Food For Thought

I have felt spiritually bone-dry for quite some time now, and although I have been seeing God work in my life through my husband and daughter it has been a challenge. Part of it, and this is the major part, has been my decline in devotions. I have always been faithful in devotions, but for the past few months have started to put other things before them. Now I understand that devotions do not necessarily have to be spending a full hour pouring over the Bible every day, devotions can be singing worship songs, praising as you clean house, going for a walk and being reminded of God through creation and many other things, but there is still nothing like being refreshed by reading the Bible and being spoken too by the One who created the universe. This morning I finally put God first in my day. Amazing what that can do. I feel energized, alive and ready to survive the busy week I have ahead of me.

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in reighteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" 1 Timothy 3:16-17

This morning I needed the reproof, correction, instruction, completeness and equipping. Guess what.... God gave me that. Yes people, God still speaks. I have to remember to tell Dan that God gave me the hug that Dan prayed for last night.....

What a Year

What a year it has been. One year ago today I was celebrating with my friends and family as I married my best friend Dan. We had a GREAT day and enjoyed our wonderful honeymoon in Radium Hot Springs, BC. We were full of plans and excitement about what we were going to do last summer. Not too many of them actually happened.....

Our Plans:

1) Sell my house

2) Renovate Dan's house (paint, redo both bathrooms, new windows, siding, furnace and hot water heater)

3) Do some landscaping

4) Do a some camping

5) Start my 3rd year of school

6) Save all of my working income

7) I don't remember what else we had planned.....

What Happened:

1) We discovered I was pregnant

2) We replaced the furnace and hot water heater

3) We found out that Dan's sister was pregnant and had cancer

4) We didn't sell my house but we rented it

5) We had multiple trips to Edmonton to see Dan's sister

6) We painted the baby room - that was the only thing we painted

7) I never started school because I was pregnant

8) Dan's sister passed away

9) We had a baby girl

10) After both of us said we never wanted to own a minivan - Dan's parents gave us there old one that his sister used to drive

11) We had to figure out a way to survive on one income because I was laid off

12) We had to furnish a baby room

13) A lot of other stuff happened as well.....

So basically this year turned out entirely differently then what we expected it to be...... but they say that if you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.... and so we did, and aparently He laughed a lot!!!!!!

It has however been a wonderfully great year and I have enjoyed this year a lot. We have had ups and downs and joys and sorrows, but through it all we have discovered that God is faithful and will sustain us though it all. We have grown closer together and are both still looking forward to the next 75 years (or however many that God gives us...) together.

I love you Dan!!!!

Maddison Renaye

So, this has been a while coming, but I finally am sitting down to post about the birth of my daughter, Maddison Renaye.

I won't post all the details and whatever, because really, who wants to read about every single detail of my labor?????? But here are the basics. My due date was February 7th, and I was seriously hoping she would come on that day, or before. She didn't, and I was getting cranky. So for the next few days I really worked on keeping myself busy. On Wednesday, February 10th I woke up at about 11:30 pm with contractions. They were between 5 to 10 minutes apart and so I couldn't sleep, so I went to the living room, where I spent the rest of the night. I woke Dan up at 6 telling him he wasn't going to work, and then we waited. We decided to go the hospital at about 9, but after getting there and getting checked we were told I wasn't far enough along, so we went home. Contractions continued throughout the afternoon and at about 5:30 I told Dan we needed to go in again. So we did. After getting checked I was told that I was far enough along, so they admitted me at about 7 pm on the 11th!!!! Blah, blah, blah.... labor, labor, labor..... and finally at 5:32 am on Friday, February 12th, after 30 hours of labor, she arrived!!!!!!

We had found out that baby was a girl, so from about 20 weeks along we knew she was a girl, and had decided on Maddison Renaye for a name!!!!! She was 6 lbs, 10 oz and was 19 inches long, so she was a small little package, but she was the perfect size!!!!

We have adjusted well to parenthood and having a baby in the house, and even Emily has adjusted!!!! Things are for sure different, but we are loving having a baby and the joy that she brings into our life!!!!

Waiting.....

So, while I am waiting oh so unpatiently for my baby to get here.... I just thought I would pop up and let you know what I've been doing for the past couple of weeks. The answer is.... pretty much nothing. My sister had her baby just over a week ago, so baby Abigail is now here but is still waiting on her cousin to show up. Come on baby! I finished teaching piano at the end of January and now have until the middleish of March before I am back to that (depending on when baby arrives obviously!), so literally I am pretty much doing nothing. And this waiting is not so easy at times.... oh well. What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger right?

Apparently Once a Month it is.....

Apparently I will only be writting on here once a month.... oh well! I'd better get used to it because once baby comes I'll have zero time anyway (at least that is what I'm prepping myself for)!!! Not to much has happened during the month of January. We've got all the baby stuff ready that we need, and the rest will come at the baby shower I'm sure, so we are ready for that. Our basement renter moved out and we have since rented it to another gentleman who will be moving in shortly. Our house is still for sale, and we are hoping that it sells soon! And that's pretty much it. The life of leisure sometimes!!!! At least I'm enjoying the rest and relaxation while I can!!!!

Christmas

Well, it's been a while since I posted I see..... and I must say that a LOT has happened during that time.

We had a relatively normal first week of December. We went out with my parents and chopped down our Christmas tree, then decorated and all that jazz. It was fun!!!!! We took my two nieces to the town light up (it was cold, so we didn't take them out for long.....) and gave my sister and her husband an evening to themselves, which was nice for them I believe!!!!

And then life hit. On December 6th we got a call from Dan's parents that his sister was going to be sedated as that was the only way they could manage her pain. Basically the doctors figured that the sedation would basically make her like she was unconsious and her body would slowly shut down, so on the 6th we told his parents to tell Keri that we loved her and then we waited. On December 8th we experienced a very weird day. Dan lost his main key to his truck (we have 2 others, so he was still able to get to work) and no matter how much we looked we couldn't find it and Dan just felt really "off" all day. I went to piano lessons at 3:30 and Dan got home at about 4:20. He said that he basically just sat down on the toilet and prayed that God would take his sister to relieve her of her pain. He got in the shower and minutes later his cell rang. I got home at 4:30 and literally like 1 minute after I walked in the door our land line rang. It was Dan's mom. His sister had passed away peacefully at 4:00. It was hard for Dan and me, but at the same time we were both relieved and thankful that God had taken her home and she was no longer in pain. As we found out more details regarding December 8th, we discovered that she was able to spend an hour with Austin that morning and for the most part it was a good day for her with minimal pain. We did however have to make plans for the funeral. Keri was cremated so the funeral was held on December 18th in Lloyd and so we had some time at home before we had to leave. That was nice.

The weekend of December 12th we experienced a deep freeze in the area and had temperatures plumet to -45 plus a windchill. Dan was called into work on December 13th because they had frozen regulators and all that. He worked a full 8 hours that day and was on emergency call until 11:00 that night. His truck then froze and refused to start, the cold water pipe to our kitchen sink froze up (it didn't burst, but it froze), my car was a bit unreliable, and we needed to get to Lloyd, so we ended up borrowing my parents car. It was great to have that opportunity and we are very thankful to my parents that they were flexible that way (we brought the dog with us, and my mom doesn't allow animals in her vehicles or house, so we were very careful to make sure the car didn't have dog smell in it!!!!!).

The trip to Lloyd and the time there was actually very nice. As much as the occasion was sad, we had 3 full days there and were able to help Dan's sister and brother-in-law with some repairs on their house, we helped Dan's parents set up their nursery for when Austin comes home, and we were able to celebrate Keri's life with family and friends.

Monday, December 21st Dan started his week of call, so that made for a busy week, but it was good!!! He had calls from 5:00 to 9:00 on Christmas Eve, but then he had no calls until 10:00 Christmas night!!!! So he got to spend the whole day with my family and it was much more relaxing than he thought it was going to be!!!!! We had a great Christmas Eve and Day and spent enjoyable time with family. We exchanged our gifts with each other Christmas morning before going out to my parents, and I really enjoyed that!!!! This is the only year that it will be just the 2 of us for Christmas (and it's our first Christmas spent together at all because last year I was in California!!!) so it was nice to have that time!!! We were spoiled from our families this year as well, and we just enjoyed the day immensly!!!

And now life is kind of getting back to normal. I have picked up some hours at my brother-in-laws clinic last week and today, and have an at-home project from my old office manager that should take me all day tomorrow to do, so that is good as well!!! We have a few changes happening in the next month as our downstairs renter has given notice and my house will be vacant come the end of January as well. So we are praying hugely that my house sells and that we can get a renter for the basement. God is stretching us and increasing our trust in Him, but He has provided beyond expectations in the past 8 months (and our lives in general) so we are continuing to trust that He will continue to provide as we need, as come February baby Viel will make his/her appearance and we will not be able to sustain 2 houses for long!

In regards to Dan's niece Austin (Keri's daughter), she should be coming home today from what we last knew, so that is a huge answer to prayer!!!!! All of her tests have come back positive, so her hearing, vision, brain development, breathing, everything, looks to be normal. God is definately good and we have much to praise Him for!!!!

And as we head into this new year, Dan and me are looking forward in anticipation to what God has in store and we are excited for the new challenges and happenings that we will experience!!!

Merry Christmas everyone and have a wonderful New Year!!!!

Life in General...

Well, it's been quite a while since I posted something, and during that time life has generally happened.....

Over halloween weekend Dan and me flew to Edmonton to see his sister and our niece. It was a good weekend and Keri seemed to be doing well at that point. Austin is doing amazing and at that point (about 5 weeks old) was just under 2 pounds. It was a nice relaxing weekend and good to fly as opposed to drive!!!!!

Throughout the rest of november life has just kind of happened. I've been going to water aerobics once a week, going for walks as much as possible and generally feeling very well!!!!
Last weekend Dan and I went to Three Hills to see my brother and his family. We stopped in Edmonton to see his sister for a few hours on the way down and generally had a good weekend!!! It was relaxing and enjoyable!! Dan even got to go up with Dallas for a flight, which was great fun for him. I would have gone, but since I am in my third trimester now it isn't advisable for me to fly, especially in a little 4 seater.

This weekend is the Ladies Tea at our church and so this week has been crazy to say the least. I've been at the church every day since Tuesday and will be there every evening until Sunday as I am primary sound person. Dan is covering for me on Saturday as I am actually going, and since Dan is drumming he has to be there anyway, so he's going to be there every night as well. He feels a little bit out of place, but at least he doesn't have to sit at home every night while I have fun!!!!

And that's about what's happening with life right now.