I'm So Happy & Proud

I had a really neat kind of day today. James went to my mom's before his morning nap so that Ryan and I could get all dressed up in "business casual" attire. I donned black nylons, black dress pants, a black sweater with a faux dress shirt under it in gold/pink/white, and my NEW black heels from Aldo. I straightened my hair - and put on a necklace, AND dangly earrings. I did my makeup. I sprayed on a little eau de "Black Raspberry and Vanilla". I was looking good.

Ryan sported a silver/grey dress shirt, and a black suit. He gelled his hair. He dabbed on a little Aqua Velva. He looked smashing!

So off we went to the Winnipeg Convention Centre for the National Philantropy Day Awards Luncheon. We were invited into the "Guests of Honor" lounge where hors d'oeurves and beverages were served. We caroused with some high-flutin' Manitobans, such as a former Mayor of Winnipeg, Gail Asper, newpaper columnists, business people, sponsors and photographers. It was fun!

After all the carousing, we were escorted into the dining room - at which time I ran into a friend of ours who works at Inner City Youth Alive (an organization that works to get inner city kids off the streets). We chatted for a while, and it was a pleasant conversation. We all headed into the dining room, and saw a table of Ryan's relatives. We said our hellos, but were soon asked to take our seats. We headed up to table #4.

At our table was Mr. John Buhler (of Buhler Industries) and his wife. There was a lady who I can't remember the name of, and a man from Wawanesa Insurance. Also at our table was Mr. Lewis Tropel (the grandson to Ben Moss) (yes, the jeweller), and his mother, and last but not least - my mother and father in law, the guests of honor.

We listened to some speeches and as usual, I was moved. I like to hear about the successes (and failures) of others - and then see them make something of it. I was inspired. After lunch, which was chicken, slivered mixed veggies and baby potatoes, the awards were given.

The first introduction made tears well up in my eyes. The MC spoke of a humble, quiet couple who has given to the community in countless ways. Colleagues and family had only wonderful things to say about them. They were good people. Blessed people. Sharing people. These were my parents in law. I was so proud of them as they went to the front to be awarded the National Philanthrophy Day "Outstanding Philanthropists" Award. It was hard for me to hold back the tears as my father in law spoke. His words were few, but profound as he said, "I have a beautiful wife, two wonderful sons who married beautiful wives, and four incredible grandchildren. If I didn't do it for anyone else, I would do it for them".

Congratulations Mom and Dad - we are VERY proud of you!

Birthday Party Photos

Sorry I'm so late in posting pictures from James' birthday party. He has had the stomach flu this week, with an ear infection to top it all off. Needless to say, it's been a little bit of a rough week. However, we are on the mend - James is on medication, and things are looking up! So, without further ado, here are the party pics...

Neighbour Boys in the Snow

"Mom? Mom?! I'm falling..." (Isaiah)

HE'S ONE!

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. ~ James 1:17 ~

Last year, a mere twelve months ago, as of six minutes ago, I was holding in my arms the most precious gift - our son James. I am very emotional about his birthday today. Each hour that passes I am reminded about where we were, and what we (I) was doing last year. I will never forget that day as long as I live. It truly was the best day of my life - sorry dear, our wedding day was great too - but having James was incredible.

I cannot sum up in enough words what this last year has been like for me. It was fantastic, but extremely hard all at the same time. I've learned amazing things, about myself, about James, about parenting, about relationships, about patience... about God. He has been my strength, and in the times this past year where I felt I was failing He lifted me up.

It's been the most amazing thing to watch my son go from the womb to walking in all the span of one short year! He is such a precious gift, and we seem to feel more and more that way each day. We can't get enough of him (okay, well, sometimes I can get enough of him). Every moment we are blessed to have him in our lives, we are so thankful, overjoyed and abundantly happy. He is happy, healthy, beautiful, loving, and one big jokester! He brings light to our lives. We are having his birthday party on Saturday, with friends and family. I can hardly wait! It's an Elmo themed party - only because I got all this cute Elmo party stuff at Target. I can hardly wait to open gifts with him, and let him eat CAKE!

Thank you Lord for blessing us with our son James. Thank you for thinking that we would be good parents for him, and continue to guide us as we raise him. I pray that he will grow to love You, and to want to know You. I pray blessings on Him Lord, and ask You to watch over him. Please keep him safe, and protect him from all things evil. May each new day of this new year for him reveal something exciting, and something new to learn. Grant me patience and wisdom as he discovers new things, and give me energy for the times when I feel I have no more to give. Lord, may James be a blessing to all those that he meets. I pray that he will be a strong man of God. I pray that he will be smart, and wise, caring and loving. Again Lord, thank you for our beautiful son. We love him immensely, and we are so glad he is ours. In Jesus name I pray, amen.

The Sequel

Some of you may remember the memorable video I posted on this date last year. If you missed it (or if you want to have a good laugh again), you can watch it by clicking here.

For those that remember it (and are still haunted), here is the sequel...



Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting

Off He Goes!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting

Pure Joy

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile,

but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh ~

I have been pushing myself lately to learn how to complain less. It is so easy to complain, and yet when a person looks at the world as a whole, there is actually very little about my life that I can truly complain about.

It is easy to complain about a job you dislike. However, a person could learn to be thankful for an income, and a way of being able to put food on the table, and home to live in.

It is easy to complain about the cold weather. However, cold weather forces families to be kept inside, and new memories can be made by spending time together.

It is easy to complain about the government. However, although we may not support all of their decisions, living under the order of a dictator and communism would be much worse.

Sometimes it is also easy to complain about our children, and the things they do that irritate us, worry us, annoy us, tire us. When discussing this with my Bible study group last week, a friend of mine said, "I guess instead of complaining about my son teething, I should just be thankful that he'll have teeth!". Over the last week, the idea of being thankful for things I would usually complain about has become more and more profound. I definately find myself having more joy, and I find myself enjoying James a lot more too.

Daddy and James in the pool at our hotel this weekend.

I've been trying to see his stages more like little memories that are going to soon fade away - so instead of complaining about how he always hangs onto my legs, I am learning to cherish the fact that he wants to be near to me. I've also been embracing his naptime wake-ups (which requires me to stop what I'm doing and rock him back to sleep as I just had to do now), as little moments where I get to be a comfort and cuddle with my son. I have recently seen that these little moments are going to become fewer and fewer.There are often days when my husband will come home from work, and I'll complain about how sore my back is from having spent so much of my day leaning over to walk with James. I don't complain about that anymore, and if I do, only with laughter. One day those little hands will no longer want to embrace my hands for support, and will eventually reach for someone else's hand in love. I hope I never complain about walking with James again.

The more I think about it, the more I find myself making changes to my thoughts about things I regularly complain(ed) about. While we were away this weekend, James would often wake from his naps crying, because of the strange surroundings. Upon going to pick him up after one of his naps, and having him lay with his head on my shoulder after his little wake-up scare I found myself broken down in tears. How I wish I could prevent him from ever being scared! How I wish I could keep all bad things from him! How I wish he would never be sad, frightened, lonely, or unhappy. I thought of all the many children in the world that quiver in fear at the sight of their own mother or father entering their room. I held James very close as I prayed to my dear Lord that he would never know such fear as that.

I was then reminded how the Lord is my Father. He is a Father that has blessed me with all these things that bring me joy, and how do I thank Him? I complain. How can I pray and ask Him for things when I am not thankful for what I already have? To top it all off, my Heavenly Father has blessed me with forgiveness, mercy, grace and the promise of eternal life. He died for me - in the same way that I would give up my life for James. He took all that for me. He has bore all my sins - every single one. How I long to show this love to James, that he would grow up and choose to love Jesus too.

I hope that by hearing his mother be thankful in all situations (to the best of my ability), he will see a glimpse of Christ through me. I know I will never be perfect in this endeavor, and there are times when a person needs to speak about their frustrations. I hope that I can show my son all the things that God has given us to bring us joy. He gave us so much, that He even chose to give us His son. That is a sacrifice I cannot imagine giving to anyone. Could I even be as brave as Abraham was, and lay my son on an alter to die if the Lord asked me to? It seems unthinkable. I want to be a mother that could exemplify a faith such as that. I pray today that I will be such a mother. A mother that my son will look up to, and see Christ through. I challenge you today to start finding the joy in the things that cause you to complain. I hope that in doing so, you will find the pure joy that I am just beginning to see.

Keep smiling, as it makes you look so beautiful! God bless, and thank you for sharing this moment with me!

A Warning Message

I received an email today from my cousin regarding the new Nicole Kidman movie coming out for kids. The movie is called "The Golden Compass". The following is the email I received, as well as quotes I found on the Focus on the Family Plugged In website:

There is a kids movie coming out on December 7, 2007 starring Nicole Kidman. I believe it's called The Golden Compass, and while it will be a watered down version, it is based on a series of children's books about killing God (It is the anti-Narnia). Please follow this link, and then pass it on. From what I understand, the hope is to get a lot of kids to see the movie - which won't seem too bad - and then get the parents to buy the books for their kids for Christmas. The quotes from the author sum it all up: http://snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp

QUOTE: "Atheism suggests a degree of certainty that I'm not quite willing to accede. I suppose, technically, you'd have to put me down as an agnostic. But if there is a God, and he is as the Christians describe him, then he deserves to be put down and rebelled against. As you look back over the history of the Christian church, it's a record of terrible infamy and cruelty and persecution and tyranny. How they have the bloody nerve to go on Thought for the Day and tell us all to be good when, given the slightest chance, they'd be hanging the rest of us and flogging the homosexuals and persecuting the witches." —Philip Pullman, author of the fantasy series His Dark Materials (the first installment of which, The Golden Compass, hits the big screen on Dec. 7). On his writing desk, Pullman has a note he wrote that says, "So: There is a God, but he is a liar and he's mortal," a sentence which does an excellent job of summarizing the spiritual message of his series. Pullman has not been reticent about whom he's targeting with that message: kids. "I wanted to reach everyone," he said, "and the best way I could do that was to write for children." [telegraph.co.uk, 1/29/02]

His Dark Materials is actually a loose—turned-on-its-head—retelling of John Milton's Paradise Lost. One of the central themes of that epic poem is the fall of humankind in Genesis, about which Pullman says, "[It was] a fall into grace, towards wisdom, not something that leads to sin, death, misery, hell—and Christianity." And about Eve, he said, "Eve is my great heroine: She wondered what it would be like if she did as the serpent suggested and ate the fruit. Good for her. What a pompous little prig she would have been if she had said, 'No, I mustn't.'" [telegraph.co.uk, 1/29/02; thirdway.org.uk, 2000]

QUOTE: "I was raised Catholic. The Catholic Church is part of my essence. I wouldn't be able to do [The Golden Compass] if I thought it were at all anti-Catholic." —actress Nicole Kidman, commenting on the fact that negative references to Catholicism and the Church have purportedly been trimmed in the film adaptation of The Golden Compass. Instead of referring directly to Catholicism and/or the Church, the malevolent organization that tortures children (yes, that's in the book) is simply called the Magisterium. While Kidman might think that solves the problem, anyone familiar with that term's usage in the Catholic Church will know better. Magisterium is a technical ecclesiological word used broadly in Catholicism to denote the church's authority to dispense truth, as well as the collection of bishops and the pope who communicate theological truth. [Entertainment Weekly, 8/24/07; catholic.net; disciplesnow.com; columbia.edu]

Blogger's Block

I wanted to write something today that would be encouraging, uplifting, motivating, inspiring... but I have been sitting here for almost an hour now, and just completely erased everything that I just typed.

Because, the truth is I haven't been focusing on God properly lately, and it's noticeable. I haven't been doing my daily Bible reading. I haven't been starting off my day with prayer, and then following up with positive thoughts about how I want my day to go. I haven't been grabbing the opportunities that have been thrown in my path. I haven't done much of anything for God at all (or so it feels). I've been worrying. I've been neglecting. I've been chasing "other gods", so to speak. And that's the plain truth.

I could blame it on things like "I'm busy", "I'm tired", blah, blah, blah... Or I could start making up things in my head, and blame my friends like "Well, this wouldn't happen if someone would just call to encourage me every now and then". Then I could just sink into a nice hole of self pity, and stay there a while. Wouldn't that be nice? Funny how the devil almost makes me believe that it feels good to feel bad.

Somedays I forget about the book I once read by Max Lucado called "It's Not About Me". The truth is, it's about God. Everything is about God. My very existance is about God. HE DIED FOR ME. What should I do for the One that died for me? I should be living, breathing, speaking, moving for God. I am such a selfish, ridiculous sinner.

Tomorrow I am going to refocus my thoughts and my priorities. I am going to wake up and start my day with God. I am going to be available to Him in any way I can. I am going to do my Bible reading. I am going to ask Him to use me tomorrow in a positive way, to show a glimpse of Him somehow, to someone. I'm going to call a friend, and encourage them. I'm going to live my life to honour the One who died for me... and I am going to start with tomorrow.

Ah, now I feel just a little bit better.

But all of us who are Christians... reflect like mirrors the glory of the Lord.

~ 2 Corinthians 3:18 ~