Losing Isaiah

I'm having an emotional week dealing with the fact that my best friend Rebekah is leaving. For now it is only for a few months, but knowing her passion and her husband's passion for ministry, I am sort of assuming that it will eventually be a long-term goodbye.

Rebekah came into my life on the evening that we came home from the hospital after losing our first baby. Since then, she has been a friend through some of the most exciting, and some of the most heart-wrenching moments in my life. She was there when I found out I was pregnant. She has been there when I thought I might completely fall apart (all those millions of times a day). She was there... she has just always been there. She has really been a mentor to me in my faith. I can talk to her about absolutely everything, and I would trust her with anything.

I haven't given the label "best friend" to anyone in a very long time. My past is sort of filled with some painful memories of losing people that I had labelled my "best friend". I guess it's taken this long for those wounds to heal, and now that I've finally found a best friend again, I have to say goodbye. I've shed so many tears about it already, but at the same time I don't want to fall into self-pity. I really just want to challenge Rebekah to go forward and touch lives like she has touched mine. I want to be her prayer warrior, and biggest cheerleader. For all that she has done for me, I want to be there for her now. It's funny - I miss her and she isn't even gone yet.

Today James and I were on a walk around the yard, and I asked him where Isaiah's house was. He immediately began walking toward their house. I realized then that we won't be making that walk this summer... unless for some reason we know the people living in that house. It also made me realize that I'm not only losing Rebekah as my neighbour, but James is losing Isaiah! He might not know it now, but he will really miss having a neighbour so close to his own age to play with. My dreams of seeing them playing outside together are sort of fading now.

Have you ever had to say goodbye to your best friend? Have you ever wondered if someone could take their place? Who will I call 100 times a day? Who will I talk to about everything, and trust with my deepest, darkest secrets? Who will inspire me to love Jesus more every day? Can I trust myself to rely on God when I feel alone? I have so many questions, but I know I will perservere. Right now though, my heart is aching, and I dread the day that I officially say goodbye.

ESFJ - The Caregiver

"And above all, have fervent love for one another:

for love shall cover the multitude of sins."

~ Peter 4.8 ~

I just took a personality quiz today that almost COMPLETELY sums me up as a person! I was typed as an ESFJ, and I was amazed at how accurate it was. A friend of mine put me on to it, and it's really fun to see what other peoples personalities are. If you want, do the quiz and comment here with your personality. Let me know if you think it is accurate or not. Below is a brief outline of my type. What do you think, is it me?

ESFJ (Extravert, Sensor, Feeler, Judger):
People of this type tend to be: active, friendly, and energetic; outgoing, affectionate, and talkative; concerned about others and careful to be polite and cooperative; realistic, literal, and conscientious; highly sensitive and easily hurt; organized, responsible, and conventional.

The most important thing to ESFJs is their relationships and helping people in real, and practical ways.

To read all about the ESFJ personality in detail, click here.

He's Alive

This song used to play at our house frequently when I was a little girl. I loved this song, and I still do! It makes me cry at the end!

Sixteen Months (Early)

I know it isn't officially James' sixteen month birthday, but I thought I'd post while I have time. If I based my post on todays events alone, you would not get a very pretty picture. Today James has gotten hurt so many times, I can't even count. In a span of about five minutes, the following scene took place: I was preparing lunch, and James was very unhappy (probably just hungry). He was trying to push me away from the counter while I was working, and bumped his head on the cupboard knob. Crying ensued, and then finally was resolved when he found his blankie on the floor. Crying stops. He then proceeded to slip on blankie, banging his forehead and chin on the floor. Crying ensued, I put a small bowl of very warm (not hot) soup onto the table for James, and then went to cuddle the injured soul. Crying stops. I go to the counter to get my soup when I hear screaming! I turn around to see James' hand covered in very warm soup. The bowl was still on the table, in it's proper position, but soup was dripping off the side of the table. I don't know if he actually reached the soup, or just banged the table, but none-the-less the damage was done. I pick him up, and run cool water over his hand. Crying stops. I call my mom to ask her what I should put on it, in the meantime spraying stain remover onto James sleeper that I had just removed. Within seconds, James pulls the Huggies diaper wipes out of his diaper bag, steps on the container, slips, and falls hard onto his bum. Crying then ensued... seriously, this was just a few minutes out of an entire morning of similar scenarios.

On the brighter side, James has been a tonne of fun! He is talking a lot now, and has finally transitioned into eating table food. This has still be somewhat problematic, as he appears to have also transitioned into a fussy eater. He will only eat: bread, cheese, peas and corn, and noodles. But hey, it's a start. He got a set of alphabet books for his birthday, and is quite good at remembering what is on each page. He seems to know "owl", "flower" and "turtle" the best. Yesterday he discovered a new box filled with various sizes and brands of batteries. I let him play with them while I did some things on the computer. Later, then I came back into the room, I noticed that he had pulled out all the Duracell D size batteries and lined them up. What a smartie! He also loves hide-and-seek and going for walks in his new John Deer wagon. He also now knows the word "yacka" which is "jacket". He LOVES going outside, in the car, or even just into the porch to visit Kitty. He will often come to me now with his jacket, saying "yacka, car, bye bye" when he wants to go out. He is a complete joy - and just gets more fun every single day.

I'm NOT a Germ-O-Phobic!

***Long Post Warning***

Really, I'm not. I am not afraid of germs, and I think that it's really good for your child to be exposed to a few to strengthen their immune system. However, I don't really feel that it's necessary to spread germs around. Nobody enjoys a sick child. Especially when the sick child's sleep is affected by the symptoms, and thus, affecting the sleep of the rest of the household. I know that a parent doesn't always know that their child is carrying a virus, because these viruses can go undetected for days, sometimes weeks. But if your child is physically showing signs of illness, I believe it is our duty to keep them out public places - and at the very least, when it is absolutely necessary to go out, to be considerate of the other healthy children around.

There are a few places that make me cringe when it comes to the spread of germs. These places are: Morning Out for Moms, the childen's play centre at the mall, shopping carts, the church nursery room, and the airport. James has been at, or been in contact with at least three of these places or things in the last week.

I have NEVER yet taken James to Morning Out for Moms this year that he has NOT gotten sick within a few days. This has been a great frustration to me, and other moms, because we would love to attend this weekly event. However, James has been sick after every single time I've attended. I actually haven't attended now for a month or more for this very reason - because I am tired of a sick child. I decided I was being silly, so I brought him there this past week. Wouldn't you know it - he has a cold now.

I won't necessarily blame Moms group though. On Monday we travelled from Vancouver Island back home to Winnipeg. In the Vancouver terminal, at our gate, there was another mom and her son waiting to board the plane. James was strapped into an umbrella stroller, minding his own business. This other little boy, just a few months younger, was walking around the waiting area. He immediately came running up to see James, and I said hello to him and the mom. They were both very friendly, and 'Logan' started climbing up onto James in the stroller. James was NOT impressed, and at the same time that he started to cry I noticed that Logan had shnot running out of both nostrils, and into his mouth. I also noticed that he was sniffling, and before I could stop the impending spread of germs he let out two raspy coughs - right into James' face. I did not show it, but I was livid! I politely lowered Logan down to the floor, and made a bee-line with James out into the hall. My mother-in-law saw the whole thing unfold, and was equally as perturbed as myself. We both had to ask, why would that mother have let her obviously sick son crawl all over another child? Nevermind the fact that we were strangers, and James was really upset that this child was climbing on him. I tried to clean James up with a wet wipe, but as far as I know that will do very little to kill off a virus.

I encourage all you moms out there to do your best to protect your children, and others by not taking them out into public areas when they are noticeably sick. Teach your older kids to sneeze into their elbow, or use a Kleenex. Maybe even carry a little bottle of that antibacterial stuff in your purse. Please don't be angry with me if you disagree. I just don't think its fair that I have to lose sleep because little Logan wanted a stroller ride. I really feel like when James is sick, it's my obligation as his mom to keep him away from other children, or places where he could easily make someone else sick. We were at the mall recently, and James went up to a little baby girl on her mom's lap. The mother was friendly, and started to talk to James, so I knew it was okay that he was near them. Then James reached out to touched the baby's hand. I quickly took his hand away, and told him that it was not okay to touch a stranger. I then told the mom that he was not sick, so she didn't have to worry about that. She was very appreciative! She thanked me for being courteous about letting my child touch hers, and also said she thought it was really nice that I had taken into consideration that he could pass on a sickness. In the end, she said it was okay for James to touch the baby's hand, so he did.

On this same note, I was impressed at the grocery store I went to in B.C. Right at the door, where you pick up your cart they had a stand with antibacterial wipes on it. You could use the wipes on the cart, or basket. I thought that was actually a really great idea. Apparently there are some places in Winnipeg that have the same thing - Sobey's, Safeway and a few others. Of course, it happens to be places I don't often shop, but I hope to see this as a new regular initiative of other stores. I don't think it's right to over antibacterialize everything - but a few less sick people is a good thing, in my opinion.

Our Trip in Pictures

James on the plane.
Tommy and I have a chat.
Beautiful, goofy Emily.
What could me more fun than a TUNNEL?!
James and Tommy share a basket. Could be brothers, no?

James loved his cousin Emily!

The view from our condo.

Simon and James trying to share.

A cool pic by Ryan - Thomas at the end of a long, clear box.

The awesome Winnie the Pooh plane.

There were a lot of funny stories from the weekend, but I'll share the funniest one. Ryan and I were back at our condo with James for the night. James was running around playing when Ryan let out a loud, raunchy fart. James looked up from whatever he was doing, and with a smile on his face he said, "BEEP!".

Ain't that the truth...

In B.C.

Hey everyone! I've not gone missing, just left the province. Ryan, James and I together with Ryan's mom surprised his dad on his 70th birthday with a trip out to BC. We are in Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island, visiting the family out here. It's been great. His dad was completely surprised! James travelled well, but has been having some trouble adjusting to the time change. We are tired, but we are enjoying the warmer weather and all the kids. More to report, and pictures to come when we get home.