another fortune.

So, while drinking my Green Apple Soda today I read my newest fortune.

"You will get the practical help you have been seeking"

hmmmmmm.

i didn't know I had been seeking any help.

Maybe it is that i was in need of a babysitter for monday night, but I got that practical help arranged the morning before I even bought my Jones Sodas.

So, yet again, I am left to wonder how my fortune will come true.

and my next question is.....how soon?

do I have to wait only minutes or hours until the practical help arrives to save the day or do I need to wait for months..years...?    

it doesn't give me a timeline, so i honestly think I won't know if it is ever the fortune being fulfilled or what. 

oh, fortunes are more stressful then they should be.

So, I'm gonna go now.

i need to rest my brain from trying to figure it out. 

maybe i shouldn't have had a soda today.

or maybe i'll just ignore the fortune next time.

Quality time with my valentine.

Happy valentines day.

Yes, Valentines Day was 2 days ago, but aren't we supposed to show love to eachother EVERY day??

anyway,

what did I do with my Valentine to celebrate on that day?

I made heart shaped meatloaf.  hahahahaha!!!!

seriously, and I truly L'dOL as I formed it and started it baking, and again when I took it out of the oven and showed it to Dan. 

but on the Sunday, the 13th, was when Dan and I did somthing special.

the kids went to their grandparents' house for the afternoon and Dan and I came home, ate lunch, got our snowpants, boots, coats, mittens, toques (stocking caps - for my american followers) on and outside we went.

we worked hard for 2 hours.

Finally...there it was.  

something I had always wanted to make.

when the kids came home the boy LOVEd it. 

Our igloo.

do we really grasp God's love?

I watched this video yesterday.

i cried at one part(at about 8:48), I couldn't help it.  I have kids.  I have a son . 

wow - do I have the right to ask God for anything else? yet I do every day!

God's love is ultimate.

Happy Valentines Day.

A little bit of this, a little bit of that...

Hello Faithful followers!

i greatly apologize for my lack of mad writing skills over the past....

however long it has been since I last posted.

you are the faithful few.  

and I am thankful for you. 

(although how faithful you are is still to be decided- Tim, when did you last read my blog??)

because of that I am going to - 

not promise, as I don't want to disappoint you by breaking my promise - 

guarantee to you that I will attempt to maybe try to write more often. 

so, why have i not been here?

life. 

I know, it is crazy to think that life could get in the way of my computer time, and especially my blogging and social networking.  

for I know how important those things are to the daily grind of living.  

but I am sorry, I had other things to do.

playing in the snow

spending time with the kids

baking

cleaning (the not so fun aspect of life)

yes, watching Dragon's Den

eating

sleeping

being sick

those are a few of the things I did instead of sitting in front of the computer.

Dan's home.  

Gotta run.

I'll be back sooner than later...I think....

Film Festival

This past week Dan and I were able to have 2 - that's right, I said 2 - date nights.

 

We had an opportunity to go to the Algonquin Theater and watch 2 nights of films.  

13 films all together.

 

films about being outdoors... exploring, climbing, skiing, paddling.... adventures of all varieties.  

For people who love to be outdoors, enjoying the wilderness...not being in a city... these are nights of inspiration and adventure as we follow others in their adventures, growth, and enjoyment.

The Banff Mountain Film Festival.  

one day we would love to go to the Banff Centre for the film festival in Oct.  

Maybe when the kids get older.  

Maybe one day we'll even put in a movie, or some photos for the photo contest. 

if you have an opportunity to get to the film festival world tour I highly encourage you to do it.

**this year we even won a door prize!!** 

My Treasures.

Words not needed.

spending time with my little boy.

what fun.

laughter and pure joy.

snow in our faces.

here we go!........

watch out for the....

BUMP!

we made it over.

more laughter.

"mommy i still laughing"

"mommy i will keep my eyes closed if we go over the bump again."

I love my little boy.

what fun we have sledding in our front yard.

2010 - what i learned

2010 was a year of learning for me.

as I go into this new year i pray that I am able to remember what I learned in 2010 and grow into a stronger person, with a strength of character that cannot be shaken and a faith that is solid and rooted and cannot be ripped away.

what did I learn? 

in no particular order

I love dreads. 

I got them in March and though there are days I wish I had straight hair again, 99% of the time I love my dreads.

i have 2 beautiful children i need to be thankful for - even when they're cranky and fighting.

They are to be cherished and i need to lead by example because they are watching my every move, listening to my every comment, sigh, complaint.  they see my smiles, my tears, my frowns.  They need to be taught that I love who God made me, and who He made them.  I love these kids.

I love my husband.

He is my best friend, and I had forgotten how true that is.  He is amazing and I need to remember to cherish him, to tell him how much I love him,and am thankful for him.  I need to pray for my husband daily, that he may be the man I know he truly is, and who God created him to be.  He needs to be my best friend.  I need to respect and love him.

Depression is all consuming.

It is real.  it is destructive.  it is powerful.  i never knew how much it truly tears apart someone's life - every aspect of the life.  it affects everyone who loves the person.  Depression is serious.  The person feels alone.  I've discovered that most people don't know what to say when depression reveals itself...so they avoid it, or don't say anything... for someone who feels alone, this is not good. 

Communication is so important.

Suicide is not selfish. 

I always thought it was selfish.  although it appears thay way, it is really a way to 'remove the burden'  from those the person cares about. unfortunately the 'burden' is the person.  and ending one's life isn't the answer, but the person who attempts or 'succeeds' truly believes they are out of options and believes it is the only thing they can do.  it is, in their mind, truly unselfish.

Forgiveness is essential to healing.

marriage is sacred.

people now a days seem to say their vows but not truly believe them.  i heard this year that 5 years is the average length of marriage now.  so sad.  marriage is a covenant with each other, not to be broken.  It is so easy to end a marriage now, and so common practice.  That saddens me. 

God is in control

...still working on this.  I know it as truth.  I believe it as truth.  but do I live it as truth?  i have a hard time - when things are tough.  but this past year I was reminded of the truth of it a lot.  and looking back - I do believe it, but in the hard times it's so difficult to remember it, and rely on it.

i love dance.

I love to dance. I love watching dance.  I love So You Think You Can Dance (U.S)  I love the arts!  singing, music, drawing, acting, painting, creating.   

Those are a few of the things I learned in 2010. 

2011

Well as of tonight at 12:00 2010 has ended. 

no more.

all gone.

over and done.

will not see it later.

no chance to redo anything in it.

as of 12:00 2011 has begun.

fresh and new.

no blemishes yet.

a blank canvas.

365 days with no sadness, no mistakes...yet (is it a leap year, that would give us 366)

According to the Mayans it's the last year we have before the destruction of the earth as we know it.

I don't believe them.

I believe that God is in control of the life of this world we live in.

He said we will not know the day or the hour of Christ's return, he said nothing about how we have to worry and stress about the end of the world.

there are people, I am sure, that believe this is it.

2011 is our last year.

they are probably going to spend their year either preparing for the destruction and making sure they have all the resources to survive whatever is left.

OR they are going to live however they want, enjoying this last year before the end.

as Christ followers we do not have to worry about the Mayan calendar - we are not to worry about tomorrow. 

we do not know the hour or the day of Christ's return.

What if Christ decides to return tonight as the ball drops at midnight?



just liked this picture :)

Merry Christmas

O Holy Night

the stars are brightly shining

this is the night

of our dear Savior's birth.

Merry Christmas!

not happy holidays, not season's greetings...not even happy festivus.

(but if you're a Seinfeld fan, have a Happy Festivus)

I wish you a Merry Christmas.

I celebrate Christ's birthday.

so I wish you a very Merry Christmas.

Happy birthday Jesus!

or in the words of the song I knew from our Sunshine and Snowflakes record:

Happy birthday baby jesus

even when your birthday's through

all year long i'll remember

to sing happy birthday to you.

WHY?

Forgiveness.... reconciliation.... grace....

are these just words Christians throw out to people because they are the 'right' thing to say.

do people truly believe them when they say they are needed for everyone?

or are there limits as to who those should be given to?

i understand the "we're only human and we screw up" line.  But if we're seriously striving to follow Jesus Christ's example don't we need to truly strive to bless others and ourselves with forgiveness, reconciliation and grace - in as much as we're able to humanly do - and to trust that the Lord will give us the strength to mean it and to do the rest of the work in our own hearts and the hearts of others??

yes we're human....

yes we screw up...

so why, when a person screws up and is completely, genuinely, humbly apologetic for the mess up, WHY do we make them feel even more like shit?

Why do we hold it against them and make them fight their way back to acceptance? 

Why do we make them feel as though they are the only ones who have ever messed up? 

Why do we make them feel ALONE?

if they are genuinely asking for forgiveness (I'm not getting into a situation where someone isn't remorseful) why can't we try to give them that? 

why must we make ourselves feel 'high-and-mighty'?

why do we avoid them in the streets or halls and not even acknowledge their existence?

why do we turn our eyes away with hopes that they didn't see us glance at them?

what happened to forgiveness?

what happened to reconciliation?

what happened to grace?

or are those things only something God can bestow on someone?

when someone asks for forgiveness.. when someone apologizes.. when someone acknowledges having messed up...

how is it 'helping them heal' by turning away from them.

if you're hurt by them, then understandably, there's healing on your side too; but for both your sakes - and both your healing... if paths are crossed make eye contact and acknowledge.  

(conversation isn't needed, hugs aren't needed, even a big welcoming smile isn't needed... but making the other feel like a leper isn't going to help anyone.)

I don't recall in the Scriptures where Christ walked by and avoided a person because they had messed up their life more than He could handle,(and I happen to believe He would have been hurt by a lot of these people.) 

forgiveness isn't an option.

reconciliation isn't an option. 

grace isn't an option.

not if you're truly striving to be like Christ.

in as much as we can humanly do those three things.  Christ needs to take care of the rest. 

Someone who is genuinely remorseful, can be forgiven by Christ and the wrongs 'forgotten'. 

why then, do we as humans feel the need to make sure to remind others of their screw ups - small or large. 

God can raise people from the dead.

God could forgive Paul - a killer of Christians.

God heals the lame, makes the blind see...

God can give the strength to forgive, to heal...

He created the earth, the seas, the living creatures, etc in SIX days, I think He can help us forgive, reconcile and give someone grace. 

i am working on these things daily, and I understand they're not easy, if I try to do them by myself.. sometimes I don't want to do them, but i have learned over the last year just how important and healing these can be when i get out of my self-focused little bubble and realize how needed they are for my own healing and for other's healing. 

no one should feel shunned by people who call themselves Christ followers, if they have seen their wrongs and now attempt to right their wrongs and mistakes. 

followers of Christ?

what does that really mean to you? 

Christmas music

I used to start playing Christmas music as soon as it got cold out.

Then I started playing it when the stores got out their Christmas stuff 

(it didn't used to be at halloween time)

Then I started playing it after US Thanksgiving - it made more sense to me.

now I don't want to hear it until at earliest - Dec 1st.

I'm listening to the radio, Life 98.9 right now, and it is Christmas music all day.

(sunday was a day of praise and worhip with some Christmas music thrown in)

I am not a fan of that much Christmas music.. 

I miss the regular 'Christian' music.  

i get annoyed with the same carols over and over just by different artists.  

variety is not there.  and some of them I find quite boring or just plain annoying. 

I wish it would be a mix. 

I wish we could have the regular music with some carols. 

"Switch the station or put on some other music" you say.

I do. 

when I get annoyed enough i do - or i just turn it off completely.

or I just put on Sharon, Lois or Bram and dance around with the kids to the Elephant song.

Some of the non-traditional Christmas music are really good - and they're a nice change.

oh, I am not Scrooge McDuck, I am not the Grinch.

I do love Christmas. 

I love the Santa Claus parade.

I do love the Christmas specials on tv, and wish I would have some of them on dvd - 

i just need to buy my favorites.

I love White Christmas with Bing Crosby.

I love Lampoons Christmas vacation with Chevy Chase, It's a Wonderful Life, Scrooge (B&W version)... 

I love the Christmas story.

I love nativity scenes - although the wise men weren't actually at the stable with the baby.

I love reading the Easter Story at Christmastime to be reminded why Christ even came as a baby, why we have Christmas in the first place.

and I do love Christmas Music.  

just not 24-7. 

this is just me taking time on my blog to write my annoyance at that much repetition of Carols... 

so call me Scrooge if you want, but to me, most carols are sung without depth or emotion being revealed.. they are just sung - the words not really thought of -

now, Jingle Bell Rock (it just came on the radio) is one I don't like much at all - but that's not a real Carol.  

the ones about Christ are the ones I'm talking about. 

 people sing those all the time but don't mean the words or even believe them - they're just Christmas Carols.

O Holy Night is in fact one of my favorites... or What Child is this...and Mary's Boy Child

So, you see I do like the songs - i sang the 12 days of Christmas to the kids at lunch - although I got stuck on days 11 & 12...my true love didn't give me anything on these days - oh well.

I guess I rambled long enough.  

if you made it this far before quitting then Thank You, and I am sorry if you're now confused at the purpose of this entry... if it makes you feel better i am too.

anyway...

Merry Christmas

J@de

I have 5 nephews and 3 nieces. (i hope I counted right)

Today my oldest niece turns 17.

me and J@de

I first met Jade (she prefers to write it J@de) when she was a baby.

I know that sounds like that is the most expected thing, but Jade is in no way blood-related.  

although I think she is.  

Her mom and my brother dated when Jade was a baby and I wanted her to be my niece back then. 

it took a few years but Jade is my niece.  

and I am so glad she is.

Jade is a beautiful young woman with a huge heart.  

She loves everyone.

family is so very important to her.  

friends are the world.  

God is crucial to living. 

I am proud of the young woman she has become.

She is extremely gifted in the arts - drawing, photography, and drama is in her scope too.

She loves music - music is her soul. 

I think she is overlooked too often because she is so willing to give of herself to her family and friends (and as a teen I know it doesn't come across so obviously sometimes)

She is quiet, but funny.

She adores her step-dad, my brother, and loves to go to his comedy shows.  

What a support and encouragement I know she's been to him as he starts off his comedy career.

She loves serving God - even though it is a thankless job a lot of the time.  

(on mission trips, and at camp)

I have a gorgeous niece and i pray often for her.  

I see myself in this girl who joined our family at a young age.  

i adore her.  

She is wise - but doesn't realize it.  

She is absolutely beautiful, but doesn't realize it. 

I am blessed to have her in my life.  

She is an encouragement to me in many ways. 

I pray this next year of her life is full of many unexpected blessings, many friendships strengthening and forming, many dreams accomplished and dreamt. 

Love you J@de. 

helping

today the kids and I made rice krispies squares.

The boy thinks Rice Krispies are the best ever - they are green!!

not fuzzy mouldy green.

but colored green by the kelloggs factory for Christmas.

only some are green, but the green ones were the ones that the boy was excited about.

we made a batch of squares - the kids helped. 

• the girl tried 2 marshmallows - exclaiming both times "don't like".  and then attempting to put the now gross marshmallow into the mix. - - the boy and i successfully stopped her.
• the boy ate about 6 Large marshmallows before i reminded him that eating too many marshmallows may make his tummy sick.
• he helped me put the marshmallows into the pot with the melted butter.
• she tried to grab all the rice krispies.
• he asked multiple times "can I put in the krispies yet?" 
• she successfully grabbed a handful of rice krispies and, after putting some into her mouth, put them into the pan.
• he helped me get those rice krispies out of the pan.
• he poured the rice krispies into the pot for me to mix.
• she played with the sink stopper after tossing a half eaten marshmallow into the drain.
• he licked the spatula with the remaining stuck krispies.

The kids then were so hungry after helping that they needed some green and red rice krispies with some milk.  the boy ate 2 bowls.

What great helpers I have.

The one about MWS' Tweet.

"Church is not a gallery for the self-righteous. it is a shelter for the tired, weak, and impoverished. The outcasts and outsiders." ""It is for those who have examined the darkest corners of their imperfect lives. For those who seek peace, truth, and the greatest of all,.. GOD'S LOVE!!!!!!!!!! "

The other day I was listening to the Christian Station, Life 100.3,  

The dj in the morning read a 'tweet'. 

(I don't use Twitter, and don't really care for it but this one caught my attention)

Michael W Smith, Christian singer, songwriter 'tweeted' the above quote. 

Now I listened to MWS when I was young and loved his music.  

He had great lyrics and fun songs.  

He is now not anywhere near the top of my music interests but he was a huge impact on introducing me to Christians in music.

I honestly still can't believe that he is out there singing and touring, but why not?  

he has a great voice, a hoarde of followers and solid truths to sing about.  

just because I don't listen to him anymore does not mean that he needed to retire - there would be a lot of artists retired if it was all up to who I listened to or not.... 

and it would be a little self-centered of me to think that i was really that important!

anyway, what I was really coming here to write about was his 'tweet'. 

is the church a shelter? somewhere for the tired, outcasts, imperfect?

well i would have to agree with MWS.  

it should be.  

unfortunately for many who have hurt, are hurting, or fall into any of the categories mentioned above, the church has failed. 

and I don't know how to change that.

i can make sure i can do my part.  let's not keep church as the social club it has become. 

does anyone else agree?  disagree? 

MWS, thank you for all you do.  and thank you for your words of inspiration.

My dad's having a birthday.

My dad is having a birthday this weekend.

Hope I remember to call.

I forgot my parent's anniversary - well not completely, I remembered the day before and the day after.

My dad was born in Ireland.  

I am proud to have his Irish heritage.

He is an amazing man. 

He is a man of few words, and when he speaks you listen.  

Partly because you don't want to miss it, and also because he is so quiet spoken.

I don't know if I've ever heard my dad yell.  he is not a loud man, but he doesn't need to be.

I love my dad.

He shows love.

He cares for others.

He respects.

He works hard, and has shown me a great work ethic.

He genuinely cares for and cherishes his wife, kids, grandkids, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, his in-laws, and his parents, who have passed on now.

He is always right where someone needs him to be when he is needed.

He has wise advice, all i have to do is ask.

He is funny.

He is selfless.

I thank my dad for the great man he is.  

I love my dad whole-heartedly, and am blessed to have a man like that as my father.

He is always willing to take the babies in the family and walk them around, whistling quietly until they fall asleep - or at least calm down, if upset.

My dad set an amazing example for me, he showed me how a man should be and what I should desire when finding my husband.  

I feel my husband is a lot like my dad, and I am so blessed to have 2 men like that in my life.

I can only ask that my son can see the example set for him by his Papa.

Happy Birthday Dad, I love you.

 check out my brother's blog entry about our dad - 

i think he describes my dad so much better than I do.

Remember

Remember.

we're asked to remember.

we're asked to remember for one day a year.

not fight, not complain, not argue, not hate, not forget.

one day a year we're to stop what we're doing and remember. 

remember the lives given. 

lives were given in many ways. 

Lives that ended. 

Lives that were physically changed by injuries sustained.

Lives that were emotionally and psychologically changed by what they experienced and witnessed.

Lives completely torn apart by the loss of a dear loved one (physically or emotionally).

We need to remember the sacrifices people made.  Normal people. 

These people were/are not superheroes - although I'd say facing what they did/do and standing strong (even when scared) is more heroic than spiderman or batman. 

We need to remember these people who fought in the wars and remember them with honor. 

One day a year we are asked to remember, and be thankful.

I live in a country called Canada.

I am free to love God, and openly worship Him.

I am able to vote and add my voice to the election of our rulers.

I am free to speak my mind (although I don't most of the time).

those are a few things I am free to do because of the millions of men and women who have given their lives for our country. 

Instead of berating the military and what it does, lets remember the people who step up to the plate. (whether you agree with it or not).  People who place themselves in situations i could never imagine. 

I'll be completely honest with you; I struggle remembering anything I learned about the wars - i struggle remembering, and sometimes understanding, why battles are fought.. but I do know one thing.  I am so glad there have been people willing to make the sacrifices made and that has helped make this country what it is today.

I thank the Lord God for our military personnel... i thank the family members who love them and anticipate their return home... I thank the men and women who have died in battles and those who have come home.

each of you have my respect, admiration, and thankfulness.

Let's remember and not forget.

JONES

Alright, I love Jones Soda.

I don't buy it very much - in fact I purchase it only on a rare occassion.

Last night was that rare occassion - and i actually purchased a 12pack - 4 flavors..

I LOVE the Orange and Cream Soda. so yummy!

(that's the extent of my description today - sorry.)

I love the pictures on the bottles and one day I will actually send in a photo and see if they like it enough to put it on a bottle. that'd sure be pretty sweet, in my mind at least.

last night as I opened my bottle of Green Apple Soda I checked out the photo of a tiny guy pushing at the front bumper of a massive truck and anticipated my quote/fortune on the inside of the bottle cap. - - I know it's not a fortune but I like to think of them as that - 

i am also a huge fortune cookie fan too - also purchased seldomly.

in fact i just read the small...ok, tiny, print on the inside of the cap. 

It says they swiped these quotes from fortune cookies.

anyway, i read my 'fortune'.

"Next Week, you should unveil your idea. Be ready to act."

What idea?????

I didn't know that I had a sweet idea in my brain that I was even preparing to unveil. 

I wish I knew what it was. 

I sure hope that i'm ready to unveil it when the time comes. 

and by ready I actually mean that I even know what my idea is.

I'll be ready to act, if I know what idea i have.

I have a feeling that I may have a stressful week if I dwell on this fortune...sigh...

maybe i will just have to sit back, relax, and have another soda.

a love of mine.

Back in July my husband and brother ran a marathon.

This marathon was because my brother, Timmy Boyle, was dreaming and dreaming big. 
One of his dreams to accomplish by the time he turned 37 was to run a marathon. 
Dan never had a dream to run one but he trained anyway and ran it with Tim.

While there my sister-in-law and myself wandered around the 1/2 way point/finish line..
and the arena where there was a pancake breakfast. 
There were a couple women selling photographs. 

Local women who loved photography
- did it as a hobby -
and had been encouraged by friends and family to try selling some of their work. 

They were doing something I loved to do. 
I love taking pictures. 
i don't know if anyone else would want them but I love the photos I take.

Recently Dan has encouraged me to take more pictures... do photo shop stuff to ones I want to...
and who knows, maybe frame and sell some at some point.   
I'd love to get better at photography, and maybe one day get a nice camera..
but i have to get out there and start taking some now...
if I take them enough, and bring some of my work to a farmers market or craft show -
maybe I'll see if there's a point to purchase a better camera...

but a hobby it will be, whether or not anyone else wants the pictures. 

i love it...

i enjoy doing it...

for those reasons I will take photos wherever I see something i want to capture.



Thanksgiving

I hope all my Canadian friends and family had a great Thanksgiving weekend..and I hope all my American friends and family had a great Columbus Day.

Our weekend was really good.  beautiful weather and surrounded by family.

• 2 turkey dinners.  MMMMMMMM I love turkey dinners!
• more work done on the house!
• a hike up our back hill and on a beautiful trail we'd never been before.
• went to church and were reminded to be thankful for all God has blessed us with.
• played a game & ate candy.
• watched my kids play with and enjoy being with their 4 grandparents and their amazing great grandma.

a weekend to be thankful for.