A Relaxing Blog

I'm rather enjoying the fact that this blog isn't public yet. There's no pressure to blog any more than I feel like doing, or have time for:). The past couple of weeks have been extremely busy. First it was lots of baking, delivering cookies, cleaning for the expected company and planning what to do for the Christmas Eve Service. The kids were up and down more than usual emotionally, but doing okay behavior-wise. Some days are harder than others trying to find ways to meet each child's needs and desires through out the day when they're so diverse and they all want my attention at the same time. I was definitely looking forward to the extra hands of family coming at Christmas. My Father-in-law, mother-in-law and Brother in law, Preston arrived at lunch time and Kirk arrived at dinner time on Christmas Eve. We packed up the kids around 6 and headed to town for the special service. It was about -32 C and I wasn't sure there were going to be many out. Surprise, surprise, the Lord blessed. There were 38!!! 8 first time visitors:). Some from out of town, some regulars, some family, but all appreciated. After the service we went downstairs for snacks and fellowship. Most stayed and we ended up leaving around 10! Garrison fell asleep on the way to church and slept the whole time, and even went to bed when we got home. Our church people surprised us with a love offering, which was a huge blessing considering that Scott's unemployed carpentry wise for the winter. The Lord has been providing in many ways like this and we're SOOO thankful. Getting extra time with him isn't so bad either:).
Christmas morning started a little early, but we told the kids no presents til 7. Elyssia updated us about every 10 minutes what time it was. Can anybody tell that she was excited:). There were books, clothes, homemade marshmallow guns, ornaments, canned jams, homemade candy, toy cars, an electric blanket, walking sticks, explorer hats, homemade chess board, jelly bellys, pink tool sets, and much more under that tree. Very fun seeing the kids opening things and being surprised by our own gifts. I think the best surprise was when Scott was given a 22 by his parents!!! He's been wanting one for a couple years, but has been very patient since we didn't have the money for it. What a blessing to see the Lord use his parents to give him the desire of his heart. On a sad note, we received a call telling us that Scott's child hood pastor, Gordon Ironside had passed away. His funeral was set for Jan 4th and he requested that Scott preach at it. So, Bro. Dave Webster offered to pick him up at the Kindersely Airport and fly him to Hanna, Alberta, so long as the weather is cooperative. Much prayers for any at the funeral that may be lost. The rest of the family time was spent reading, playing, cooking and building a snow fort outside. I enjoyed a bit of a break as the brother in laws showed off their cooking skills. We had homemade pizza, potato/bacon chowder, empanadas, chicken fajitas and sopapillas(sp?), refried beans, rice, ginger beef and sorbet, plus a white chocolate mousse. Mmmm, I think I'm gaining weight just thinking about it:) It was good and there are many leftovers in the freezer too. Double mmmm. On New Years Eve we had roast beef and potatoes. The family all left on New Year's Day and made it safely back home, despite the -30 weather. Caleb learned a couple new words while they were here, including eggs, jelly beans, grandad, and a few other phrases became discernable. He seems to have stopped saying, "bad dada" which did make us laugh, but seemed to come out at the oddest times. A couple times at Church:). He also changed it to bad nana, but would use those two phrases on anyone whenever he was not getting his way:)
Elyssia's reading just keeps getting better and better. She's also into sewing and made nana a little purse for Christmas. She received lots of craft, sewing, knitting and cross stitching supplies for Christmas too. For those Looooong winter days:). Scott is doing science experiments with them. The other day it included making bubbles. Caleb turned the lid while we weren't watching and drank some of it. Yuck!!! He didn't like that taste, but wouldn't drink anything to wash it down, so he was wiping at his tongue for quite awhile. Doesn't seem to have curbed his curiosity any.
We've found that Garrison is really good at memorizing things and repeating. Including an entire Dr. Seuss book!!! Surprise, surprise:) He's doing better staying dry through the night now, which is another big blessing. There's definitely enough laundry without adding bedding every night or 2.
Kiersten is growing like a weed. She got a bit spoiled with all the people to hold her, but is starting to settle down again. She's my smiley girl and we all love to hug and kiss her while she kicks and coos:). Too bad baby days are so short:(.
I gave both boys a haircut yesterday. A little cold for the buzz cut, but what else do you do when they squirm and fuss. Caleb did pretty good, but I found that I was cutting a bit unevenly, so ended up taking it all off. He's still our cute, mischievous Calebee. Garrison's is a bit longer on top, but has some uneven shades, since he insisted that I use scissors. At least it's done with for at least a month or so:)
On a sad note, a dear friend of mine passed away this morning. She was a member of the church my dad pastored. They were one of the first members and she always sat behind us and requested hymn 44. She was very funny and loved to hug and kiss us. As I got older she was my primary Sunday School teacher and then a close friend once I became a young adult. She will be greatly missed, but I'm thankful that she won't have to suffer with cancer anymore. She's also up in Heaven and I wonder if she'll give my dad a hard time for getting there before her:) Many prayers for her family right now. It's NEVER easy to lose a loved one, even when you know they're in Heaven.
Well, I really should finish up this novel for now. I wrote a Christmas letter this year. Our first one:) I might post it on here sometime if I remember. Not sure if anyone is reading this. Sorry for the lack of pics. It takes a bit more to load them here, so it won't be the main focus of the blog. Happy New Year Everyone!!!

Funny Find

What Else Could you Need :-) [Texas Funnies]

JUST TEXAS
Pep, Texas 79353
Smiley, Texas 78159
Paradise, Texas 76073
Rainbow, Texas 76077
Sweet Home, Texas 77987
Comfort, Texas 78013
Friendship, Texas 76530

Love the Sun?
Sun City , Texas 78628
Sunrise , Texas 76661
Sunset, Texas 76270
Sundown, Texas 79372
Sunray , Texas 79086
Sunny Side , Texas 77423

Want something to eat?
Bacon , Texas 76301
Noodle , Texas 79536
Oatmeal , Texas 78605
Turkey , Texas 79261
Trout , Texas 75789
Sugar Land , Texas 77479
Salty, Texas 76567
Rice , Texas 75155
Pearland , Texas 77581
Orange , Texas 77630

And top it off with:Sweetwater , Texas 79556

Why travel to other cities? Texas has them all!
Detroit, Texas 75436
Cleveland, Texas 75436
Colorado City, Texas 79512
Denver City, Texas 79323
Klondike, Texas 75448
Nevada, Texas 75173
Memphis , Texas 79245
Miami , Texas 79059
Boston , Texas 75570
Santa Fe , Texas 77517
Tennessee Colony , Texas 75861
Reno , Texas 75462
Pasadena , Texas 77506
Columbus , Texas 78934

Feel like traveling outside the country? Don't bother buying a plane ticket!
Athens , Texas 75751
Canadian, Texas 79014
China , Texas 77613
Egypt , Texas 77436
Ireland , Texas 76538
Italy , Texas 76538
Turkey , Texas 79261
London, Texas 76854
* New London, Texas 75682
Paris, Texas 75460
Palestine, Texas 75801

No need to travel to Washington D.C.
Whitehouse, Texas 75791

We even have a city named after our planet!
Earth, Texas 79031

And a city named after our State!
Texas City, Texas 77590

Exhausted?
Energy, Texas 76452
Cold?
Blanket, Texas 76432Winters, Texas

Like to read about History?
Santa Anna, Texas
Goliad, Texas
Alamo, Texas
Gun Barrel City, Texas
Robert Lee, Texas

Need Office Supplies?
Staples, Texas 78670

Want to go into outer space?
Venus, Texas 76084
Mars, Texas 79062

You guessed it. It's on the state line.
Texline, Texas 79087

For the kids...
Kermit, Texas 79745
Elmo, Texas 75118
Nemo, Texas 76070
Tarzan, Texas 79783
Winnie, Texas 77665
Sylvester, Texas 79560

Other city names in Texas , to make you smile......
Frognot, Texas 75424
Bigfoot, Texas 78005
Hogeye, Texas 75423
Cactus, Texas 79013
Notrees, Texas 79759
Best, Texas 76932
Veribest , Texas 76886
Kickapoo , Texas 75763
Dime Box , Texas 77853
Old Dime Box , Texas 77853
Telephone , Texas 75488
Telegraph , Texas 76883
Whiteface , Texas 79379
Twitty, Texas 79079

And last but not least, the Anti-Al Gore City ...
Kilgore , Texas 75662

And our favorites...
Cut n Shoot, Texas
Gun Barrell City , Texas
Hoop And Holler, Texas
Ding Dong, Texas
and, of course,Muleshoe , Texas

Here is what Jeff Foxworthy has to say about folks from Texas ...

If someone in a Lowe's store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you may live in Texas ;

If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you may live in Texas ;

If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you may live in Texas ;

If 'Vacation' means going anywhere south of Dallas for the weekend, you may live in Texas ;

If you measure distance in hours, you may live in Texas ;

If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you may live in Texas ;

If you install security lights on your house and garage, but leave both unlocked, you may live in Texas ;

If you carry jumper cables in your car and your wife knows how to use them, you may live in Texas ;

If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph --you're going 80 and everybody's passing you, you may live in Texas ;

If you find 60 degrees 'a little chilly,' you may live in Texas ;

Here are some little known, very interesting facts about Texas .
1. Beaumont(South Texas) to El Paso : 742 miles
2. Beaumont to Chicago : 770 miles
3. El Paso is closer to California than to Dallas
4. World's first rodeo was in Pecos , July 4, 1883.
5. The Flagship Hotel in Galveston is the only hotel in North America built over water.
6. The Heisman Trophy was named after John William Heisman who was the first full-time coach at Rice University in Houston .
7. Brazoria County has more species of birds than any other area in North America .
8. Aransas Wildlife Refuge is the winter home of North America 's only remaining flock of whooping cranes.
9. Jalapeno jelly originated in Lake Jackson in 1978.
10. The worst natural disaster in U.S. history was in 1900, caused by a hurricane, in which over 8,000 lives were lost on Galveston Island .
11. The first word spoken from the moon, July 20,1969, was " Houston ," but the space center was actually in Clear Lake City at the time.
12. King Ranch in South Texas is larger than Rhode Island .
13. Tropical Storm Claudette brought a U.S. rainfall record of 43' in 24 hours in and around Alvin in July of 1979.
14. Texas is the only state to enter the U.S. by TREATY, (known as the Constitution of 1845 by the Republic of Texas to enter the Union ) instead of by annexation. This allows the Texas Flag to fly at the same height as the U.S. Flag, and may divide into 5 states.
Also, can secede from the union at our discretion...which we may do in short order if things in Washington don't change soon! HAHAHA
15. A Live Oak tree near Fulton is estimated to be 1500 years old.
16. Caddo Lake is the only natural lake in the state.
17. Dr Pepper was invented in Waco in 1885. There is no period in Dr Pepper.
18. Texas has had six capital cities:Washington -on- the Brazos, Harrisburg , Galveston , Velasco, West Columbia, and Austin .
19. The Capitol Dome in Austin is the only dome in the U.S. which is taller than the Capitol Building in Washington DC (by 7 feet).
20. The San Jacinto Monument is the tallest free standing monument in the world and it is taller than the Washington monument.
21. The name ' Texas ' comes from the Hasini Indian word 'tejas' meaning friends. Tejas is not Spanish for Texas .
22. The State Mascot is the Armadillo (an interesting bit of trivia about the armadillo is they always have four babies. They have one egg, which splits into four, and they either have four males or four females).
23. The first domed stadium in the U..S. was the Astrodome in Houston .


Cowboy's Ten Commandments posted on the wall at Cross Trails Church in Fairlie , Texas :
(1) Just one God.
(2) Honor yer Ma & Pa.
(3) No telling tales or gossipin'.
(4) Git yourself to Sunday meeting.
(5) Put nothin' before God.
(6) No foolin' around with another fellow's gal.
(7) No killin'.
(8) Watch yer mouth.
(9) Don't take what ain't yers.
(10) Don't be hankerin' for yer buddy's stuff.

Y'all git all that?

New pianist

Our first pianist went South for the winter. While he's gone, Janice Bond is playing and doing an excellent job. We're having Potlucks and afternoon services to replace evening ones until Spring. It's so nice to come home and have several hours to relax or go to bed early in order to catch up for the week ahead. The new building is such a blessing and we can fellowship as long as we like:) Another huge blessing was that a church in Florida voted to send us money to help pay off the church building. After that money comes in I think we'll have about 18,000 left to pay it off. It seems like the weeks have been so busy lately. Mom came to visit on the 30th of Oct. She came to meet Kiersten and be here for Garrison's 3rd Birthday. We took her back to the airport in Saskatoon on Nov 9th. The visit went by way too fast. We were invited to a surprise 4oth birthday for a lady in our church 2 weekends ago and then to supper this past weekend. Throw in a visit from the Rutherfords on their way to Montrose, B.C., lots of cooking, baking, potty training and schooling and that kind of sums it all up. Good thing Kiersten seems to be a pretty easy going baby. We fit in her feedings and nap times somewhere in between:)