOK FORWARD to dying! What on earth could be better than getting to heaven and meeting God? I'm not saying that it'd be easy for those I leave behind to deal with me not being here if I was to die in the near future, but for myself, there's nothing better than being with Jesus. Sometimes when we hear that someone has died we say they have gone to a better place, and I totally believe that. With that in mind, I live life as if I'll die today, and as if I'll die in 100 years. Either way, I honestly can't wait to be with Jesus.

I Got Tagged

Here's how you play. Once you've been tagged, you have to write a blog with 10 weird, random things, facts, or habits about yourself. At the end, you choose 10 people to be tagged, listing their names and why you chose them to be tagged. Don't forget to leave them a comment "You're It!" and to read your blog. You can't tag the person who tagged you. Since you can't tag me back, let me know when you've posted your bulletin so I can see your answers.....

1. I have all my CDs organized in books, alphabatized... by the artists FIRST name.

2. I sometimes become obsessed about things. (I collect the old Fisher Price Little People, and I saw 1/2 a house, and couldn't figure out if I should buy it or not, I didn't buy it, and I've been thinking about it all week, did I do the right thing?)

3. The only time I drink water is in the evenings while I watch TV and eat Hot Tamales.

4. I can ususally figure out when someone's pregnant, sometimes before they know.

5. I would LOVE to move back to England, and I might be a little obsessed about this.

6. Canadian Oreos are totally different from American Oreos.

7. Chad and I have lived in 8 different houses since we were married 8 years ago. (not counting a short stint with his parents)

8. When I was in High School I planned to be a trucker.

9. I collect old VHS movies like Baby Boom, Footloose, Tremors...

10. I ADORE a good Latte.

Now for the fun part:

1. April - She'll probably do this, especially if I tell her to... :)

2. Katie - Same as April, and I'm eager to see their answers

3. Theresa - She's GOT to have some real interesting facts about herself.

4. Kristen - Though not real likely to do it, I think she may suprise me on this one.

5. Meredith - I haven't seen her in 20 years, she's bound to have some ammo.

6. Nicky - Same as Meredith

7. Mark K - My cousin, you don't know family as well as you think you might!

8. Leslie - She's moved around, had life experience, time to tell about yourself! :)

9. Meigan - Same as Leslie

10. Miki - We were pretty close for awhile, but you can always know more about a person, eh?

Apple Crisp

We had a potluck at our church on Sunday, and I had a hard time figuring out what to bring b/c you have to have something that will taste good at room temperature, and that you can make ahead of time. I also had a bit of a tiem crunch b/c we were gone most of Saturday, so I decided to make an Apple Crisp.

I had a recipie that asked for apples, but I had a can of apple pie filling, so I figured I could use that and just make the crisp part of the Apple Crisp. At the potluck there were quite a few desserts, and I decided to try others, and not mine. Later I asked Chad if he had tried any of it and he said, "yes, it's really good." So I thought all was well. When we were ready to leave Chad went to collect all our dishes. I was still a little apprehensive about how the Apple Crisp turned out, so I asked if much was left, and Chad said, "only about 3 pieces," so I figured it must've been pretty good. After we got home I was putting things away, and washing dishes when I discovered that Chad had brought home the wrong pan! I mentioned it to Chad and he said, "no, I don't think so, the other Apple Crisp had a really thick, dry topping on it." ........the other one was MY Apple Crisp!

Church

I was reading a book that was talking about being passsionate for God, and it talked about people who go to church on Sunday, but other than that they don't really do anything for God. I started to think, "am I one of those people?" Then I started taking stock of my regular week, and what my activities are. I go to Coffee Break, that's about it.... uh-oh. But wait, I asked a new girl in town to attend with me, and she now comes regularly too. Last week I asked another girl who stayes home all week if she wanted to come, and now she said she's going to start coming regularly. I usually go for walks with Asher in the mornings just to get out of the house, and I now stop by a the home of a woman who just got married and moved to town, and we walk together.

My point is this. You may not think you are doing much for God, but there are lots of ways that we serve Him that may not really seem like we are doing much. It reminds me of the cheesy churchy saying "You may be the only Bible people read" An urging to be good, but it does have a ring of truth to it. Not that we need to always be on our best behaviour. We need to be accessible to people. They need to know we are real people (we have many of the same problems) and we can be fun too.

I don't know if I'm the only one, but I remember getting all excited about God on retreats and I must have become "born again" about 10 times before I turned 18. We want that spiritual high all the time, but the only way we'll maintain that is when we get to heaven. Until then we have to trust that God is with us, and that he'll help us to know what it is he wants us to be doing. And that might be something that seems quite small, and not associated with your church. Like bringing the new neighbours a plate of your favourite brownies!

Future Sex/Love Sounds

Last week I finally went and Bought Justin Timberlake's newest CD. I try not to buy CDs for full price (b/c I am Dutch), but after months of searching, I finally broke down, went to Wally World and bought it.....

I LOVE this CD! Rarely have I bought a CD and liked every single song on it. Mostly they sound the same, or the 2 songs they play on the radio are the only good songs on the CD. This album is a stellar piece of work. Each song meshes into the next, and they make you feel what the song is about. Some may not agree, and that's fine, but this is definately one of my most favoritest CDs in a long time.

The Last Mimsy

Chad and I finally watched "the Last Mimsy" last night. I was amused, to say the least. I actually found the movie quite entertaining (I especially enjoyed recognizing many places near where I grew up). However, the last 10 minutes or so, the acting really went down hill. The actors started to S-L-O-W their speach down, and really e-nun-ciate their words so it was like listening to a poor grade-school play.

I also found this movie to be slightly reminicent of "Escape to Witch Mountain". Maybe I am the only one who remembers the girl who could communicate with her brother simply by thinking of what she wanted to say to him. Or that she could also get animals to do what she wanted by the same method. In "Mimsy" the kids had a conversation while they were in custody, and managed to escape by communicating with cockroaches. Even the music at the end of the movie was similar to what they played in "Escape" whenever the kids were doing something spectacular.

As a side note, anyone remember "the Peanutbutter Solution" movie?

Placemats

Let me tell you a funny story.....

Somehow, since we moved, most of my placemats are missing. So I went to Walmart to purchase some new ones. (Now, keep in mind, if you will, that I am a cheapskate.) To my astonishment, placemats cost upwards of $2 EACH! I was planning on purchasing 8 lovely, matching placemats. I looked for some cheaper ones. I found a 4-pack for $5. Sounds pretty good, right? They were made of plastic though, so they were not the ideal placemat. As had been evidenced by my spilling my drink on my mother-in-law the previous week, I needed to get cloth ones so they could absorb spills. I looked further. I found a clearance shelf! They had yellow and blue placemats for $0.66 each! What a bargain! I bought 4 of each colour, and happily went home. I soon discovered why they had been such a deal, or perhaps why they were not a great deal after all. They were made of.... wait for it folks..... PAPER! They look great for one meal, until your butter-covered knife falls off the side of your plate and leaves a big greasy stain on the PAPER placemats, that b/c they are made of paper, you cannont wash. (incidentally, I did rinse one off, and now it has an interesting ruffled edge, side, and middle.) I suppose at that price they should have been marketed as disposable.

Dreams

Have you ever had a dream, that you don't really want to wake up from? Once you finally give up trying to stay awake, you think about the dream, ponder it, try to figure out waht it means, but you just can't wrap your head around it. Then, after awhile, the memory of the dream starts to fade, and you can't even really remember anything about it except a few basic things like, "I was in it" "There was a dog". I had one of those dreams this morning just before I woke up. I sometimes wonder what the purpose of these dreams are. Are they meant to tell you something? Just to make you feel good? Or are they just the product of a sleeping mind?

There are so many things like that, that I just can't wrap my head around, and I just am so curious about. I definately have some questions for God after I get to heaven. (But will I need to ask God, or will I just all of a sudden know the answers?) I wonder why God made it so there are things we can't fathom, but we are so curious about them so we keep trying to figure them out anyways.

Time

Why does it always seem like when we get a little free time, it's just that.... a LITTLE free time? I have so many things it seems like I never have a chance to get around to b/c I never have enough time. I have a book I've been trying to read for about a month, A blog that is sadly waaaay behind, a house that could use a good cleaning (Katie? April?), Movies I would really like to watch... There's just too many things, and too little time. I can't wait 'til I'm retired.... although by then I'll probably need large-print books, close-captioned TV, and a house cleaner, but I don't think I'll mind having a house cleaner.

I was planning on updating this blog today, only to discover as soon as I started, that Asher has decided he has slept long enough. Guess I'll have to get around to it another day.

Reunion

So, last weekend was my 10 year high school reunion. Saturday we had a dinner for classmates & spouses. It was really nice, we got to see each other after a 10 year break. I was really excited about this event, but was a bit surprised that I was the only person who came that doesn't live in Washington. Perhaps it was just a bad weekend for people, but I wish a little more effort had been made by some. There were about 33 people in my class, and 13 were there. Overall it was a nice size group, but it sure would have been nice to see everyone.

On Sunday afternoon we had a picnic for the families. This was very poorly attended. I understand that some without kids didn't want to come b/c they aren't particularly smitten with children, but even those with kids didn't make a good showing. It was a bit disappointing, after all the hard work that some people made to organize the weekend. I'm really glad I went and got to see those who did deign to grace us with their presence. Hopefully we'll get a better turnout at the next one, whenever that may be............

Passports

In the middle of April Chad noticed that his passport was about to expire. We were going to be moving to Canada at the end of May, so we thought we'd better get a move on and send it off for renewal. We knew the timing would probably be close as it ususally takes about 6 weeks for anything like that.... little did we know......

Here we are in the middle of July, and still no passport. There is a number I can call for an update to assess the progress of the passport. Normally when I call, I get a busy signal. A few times I do actually get through to the voice prompts, and am then told that the agents are all busy, and the queue is full. TWICE I have actually gotten further than that, to be told "there are more than 25 persons ahead of you." At this point I am so glad to have gotten through that I stay on the line for the next 45 minutes to an hour, to finally be greeted by a customer service rep who tells me "we're about 10 weeks behind the send off date, so if you sent it in April 15th, we wouldn't even have it open until July." So, here we are, in the middle of July, and there are currently 24 persons ahead of me in the queue.

My issue isn't actually that I wonder where the passport is (although that's a thought), we put our old address to send it to b/c we foolishly thought we'd get it back in time. So I just want to change the address of where they send it when they finally get through with it. An agent told me I have to keep calling until they are on the day they received it, and then get an application number from them. Then I have to FAX the new address to them. So, when I finally get through to them, and they are on the right day, I can't just tell them the new address, NO, I have to send a FAX with the info on it so someone can loose that and it won't get fixed and they'll send the passport to the old address anyways. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother......

In case you are wondering there are now 21 persons ahead of me in the queue.

Canada Takes it's Holidays Seriously

So today I realized we were short on some groceries, and thought Asher & I could go do some shopping. I realized after trying to go to the bank this morning that it's a bank holiday (I really should have rushed to the bank Friday before it closed, but I figured the bank would be open Saturday morning....), but I figured the grocery stores would probably be open.

First I went to the discount store, but the lights were all off, so I thought I'd try the Superstore, it's the only big grocery store in town, and I figured it would have shorter hours, but it should be open, right? Nope. Closed all day today.

My last option was Walmart. It's ALWAYS open..... or so I thought. The parking lot was totally empty, as was every other parking lot I passed along the way, so I gave up. I suppose we can make it one more day without milk, and peanut butter, and sugar....

It's difficult to figure all the little details out when you move! Hopefully tomorrow we'll have better luck.

Settling in..... Somewhat

So, here we are in Strathroy. I guess we're all moved in. All our stuff is here and sorted through anyways. I can't say we're all unpacked b/c we aren't. It's a bit of a downsize, so a lot of our things are staying in boxes until we move again.

I am going a little crazy though I think. In GR Asher and I had a whole routine throughout the week of things we'd do, and places we'd go. So far, none of that here. So we've been going for walks, but that's not near as fun when there's no destination. We used to visit Kami. We've also been riding bikes quite a bit. That's more fun, we can explore the area a bit that way. There's also a Walmart in town, so we've walked around there as well. It does get a bit old though, just hanging out w/ Asher all day w/o other people to talk to.

Anyways, that's what's on my mind. Until next time, Asher and I will continue to drive each other crazy.

Moving

So, 4 weeks from today we will be moving. Crazy. I feel like I'm in an insane time crunch, yet I can't do anything b/c we are trying to sell the house, so things have to look nice. We're having an open house on Sunday. After that, everything gets packed.... for the most part. I sure hope someone decides to buy the house before we move.

Yesterday Chad and I were discussing future plans. I think it's kind of surreal that we can't really plan for where we'll be past next year. Most people have a picture in their mind of where they'll be and what they'll be doing in 10 years. I have a big blank. It's unfathomable for me. I guess that's good. I'm not constantly going to be begging to move to Little Rock or some such destination. It's all in God's hands. Sometimes we feel really called to go back to the UK. Sometimes we feel that the CRC is where we should be, keeping us somewhere in N. America. Maybe we'll end up w/ both.

Even our family size depends upon where we'll be and what we'll be doing. Not that we'll change if we want kids, but God knows what will work for us and where. And still we keep moving away from friends. I feel like we have a lot of friends, just none that will be long term, have coffee together friendships. Maybe we'll have to wait until all the pastors retire and we'll all live in Raybrook together.

Of course if we move around enough, and some of our friends also move, then there's a pretty good chance that we'll meet up again somewhere, right? Or at least we'll never have to pay for hotels when we go somewhere.

Good Friends

I feel like I don't really have any good friends around me. I really miss the old kind of friendships I used to have when I was younger. Where you just hang out and talk face to face and your friends understand where you're coming from and if you maybe say something stupid, they still know what you're really trying to say. I guess maybe it's just hard to feel really connected to someone when you only talk to them on the phone once a week... or month.... or maybe less. I'll give you an example of what I mean. We'll call my friend "Amy".

Amy and I grew up together and used to hang out all the time. We were really close. Practically sisters. Now we maybe talk on the phone every 2-3 months. Most the conversation ends up being about old times and the fun we had. That lasts about 10 minutes or so. Now I'm married and have a kid and she is still single. What do we have in common? Old times. But I still consider her one of my closest friends. Maybe she doesn't consider me all that close anymore, I don't know. We did see each other a while ago and even then it was kinda awkward. What do we talk about? If we just me now would we ever forge a friendship or was it just that we had things in common way back when? The main problem now is distance. If we lived close by, we could do things together and keep the friendship current, but we don't and there isn't much we can do about that.

I have another friend "Deb" who lives in town. I used to work with her, but now I am a stay at home mom. She switched companies, so I can't go visit her at work anymore. She isn't married and has no kids. She'd say she's kind of nervous around kids. Asher is a big part of my day/life now. How do we stay close? She works all day, so we can't get together then. Often in the evenings she isn't free until later, 7 or after. I am then trying to give Asher his bath and get him in bed. I don't want to stay out too late b/c there will be no sleeping-in in the morning. When Asher gets up, I have to as well.

So, what am I to do? How do I stay current with my friends that don't live close? How can I remain close to those friends who are living nearby, but who are in different stages of life? Do I just have to get all new friends each time I enter a new phase of life and wait until my old friends catch up? What about my friends in other states/countries? Do I just leave them behind?

Spring

Well, it's been awhile since I wrote, so I figured I should. The snow is pretty much all melted now. It was taller than my mailbox last week. Now I have an ugly brown lawn to look at. I suppose it's better than slogging thru slush. I'm really looking forward to nice weather again. Last summer I was in maternity clothes, this summer I will return to short and t-shirts...... at least if it's warm enough.

We are in the process of selling our house. I find it quite stressful b/c now I have to keep all our stuff hidden in closets, and the baby gates are gone. Asher decided the radio wasn't loud enough the other day, so he pulled the speaker onto his walker so he could carry it around.... the wires only stretch so far though! I think the hardest part though is keeping the house clean. I've never been good at vacuuming regularly, and I tend to leave dusting for a few months at a time, and now I have to try to keep up and do them EVERY WEEK just in case someone wants to see the house. :)

My Poem

So there seems to be a problem in the Mug cupboard at the seminary. The idea is simple. Bring your own mug and you have a mug there so you can have coffee or whatever. You'd think Seminarians are smart people, but it seems to be too difficult to grasp that concept, so I wrote a poem and got it published in the school paper this week. Go to Kerux to see it!

Oh ya, Chad also wrote an article about the Oral Comps.

What's New About This Year?

Yesterday Chad passed his Oral Comp. That's basically a big test that covers all he's learned while in Seminary. So he has 5 months left of school, then we'll be going somewhere to do an internship in a church. I think I can see a light at the end of the tunnel now. It's still kinda faint. Chad's been in school ever since I met him 8 1/2 years ago. It's kinda surreal that in 6 months he's going to have a JOB! Don't get me wrong, it's a good weird!
Life for me goes on as usual. I stay home and while away the hours with Asher. Some days really seem to drag, especially when he's tired and won't sleep. He's very frustrated with his station in life right now. He would LOVE to be walking, but just doesn't have the balance yet. He's only 6 months old, but don't tell him that! The funny thing is that he can hold himself up on stuff, but if he falls over, he hasn't yet figured out how to sit up on his own so he's like a little turtle. He just wants to do so much more than he can.