a few words

what a whirlwind of a week since last week Thursday.

Last thursday at 5:30pm I left Winnipeg with both of my mom's and my sister Phoebe for a 14 hour, thru the night, road trip to Calgary. Let me tell you, doing that.. is not a GREAT idea if you are pregnant. I felt like I had to go to the bathroom almost immediately after a bathroom stop, so on the way home I deprived myself of water which resulted in a severely dizzy and nauseated self. Live and learn. So the drive wasn't the best thing in the world BUT the company was great, and the purpose for the trip - a Beth Moore Living Proof Live conference - was well worth it. I still have to sit with my notes purposefully and really digest the things that she was talking about.

Beth Moore made a couple of points that really resonated with me (well more than a couple) but two that have stood out more in my mind without purposefully going back to my notes to think on it. The first is about when God gives us a "word" - basically when you're at church, or reading your bible or in conversation and all of a sudden you have an "aha!" moment of sorts where you think to yourself, "wow God, that was said just for me." Have you ever had a Sunday morning where the Pastor's sermon seems so perfectly catered to you and where you're at that you almost feel like saying "ok, everyone can go home because this sermon is obviously for ME!"? Well that is what she meant by a "word". Anyway, she talked about how if we don't guard that word, and make an effort to really let it plant itself deeper in our hearts and minds, that the bird of prey is just waiting to devour it. And before you know it, the bird of prey will sweep down and snatch up your word before you even realize it, or think twice about it. And then it's gone. So from that.. the importance of guarding the things God gives us. More digesting of that will happen, but I wanted to put it out there that it resonated with me before the bird of prey even stole that little aha!

The second one was the reality of Satan and his power. She talked about the fact that Satan's goal in this world is to try and copy everything that God is doing. In Genesis (and other times in the bible) it talks about God walking the earth. Later in the bible (job 1:7) it says this: ⁷ “Where have you come from?” the Lord asked Satan.
Satan answered the Lord, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on." 
Satan is also walking the earth. He tries to replicate what God does and deceive us. Beth talked about how in the Bible Satan is described as a roaring lion looking to devour. So often I think we forget the fact that Satan has power. Of course he is no where near as powerful as God, but he is powerful. And he is crafty. And he is working over time. Beth talked about how Satan is constantly working to be right in our face, right in our way. The reality of his menacing presence was made more aware to me when she said "He is so close, you can feel his mane on your neck, feel his breath on your face, hear his growl in your ear." But even better than that, the reality of God's supreme power was made even more aware to me when Beth talked about us taking our ground back, giving God the glory and power, and the fact that when we do that, when we acknowledge God's supremity in our lives - Satan is forced to watch. He has no choice but to see us throw it back in his face. He may be strong, but in the end, he is not victorious. How awesome is that??


So yes, there is a lot to digest still, but those were my two initial things that really resonated with me. 


Since being back, the week has been full, a lot of going and coming. We made some progress on our basement renovations, even got the treadmill & tv set up again in the basement. We also set up our first piece of nursery furniture, and moved most of the stuff out of the guestroom, which will soon be the nursery. Things are coming along!!


I just realized that I started this post with the intention of it going in a completely different direction.. so, there is likely to be a second post today. Part of the result of a busy week I suppose :)

birthdays, colds & rainy days.

spring is here - at least that's how I feel with this rainy day

we got home from our trip to Florida on Friday to a wonderful surprise - all of the snow is gone! It made coming home a little easier, but truthfully, I could've easily stayed for another week or two. Laying by the pool, reading novels, visiting with family, waking up to see Everett & Roger, enjoying 30 + weather. Can't complain :)

However, coming home from Florida was good to, mostly because there is no bed as comfortable as ours at home! We flew home on Friday - my birthday! Nothing like being up and about at 3am on your birthday! The airplane gave me a gift.. a nasty cold. One of the worst I have had in years. I think it was a combination of being up early and needing more sleep, then having the air conditioning and air blowing on me on the plane.. etc. etc. For whatever reason, it was given to me as a gift and it is terrible.

Last night as I was trying to fall asleep I was terrified that I would be unable to breathe at night. My nose was so stuffed up, that if I went to swallow, it was like it closed my soft palate or something, and I kind of choked for a breath. Has that ever happened to anyone?? So I wandered around the house, collecting pillows so I could be nicely propped up. However, after 2 hours of trying to sleep at that angle, I gave up and used some more nasal spray, jammed some kleenex up my nose and hoped that sleep would come. It did.. eventually, but being back at work today has not been pleasant. I could've used a few more hours. And you always know you're looking great when the first thing someone says to you is "oh. are you sick??"

Oh well. In about 20 minutes I'm going to Pineridge Hollow with my dear friend Audrey to celebrate our birthdays. It will be cozy in there as we watch the rain and catch up. My cold won't ruin that!

I'm 27 now. That is very close to 30! It sounds old to me, but also not really at all. I think it only feels old when I think about the fact that Michael is 23. To be honest, I don't really feel a year older. Each year, birthdays seem to be less and less of an "event", in the way it was when I was younger. I also noticed last year when it was my first birthday off of facebook, that when people don't recognize your birthday it feels less like an "event". All of the friends that would've sent me a one line happy birthday message on facebook didn't send me anything because no one (except me I think) uses a calendar. Another sad reality of social networking. I was thinking about it though, as maturely as I could, that the emails and phone calls and texts that I did get on my birthday were from people who genuinely thought of me! And that is actually more special to me than the 100 one line messages I used to get on Facebook because it appeared on people's screens as a reminder that it was my day. I also realized that there are people who's birthdays I don't remember or recognize since I left facebook because we just don't communicate on a regular basis, so it's not that I actually expected (or even hoped) that I would get all of those messages. Is this making sense?? All that to say, I got only a handful of birthday messages and greetings, but each one was personal and meaningful, and I am very thankful for each one.

We celebrated on my actual birthday with our cousins Chris, Emilee & Chloe while watching the jets game and eating pizza & treatzza pizza from DQ. Then Sunday evening was spent with the Thiessen's. Next Friday is my supper/party with my family. I would say my favorite gift around birthdays is just being with family and friends. Anything else is just a bonus. (And I have received some of the best gifts ever thus far...)

Now I am rambling. I blame it on my cold!

In summary: I am a year older - 27 - 3 years away from 30 and happy to be it. I am loving this rainy weather, and would love to be snuggled up reading a book. I am very thankful for family & friends. And I am very much looking forward to my afternoon with Audrey :)

relaxing in florida

it's 11:30am here in florida and we're coming to the end of a wonderful family vacation

we leave early on Friday morning (my birthday!) and already it seems too soon

i love family vacations - lots of time to be together, lots of time for reading (i just finished my book yesterday - a thousand splendid suns). This trip we also went to disney world , hollywood studios and sea world. we may go back to disney today or tomorrow and maybe animal kingdom.. we're playing it by ear.

I have spent many hours sitting by the pool, chatting with everett and watching him learn how to swim on his own (with water wings) This trip has also given us a lot of time with Roger, which is always awesome. 

Now I'm sitting here outside at our patio set, while josh reads & roger sleeps. Mom, Dad & Everett are on a nature walk, and I think Mike & Leah are doing the dishes. Life is good. Today it is feeling a little cooler though, and I just spotted a big grey cloud over the pool.. good thing we already went swimming today! I guess the cool weather is why the hot tub was invented :)

Here are just a few of the pictures so far:

this is where I'm writing from - at the table with the pool in the background

 our first day at disney. Mike & Everett each got "1st visit" buttons to wear, and they were pretty excited about all that was coming up!

 just hanging out with my sweet nephew Roger

 big blue eyes just like his brother (and his auntie!)

 this car in our backyard here has been a big hit. Everett 

goes to "store" or "work" and always makes sure to wave goodbye to everyone. normally we give him a list of things that we'd like him to buy and give him some "money"

 our house & cars

 mom & me outside the house

 mike at disney

us at the magic kingdom in front of the princess castle

more pictures to come I'm sure!! :)

cupcakes!

So I have been spending the afternoon baking fleisch perishky and browsing recipe blogs to pin to my recipe board, and I found a link to this:

http://www.hartfordholidays.com/cupcakecruise/Home.html

A CUPCAKE CRUISE!

Can you even imagine how great that would be??? travelling, being warm, and learning to bake better & more unique cupcakes from some of the experts. ahhh-mazing if you ask me.

Plus, bonus - the cruise starts from a port in New Jersey which is my next travel destination on my list...

Who wants to join me?