stories..

This morning I went to make coffee and the coffee scoop was GONE! Then I remembered I had heard cats playing with something in the night last night, and I also remembered hearing the telltale "thump" of one of them jumping off the counter - they are NOT allowed on the counter! So I know who took my coffee scoop....but I can't find it anywhere :*( ...my coffee is terribly strong this morning because I tried to measure with a tablespoon -

Yesterday was interesting....I found $160 on my front lawn in twenty dollar bills! I got out of my car after work and there was a $20 lying in the grass, as I continued to look around I just kept finding more and more!! I couldn't believe it, but I knew it was too good to be true, not that God can't bless us like that, but I figured it was probably my brothers or one of his friends. After much debate in my head about what I should do - should I say anything? - should I keep it a secret (so I don't have to return it)? - I decided to ask him when he got home and yes, it was indeed one of his friends, it had blown out of his truck. So now I HAVE to give it back, because I know the guy who it belongs to and he also knows now that I have it :*( LOL

ICP

I was looking back on pictures from my PCP course - Primary Care Paramedic - they remind me of what is soon to come in ICP - Intermediate Care Paramedic - We start IVs on our next weekend! I don't mind giving IVs, but I really am not looking forward to getting them. AHHHH!

Bouncy Balls

I hope you enjoy this video as much as I do. Feliz likes to chase bouncy balls.....

Some Excitement

O, what a little flirt. She actually poses for the camera! She doesn't have a name....because she will be going to live with my parents. I call her stinker or squirt or peanut or whatever crosses my mind. She is terribly cute, but such a little brat. My other cats hate her guts...well Feliz is starting to warm up to her, but Tigger.....well..I wouldn't be surprised if Tigger is plotting her death.

Today is day number 4 with the squirt. She is finally not crying all night long, but is terribly loud and annoying in the morning, which puts me in a bad mood since I can't sleep because she is making so much noise. This morning I decided to bring her into my room to try to get her to stop crying. I DID NOT sleep. How can you sleep with a furry little thing walking all over you and attacking your eyes every time you move....not to mention purring loud enough to vibrate my bed!

I can't wait until I see my parents and get to give THIS to them. LOL. I bet their cat, Meeko, won't be too happy to start out with either. This kitten has no fear, it doesn't even flinch when being stalked by other, much larger, cats who are making hissing and cougar-like growling noises! Seriously, I think Tigger would eat the kitten if she thought she could get away with it.

Good luck mom and dad! You will have your hands full!

New Toy

Check it out....this is quite exciting for me....
I just bought my first laptop, and I am loving it already.
It looks very similar to the one above.

Honestly, I couldn't think of anything else to blog about
and I haven't posted anything in a really long time.

There isn't much new in my life....other than the possibility of starting
school again this fall, which is still up in the air.

I went to Edmonton last weekend for a wedding and got to see a whole bunch of
people I hadn't seen in a VERY long time.
It was super nice to catch up.

I also had a weird feeling on my way up to Edmonton that
I was going to see an accident on the road.
And sure enough, as I came over a hill about 2 hrs from Edmonton
there were a bunch of flashing lights at the bottom.
And I also saw one on the way home.
Crazy.

I also had that funny feeling that we were going to get a call
yesterday morning while I was getting ready for work.
And surprise surprise there was a fire call and an ambulance call
that afternoon within half an hour of each other.
I guess it comes with the job.

Valley View Bible Camp

I just got back from four days as a Cabin Leader at Valley View Bible Camp. This was the first time I have ever been a Cabin Leader and growing up I only ever attended camp twice (and not at this camp). I could only be down at camp for 4 days because of work, but they were very interesting days....

Me and Melanie were the cabin leaders for the youngest girls cabin, the Grade 2 and 3's, so they were all around 8 or 9 yrs old and there was 9 of them. It was a challenging week dealing with injuries, home sickness, fighting, tiredness, swearing, and numerous potty runs. At least the girls were not into boys yet.... We had lots of challenges mixed with a few really special moments that made all the frustration just melt away....

One of those moments was during the hay ride. This probably made my week and every time I think of it I can't help but smile. We piled about 10 or more little girls (Juniors - Grades 2-5 ish) onto a flat bed trailer with square bales in the center, to be pulled by 2 horses. Most of the girls were sitting by the edge and were warned to hold on tight...but it was much bumpier than we expected, and one of my cabin girls lost her shoe part way. We followed a trail out of the camp and up into the hills, I was sitting on the very corner holding on for dear life, but despite my efforts we hit a big bump and the 'wagon' tilted so that my butt slipped half way off....as I was holding on, trying not to fall, I felt 6 little hands grab onto my sweater and the girls were telling me " ITS OK, WE'VE GOT YOU, YOU WON'T FALL!" LOL. I know for a fact that if I had slipped off they would've all come with me!! There is no way 3 little 8 year olds could have held me on, lol. Plus if I would've slipped there were MANY cactus' just waiting to break my fall!
So thank the LORD I got myself back on and no one else fell off either. It was just too cute.

During quiet time one of the girls asked us "Does God have a magic globe like Santa?" and another one while playing in the mud pit exclaimed "This is just like swimming in chocolate milk!!" They were not allowed to say they wanted to go home because they were saying it all the time, so instead they started saying "I want to go cow's moo" LOL.

It was such a rewarding week. The whole experience kind of reminded me of my time in South Africa... All you want to do is go home and rest but at the same time you don't want to leave because you have become so attached to the kids. Most of our girls were not from church backgrounds, we are trusting that God has planted seeds in their hearts, hopefully most of them will come back next year :D

Paint It Pink!

http://paintitpinkcan.com

Avon is Challenging everyone to Paint It Pink! There is a photo contest going on and every time you vote on a photo AVON will donate $2 to Breast Cancer organizations across Canada!

I thought it was a cool idea. If you upload a photo yourself you can also earn chances to win some sweet prizes.

So I uploaded three of my own 'pink' photos and if you guys would vote on my pics that would be sweet!

You can search by photo number:
06261348292995
06261347139186
06261346267062

The link to the gallery is: http://paintitpinkcanada.com/pages/gallery.php?lang=eng

Also, AVON sells quite a few Pink items, like journals, pens, candles, scarves. If you are interested just ask. It's for a really good cause!

Life

Wow its been a long time since I have blogged!
I was hoping my life would slow down for the summer...it feels like it should be: Youth is done, youth band is done, and piano is done. BUT I still haven't had hardly any days off....with Jamboree last weekend and then a 2 day course this week and a course in Saskatoon last week, life is still busy. Grad is this weekend already, which also means that my family is coming down to visit for a week and I haven't had ANY time so far to clean my house!!!

I think the biggest news since my last blog is that my bro Matt has moved in with me...that would be about 2 months ago already! Its been going well...hasn't been too hard of an adjustment actually which is nice. Its so nice to have help with things...I generally get the garbage ready then he lugs it out to the can, and he helps with vacuuming (I HATE vacuuming!) and with the dishes and clean up and grocery shopping...and helping me carry in all the groceries. Its so nice.

...I really want to get another tattoo...

i dunno

I am so tired today. I have had 3 nights of not enough sleep.
I worked for two nights and one long 12 hr day in Maple Creek....2 hrs away. This morning, I was off at 0700 so I drove home just to go straight into the office here. I also had no calls in Maple Creek!! NONE!! Its supposedly busy there! But every time I go there I get NOTHING. lol

Anyway my time in Maple Creek was alright...it was quite boring, and since I was staying right in the hospital and I don't know anyone there I spent lots of time reading a book and my bible. It ended up being really neat, God connected to me while I was there....in solitude...bored out of my tree...

So I started reading this really cool book called A New Kind of Normal by Carol Kent. It is sooo good.....everyone should read it!

Some quotes from the book that really touched me:

"My new normal means being still scarred by sin but not devastated by it."

"My new normal is not being afraid to share about the pain in my past, because God has given me peace in my present."

After reading over half the book in one day...I decided to watch a movie last night called Fireproof. Wow....no one told me I would need a whole box of kleenex....my eyes are still sore today! It is such a good movie....and I normally hate sad movies...but it has a really powerful message, not to mention hot firefighters, lol! I hardly slept last night after watching it. It is so good, I recommend it.

This is random..but I saw a moose on the side of the highway today ALIVE, so I took some pics....it was really cool to see a moose up close :) and I hit a gopher with my car! hee hee

Get Fuzzy

Maybe its just me, but I LOVE Get Fuzzy comics!! This one made my week!

Back to Real Life

I have been back in Canada for over a month already. It was a pretty easy transition, but a little daunting to think of all the things I take part in each week and everything I am committed to. When you are in the middle of it all, you don't feel overwhelmed...but when you have been away from everything its kind of crazy when you realize all the things you fill your time with.

South Africa is almost a dream, another world. A world where you don't work for money, you don't pay bills or worry about making supper. Here in real life I have a permanent part-time job as an EMT, volunteer on the Fire Dept., with the youth group and the youth worship band. I go to 2 bible studies during the week, coffee house on Saturday nights and church on Sundays. I have bills bills and more bills to pay, a car (with a loan), two cats and two plants to look after. I also take piano lessons which requires practice during the week. AND I try to get out of town on my days off....

Why do I commit to so much.

I enjoy being busy.

I found this in my journal from South Africa:

THINGS I USED TO TAKE FOR GRANTED

-sitting down at a table for meals
-phone and internet
-time to myself
-real coffee & Tim Hortons
-sleep
-family and friends
-being able to use the washroom whenever
-my car
-eating food in peace and quiet and not having to rush or feed others while eating
-life in Canada
-my computer
-not having to fight with kids to eat and drink

Most of these things are now a part of my regular day to day life again. Some things, like sitting down at a table to eat, are so easy to take for granted. I need to remember how blessed I am here in Canada, we all do, and we need to keep our eyes wide open for ways to be a blessing to others.

In bible school, one of my classes was on Missions. The prof of that class told us every day that we are BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING. I have never really understood what that means or how to apply that in my life until now. I am Blessed and I want to be a Blessing. That is my prayer.

South Africa

O wow, what can I say. Tons has happened in the last month...and so much for me posting updates on here while I was away! It turned out that we had fairly regular access to an email account we were given by TLC but not regular access to anything like facebook or regular email....

On January 10th me and Marian flew from Saskatoon to Johannesburg South Africa to volunteer in an orphanage called TLC (The Love of Christ Ministries). I was there for a month, flew back Feb 8th, and had to leave Marian behind to work for another 2 months :*(

It was amazing, challenging, draining and rewarding all at the same time. I can see how God works even more now that I am home. We would work 0600 - 1900 every day with one day off a week...and usually 1 - 3 hrs off during the day. The first thing I realized when we started was that it was WAY more work that I thought it would be. After my first HALF day of work, I thought I would never make it through a full 13 hr day. I was exhausted. After the first week my back was killing me and I was soo tired all I wanted to do at the end of the day was sleep.

For at least the first two weeks, every day was a struggle for me. I really learned how to rely on God, and give everything over to Him throughout the day. Everyday, many times a day, I would feel like I couldn't do it, then I would remember that I was not doing it alone. God was with me, and at the end of it all I would realize that He got me through it. Some days I knew I didn't have the patience, love and gentleness I needed to give those kids...but all it takes is to ask God to help. And He does.

There was one day in particular that was a real struggle. I was getting very overwhelmed with everything I had to learn and remember. My shift was in the kitchen for 2 hrs, the dishes were stacked high and I had to make up all the bottles...which I had not been shown how to do. Everyone else was busy and I didn't even know where to start. I was about to have a melt down so I went to the bathroom and prayed for God to help me. I knew I couldn't hold it together on my own anymore. It was all too much. At that moment God was completely in charge and He got me through it.

There were so many challenges at TLC. I am not really a kid person to start with, so it really stretched me in ways I never thought of. Many of the kids have special needs, so feeding and getting them to drink their bottles was a struggle most of the time. How do you force a child to drink and eat? For the first week or more when I went back to the cottage at night I could still hear children crying and screaming inside my head. Most of the kids are very happy and wonderful to look after....but they all have their little melt downs every day....especially with the 1 - 1 1/2 year olds.

By the end of the month I was learning to really relax in the times when no one was crying. The work was becoming very rewarding because the children would recognize my voice and give me big smiles when I came into the room. Also with the older kids they were actually listening to me....which helps with frustration levels when kids are misbehaving. Some of the kids really stole my heart. I am deeply missing them. You get very attached when you are the one looking after a child day after day.

In a lot of ways my time at TLC was hard work. I was actually looking forward to coming back to my job here for a break! But all in all I really loved it, and I really loved those kids. I don't miss the work, but I definately miss the babies (and the warm weather!).

God never leaves us, here are some ways He was still at work in my life on my way home.
Everything was going smoothly on the flights home. My first flight was so empty I got to lay down and sleep for 6 hrs. When I reached Minneapolis, after 20 hrs of flying, I was starting to get tired again and was just wishing to be home. But then that last flight was cancelled and I was put on another flight leaving at 0800 the next morning...it was about 2100 (9 pm) by this time....but about 0400 am South African time. I was exhausted, hungry, home sick and scared because this was my first time flying alone. God heard my crys and brought two couples to my rescue. Both of them were from Sask and they were Christians, they even had conections to people in the town I live in! They took me in as their 'adopted daughter' and I spent the night in the airport with them. It was such a comfort to not be by myself. God is so good to me, I think He had it all planned out. My brother happened to have the next day off so he could pick me up, and my dad drove out just to drive me home. Our van almost broke down on the way home, but by another random (God) event we caught it just in time and had it fixed within an hour.

There are so many stories to tell about this last month...but this blog is already getting long. I am sure I am leaving out many things. I would love to talk to you all....I feel like I have been off the planet for a whole month! Give me a call sometime :)

Christmas 08

This was an interesting Christmas to put things lightly. I had to work until noon Christmas day and was then supposed to drive home to where my parents are in Alberta. Things were going fine, I packed up my car in the morning, the weather was supposed to be good except for a few flurries in the evening. So I headed out just after lunch, not too excited about the seven hour drive ahead of me. I didn't get very far....about 15 minutes from home...I turned the first corner going down into the valley and suddenly found the whole road covered in snow, up until then it had been bare and dry. I had no time to slow down so I tried to coast through, but wound up in the ditch. My car became airborne before rolling twice and resting on the passengers side. Totalled.

Things could have been so much worse. God was in control. There must have been angels in the car. There is no other explanation for how I walked away from the scene with only minor scrapes and bruises. I did not hit my head, my only cuts were smaller than cat scratches on my right hand. I had no cuts on my face or anywhere else, despite the fact that I found chunks of glass in the pockets of the vest I was wearing. Of course I have a neck injury, whiplash, but no broken bones. Seatbelts save lives, I have a nice mark on my collar bone from the seatbelt, but without it I may not be here right now. Its amazing. God is so good. My cats who were travelling with me also survived without a scratch. None of my Christmas presents broke.

I had a teacup with a cactus in it unprotected in the trunk. We found the saucer in one spot and the teacup in another in the car, neither broken....the cactus was not so lucky....but a teacup!?! Bone china...old...how did it survive?

Needless to say my family rushed out to my place for Christmas. They made it to my house about 0100 am Dec 26th and we decided to open presents before bed. It was so nice to have them out...but not for these reasons. It was a very traumatic day for me. But its amazing how God brings you friends that look after you. I am so grateful for those who picked me up on the highway, visited me in the hospital, took care of my cats, phoned my parents, drove me home, stayed with me and shared their Christmas supper. My wonderful family stayed until I was feeling almost back to normal and they helped me find a new vehicle.

Sunday Dec. 28th the pastor at my church based his message on this verse.

Psalm 18:16 " He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters."