"Give it up!"

That title reminds me of the shaggy host from the Muppet Show...can't remember his name...but he used to yell it to encourage the audience to clap when he introduced a new guest. There's been a part of me that just wants to 'give it up' (no, not clap) lately. Re our house, re a new job, everything... It just seems like every day we're in limbo, not knowing what's going to happen. On the way home from Lethbridge, I gave it all up to the Lord but now I need to live with that decision every day. I mean, really, if we're meant to move - our house *will* sell and I *will* get a job down there. Yesterday the job opening in Claresholm was posted and I submitted my resume for that today. I now have two jobs in the works but no house. I don't want to commute as it's just too far and I don't want to leave Floyd for that long. So, I get in this panic mode and think, "We've GOT to sell this house!" But we haven't even had an offer on it... I'm thinking that six months from now, I'll look back and say, "Ohhhh, so *that's* why the house didn't sell!" Because God has shown me many things during my life time and one of those things is that everything works for good if we go with His timing. So that's what I'm going to try and do...rest in Him.

On to other things... Today I was in the kitchen baking bread, when I saw a guy from Epcor on our deck, reading our meter. I thought it strange because we have the gate locked from the inside, so they always either come to our door or else leave a note so we can phone in the reading. I told Floyd that we needed to check because obviously the gate wasn't locked. Well, later on, Floyd went out and told me to come out and look. This guy had (believe it or not!) stepped up on Floyd's truck (his footprint was in the snow) and jumped over our fence!! What the heck!!?? He tore off some of the fence in the process and it infuriated us! Since when do Epcor employees resort to hopping over 6ft fences!?? It makes me wonder what his night job is! I phoned and left a message saying that I felt it was a real invasion of our privacy. Apparently they called back, spoke to Floyd, and said they're going to "look into it". I should hope so!

Tonight I have another cooking class - this one is on "Rustic Breads". I'm looking forward to it. Then, after, I go straight to work and work nights tonight and tomorrow. Oh, joy. Friday night ought to be fun. I remember back when I started, the winter nights were relatively quiet and we could kick back and relax a bit but not any more. There's not much difference, now, in summer nights and the winter. The only good thing is that the shift goes by fast...

Get Smart and get to bed!!

I just got back from being in Lethbridge for a few reasons. Most importantly was Isabella's dedication on Sunday. It was a wonderful, blessed time - celebrating with Tanya and Tom as they gave their newest little blessing back to God. Another was to have an interview with Lethbridge Regional Police Service for a position there. I feel the interview went well and I should know by the end of next week if I'm in the running...

While I was there, Tanya and I had the opportunity to look at some houses in Magrath and Picture Butte and then, this morning, in Lethbridge itself. We fell in love with two houses on Saturday - one in Magrath (a totally rebuilt character house - see below) and another in Picture Butte. The Magrath house was incredible and Tan and I were both smitten with it, but, unfortunately, we weren't crazy about the town of Magrath nor the fact that it was that much further south. If only it had been in Lethbridge or Picture Butte...
The other one - in Picture Butte - was beautiful and I think we might make an offer on that one. It was interesting because the ones we went to look at this morning (in Lethbridge city) were our top three pick and none of them were any good. Well, that's not entirely true - one was lovely, but just too small and not practical for our stage in life... It just goes to show that you can't really judge by the internet photos - you really need to see for yourself.

But we had a lovely weekend and there's lots to post about but I need to get to bed so I can get up for work tomorrow, so I have to cut it short... Here's a couple of photos and I've just uploaded a whole bunch more on my Photobucket - album: November 2007.Here's Isabella all dressed for her dedication - doesn't she look impressed?? Ha ha...

This is Tanya on a fun thing we found at a park in Picture Butte!! Too funny!! Erilyn loved it but it made me soooo dizzy!!

Oh, and I got home to "Get Smart"! Yes, KB, I did it! I ended up ordering it from Time-Life as it was a lot cheaper there than anywhere else I saw it. So I now have the complete collection - can't wait to start watching them!

More tomorrow....

How great is our God, sing with me,
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God.

I was just looking on Facebook at Kristy's videos of the kids and people in South Africa and this song kept going through my head, as tears ran down my cheeks. I have to publically proclaim how incredible our God is. When I look at where He has taken our three daughters, at what He is doing in their lives, how He is using them to change others for eternity - I am blown away. People ask me how I can stand having them so far away from home and, when I look at their obedience to God and faith in Him, I answer, "How could I wish for anything more? They are doing what God has called them to do - how could I want them here doing something else?"

Kristy - you and Bob have stepped out in incredible courage and faith by selling everything you have and going to Africa (Africa!!). You heard the voice of God and nothing else mattered. You sacrificed every earthly thing that you had accrued to follow Jesus to the "ends of the earth". You were the one who said she could never live more than one hour from me and yet here you are thousands of miles away. I know the courage that took and the commitment to Bob's vision, pushing aside your own feelings and emotions. I'm not sure I could have done it as cheerfully as you have. I commend you, bless you, miss you, and love you.

Mandy - you followed the Lord's call more than four years ago - what an incredible lifestyle change it was for you - to go from the streets of Edmonton to the poor villages of Bolivia. To go from speaking English to speaking Spanish. You've cried, you've agonized, you've put your health at great risks, yet you've never looked back and now are serving with Jorge in Chile. You both are committed 100% to your ministry to the people in South America, in spite of the heartaches that commitment has involved. Your spiritual growth, Mandy, has left me speechless before the Lord - I've learned so much from you. I commend you, love you, bless you, and miss you, as well.

Tanya - although you are still in Alberta (for now), I see your and Tom's commitment to follow God, no matter what anyone else thinks. You've chosen to accept the five precious gifts He has given you (so far) with open arms and loving hearts. There are many ministries that we can have while on this earth, but I think there is none as important as the raising of Godly children. It is not an easy job but you willingly rise to the task early every morning (7:10 LOL) and drop wearily into your bed every night. Your energy is boundless and I know that God gives you what you need every second of every day to fulfill your ministry. Your children will rise up and call you "blessed", I know. I do, right now, on their behalf. Your mothering skills leave me speechless. And, as I do with your sisters - I love you, commend you, bless you, and miss you.

So, my girls, this blog is for you - I salute you for living your earthly life for eternal values. May God bless each of you and your families...

How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God!!

Yup, we got one...

Well, if you've been reading Floyd's and Tanya's blog, you'll know that we caved and invested (trust me, it's more of an investment than a purchase - ha ha!) in a pressure cooker.

Day one we got home and decided to try it out for stew for the Listers who were arriving that night. We had fun doing it but it scared me spitless when it first started hissing! Ha ha. When I get something new like that, I enjoy reading all the instructions, etc., before using it, and I didn't really have time to do that, so I was nervous going into the adventure. Then, when it started sputtering and hissing, I nearly died! Floyd was laughing at me as I was dancing around the kitchen, yelling at him to take it off the heat...it wasn't a pretty sight. Ha ha. At that moment, all I could think of was, "Why on earth did I buy this beast!??!!" But the stew was done within the hour and tasted delicious and by the time it was over, I had made my peace with the pot and was looking forward to reading about it so I could overcome my nervousness.

Tonight, I'm looking forward to a evening getting caught up on my "to-do" list and then going into nightshift tomorrow. No snow yet and the weather was quite nice today when I walked on my lunch break...

We had a wonderful weekend with Tom, Tanya and the kids - as always - and our house was buzzing with activity.

Now it's quiet again and still for sale...sigh...

The pressure is on...

I just got home from a cooking class at the Bosch Kitchen Centre. I was really impressed (and kind of amazed) at the inventory there - boy, if it's kitchen-related in the smallest way, they have it. At the women's retreat I signed up for two classes - tonight's, which was "Hearty Soups" and one later in the month, called "Rustic Breads". Tonight, in the two hours we were there, the instructor cooked (from scratch to giving us samples) three soups: Southwestern Bean Soup, Salmon Buckwheat and Quinoa Chowder, and Ham Pea Soup. How did they cook them so fast? Pressure cooker. If their goal was to impress us, they succeeded. I really thought that pressure cookers were a thing of the past, but apparently not. I have visions of my Mum's old one that she had for as long as I can remember. No, literally. This pot had been in our house from before I was born until Mum passed away in 1997. That's a lot of years. I know it used to terrify me - just the thought of the process and when that little gadget on top started rocking, I'd flee the kitchen. But Mum was always confident around it and although I think she might have had a few minor steam burns over the years as she released the pressure (not even done that way anymore), nothing ever earth-shattering ever occurred (as in - no explosions - ha ha). And I remember her cooking potatoes in a flash and her roasts going from frozen to flaky within the hour. I used to marvel at the speed but had always decided that living on the edge with that machine was not for me.

Now I'm beginning to wonder. I was drooling a bit tonight but resisted for two reasons: (1) the price was higher than I'd anticipated, and (b) there is still a wonder machine I'm looking at for making my homemade bread...and I need to save up for that. I was surprised, upon looking up on the Net about pressure cookers, to find that they are known to be able to not only be a healthier way of cooking, but also that food toxins can be reduced by pressure cooking. Interesting. Maybe I should dig out my Canadian Tire money and see how much I have.

I did, however, come back with a couple of gadgets - a chopper thing for Floyd (okay, and me) that I thought he'd like, and a garlic peeler! The second item is just a square sheet (about 5") that you just fold over the garlic clove, roll it with your hand, and, voila! The garlic is peeled. Looked pretty neat to me and it was only $1.99.

Anyway, enough of that - I'm off to bed. In the morning I think I might make a Hearty Soup for when the Listers are here on Saturday. But I think it'll be 4-6 hours in my stock pot instead of 30 minutes in pressure...

I should blog today but I just don't feel like it... Don't know why. I've finished my two nightshifts and feel lousy. I didn't sleep all last night, just tossed and turned all night - probably because I had to take my meds the day before (because I worked nightshift!). It's a never-ending cycle.

We had someone want to look at the house this morning, so we ran some errands while that happened. No open houses this coming weekend which is good because Tom, Tanya and the kids are coming up.

Work wants me for overtime but I don't want to work more nights, so I guess I'll have to say no.

Short and sweet (or not so) - that's it for today. I'm going to go grab a nap...

Two in one month...

Cst Doug Scott, age 20 years old. Just a kid. And another constable pays the ultimate sacrifice. Gunned down in cold blood - responding to a drunk driver call. Last night, at work, we heard the news shortly after 11. I don't know what can be done, but something has to be. In a small detachment where only two members work - one sleeps while the other is on duty. And so they're at risk for this kind of tragedy...

My prayers are for Cst Scott's family as well as my co-workers in the Nunavut OCC.

I can't believe I forgot!!

Sorry, Mandy and Jorge!! I totally forgot that yesterday was their first wedding anniversary!! Now I feel bad... I was thinking so much about Mum and forgot about their day... Oh, well, if you talk to Mandy (as I did this morning), you'll find out that she had forgotten about Mum and, yet, received a "special touch" from God about Mum that day anyway! God is good....all the time!

Okay. I have a hypothetical question for you... If you have a baby - say about 8 or 9 months old and it's upset and crying - do you:

a) find out what's wrong (hungry/wet/etc) and try to fix it
b) pick it up, soothe and comfort it (or if you can't, have someone else do it)
c) put it in the bed by itself and give it a cell phone to play with (one that has no time on it though, so they can't use it)
d) all of the above

Sigh. Yesterday was my day one back at work. You know what's coming, don't you? Well, some dear soul (won't mention any names) decided that the best option for the above scenario would be (c). Why not? Good mothering skills, right? Here came my 911 call. For those of you that don't know - if a cell phone has no time and isn't usable as far as making calls, you can still call 911 on it! And I had to listen to 5:54 minutes of a poor little baby crying and sobbing it's little heart out - gasping, choking, calling for "mumma". It broke my heart. My partner did some call-tracing with the help of the cell phone company and found out: the phone is untraceable. Great. After the call stopped, I called them back and demanded they give me something! So, after calling in their big guns, they came up with a home phone and address of the person who last owned the phone - bingo. A history at that address. So we went from there. After about an hour and a lot of work from my buddies in the field, we tracked down loser mom who said everything was fine - she just gave the baby the phone to play with. Riiiight. Sigh. Welcome back to my job. The good news, though, is that the member phoned me with the update and let me know the little guy was okay so at least I didn't have to go to bed with those sobs ringing in my ears. You know what? You have to get a license to drive, a license to marry, etc., but anyone can have a baby....

Positive note: I had fun yesterday and it was good to be back. It made me remember why I love my job and all my watch was so happy to have me there!

For my Mum...

Ten years ago today (4th), my dear Mum went to be with her Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ – to her Heavenly reward and mansion that He’d prepared for her; to see her beloved husband, my Dad, who’d gone on before her. And to her ultimate healing – to be literally Home Free – free of cancer, free of pain, free of heartache, free of all the troubles of this world. Mum, there isn’t a day goes by that I don’t think of you, talk to you, and miss you… I am so blessed to be your daughter and to have the heritage you gave me. I love you and can’t wait to see you again…we’ll have SO much to talk about!! I wrote this for you some time ago…

A Mother’s Love

“I love you”, she would say; and I would nod and smile,
Returning the familiar words – “I love you, too"- and I thought I did.
I thought I knew all about her love.

And when she would reminisce about my childhood days
I would grow impatient and restless – feeling, perhaps,
That her love for me then was stronger than it was today.

After all, back then I was hers – moldable, predictable, obedient.
A good little girl - her “peacemaker” between two boisterous lads.
“We had so much fun”, she would say, and I felt guilty
For the stolen moments I was giving her now.

“You were such a good little girl”, and I was reminded
Of the following years -
When I’d caused her so much pain.

“Let go of me”, I had inwardly screamed, “I’m not yours anymore.
I need to make my own mark, find my own way,
Work through my own life, find my own God”.

I’d said her prayers and read her Bible, now I needed to see
If her God would be mine.

When cross words were spoken I saw the pain – etched in her eyes.
I thought I knew how she felt, but I had no idea.
She needed to get a life, leave the little girl behind,
I was moving on, why wasn’t she?

I thought I knew my Mother - I thought I knew her love.
But I didn’t.

Not until the day I first held my own babies,
Not until then, did I begin to understand.

Not until I’d walked the midnight floors,
Not until I’d kissed the chubby wounds,
Not until I’d curled the first fair lock,
Not until I’d wept at their tears,
Not until I’d seen their first steps,
Not until I’d danced my first “ring-around-a-rosie”,
Not until I’d heard my first, “I wuv you, Mummy”,
Not until I’d knelt by their beds and heard their childish prayers,
Not until I’d wrestled with Satan for their souls,
Did I begin to understand my Mother’s love.

And now the cycle continues in my three girls –
Precious treasures, gifts from God.
They struggle to be free, and in their eyes
I see my words to my Mother - thirty years ago.

It startles me - to see the same look
And to remember those feelings so vividly.
They think I don't see, I don't understand
But they are so wrong.

And now I realize that, maybe too late,
I know the depth of my Mother's love for me.

It's Back...

I wondered if it would show up (depending on who paid for it, I guess - the movie company or WEM), and, sure enough, it did! It is really beautiful even if it is the throne room for you-know-who. Sorry, just not a big Santa fan...

Speaking of Christmas... I've made a decision not to send out Christmas cards this year (oh, the blasphemy of it! LOL!). I dislike doing it every year because it's kind of meaningless in a way. It costs big bucks for postage and the cards themselves - all to just say "Wishing you a Merry Christmas" to people you never write to any other time of the year... I've decided that what I'm going to do instead is make a concentrated effort to write at least one letter/email a month to my Aunts, Uncles, etc., to keep in touch. And I keep in touch with others through emails and, apparently through my blog! (Margaret, you there??) So, I hope I won't be offending anyone as I take this dastardly step...

And still speaking of Christmas... I discovered a website in a Christian Women's magazine (when Cynthia and I were at the retreat) - it's called BuyNothingChristmas and the title really intrigued me because, as a family, we have been moving every year (for years) towards spending less money and buying less gifts. I've been really happy with that movement because we've been trying to focus more on the real meaning - Christ's birth - and steering away from what non-Christians are so hectically celebrating. It has sickened me, in the past, to hear people talking about the "stuff" they are purchasing and going into debt over it. I think one of our best Christmases recently was the one when Floyd, Mandy, and I all gave the money we would spend on gifts to Hope Mission to buy dinners for the homeless. It was Mandy's idea and we loved it - the day was so much more relaxed and meaningful. Anyway, if you're interested at all, you can check out the website when you have time...there's a duke's mixture (where did that saying come from??) on there but you may find it food for thought. Be sure to check out the posters in Resources - they speak volumes.

On to other things...my day today involved going to the mall to (a) walk, and (b) check out Chapters. My work gave me a gift card and it's been burning a hole in my purse for some time. I sat in the store for about 3/4 of an hour looking - mainly in the photography section and ended up coming home with "The Photoshop CS2 Book for Digital Photographers". I really like the way it teaches - if you want to know how to do something, you can just go to that section and it walks you through it step by step, explaining it on the way. And the author, Scott Kelby, is a Christian (knew through his tribute), so that made me feel better about putting my money in his pocket rather than someone else's - LOL!

Then in the afternoon I cleaned and protected our leather living room set - something that was long overdue. After I went out and raked the whole front yard - it is always littered with cigarette butts, leaves, and garbage that blows in from the neighborhood. I sure hope it isn't windy tonight as we're having an open house again tomorrow and Sunday.

And tomorrow...it's back to work. Sigh. I know I'll enjoy it once I get there - it's just been a long time and it feels weird to be back in the working world again. But that's okay! Time for a change!

P.S. on yesterday's post...

Okay, I have something to add... As I was doing the second coat on the house, it occurred to me that this MIGHT have been my job about 22 years ago - LOL. Floyd built it and I was probably supposed to paint it. Oh, well, better late than never - mind you, it's pretty much been in use ever since it was built, so this might have been my first opportunity... The girls used it all the time when they were young and then, when they were teenagers, their friends came along, and then the grandkids...well, you get the picture... Also, I painted it with the only color we haven't thrown out - Egyptian Nile - and it occurred to me that it is not dissimilar to the old color of our house. So, the "ugly green house" lives on...but now it's Barbie's problem!! Bring on the fake brick!

Cleaning house...throwing stuff out...

Today I spent most of the day cleaning all the furniture in the house (some of the gunk on there was over 20 years old - eeewwww!). Then I went through all the clothes and threw out stuff that isn't used anymore. And my final project was working on the inside walls, gluing wallpaper that's been peeling off; then I went and painted both the outside and the back of the house! Honestly! It was a dirty job but one that really needed doing. I had a busy day! Ask Floyd - he never lifted a finger to help me - just provided me with tools when I needed them and watched me work. What a guy...

He, however, did go and get his flu shot - so I mustn't be too hard on him - that was a big venture. I wonder if his arm will hurt as much as mine did when I got mine.

Soooo....after doing all this work on the house, I'm thinking that maybe I'll keep it after all. I had talked to Tanya about giving it to her but now I'm wondering if maybe it will always belong with Grammie. Oh, did I forget to mention I was talking about the Barbie house?? Sorry about that!

Some things just couldn't be thrown away - who can forget the funky gold and green jumpsuit that Ken was proud to wear? And, you'll all be glad to know that the piano and boom box do still work!! Anyone out there remember what tune the piano played (the one that made me take out the batteries years ago)??

What the parents do when the kids are all gone...

...so, last night was Hallowe'en and, as per our long-standing family tradition, Floyd and I prepared to go out for pizza. Then we began to think about it, and, wait, did it really need to be pizza? That was the cheapest way to feed everyone for many years but now there was just the two of us! And, what was that smell in our noses? Steak? Anyone mention steak? Yeah, I think a certain man offered to take me out for "Bob's birthday" (sorry, Bob!) on his blog! So, yeah, we ended up at the Keg (sorry, KB!) - it was wonderful. We took our time, sat and talked all about jobs, houses, and moving, etc. (all that's on our minds these days!) and enjoyed their wonderful food. Thanks, honey!

We came back to find our house still standing and even our real-estate sign still intact (did I mention there were reasons we were looking forward to moving?? LOL), so it was all good. We dug into some more NCIS and then went to bed. Then we remembered!! The Pendergasts!! Arghhhhh....ha ha - another family tradition bites the dust... I'll have to phone Phyllis this morning.

Oh, and I heard from LPS - they are not pushing the issue on the 5-minute typing test (whew!) and are willing to incorporate it in the interview scheduled for November 23rd - that was nice of them... LOL. I wonder if I'll be joining them and leaving the RCMP...sigh...

And I just phoned Shaw in Calgary and found out they do service Picture Butte! I was so afraid to call and wasn't sure how on earth I was going to take a gigantic step backwards by reverting to "dial-up" again. I couldn't handle it! So, sigh of relief all around, we will still be in civilization!!