Two and a half weeks between posts? That's it, you're cut.

So what could possibly be more important than blogging these days?

Well, turns out, we actually have a pretty cool yard. This is the first year we're actually putting time and energy into making it our own. My hubby and I have been working, and by my hubby and I, I mean my hubby. He built us a patio and installed some underground sprinklers, both of which God blessed us with for free! We've made our way into the front yard now, and I'll definately post some pics of that when we're done. I'm so excited!

So anyways, here's what my back planters looked like last year. Please appreciate how long and hard it was for me to clean these disgusting things out. Apparently bugs like dead plants? I saw more creepy crawly's in those planters than I think I've seen in my whole life. When I went to bed that night, I saw bugs on the backs of my eye lids.

*shutter*

My raspberry bush, strawberries, daisies, lettuce and rubbarb. Go me!
I've never planted anything before in my life, so this is a big deal. Well, there was one year my sis set aside some space in her garden for me to plant my own veggies. But she got sick of asking me to plant my seeds so she ended up doing it herself. After some time she then got sick of asking me to weed my space so she eventually told me I was no longer welcome in her garden. Does that count as a gardening experience?

My cool dude...

And his sweet ride

I was so proud of my daughter.

My son loves playing in his big sisters room, but everytime he tries to go in there the poor guy gets kicked out (and for good reason, anything he seems to get his hands on these days either gets broken, thrown, lost, or eaten). He had gone in there and when I took him out he cried in disspointment. So my daughter (with a tiny verbal nudge from her mom) took it upon herself to clean her room and place her precious gems our of reach so that her little brother could come in and play. You can see from his expression that he was in heaven.

My father in law blessed my hubby and I with tickets to the Phantom of the Opera. It was so awesome! We showed up in jeans, and saw people dressed up in tuxes and gowns (not dresses, gowns). But only really important people can get away with that. Do we pull off the "we're really important" look well?

There's plenty of things I'm chewing on these days, and God has been speaking. I've tried getting my thoughts out, but all I've accomplished are a bunch of unfinished posts taking up space in my drafts. Meh.

So You Think You Can Dance, this Thursday. Yeah baby!

Be blessed today! May you grasp how far reaching His love is for you today, and may you not settle for anything less than the Father's best.

I AM SAM

I AM: so sick and tired of being sick and tired. On top of this stupid bum cold that I can't seem to shake, I woke up in the middle of the night last night to a bladder infection.


I THINK: my cousin coming to the Lord and getting clean from crack cocaine is the coolest thing ever!


I KNOW: all the words from start to finish including the songs to the movie 'Adventures in Babysitting', yes, ALL the words.


I WANT: to stop wanting to start being.


I HAVE: a new love seat! and our couch will be here in a few weeks!


I WISH: some things could be different.


I HATE: laundry, spiders, being sick, and leaving things will the last minute.


I MISS: running, excersizing, feeling fit and healthy instead of a great big ball of germs.


I FEAR: my kids will fall and get hurt real bad.


I WONDER: when I'll actually write a post with some meat in it.



I FEEL: like I'm going to get my " . " soon, I've been a little grump the last couple of days.


I HEAR: my dishwasher, my daughter's Barbie movie, and birds from outside.


I SMELL: nothing, I'm sick.


I REGRET: a lot of things, and still need to forgive myself for some of them.


I AM NOT: as organized, commited and disciplined as I'd like to be.


I DANCE: all the time, and love it.



I SING: all the time, and love it.


I CRY: all the time, and yep, I love it. It's a release for me, I cry almost everyday.


I DON'T ALWAYS: brush my teeth. Gasp! Good thing my breath can't be smelled through your computer monitor!


I MAKE: fun of really serious people, and people who can't laugh at themselves. If I don't laugh at them who will?



I LOSE: my train of thought when I'm talking and doing two things at once.



I WIN: when I don't let my anger get the best of me.



I NEVER: in my wildest dreams would've thought God would've transformed my cousin into the broken, on fire man after God I saw today. My child, why do you doubt?



I ALWAYS: get sidetracked in big stores and malls. It doesn't seem to matter how much I set it in my head that I'm running in and running out, something always calls my name. Niiiiiiiin........Niiiiiiiiiiiin. Yes flip flops?


I NEED: new runners, HARDCORE. The ones I'm using were hand-me downs, so not only did they go through a user before me, but I've run them into the ground. I've heard that shin splints can come from worn out runners, and I hardcore have shin splints. Oh no you're not hardcore! Unless you live hardcore! And the legend, of the rent, was way hardcore!!!!


I SHOULD: really clean my room.... but it's just so much easier to close the door.


I START: things and make my husband finish them.


I CAN USUALLY BE FOUND: at home, at church, at Walmart, at my sisters, at my moms, out for coffee, on msn, at my hubby's office, at one of my out-laws ( I mean inlaws), out for supper, out running, in my backyard, at Starbucks or Tim Hortons, at a mall, more specifically Stitches, Bluenotes or Urban Planet, at Superstore, at my daughter's school, at a library, at a gas station, at a work event for my hubby, at a fancy function with my father in law, at a park, at a pool, at a pool hall, at a garage sale, at the doctor or the dentist, at Old Navy, at a movie, or at Home Depot or some other boy place with my hubby.

In other news,

what my son did the other day.

Juno

My loving and serving husband put his action/blow-up/shooting/killing/car racing desires aside and rented me a chick flick on Saturday.

Juno.

I cried, mostly because it took me right back to that time in my life, where I too was pregnant at 16, and going through the adoption process for my baby, but also because it's good to remember where we've been, because it's made us who we are.

It's crazy to think that I walked down the halls of highschool, with a baby popping out of my belly, seeing all the the stares from other girls, who were the very same age, but somehow, were now way younger than me.

I gave birth to a baby just 2 months after my 17th birthday. Looking at my life now, it's so easy to forget, to see a mother of two, a housewife who keeps her house clean, a leader in her church, someone with a house, two cars, a good man... Forgetting the muck and mire I once found myself in, the pit I thought I'd never climb my way out of.

I want to remember where I've been today. Remembering all that He has done in my life, all that He has saved me from.

I see all that when I look at her.

Me:
Sick, and mad at the weather.
I was enjoying running outside soooooo much! I was wearing flip flops and capris for pete's sake! And now I have a stinkin head cold, which sucks bum. Plus, me and my sis worked the poop out of our abs the day before I started coughing, so everytime I cough, OWweeeee! Grr'ness.

Son:
Stinker.
New fave things are looking at books and untuning my guitar strings till they're all loose and hangy. He also loves throwing various toys in my morning coffee. This morning he chucked a velcro baseball in my fruit smoothie. In my sick state, I frowned at him.

Daughter:
Constant beauty.
Always a reminder that God is good all the time. She was so sad when we told her she had to wear her winter coat, mitts and gasp! her touque this morning. Poor girl was enjoying her new pink jump rope outside, as well as mingling in the street to trade Littlest Pet Shop cards. (the new thing)

Hub:
Always a rock.
Scraped the inch thick layer of ice off the car for 30 minutes this morning, and offered to pick up daughter so I could stay home sick. Brushed my hair till I fell asleep last night. Encourages and gently pushes me in my walk towards being selfless, never makes me feel like a freak for thinking awful thoughts. I love him.

a praiseworthy spaghetti dinner

In other news....


Philippians 4:8

"if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things"

And so I do...

I think of my cousin in drug rehab, who's finding freedom, hope and new life! He's doing awesome and I'm so blessed to be able to witness yet another miracle in my family, where the power of addiction has lost it's grip.

I think of the relationships in my life that are being built stronger, the people in my life I'm able to build into and encourage. I think of our relationship with my daughters dad and step mom, and all that God continues to do, as He blows us away day after day, with how far reaching His vision is.

I think of a friend that God placed back in my life a couple years ago, who I've been able to watch grow more and more into the woman she's been created to be. I'm blessed to know her and love her.

I think of our life group, and the unity we are finding in being open and honest with one another. I think of my friend who is coming back and finding the peace she has been missing in her life for too long. I praise Him for bringing the prodigals home.

I think of all that God has been doing in me and my sis, and am still overwhelmed at the reality of where we are. I never would've dreamed.

I will continue to think about such things, as He continues to prove my faith genuine.

What excellent and praiseworthy things are you thinking about?

~Peace~

my declaration for today

"For The Moments I Feel Faint"

~Relient K~

Am I at the point of no improvement?

What of the death I still dwell in?

I try to excel, but I feel no movement.

Can I be free of this unreleasable sin?

Never underestimate my Jesus

You're telling me that there's no hope.

I'm telling you you're wrong.

Never underestimate my Jesus

When the world around you crumbles

He will be strong, He will be strong

I throw up my hands"Oh, the impossibilities"

Frustrated and tired

Where do I go from here?

Now I'm searching for the confidence

I've lost so willingly

Overcoming these obstacles is overcoming my fears

Never underestimate my Jesus

You're telling me there is no hope

I'm telling you you're wrong

Never underestimate my Jesus

when the world around you crumbles

He will be strong, He will be strong

I think I can't, I think I can't

But I think you can, I think you can

I think I can't, I think I can't

But I think you can, I think you can

Gather my insufficiencies and

place them in your hands,

place them in your hands,

place them in your hands...

Isaiah 53:5
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and

by his wounds we are healed.

update

Our toilet:

Is now in our backyard. Turns out the mystery toy was a plastic wrench, a nice long unbendable stick that my hubby was unable to retreive after taking the toilet off the floor. Thank the Lord my mother-in-law had a toilet just sitting around, that we were able to grab and install (if that's not a coincidental blessing I don't know what is, God's awesome). So all is now back to normal, after the few trips to my parents place with use their can, and the pee my poor daughter had to have in the tub. And such is life. I called my parents last night to grab a phone number from them and my dad answered saying "you have to go again?!" Apparently I'm full of it.

My son:

Now owes me a phone, some sticks, a toilet, and part of my sanity.

My daugther:

Fell at school yesterday into a pile of woodchips. Adding to her embarassment of peeing in the bathtub, is a banged up face and a bruised eyebrow.

My husband:

Is being blamed for having some kind of toxin in his sperm, a mischeveous chromozone and trouble-making genetics. He keeps trying to tell me that my son is half me, but I refuse to believe I played any part in this.

Our Strawberry Shortcake Dvd:

Is now at the library, and the one belonging to the library is here. Nice.

nevermind raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...

these are a few of my favorite things...

(inspired by a post I saw at Janelle's)

poop land gets a friend

Well he finally did it...

My toilet received it's first toy this morning.

Not quite sure what it was, as I only caught a glimpse of a small red plastic object, swirling down into poop land.

People told me that there was no way I could possibly prevent this day from coming, but I assured them I could, and I would.

However, here I am, minus one red plastic something, and a son who thinks it's funny.

Bits and Pieces of the real me

I read a post tonight from someone who was desperately crying out for people to be REAL.

And I agree,

so here's a very small piece of the real me....

What I REALLY find in coffee cups that have been left behind and forgotten

What I REALLY look like in the morning

The man I REALLY married

What my son REALLY thinks of my rules

......

..........

.............

..........

.......

-I don't put away my clean laundry

I fold it and put it neatly in a basket, only to end up throwing clean and dirty laundry on top, only to find that I no longer know what's clean and what's dirty, only to wash it again, and start the whole cycle all over again

-I watch and am addicted to Degrassi TNG

-I've fallen asleep in church

-I still think about smoking from time to time

-I don't kiss my husband enough

-We don't recycle

My prayer today

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change

the courage to change the things I can

and the wisdom to know the difference.

Growing up in a family of addicts, myself included, I've heard, read, seen, recited, and shared this prayer more times that I could count. For whatever reason, God placed this prayer on my heart this morning, and asked me to really meditate on it.

Serenity:

A state of calm, stress-free peace.

Undisturbed, unclouded.

Courage:

Facing danger, difficulty and pain without fear.

Confidence, bravery.

Wisdom:

Knowledge of what is true or right, accompanied with just judgement, disernment, and action.

Understanding.

God, give me your peace which passes all understanding, to fully accept and embrace your plan, your ways, your direction.... By your Spirit, grace and power, give me all that I need to approach the throne of grace with confidence, believing that You who began a good work in my will carry it out to completion, that by your grace, I can walk in righteousness and truth.... God give me not a worldy wisdom, but a wisdom by your grace that comes with understanding and revelation, that I could grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.

Amen.

The lazy picture post

The egg-hunt

The goods

The laugh-attack

The comb-over

The freak of the week

Sanka, ya dead man?

No mon, I'm not dead . But I have to finish the race.....

So we're at it again, conquering 40 flights of stairs, tomorrow morning, 11:30 am.

Sanka: Look, Star, let me tell you something about yourself. Whenever you need me for something, you don't have to hand me a bunch of lines. All you have to do is say, "Sanka, you are my best friend, we've been through a whole heap together, and I really, really need you."

Derice: Sanka, you're right. And you are my best friend. And we've been through a whole lot together.

Sanka: "Heap," mon, "heap."

Derice: Sorry, mon. A whole heap together.

Sanka: "And I really, really need you."

Derice: And I really, really need you.

Sanka: Forget about it.

Our stairway to heaven.....I mean boiler room.

Sunday afternoon....

huffing, puffing....

and

spontaneous combustion

My sis and I thought it would be an AWESOME idea to pick a building downtown, and conquer it by walking/jogging up all it's stairs. The building that kept sticking out to us was the Radisson. So we pulled up, parked, giggled all the way in, and walked into the bathroom. As we stretched, and giggled, and stretched, the butterflies in our stomachs grew with anticipation of what was to come. We were so pumped!

We found the stairwell, and off we went. We figured we'd walk the first few flights for a warm up, but wouldn't you know, we were huffing and puffing by the 5th floor! and there were 20 flights in total! We figured it wasn't going to get any easier, so we started our jog. Jogging one flight, walking one flight. We did this all the way to the top, when on the last flight, I felt like my legs had run right off my body, and my torso was floating in the air! What a rush!

We elevatored it back down, stretched and giggled some more, and off we went AGAIN, jogging one flight, walking one flight. At about the last 5 or 6 flights we were WIPED, and had to walk the rest of the way, until the very last flight where we gave it our all, and then I spontaneously combusted.

The drive home was fun, since my sis's leg was involuntarily tremoring. We thanked the Lord we didn't take the standard.

Us: 1

Radisson: 0

say cheeeeeese!!!!

So, I'm downstairs, on very limited time since I know little one must be wrecking something, throwing something, breaking something, messing something, hiding something, or eating something. A few minutes pass, and there's quiet........too much quiet. I peek my head around the corner, and there's my son, sitting at the top of the basement stairs, dangling his little feet, as he chomps on the big block of marble cheese. He smelled like cheese for the rest of the day.

.........

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...............................................

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...........

SAY CHEESE!

DO YOU SNORE? My husband says I do, but he's a LIAR
LOVER OR A FIGHTER? both, depends on the day, the mood, the weather, the happenings of the day and the monthly cycle
WHAT'S YOUR WORST FEAR? That something bad will happen to my husband
AS A KID, WERE YOU A LEGO BUILDER? Only at my cousins house, I had no lego
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF "REALITY TV"? Is there anything better? I mean really?
DO YOU CHEW ON YOUR STRAWS? Absolutely! And pencils and pens and nails and guitar picks and when I was younger, Barbie's feet
WERE YOU A CUTE BABY? YES.
HOW IS THE SINGLE LIFE FOR YOU? What single life?
WHAT COLOR IS YOUR KEYBOARD? black
DO YOU SING IN THE SHOWER? sometimes
HAVE YOU EVER BUNGEE JUMPED? not yet, I'm afraid I'll break my legs
ANY SECRET TALENTS? I don't share secrets
WHAT'S YOUR IDEAL VACATION SPOT? Anywhere that has a beach, room service, shopping and nice weather
HAVE YOU EATEN SUSHI? yes
HAVE YOU SEEN THE MOVIE "DONNIE DARKO"? huh?
DO YOU GIVE A DARN ABOUT THE OZONE? yeah I give a darn
HOW MANY LICKS DOES IT TAKE TO GET TO THE CENTER OF A TOOTSIE POP? I'm too impatient to lick, I chew
CAN YOU SING THE ALPHABET BACKWARDS? Never tried, have you?
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON AN AIRPLANE? yes
ARE SPEEDO'S HOT? do a dog's lips move when he reads? Yeah then no.

WHAT'S YOUR STAND ON HUNTING? for food and survival? cool. For fun? not cool
IS MARRIAGE IN YOUR FUTURE? by future do you mean past? Then yes.
DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? I have three different handwrittings, depends on the mood (and the weather, and the days happenings, and the monthly cycle)
WHAT ARE YOU ALLERGIC TO? Laundry
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAID, "I LOVE YOU"? earlier today
IS TUPAC STILL ALIVE? didn't care that he ever was
DO YOU CRY AT WEDDINGS? depends on the couple
HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR EGGS? over easy
ARE BLONDES DUMB? not when I'm one....well yeah then too.....maybe it's just me
WHERE DOES THE OTHER SOCK END UP? in between my dryer and my washing machine full of dust and dryer lint
WHAT TIME IS IT? 3:57 pm
DO YOU HAVE A NICKNAME? yes
IS MCDONALD'S DISGUSTING? after watching "supersize me", yes. While eating it, no
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WERE IN A CAR? earlier today
DO YOU PREFER BATHS OR SHOWERS? both have their pros and cons
IS SANTA CLAUSE REAL? what the
ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK? used to be, BUT NOT NO MORE
WHAT ARE YOU ADDICTED TO? coffee, blogging, and Friends, not my friends, the ones on the show, which I wish were my friends
CRUNCHY OR CREAMY PEANUT BUTTER? creamy
HAVE YOU EVER RIDDEN IN AN AMBULANCE? no
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BRUSHED YOUR TEETH TODAY? umm....... Dr. Holly are you reading this?
IS DRUG FREE THE WAY TO BE? What does this question even mean? Like, dumb drugs? or normal drugs like tylenol and epidurals?
ARE YOU WEARING SOCKS? unfortunately... I hate socks, can't wait for summer and flip flops
HAVE YOU EVER HITCH HIKED? no way man, ever seen the movie Hitchhicker?
WHAT COLOR ARE YOUR EYES? blue, green, I don't know
WHEN'S THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? yesterday
DO YOU LIKE YOUR LIFE? yes
WHOSE LIFE IS BETTER? what the
ARE YOU PSYCHIC? yes.... and you're thinking this is a dumb question too right?
HAVE YOU READ "CATCHER IN THE RYE"? yes, just now, and it says "CATCHER IN THE RYE"
DO YOU PLAY ANY INSTRUMENTS? guitar and keyboard
CAN YOU SKATEBOARD? no, but I used to wish I could

DO YOU LIKE CAMPING? no way
DO U SNORT WHEN U LAUGH? yes
DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC? I believe there are powers that come from both sides of the coin, but I wouldn't call it magic
IS A DOG A MAN'S BEST FRIEND? no
YOU BELIEVE IN DIVORCE? no
CAN YOU DO THE MOONWALK? no
DOES YOUR MOM KNOW YOU HAVE A MYSPACE? no
WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? lunch
DO YOU WEAR NAILPOLISH? yes
DO YOU LIKE SOMEONE RIGHT NOW? this is dumb
WHAT'S THE MOST ANNOYING TV COMMERCIAL? why am I even doing this
DO YOU SHOP AT AMERICAN EAGLE? did I mention this was dumb
FAVORITE BAND AT THE MOMENT? I should add "wasting time" to my list of addictions

So anyways, my hubby found this picture floating around in some old file.

My daughter must have been only 1'ish in this picture. I think it's such a neat display of the fingerprints of God all over our lives, to see him and her together even then, it's beautiful.

What a punk my hubby was though hey? Nice hair rockstar!