Always Loved!

I don't know where to begin.........I guess I should start at the beginning.

On Saturday I got a call saying that my Grandmother was not doing well, her health was failing.

Chris and I started to talk about the possibilities that I go out to be with the rest of my family. That night we decided to wait until we had more information. 

On Sunday (Father's Day) we spent the morning as a family with the kids "helping" me make Chris breakfast and then we spent some time together. We also decided to stay home from church that day because we needed to get things done around our house and I was waiting on a call.

In the afternoon I got a call saying that things didn't look good for my Grandma. I hung up the phone and Chris and I decided that as soon as we could get everything packed and in the car we would leave to be with my family. I called my mom and told her the we would be leaving with in the hour. We managed to get everything packed and leaving just over an hour later. 

Just over half way through our trip our car started to act up, it started to shutter and then it would stall (we have an automatic). It was also having trouble gaining speed at different points. At one point we were gaining speed to get up a hill when we were pulled over by an RCMP officer. 

So on top of everything else we were dealing with now we got pulled over, it turned out to be a good thing.

Anyways, we stopped and the RCMP officer heard our car making funny noises. He told us that he wouldn't give us a ticket but he would escort us to the next town and see what he could do for us. It turned out that he had only been out of depo for six months and that before he was a mechanic. He listened to our car and said that he thought it was more then bad gas (which is what we thought) he also told us that driving the rest of the way would be risky for our car. Unfortunately we didn't have the money to get a hotel that night, in fact we were stretching ourselves just to get me and the kids out there in the first place. So after Chris talked to him about the best way to drive our car the rest we were back on the road to finish our trip. 

We arrived at my parents house at 4:30am. We were all tired and Chris and I were tense with our car acting up. The kids did amazing on the drive, they fell asleep later then normal but they still slept for a good portion of the trip. We knew by now that Chris would not be able to drive our car all the way home again on Monday afternoon with out getting it into a shop to get fixed. My wonderful parents lent us one of their vehicles for Chris to drive home and I will be getting our car into the shop soon to have it fixed. I have the best parents!!

An hour after arriving here my wonderful Grandmother took her last breath here on earth.
There is a part of me that is really sad that I will not be able to sit with my grandmother who has been a huge part of my life. I am sad that I will not be able to hear her voice or see her smile or give her one more hug.
I have so many memories of my Grandmother as a little girl, I remember having sleepovers at her house.
 I am very happy that my children have both spent time with her and that I have pictures of them together.
I still remember calling her before David had his eye surgery and talking about what it was like as a mother with your child going through that kind of surgery, she had two children go through the same surgery. She was an amazing mother to my dad and his siblings. She always had more then enough love for all her grandchildren and great-grandchildren!
Most of all what I will remember about my Grandma is that she was a woman who loved God, her husband, children (both the ones she birthed and the ones that married into the family), her grandchildren and her great grandchildren.
I will always Love her and be Thankful for the lessons that she taught me in life
 and for having a wonderful relationship with her.

Grandma and David

Grandma and Jaclyn

Grandma and my nephew Colby

I love you Grandma and you will always be missed!

Always Loved!

Blankets and Toy Bins

Jaclyn made this make shift chair today with blankets and a toy bin. 

Here she is all cozy watching Winnie the Pooh.

Blankets and Toy Bins

Lost but Found!!

So last week I lost our camera which was really sad because I love taking pictures and it seems like everyday since my kids have done something that was really cute and I wanted to take their picture. 

This evening I FOUND our camera, I am so excited because I will be able to take pictures again!!

I didn't take any pictures tonight but I am planning on taking some tomorrow :)

 

Lost but Found!!

Update on my Knee

Between prayer and staying in bed all day on Monday I am up and walking around again. I am still a little sore and stiff but other then that I am doing really good. 

Thank you to all who were praying for me, I really appreciate it! 

I am now trying to finish up everything around our house before the end of the month.

On a side note, I misplaced my camera over the last week while packing. 

Gotta love it when you put something in a "safe" place and you can't remember where that place is!

Update on my Knee

Knee's

I have struggled most of my life with my knees. When I was 11 years old I was at the grocery store with my dad when I fell. I was walking and all of a sudden my knee gave way and I was on the ground. That was the beginning for me. From that day on I started the process of being extra careful with my knees. I wasn't able to play sports because I had to be careful.  When I was young I didn't fully grasp what that meant for me.

I can remember times when I would be coming out of my room and I would feel my knee give way on me, I would say "my knee fell", it was the only way I could describe what I was feeling.

When I was in grade eleven I was sitting on the floor with my friends during lunch break, when the bell went for us to go back to class I was getting up when I fell over. Some of my friends helped me to the bench and the my mother was called to get me. 

I couldn't put any pressure on my leg, I couldn't walk! My mom brought me to the emergency and the next thing I remember is having surgery. It turned out that I had dislocated my knee cap so bad that it was on the side of my leg when I stood up, and in doing this I also tore almost everything in my leg that was attached to my knee cap. It was one of the most painful things I have ever been through and I am just grateful that I had it fixed right away. I ended up spending most of my summer that year in a full leg straight cast. During my time in that cast I fell again only this time doing the same damage on my other leg. I was back in for more surgery on my other leg just over six months after my first surgery. 

Since those first two surgeries I have had two more to clean out some of the extra tissue (bone growths) on both my knee's. I have seen lots of surgeons and been through hours of physio therapy and had dozens of ex-rays on my knee's. At one point Chris and I had to move because the house we were living in was making it very difficult to walk. I also talked with doctors almost five years ago about the possibility of having more surgery to fix some of my current issues and to help with the pain I live in daily. We decided with my doctors to put off these surgeries until I was done having children and then look at how my knee's were doing then.

About two years ago shortly after Jaclyn was born I tore some cartilage in my left knee. I have talked to a doctor about having it repaired but I was uncomfortable have surgery when Jaclyn was so little, I was also dealing with my thyroid at the time. I have managed to keep from having surgery and would like to avoid it as long as I can. However that may not be that long. Over the last two years my torn cartilage has been in a place that doesn't cause my daily pain but when it moves I am in A LOT of pain. Thankfully this only happens every couple of months, when it does I am in bed or on the couch until it moves again and then I can go on with my daily life. 

As some people may already know we are getting ready to move and I am in the process of packing our house up. Last night Chris and I made some really good progress on our packing and at the end of the night my knee did it again, it locked up and my torn cartilage moved on me. Chris helped me get into bed and I have been sitting here ever since. I am having difficult time standing up on my own right now as I am unable to put very much pressure on my leg. The worst part is that in the past when this has happened the kids and I spend a week on the couch watching movies and reading while my knee fixes itself for the short term. This time I don't have time to sit on the couch for a week. I have so much to do in getting ready for our move in two weeks that stopping does not seem like an option. You could say that I am a little frustrated and concerned right now!

If you are the praying type, please pray that God heals my knee's and that I am able to walk again. Also that we are able to get everything done in time for the end of the month. Thanks!!

Knee's

Just like Daddy

Yesterday David and I had a conversation that went like this:

David: Mom

Me: Yes David

David: I am going to pray to Jesus and ask him if I can have a beard like Daddy when I grow up!

Me: Sounds like a good idea

David: Yeah, because Jesus can do anything, even give me a beard

Me: Your right David, Jesus can do anything!

David: Yup, so I am going to be just like Daddy!

Just like Daddy

Shattered: Struck Down But Not Destroyed - Book Review

I recently read Shattered: Struck Down But Not Destroyed by Frank Pastore.

Here is the write up on the back of the book:
"Cincinnati Reds pitcher Frank Pastore stepped onto the mound in Dodger Stadium to throw another fastball - something he'd done thousands of times since childhood. But this time was different. The batter connected and the ball came rocketing back to the mound, shattering not only Frank's pitching elbow - but also his dream of getting "rich and famous" through Major League Baseball.
As he waled to the training room, Frank found himself asking a God he didn't believe in, "Why is this happening to me?"
There was no answer - at least not then.
It was this injury that sent Frank, a lifelong atheist, on a journey that would change not only his mind but also his whole life - as a husband, father, friend, and troubled son.
We all know the pain of shattered dreams. We've all wondered how to pick up the broken pieces after a crisis. We've all wondered, "Where is God?" when life hurts so bad.
This is a story of how the fragments of broken dreams can be reassembles into even bigger and better things. A story of how, when life's disasters and difficulties knock us down, they don't have to destroy us.
This is a story that shows how all of us can come to know we're in God's good hands.
Even when we're shattered."

My Review:
I thought that Shattered: Struck Down But Not Destroyed to be well written and enjoyable read. I found myself feeling different emotions well reading at points I was sad, happy, curious and wanted to read more and find out how God had worked in his life. Frank Pastore was very open and honest about his life as an atheist and then about his life as a christian.  With so many books out there that talk about how becoming a christian is easy and then your life after-wards will be a walk in the park it was nice to read a story about someone who has struggled both before coming to Christ and then again after. Most people feel that once they make that step to become a christian that their life will be easy every step of the way. Frank talks about how he has had to learn how to be forgiven, to forgive others and how to communicate in a why that honors God. 
Even though I have not had the same life as Frank Pastore I was able to relate to aspects of his life and his struggles. His honesty about how God has taught him how to be the man that God wants him to be was encouraging and I will be recommending this book. 

Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my review of this book and I am not required to provide a favorable review.

Shattered: Struck Down But Not Destroyed - Book Review

Mini Vacation Weekend!!

This past weekend we went on a mini vacation to a family wedding. It was a wonderful time seeing some of our family again and catching up with everyone. 

We stayed in a hotel that had a kids room that both of my kids loved. 

Most of the time we were in the hotel the kids wanted to stay in "their" room.

I also made the wedding cake. It was my first wedding cake and I think under the circumstances it turned out pretty good. I made the cake ahead of time and then transported it with us to the hotel and then I decorated in the hotel room the night before the wedding. I really enjoyed making and decorating the cake and I was happy the my wonderful husband was able to help me along the way!

Here are some of pictures of us at the wedding.

My wonderful boys!

Jaclyn and I being silly together!

The kids with their grandpa

My kids were the entertainment at the wedding. They danced throughout the speeches and went up to everyone there to say Hi. In fact Jaclyn went up to everyone there at least twice saying "Hi, I'm Jaclyn" and before the person could respond she was off again talking to someone else.

I was really proud of my kids on Saturday. They are usually in bed sleeping by 7:30pm, 8pm at the latest. On Saturday we didn't leave until after 10:20pm and they did amazing.

Mini Vacation Weekend!!

Review: Change Your Church for Good

                                                         Change your Church for Good

I recently had the opportunity to review Change your church for Good by Brad Powell. I was interested in this book because, as the wife of a pastor, I often see the church from a different angle than many and am often called to weigh in on decisions with my husband.

Brad Powell's book, Change your church for Good, relates his own experiences with changing a church to the larger context.  Overall the book was much better than I had expected. 

I was put off in the first portion of the book describing the Church's faults.  It was not that I disagreed with much of what was said, but the universality drawn from the church in the United states, or even the North American context, and equating that to the church worldwide today was what is too often seen in American evangelical writers.

The other problem I had was that the book left little to God's work, little to prayer, and little to the issues of how God chooses to act or not act.  Often the book sounds very close to a strait equation of do these things and this is what God will do, which is a dangerous way to look at God,

That being said, the main portion of the book was very good.  I especially appreciated the fact that he did not diminish the difficulties of change, and encouraged slowly changing over many years with a very clear target in mind, and first working the idea of change until the leadership and the congregants fully buy into the need.  There are many of my generation who either decide they want to church plant to avoid the need for change (at least in the early stages) or try to change a church to fast, give up and go elsewhere, which can do incredible damage. 

I recommend the book to those in any form of leadership in a church that is missing the mark and who have desire to see change.  If nothing else, reading through the types of change necessary to get to a new place can be very helpful, and some of the cautions and encouragements.

So, if you can work past the over-generalization in the beginning, and the inherent tone of over-confident superiority that comes out at times, it can be a useful book for any pastors toolbox.

I am a member of Thomas Nelson Publishers Book Sneeze program. Thomas Nelson provided me with a free copy if this book in exchange for my review of this book and I am not required to provide a favorable review.

Review: Change Your Church for Good

Busy & Fun Weekend

We have a full weekend of family, friends, baking a wedding cake, attending wedding and lots of laughs coming up for our family. Today is my prep day for our fun-filled weekend. I am making icing for the cake, baking a cake and packing for my family. I really enjoying spending time with our families and I am looking forward to catching up with everyone. Some people who will be there haven't seen David and Jaclyn for a long time and some of them have never met Jaclyn. Both the kids are excited to stay in a hotel and see everyone this weekend. 

I am excited and little nervous I am making my first wedding cake this weekend, it is a three tier cake decorated with fondant and flowers. I will post pictures of the cake after this weekend. 

I should get back to organizing everything and prepping for our fun-filled weekend!!

Busy & Fun Weekend

Asthma

Yesterday I took Jaclyn into the doctor to get her cough checked out. She has had a cold for a week and a half and for the last four days she has had a nasty cough and been having a hard time breathing. So I took her in to make sure everything was OK. 

Well my doctor told me that Jaclyn has Asthma. I am not surprised after all I have asthma, David has had asthma since he was about nine months old and now Jaclyn has it. When she got sick a year ago with bronchitis the doctors told me then that they could see signs of asthma. 

 

I now have two kids with Asthma. 

Jaclyn has to have her puffer three times a day for the next little while and then I will be able to cut it back and have her use it when she is having a hard time breathing. Right now I am struggling with her as I get her to take her puffer. I am hoping in time that she will be better with taking it after all she sees her brother taking the same thing. 

I really dislike asthma and wish that it was not a part of our lives!

It's really hard as a mother to hear your kids struggling with breathing!

Asthma