Happy Birthday, Becca!

Our sweet little Rebecca turned 5 in April! She is so excited that she is now 5. That means she gets to start Kindergarten in the fall - something she's been looking forward to for a long time.

Here are some pictures of her birthday party:

The Birthday Girl!

My little nephew, Aiden

Becca's Ladybug cake (I just couldn't get the icing red!)

Wee College Graduation

This past year, Becca attended Wee College. She felt so grown up each Wednesday morning I dropped her off. She had her backpack filled with her Bible, Wee College binder & song book. It never ceased to amaze me how many songs & Bible verses she memorized.

April 15th was her Wee College graduation. It was another opportunity for her to feel proud about herself & to show us, her family, all the things she had learned over the past several months. Here are a few pictures from that evening:

Resting Place

At our Care Group on Tuesday night, one of the ladies led us in worship. She read Isaiah 66:1,2:

"This is what the LORD says:

'Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?' declares the LORD. 'This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.' "

I've heard & read these verses before, they are underlined in my Bible. But I don't think I've really understood these verses before Tuesday night. Before, I always had a picture of God sitting on His throne in heaven with His feet resting on the earth - pretty straight forward, but never gave much thought to the rest of the words. Because of my friend sharing her insight, I now have a different perspective.

I now see the focus being more on: "Where will my resting place be?" The resting place that God is seeking is in our hearts. He is looking for a place to rest, to hang out. It was like the light bulb went on! The resting place is in our HEARTS! Not some place in outerspace but in my heart! Suddenly these verses became personal! So then I asked myself: "What kind of a resting place do I have for Jesus? What is the condition of my heart?" He wants to dwell in someone who is humble and is contrite in spirit and trembles at His word. (Contrite: caused by or showing sincere remorse; filled with a sense of guilt and the desire for atonement; penitent.)

God wants to dwell, live, hang out in our humble & repentant hearts. He wants us to tremble, to be in awe at His word. How many times in a day do I mess up, get mad at the kids, not have a loving attitude toward Jeremy? How many times in a day am I selfish with my sleep time, quiet time, wanting my space, what I want to do...)? How many times does my work or the computer (e-mailing, Facebook, even blogging) take priority over God or my family? What a disgusting resting place I've created for the One who is more important to me than anything! It doesn't sound very restful to me! "Maybe that's why my soul hasn't been at rest lately," she states rhetorically! I know when it's time to clear the clutter of my heart because my heart is unsettled, my soul is not at rest.

God asks us: "Where will my resting place be?" My answer, taking it one moment at a time is: "Here, O Lord, I have prepared a resting place for You. I will wait for You alone."

Resting Place
Heaven is my throne
And earth is my footstool
Where is the house you will build for me?
Whom of you will hear the cry of my heart
Where will my resting place be?

Here oh Lord
Have I prepared for you a home
Long have I desired for you to dwell
Here oh Lord
Have I prepared a resting place
Here oh Lord I wait for you alone
Copyright © 1991 Mercy/Vineyard Publishing. All rights reserved. International copyright secured.

Be A Tourist In Your Own Town

In March, we headed to the Island for Jeremy's grandma's funeral (see previous post) and decided to make a weekend of it.

After the funeral & visiting were done, we headed down Island to my parents' place. The next morning, we (Jeremy, the kids & I, along with my parents) got up, packed our lunch & snacks and drove to Victoria. It happened to be the annual "Be a Tourist In Your Own HomeTown" weekend, so we took advantage of it. I don't know if other towns/cities do this, but if yours does, take advantage of it! It's a fun way to see all the touristy things without breaking the wallet.

Tickets books are $8/person. Each booklet has multiple coupons and you can use each coupon once. Some were free admission, some things were buy one, get one free (restaurants, candy shops, etc), some were simply discounts.

We decided to visit Miniature World, the Royal London Wax Museum and the Pacific Undersea Gardens. We'd been to the Undersea Gardens before but the kids love it so much we went again. I don't think I'd ever been to the Wax Museum & it had been YEARS since I had been to Miniature World (probably the same age as Daniel!). So it was great fun walking down memory lane and at the same time, creating new memories for my kids.

Here are some pictures from the day:

Space ship @ Miniature World

Becca & I checking things out at Miniature World We visited the Queen...at the Wax Museum!
Remember, all the figures are made of WAX!
Checking out the "Hands On" Exhibit at the Undersea Gardens

Throughout the day, we had a mixture of crazy weather: cold, strong winds, sun, snow, rain, snow...! For our lunch, we skipped the picnic in the park & instead had a picnic in the van! And we were especially thankful because that's when the snow hit! By the time we finished eating, the snow had stopped & the sun was shining again! Crazy!

On the way home, Daniel was falling asleep so to help keep him awake, we pulled over on the Malahat. The guys got out to give Daniel some fresh air. It had started snowing again so they had a little fun playing in the snow & taking pictures.

Daniel's picture of Jeremy

My Dad goofing around!

Daniel's turn to goof around!

"Freedom"

If you, or someone you know, has a disabled child, please check out Nancy's blog - The Olive Leaf Ministries. She has details there about a new Facebook page she has started to encourage and support parents of disabled children. Her own daughter has Autism and through the struggles & tears, God has taught her & her husband, Jimmy a lot of valuable lessons.

Click HERE to visit Nancy's blog post today & be sure to pass the word along!

Remembering Dorothy Mae Olson

I'm finally getting around to writing this post as I have recently found our camera & have now uploaded our pictures onto the computer.

In early March, we headed to the Island for Jeremy's grandma's funeral. It was a sad time because of the occasion, but it was good to see family we hadn't seen for so long. Here are just a few of the pictures we took.

Jeremy's Parents, Dennis & Audrey
Two of Jeremy's brothers & wives:
The oldest, Justin & Barb
The third oldest, Nate & Jen

Cousin Bryan & his wife

Jeremy & the kids with GG (Great Grandma)
This was the last time we saw GG (Spring Break '08)

He Had Compassion

I have a few other things I want to blog about and will get to those, hopefully, in the next week or so. But this morning, I wanted to share briefly what I read during my devotions this morning.

I have been reading through Genesis lately, but today I decided to read in Matthew. Our pastor is currently working through Matthew. I've been learning lots & am trying not to ignore the challenges our pastor gives us!

Matthew 9:36

"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."

We know from reading through the four gospels that Jesus was constantly bombarded with people. They wanted to be healed, to learn more about His teachings and just simply to be near Him. Jesus had compassion on the crowds of people. He didn't see them as being annoying people invading His space, or as ignorant people. Jesus saw the crowds of people as helpless (physically & spiritually).

Then I asked myself the question: how do I look at people when they're surrounding me, demanding me of my time, etc. Sounds like those "people" are my kids! I tend to get uptight & shoo them away when they are nagging, pestering, invading my space. When I get hungry, tired or busy, I like to have my space (both physically & mentally). It frustrates me when I have to repeatedly tend to my kids (usually for the same things over & over & over...) & all I want to do is be in my own little world.

That's when verse 36 really made sense to me - Jesus had compassion on the crowds of people because they were like a sheep without a shepherd. Surely I could try to have compassion on my kids when they crowd around me and when they continuously crowd my thoughts.

Lord, help me to have compassion on my kids & to not shoo them away. And help me to have compassion on others you bring across my path, to see them with Your eyes - to see them as helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Amen.

Amazing!

A friend e-mailed this to me & I just had to pass it along to everyone! Thanks, Carla!

(If clicking on the Youtube video doesn't work, try clicking HERE - let me know if this doesn't work).

Happy Easter!

I'm sitting here waiting for my kids and their youngest older cousin (does that make sense?!) to finish eating dinner. We have 14 people here for Easter dinner. The younger ones are eating first so we have enough dishes & chairs for everyone else!

My sister & her family are in town from up north & my parents came last night & head back to the Island tonight. We also have my sister's in-laws here for dinner.

I love having lots of family here, even if we're squished. Somehow it wouldn't be the same without the craziness of everyone sharing one bathroom, people sleeping in every sleeping place possible (although we didn't have anyone sleep under the dining room table this time!).

This visit is short but sweet as early tomorrow morning our house will be quiet again.

I hope that you are enjoying time with family this special Easter weekend & that you take time to ponder on the depth of what Christ did for us 2,000 years ago.

And if you think of it, could you please pray for a friend of mine. She had surgery today - hysterectomy & mastectomy. She is deserately wanting prayer for the healing, both physically & emotionally. She is my age (mid-30's), married & has 6 kids (the youngest was born just before her first chemo treatment in the fall). Thanks!

Happy Easter!

ERs & IVs

I'm realizing that the past few posts have been mainly about medical stuff and here I am again about to write about more!

I just thought I'd take a moment to update you on how we're doing. Basically, Jeremy & the kids are fine. We haven't heard back about a surgery date for Becca, Daniel's side effects seem to be subsiding (yeah!), and Jeremy is ready to get back to losing weight (the scale gave him a reality check this morning).

As far as how I'm doing, well, that's a loaded question! It seems to be my turn with all the medical concerns. I had a nasty cold over Spring Break but seem to be over that now (with minor coughing when I get tired). My newest adventure is a kidney infection! I was silly & didn't take care of a bladder infection when I should have. I figured I could flush it out with water & cranberry juice, but alas, it didn't work.

Sunday night (early Monday morning - 3:45am to be exact) I went to the Emergency with extreme pain in my back, knowing it was a kidney infection. I've had one once before when we were first married. I got home about 6am in time to sleep an hour only to get up to take kids to school. Monday things got much better. Yesterday afternoon/evening things took a turn for the worse. We went to our church Care Group and by the time we left I knew I was going to be visiting the Emergency again. I dropped off our babysitter then headed to the hospital.

I was very thankful for a doctor who seemed very thorough. He feels that my antibiotics are working but just haven't fixed things enough for my kidneys yet. Because of that, I had extra antibiotics through an IV last night. It took 3 attempts for the nurse to find a good vein (something about having lots of valves), but she managed to get it in. I was so special that they let me keep it in all night & all day today (yes, typing with an IV stuck in my hand is rather precarious). I get to go back again this evening for another dose of drugs via IV. After that, my special-ness is supposed to end...they'll take my IV out. I have a follow up appointment tomorrow with my doctor & Friday evening my regular antibiotics will be done. I'm hoping that I'll be finished with this craziness soon!

A friend shared today on her CarePages (a way for her to update people on her battle with breast cancer) some verses from Job. Job is suffering immensely when his wife tells him to "curse God and die!" Job responds by saying, "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" I know Job's and my friend's examples are much more extreme than my current situation, but I know I can still learn something from them. This morning I didn't feel like reading my Bible but knew God was prompting me to, so finally this afternoon I spent some time reading. Nothing profound jumped out at me, but rather a quiet reassurance that things will be okay. Even if my kidneys are causing me pain and my hand hurts from the IV, I will feel much better if I focus on God (and I do). My heart is at peace again.

Catch Up - Again!

Has it really been a month since I've written on here?!

I'm sitting here waiting for the kids to finish their supper (yup, it's a late one) & hop into bed, so I figured I might as well write a quick update. I can't even remember what I wrote in my last post so forgive me if I repeat myself!

Things here have been rather chaotic lately. Where do I start?

We are wrapping up our first week of Spring Break (this week is technically a "School Closure Days" as a way to for the school district to save $$ & next week will be the official Spring Break). I've been very steady with my business & am seeing the results of my work paying off. So far this year, we've been able to buy Daniel & myself new glasses & we'll be redoing mine & Jeremy's bedroom closet soon - all with my earnings from Epicure.

Jeremy continues to work hard at his work. He is off this week - only a couple more days to go. We originally wanted to visit some friends in Alberta but finances didn't allow for that, which in the end worked out for the best. Jeremy's Grandma passed away so we headed to the Island for the funeral last weekend.

The kids are now tucked in bed & sleeping. I'm in the midst of a bad cold (achy, chills, congested head, swollen glands, etc) so I'm feeling the need to sit & drink some tea. I'll intersperse my sips with some typing.

On the Saturday, we headed to Victoria with my parents & did the "Be a Tourist in Your Home Town". Each year, Victoria hosts this, allowing people to purchase tickets for only $10 each & then tour a number of different places for free or for a reduced price. Because we bought enough for the group rate we only had to pay $8 each. We visited Miniature World, the Royal Wax Museum and the Undersea Gardens. It was a full day but was lots of fun, despite the freezing winds that whipped through the city. We even had snow a couple times that day! We came home Monday but missed the ferry due to a major snow fall. My parents had 6" in their driveway by the time we were packed & ready to head out. It was slow going. If we were tempted to speed up, we were quickly reminded to stay slow from all the vehicles in the ditches, upside down, smashed, etc. We even witnessed a pick-up truck rear-ending a car right beside us on the highway and a 4 or 5 vehicle accident on the side of the road, one of them being a hearse! Thankfully it was empty & it didn't look like it was needed to carry any bodies away from the scene. Yup! It was crazy weather & needless to say, my stomach was in knots till we hit Nanaimo & most of the snow was melted. By the time we reached the ferry terminal, the roads were wet but clear & the sun was shining. Driving off the ferry it looked like the mainland hadn't even had any snow (they received a dusting that morning). We made it home safe & sound!

The kids started free swimming lessons on Tuesday & just finished today. They both loved it and were excited each day. Now to maintain that excitement & put them in lessons again.

I had a doctor's appointment this week. I had a medical concern, but thankfully the doctor had good news and all is well. And seeing as the week would have been boring with just one doctor appointment, Daniel & Becca had one too!

We had another appointment with our pediatrician for Daniel. He's been experiencing some side effect from his new medication. He has been having trouble concentrating, wrestless, "not getting it", and so on. It was really affecting his time at school so we met with the school psychologist, his teacher, Teacher's Assistant, Learning Assistance teacher and some other lady (not sure who she was but I assume she has something to do with learning assistance) last week before going to the Island. They were quite concerned for Daniel & wanted to make sure we were all on the same page. His last 2 days of school last week seemed to better, with better concentration, etc. This week he seems to be good as well but he's also not in a scheduled environment like school, so we'll know for sure when school starts again in another week. The only other side affect we seem to be dealing with is a really bad rash. It's all over his body & is very sore. The pediatrician says to give it a couple more weeks to see if it goes away (as the other side affects have done). If not, then we look into things further. In the meantime, we're being very careful with how we touch Daniel & he's being very careful with getting dressed & undressed. He's such a good sport with hardly any whining. It also seems that we've found a good dosage for Daniel as he hasn't had any seizures for the past week or so.

Becca also had a doctor's appointment this week. Our family doctor referred her to a Nose, Throat & Ear specialist to have her tonsils looked at. Becca's tonsils are almost kissing! They are huge & her breathing is often laboured, especially while sleeping. It didn't take long for the specialist to examine her & see that she definately needs to have her tonsils & adenoids out. I signed papers yesterday at the appointment, so we will be hearing in the next week or so when Becca's surgery date will be. Most likely it will be in about 2 months. I'm not looking forward to the actual surgery & recovery, but I'm so glad she's going have it done as I'm hoping this will improve her breathing. Maybe she'll even be able to breathe through her nose & smell things for the first time!

Lets see...what else is there to share?! Jeremy has had this week off & had a long TO DO list. It wasn't till yesterday that he was able to start working on his list. And as always, when Jeremy puts his mind to something, he doesn't stop till he's accomplished it. Our van is now fixed & clean, our garage/rec room now has heat & blinds on the windows (just in time as we have people sleeping in there tonight!), Jeremy has bought a used dishwasher for our basement suite as that one died. Hopefully tomorrow it will get installed. The last big thing on the list is our bedroom closet. But that will have to wait as the cupboard set we want is currently out of stock. Oh it feels good to have things getting done!

Well, I've finished two cups of tea & my bed is calling me. It's 11:16pm & my parents & entourage (their international student, my aunt & uncle & their youngest son - 16yrs old) will be here in about 45 mins. We have to finish getting beds ready & tidying up. Life is never dull here at the Olson's!

I'm not going to proof this so please excuse any mistakes! Until next time...!

Update!

I have so much to talk about, yet nothing much at all!

Our lives the past few weeks have been far from boring, but nothing exciting has happened! It started in January with Daniel having a seizure which has resulted in a medication change. Things seem to be fine in that department. He's been off his original medication now for about a week and so far no seizures. We are praying that God will continue to allow this medication to work for Daniel with no liver damage. We have definately seen an increase in his appetite. I continuously check to make sure he's eating healthy.

Last week Daniel missed 4 days of school as he had the nasty flu going around. He was extra tired, and his stomach was sick in more ways than one (I think that was tactfully put!). He seems to be fully recovered from that & back to his usual energy.

Becca had bronchitis (according to the walk-in clinic doctor - not sure how much weight I put on what they say) and has finished with her puffer & antibiodics. Her cough & nose have cleared up too. I'm hoping that she is finished being sick for the season.

Jeremy has had a head cold for the past several days. Monday night / early Tuesday morning (about 1:30am) Jeremy woke me up to tell me he was going to the Emergancy at the hospital. He had an ear infection and was in extreme pain. He had a lot of ear problems when he was little and now often gets an ear infection when he gets a cold. The heavy drugs (morphine & Tylenol 3's) didn't touch the pain for several hours. Yesterday afternoon, the antibiotics kicked in and his ear started draining, relieving some pressure & pain. Last night right before bed, he ended up getting sick! At this point we're not sure if it's from all the drugs he took yesterday or if it's the flu. He went to work today but came home a couple hours in. He is extremely dizzy & when he moves his stomach feels very nauseaus. He's sleeping right now & hoping that whatever this is will pass through his system quickly and that he will be back at work tomorrow.

As for me, I have so far avoided all the things going around. I've had times of feeling queezy and exhausted (but it's probably from me staying up too late). I'm trying to get to bed earlier these days, hoping that ample sleep will keep me from getting sick.

I know that wasn't a very exciting update, but figured I'd post it, nonetheless.

Oh, and Jeremy didn't weigh himself this morning so there's nothing to report.

Oh (again)! Daniel & I got new glasses last week! I'll try to remember to take pictures and post them soon.

Weight Loss Update

Well, it's a few days past Wednesday but thought I'd post Jeremy's results anyway.

On Wed., Jeremy was down to 240lbs. He just came out & told me that he weighed himself this morning & is down to 239lbs. I think Jeremy's been more purposeful this week in his eating and I'm trying to help him by ensuring I have heathy meals made for supper each night. At times it's frustrating to cook healthy and not just quickly throw together a casserole-type meal, but I know that how I cook greatly influences Jeremy's weight loss.

If you have any recipes that are healthy (low-carb), I'd love to hear about them.

Check back on Wednesday for another update on Jeremy's progress.

Polishing

I was just catching up on some blogs and was touched by Nancy's words over at The Olive Leaf Ministries. She was talking about struggles that we all face and how we handle them. Here is a snipit of what she wrote:

"Trials will indeed come but each challenge serves to polish us into the image of Christ."

Somehow, that touched my heart, right where I needed it to. I've been struggling to feel much of anything this past week or so since Daniel's seizure & Becca's tumble. I know neither of them are overly huge ordeals, but they still put my heart at unrest.

The things Nancy wrote are nothing new, but God in His great wisdom knew I needed those words. Thank you, Lord, for once again touching my heart in just the right way.

To read Nancy's full post, click here.

The Journey Continues

Assuming you've read the previous post about Daniel's seizure & Becca's fall, I thought I'd give a quick update on how things are going.

First, Becca is doing much better. Her upper lip is pretty much back to normal. From the front you can hardly tell her tooth cut through her lip! The inside of her upper lip is still healing but so far there doesn't seem to be any complications. Acidy things (ketchup, pickles...) still hurt her lip but she is able to eat properly again, which she happily declared the other day!

Now for Daniel.... This past Sunday night Daniel had tingley lips again. We were quite shocked to say the least because Daniel has been taking his meds regularly since we missed it last Tuesday. After the tingling ended, we gave him an extra pill & sent him to bed. Last night Jeremy also gave him 40mg of meds instead of 30mg, just to be sure.

This afternoon we had an appointment with our pediatrician. It was informative and we came away with a game plan.

Basically the pediatrician told us that the current medication Daniel is on isn't working anymore - nothing shocking, hence all the chaos lately!

One of our options were to up Daniel's dosage 40mg but that's the maximum dosage allowed with that med. We weren't too keen on that option as Daniel has a very low seizure threshold (he is very sensitive to having seizures). And once Daniel outgrew that dosage, then what?

The other option was to put him on a different kind of medication. I think the doctor mentioned 2 kinds. Unfortunately they both have side affects of weight gain & possible liver damage.

Given our options, we have chosen to go with a change in medication. It will be a little scary over the next 10 days as we have the new med build up in his system. Then, after 10 days of introducing the new med, we will stop the current med. That will be a nerve wracking time too as we try to have faith in the new medication.

As this new medication has side affects, we will need to be more diligent with what & how much Daniel eats & be sure he gets plenty of exercise (pretty much what we're doing already, only more intentional). Also, Daniel will have to go for blood work every 3mths to make sure his liver is doing okay. That means every 3 months until his epilepsy is done - possibly not till he's 15 yrs old! I'm not happy about that. My mother-bear instincts want to scoop up my son & protect him from all the bad things. I spent some time thinking today about the commitment Jeremy & I made when Daniel was a baby & dedicated him to God. It's times like these that that commitment becomes reality.

So we continue to give our son to Christ & trust that He has the best plan laid out for Daniel. (Now to have my heart agree with my head).

A Long Day

This has been a long day.

It started last night about 8:30pm. Daniel had a seizure. He didn't take his medication on Tuesday night (which I didn't realize till the next day). In the past when we've forgotten his meds, the next night he wakes up with tingley lips. It lasts a couple minutes and a cool damp cloth seems to sooth his lips.

Well last night, he woke up, managed to walk out to the living room while having his seizure. We immediately laid him on the couch on his side. We didn't want any choking to occur. His seizure only lasted about 2 minutes, but this is the worst it's been since his very first one 4 years ago. After his seizure finished he fell fast asleep & was fine for the rest of the night.

Mentally, we knew he was fine, but it really took an emotional toll on us. This morning I let his teacher know - just in case, but all was fine.

Then...the next part of our day happened! I was visiting with one of the moms after the kids went into class & our kids were playing. Of course, I was babysitting today & had the 4yr old boy with me. Well the kids found a frozen puddle & were having fun with the ice.

Becca had pulled her arms out of her coat sleeves & tucked them inside her zipped up coat (kind of like a mummy). That spells disaster but my brain was still foggy from Daniel's seizure last night, so I didn't think to say anything. Soon enough, she slipped and fell face forward onto the ice...with no hands to break her fall (they were safely tucked inside her coat!).

Her tooth cut right through her top lip. I quickly took her inside to the school office & the principal came & helped. I couldn't think of what to do. It's unusual for me, normally I jump into action. But I think my head was still too full with last night's events. After cleaning Becca up & seeing that the bleeding was stopping, I took her to a walk-in clinic. The doctor there sent us to the Emergency at the hospital because he didn't have the necessary thread for stitching - if it was going to be neccesary.

To make a longer story shorter, the doctor at the hospital decided that Becca did not need stitches. The cut was closed up enough that the doctor said he couldn't do anything better to help it. Becca (& I) were very happy to hear that!

Jeremy was able to get off work early & met me at the hospital. He took my babysitting boy home so I could focus better on Becca.

The kids are in bed right now, both sleeping. Jeremy & I are waiting to see if Daniel will have another seizure or be fine. If he's going to have one, it's about 10-15 minutes after he goes to sleep. At this point, it looks like he's going to be fine. So, we're praying that our long "day" will soon be done!

One last thing, while Jeremy was praying today, the song "God is good, all the time..." kept running through his head. He felt that God was asking him if he really believed that. Yes, we KNOW that God IS good...ALL the time!

Weigh In Wednesday

Well, Jeremy's been eating much healthier this past week & really focusing on his diet. He has lessened the amount of coffee he drinks and has been enjoying his variety of teas.

Last night he went to a movie with a friend and enjoyed some diet pop & popcorn, which unfortunately didn't help with his weigh in this morning. The scale said 242lbs.

Okay, now the truth is coming out. Jeremy just told me that he's been enjoying a "few" hedgehog chocolates at work (Christmas leftovers!), etc. So in some ways he's been eating better but overall it wasn't enough to make a dent in his weight loss. Each day is a new day...one day at a time...

Here's to next week!

Catch Up - Again!

I've been going through our more recent photos and wanting to post them, so here goes!

One Saturday in December, I was working so Jeremy took Daniel & Becca along with another friend and two of his kids to the Surrey Museum to see the Lego exhibit that was showing. It was SO neat! The kids (both young & old) had a great time, looking at all the intricate Lego displays. There was also an area where the kids could build their own creations with Lego. Here are just a few of the pictures Jeremy took. Oh and by the way, there will be a Lego exhibit at Science World in Vancouver, BC. Click here for more info.

This is a picture of Jeremy & I at his work Christmas banquet in December.
Here is Becca all bundled up & ready to play in the first snowfall in December (Daniel was still in school)! It was quite a process but she didn't complain and actually stayed outside by herself for quite sometime!

And finally, here are a couple pictures Daniel took.

The teddy bear is Becca's and is very special to her. In early December I took Becca to the firehall for a car seat safety check. We have been waiting for her to weigh 40lbs so she could get out of the Stage 2 seat & go into a booster seat but she wasn't quite at the required weight. One day I noticed that her shoulders were above hole for the straps so I booked us an appointment. Rebecca has been quite anxious to advance to a booster seat so she was all smiles when the fireman said she was tall enough for a booster! Although she didn't quite weigh enough, her height was sufficient. During the inspection, the fireman gave Rebecca this teddy bear. She slept with it every night after dressing it & putting a little blanket on it. Needless to say I was very shocked when she allowed Grandma & Grandpa (my parents) to sleep with it when they were here after Christmas! But no matter how much Grandpa asked, Becca wouldn't let them take the teddy bear home with them! It was so sweet!

The stuffed border collie dog is Daniel's first and only Webkin. While we were on our holidays in November we got the kids each a Webkin (another very special item).

Well, that's it for now. I have more pictures to post but I will post them separately.

Back to the Basics

Christmas has come and gone, along with all the celebrations (aka "lots of eating"). Jeremy is ready to get back to the basics with losing weight.

Yesterday he weighed himself. It wasn't a very pleasant number but was somewhat expected. He weighed 245lbs. The past couple days he has been eating healthier, making conscious decisions about what & how much he's eating. He weighed himself this morning and is already down to 242lbs. We know that the first week or two of starting a diet (or starting again) always sees big weight loss results, so Jeremy's hoping that by next week he will be under 240lbs.

We'll keep you posted each week on his continued journey.

Treasure

It's been quite some time since I've shared my thoughts about what I'm learning from God, but today I feel compelled to share.

I've been processing some things lately (and still am to be honest), but I think I've been getting somewhere with the processing. Yesterday's sermon certainly helped. Our pastor is working through Matthew right now and spoke on Matthew 6:19-21 yesterday.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where our treasure is, there your heart will be also" Matthew 6:19-21.

These verses really struck a chord in my heart. There are some areas in my life where I realized I am not focussing on the eternal treasure like I should. Thankfully, God is patient and gracious. I know that as I wrestle through these areas and allow God to refocus my attention towards Him that He will not let me down. I am confident that God, who has begun a good work in me, will continue to work in me until the day of completion, the day of Jesus' return (Philippians 1:6).

Thankful Thursday - UPDATED

Here it is January 3rd, 2009 and I'm just adding pictures! Jeremy found the cord for transferring pictures from our camera to our computer. So I thought instead of creating a whole new post & having to describe each picture again, I would simply put the pictures in where they should be.

Hope you enjoy!

I have much to be thankful for today! I have been wanting to post all week, but haven't because I want to post pictures with it. I can't seem to find the USB cord to transfer pictures from our camera to our laptop. So today's post will have to be without photos - Sorry!

November 9th, Jeremy & I celebrated our 12th anniversary! That is the super-condensed version! Despite not having much time today, I will elaborate a little more than that!

Earlier this fall, Jeremy told me that we were going to go away for our anniversary. He didn't want to say anything until a day or two before we left, but because of my new business & my babysitting schedule, he chose to give me fair warning. I knew we were going from Friday night to Tuesday (it was a long weekend because of Remembrance Day), but that's all he told me. I had no idea where we were staying or what we were doing.

This is how the weekend played out for me:

• Nov. 7th, Friday night - babysitting kids go home; we're packed but so are the ferries. We decide to wait & go in the morning.
• Saturday morning (Nov. 8th) we (Jeremy, the kids & I) headed for the ferry
• Saturday noon, we met my parents at Walmart near their home & left the kids & their stuff with them; Jeremy & I left for Victoria for the night to celebrate our anniversary
• Saturday - on the drive to Victoria, Jeremy hands me Envelope #1. Inside it told me where we were staying for the night
• Saturday - mid-afternoon we arrived at our Bed & Breakfast Mountainside Luxury Resort & Spa (turns out it was very close to where my grandparents lived when I was growing up!)

View from our room

The Parliament buildings in Victoria, BC

• I rested a little, showered & got ready for our evening out; Jeremy presents me with Envelope #2 telling me where we were going for dinner; Jeremy puts on his new suit (he looked awesome!)
• We go to Il Terrazzo Ristorante for dinner. We went there on our honeymoon & both LOVED it! If you're ever in Victoria and looking for a great place to eat (it's a little higher priced & not as suitable for children), definately check it out
• Saturday early evening, during dinner - Jeremy presents me with Envelope #3, telling me where we were going after dinner
• Saturday evening after dinner we walk to the Royal Theatre to watch a perfomance of the Victoria Symphony & El Viento Flamenco. It was like Celtic dancing meets Spanish music - excellent!
• After the perfomance we head back to our B&B. The next morning, Jeremy presents me with Envelope #4 telling me where we were going for brunch.
• Nov. 9th (Happy Anniversary) Sunday morning - brunch at Samuel's by the Park
• After brunch, we attempt shopping for a bathing suit for me with no luck
• Sunday afternoon we drive back up Island and meet my parents & the kids at my aunt & uncle's (their kids planned an open house to celebrate my aunt & uncle's 25th anniversay).
• Sunday early evening, my parents & the kids leave early from the open house to drop some things off at another aunt & uncle's; we leave shortly after and meet my parents & the kids at a swimming pool (my parents have time shares in Parksville so they can use the pool there whenever they want for free).


• Sunday evening my parents take us out for dinner in Parksville to celebrate our anniversary
• Sunday evening, dessert time for the kids - the waitress brings the kids their desserts & hands me an envelope!
• Envelope #5 - "Actually, there is one more thing!"
• Inside the envelope:

Dear Leanne,

You are the wife a man can only dream of having. You have walked with me through some of the hardest days of my life and some of the best days of my life. You have encouraged me, loved me, supported me, and embraced my inner being with deep love & great affection. God has blessed me beyond what I deserve by giving me you. What words or actions, pledges or wonders could I ever do to express the deep gratitude of love I have for you, my best friend.

I have worked on this anniversary since January of this year, looking at ways I could show my appreciation for all the work you have done and all the love you have put into our family. I hope our time in Victoria achieved my desire to let you know how much I love you and how much I appreciate all that you do for me and this family.

BUT, as I said, I could never do enough.

I have arranged for us as a family to spend the rest of this week, until Sunday, at Pacific Shores Nature Resort. I told ___ & ___ (babysitting parents) that you are not available this week and the Epicure party you booked for this coming Thursday has been re-booked for the following Thursday. I have arranged with Daniel's school for him to be away as well and have brought his work to be done.

What do I have planned for this week? Nothing. I have talked with my family about us being here and we can visit them through the week and do whatever else we want to do. This is our family vacation in honor of you and all you do for us as a family. Thank you, Leanne."

Needless to say, the tears were flowing down my face! So in the end, what I thought was going to be a weekend on the Island with Jeremy & I gone for one night, turned into us staying for the entire week! I was completely shocked!

That week was SO good! It was the first time we, as a family - Jeremy, the kids & I, had ever had a holiday by ourselves. When we have holiday time, we always go to visit family. Even when we went to Saskatchewan a few years ago, we travelled with my parents. I am so glad they were with us, but there's also something to be said about just being by ourselves with the kids.

We had a great week hanging out just the four of us. We took the kids to a movie, I finally bought a new bathing suit (yeah!), we played tourist, took pictures (sorry, I still can't find the cord), relaxed and visited family. I loved it! Each evening I'd sit in the living room, look out the windows into the darkness, look at the lights reflecting on the ocean water & sigh. It was so perfect.

My Dad - I love this picture!

Daniel's photography

Cousin time

Family Time

It's been good being home again, but I think I could have stayed another week! Maybe next year!

Thank you to everyone who played a part, in some way or another, in planning this surprise for me. I was completely shocked and amazed at all the details that went into it!

To Jeremy, THANK YOU! I don't know how else to say it! You touched my heart in a very deep way & I love you more than I can put into words. I am SO thankful that God brought us together. Two people who grew up on the Island, with common friends, going to the same church camp at the same time, but not meeting till years later...God's ways are perfect! I love you and I'm looking forward to the next 12 years and beyond!

Catch Up

Jeremy is out for the evening and the kids are in bed. So I thought I'd update a little before starting my movie.

Before Christmas, a friend from Bible school was out for her grandma's funeral so a group of us decided to get together for a little "girl's nite out". Each of us were unit-mates (lived in the same unit) during my first year at Columbia Bible College. The only one missing was my roommate, Elisabeth, who lives in Germany.

First we met at a local restaurant, then because it happened to be the time change ("hey, it's not as late as we thought...!"), we headed back to my place for a little further catching up. Jeremy was there so he got to reminisce with us as we looked through old year books.

Here are a few pictures of our evening.

Me, Laurali, Dolly, Lisa & Misty

Dolly, Lisa & Misty

Me & Laurali