TGIF!

It has been "time to get out sans babies!!" for quite some time. The last time I was out alone, to putter at my own speed, aside from the ocassional painting project at church or a prayer meeting -- was before Little M's birthday in December. That's at least a month and a half ago!! My "Winnipeg Run" list was getting rather lengthy, and I knew that it was time to take matters into my own hands :).


You see, I used to wait for the "Day Out Fairy" to show up at my door, lovingly tell me that I NEEDED to get out and that ALL NECESSARY ARRANGEMENTS had been made. I waited for someone else to give me a break, to read my mind (and all my ornery cues!!!), and to help me "take care of me." 


No such fairy exists in my life. And it's GOOD! Because it has forced me to take responsibility for my own needs, and discover freedom and confidence in that! It's a bit of a balancing act sometimes, but I am grateful for the lesson :).


And let's face it. If the "Day Out Fairy" miraculously arrived one day, in all my stubborn and prideful character, would probably say - I can do it MYSELF, thank you very much!!! Oh what a complicated creature I can be :).


So, this week, when earlier plans of getting out were kyboshed due to weather (gotta love those Manitoba winter storms!), I promptly made Plan B.
TGIF.
I asked a friend to watch the girls (our parents do a lot of childcare for us already, so I wanted to spread out the luuuuv a little :P) and headed off to the city, detailed list in hand.


I am soooo excited! This week I started to tackle the living room, adding personal touches and setting things out again after the Great Paint Project. It has been so. much. fun. I gathered a few items (well priced, fun little do-dads :P) and promptly set them all out to see how it would like. I like what I'm seeing :). I'll post soon :).


In the mean time, it was a perfect way to end a week that has had many many challenges, but some huge blessings as well.
Which is good.
It was time to get out!!

Oh my. This pic was taken many MANY moons ago, long before I was married :).

I spent a fabulous summer at camp in ALBERTA, and my friend LEAH (rare name, it was fitting

we should become such amazing friends!) and I headed to a local petting zoo for an outing.

We thought this was terribly funny.

Still is, to me!

And I haven't seen those jeans in a long long while, either!!!

Well, it sure ain't ocean front property!!

The grandest sight greeted me as I opened the blinds this morning.
A wall
of
white!!

WHOA! Where did the world go :)?

First, I was grateful that not one of us had to travel OUT in that weather! Yoikes!

Second, of all things, I started to think about G.A.R.D.E.N.I.N.G.!!!

I think this is highly related to the fact that I can no longer see any perennials peeking out of the snow drifts.

I'm not sure what I'll get around to sticking in the dirt this spring. With Baby's arrival due sometime end of May, we may or may not have flowers and/or veggies :). Although, the overwhelming desire for sun-ripened tomatoes, snappy green beans, lovely cucumbers, savory squash and ruddy little potatoes will probably lure me out there to poke a few seeds (and nursery seedlings!) into the ground. And hey -really. What's a Manitoba summer without petunias!! But I'm gettin' the itch to thumb through the seed catalogue. And maybe I will ;), while munching on a bit of popcorn. It's a cozy winter eve after all!!

The Waiting Game

The other night, a mini miracle happened :).


Does such thing really exist!? A "mini" miracle :)? Are not all miracles grand just by their very nature :)?


I was tucking the girls into bed at the end of a l.o.n.g. day. Rough. The only thing bigger than Mt. Everest was my massive headache!!!


However, it is in these exact moments that the most precious things occur.


As I turned to leave the girls bedroom, I look and see Sweet K blowing me kisses from beneath her quilts.
My eyes filled with tears. My mother-heart soared.


You see, typically these milestones come at 15-18 months. I have had to wait a lot longer than that this time around! Sweet K is already 31 months old, and has just now decided to start imitating us in this way. For anyone who has walked the journey of development issues, you know what a celebration this can be! Milestones that are so often overlooked are savored; sweet moments like this almost erase the waiting.


Almost.


The more times I see the world revolve around sun, the more I realize that waiting is h.a.r.d. w.o.r.k. It can be very painful. And isolating. It is among life's toughest lessons, like learning to forgive and learning how to fully live. The weight of waiting can weary the soul, can sap your joy and strength and can distract you from the amazing blessings of life.


Just ask the person who is waiting for blood test results.
Or the person who is longing for health and wholeness.
Or the one seeking emotional healing after an experience with trauma.
Or the lover waiting for a reconciliation that may never come.


We learn to function under the burden, but my growing longing has been to live faith-fully, rather than fear-fully, in life's waiting room. To remain open. Hopeful. Honest. Teachable. 


"The Mother of expectation is patience." Henri Nouwen writes. "Jesus changes our history from a random series of sad incidents and accidents into a constant opportunity for a change of heart. To wait patiently therefore means to allow our weeping and wailing to become the purifying preparation by which we are made ready to receive the joy which is promised to us." - Out of Solitude, Henri Nouwen


A joy that is grounded in Jesus.


Practicing such waiting is really hard work! Some days I'd rather do 200 sit-ups in a row (which seems to me to be very hard work ;P) then learn how to wait well. It means that I need to address and surrender anxiety. It means training my mind not to expect the worst, but to hope for the best (and holding that in tension with the understanding that God's "best" is not what I would always think is "best" :)...). It means learning to live fully in the present, so that I can be reconciled to the past and ready to embrace the future. It means a l.o.t. of prayer! Often. 


But such work is good. Because in it, I encounter God. And learn to lean on his promise.

Do you not know? 

Have you not heard? 

The LORD is the everlasting God, 

   the Creator of the ends of the earth. 

  

He will not grow tired or weary, 

      and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary 

       and increases the power of the weak.

 Even youths grow tired and weary, 

and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the LORD 

will renew their strength. 

They will soar on wings like eagles; 

they will run and not grow weary, 

they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:28-31

"Whereas patience is the mother of expectation, it is expectation itself that brings new joy."

~ Henri Nouwen ~

Technological Angst :)

I have issues.

Several of them, actually, but I won't get into that now!!

My latest one is my love-hate arrrgh relationship with technology. Just yesterday, I went to update my blog page. I had found a new template that I liked, and thought - hey! I've done this before. Can't remember HOW I did it, exactly, but if you've done it once it shouldn't be that hard to do it again.


Case in point as to why I try to steer clear of the word "shouldn't."

Sigh.

Well. I ended up changing the whole thing, getting a bunch of scrambled up error messages, and short of a technological break-through, may have to settle for a bright white screen for a while :).

Oh yeah. I tried to accomplish this during the supper-prep hour.
We ended up grumpy, hungry, and over-all unpleasant :).

On the upside, my wonky oven decided to work and our pizza was thoroughly and entirely baked.
Wonders may never cease!!

Glamour girl :)

I don't much think of myself as a glamour girl.
Plain Jane Vanilla is more like it :).

But TONIGHT is different!!!
This very evening I had the lovely opportunity to receive both a MANICURE and a PEDICURE.
Envious :)?
Yessssss. It was given to me by my four year old daughter. Since dear J was off on a guys night this evening, we had to do something to pass the time creatively engage in post-dinner activities :) before bedtime. At supper, which included the ingredients of mac & cheese, sausage, and popcorn - hey anything to make this a tad easier!!! - I suggested to Little M that we paint her nails. We hadn't done that in a while. Sweet K would get her toes done too (she's a finger sucker and at this point is not a candidate for nail polish!).

Can I paint yours too, mommy?


GULP. Yesssss, yes you can. Little M squealed with delight - I don't think she was expecting me to agree to this little idea! Well..... a little nail polish never hurt anyone...right :)?

So here I am, basking in the post-bedtime quietness, all glammed up with cotton-candy pink nails (uh, including toes - not just toe NAILS, but my actual toes!!) and no place to go. Maybe I'll go grab my good book :). Cheers!

PS - Note to self.
1. Make sure it's a wipe-able surface.
2. double check to make sure there's polish remover in the cupboard!
3. Oh yeah, and tether the two-year-old "helper" to a chair or something because she's into EVERYTHING!!

Freebies :)....

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Dr Oetker. All opinions are 100% mine.






Here is a chance at a freebie ;). Head over to 
Dr Oetker Adventure Romantica Contest, 
fill out a membership form, grab a PIN and enter to win :). It's that simple!
What could you win?


1) Free pizza!! YUM! Okay, I have a bit of a beef about this, since something is totally wonky 
with my oven right now (I think an important thermostat part needs to be replaced, but have 
procrastinated having it fixed for some strange reason!!), and it won't properly bake a pizza!! 
It's incredibly frustrating, but we're working on it :). Free pizza sounds delightful ;).


2) OORRRR pizza and wine! Okay, at 21 weeks pregnant, I don't go near the wine, but a 
pizza and chilled wine night sounds wonderful :). 


3) Or a tour of a winery :). That would be fun too!! I've never had the pleasure of touring a 
winery, however I've toured an orchard where apparently there is a pile of discarded (slightly 
fermenting!) apples and the bears are very happy about it!! Exploring a winery would leave 
me feeling very cultured :).
 



Hey, you don't have to buy anything, you get access to some lovely little coupons AND the 
opportunity to win free food!
Let me know if you win - I might invite myself over for supper ;).

I'm wonderin' the same thing :)....

Yesterday morning Little M wanders sleepily into the living room, where I am enjoying a few quiet moments before dawn. It had been a rough night {again!!!} and we were all trying to shake a few cobwebs out before embracing the start of a brand new day.

Mommy, last night Sweet K kept me awake with all her crying.


Me: Me too, little bug. Me too.


We both sigh.
It is quiet for a couple of seconds (which is rare around here!!!).
You can just hear the thinking!!!

But mom, when the new baby comes, if Sweet K is up at night and the new baby is up at night, when are YOU going to sleep?


Me: Oh little one. I've been wondering the exact same thing!!!

I guess we'll just have to wait and see!!!