Christmas Eve Service

This is the first Christmas at our church. Ever since we came to candidate here for the youth pastor position that snowy February weekend, we've fallen in love with TCC. Today, that love deepened.

Our pastoral staff is amazing - men and women who so clearly love the Lord and desire to do His will. Our senior pastor is such a blessing; incredibly talented in so many ways, and "oozes" God.

My husband and I had the privilege of serving communion tonight, along with our Assistant Pastor and his wife. We stood on stage as people came to kneel at the altar, and offered them the bread and the wine.

What a beautiful, humbling experience. Who am I to offer this sacrament to God's people?

Husbands and wives came forward together and knelt; single women and teens... a married couple came forward with their 6 year old son, knelt together, took the sacraments and showed their son what to do. Then they all held hands and said a prayer. An elderly woman came forward, unsteady on her feet despite her cane. She couldn't go up the steps to the altar, so we went to her. Hands shaking uncontrollably, she blissfully accepted the bread and wine and gave thanks for the Lord's suffering on her behalf.

The Assistant Pastor's son is home from college for Christmas. His mother went forward to give him the bread... she bent down to place it in his hands, and her body convulsed in a sob as she realized the beauty and privilege of offering her son communion.

Another elderly woman came forward, nearly desperate to experience the Lord; her adult children held her arms as she stumbled up the steps and nearly fell at the altar. What a wondrous sight, to see such love for Jesus and thankfulness for what He has done for us.

May we all celebrate in the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and what that means for us - undeserved grace and salvation.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Metro Detroit had the first big snow storm of the season on Friday, with up to 10 inches in some places! We got quite a bit, as you can see! YAY, Winter!!

If the city would plow our road I'd be even happier!

The Cuban Cookie Crisis

I posted in another entry about how I worked in Cuba at a cookie factory. I left it at that, and allowed your minds to wonder about the details of such a statement. How on earth did I get to that place?

It was only for two weeks. I would get up and get to the cookie factory by 6am, and be finished by 1pm. I worked the assembly line, taking four cookies of one kind and shoving them into a plastic container. Down the assembly line they would go, as the next person would take their own kind of cookie and find the right slot for it. Sounds like kindergarten, doesn't it? It was much less fun.

Despite the hairnets and gloves, you'd go home smelling like sugar. And that's not always a good thing.

Oh, and I should probably mention it was Cuba, New York. Not the communist country.

Disappointed in the story? I would be.

November is National Adoption Month

It is estimated that about 1 and a half million children have been adopted in the United States (Stats found here: http://www.adoptioninstitute.org/FactOverview.html ).

For the record...

Yes, we want to adopt. We've tried twice and failed. We haven't given up yet, but lack the strength and resources to try right now. We might wait a year or two years. Maybe longer. I usually don't want to talk about it. Infertility and adoption are very personal subjects that deal with very personal emotions. After nearly thirteen years of trying to become parents, it becomes exhausting at times. If you're not sure what to say, I always appreciate prayers. :)

And now, please enjoy this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjMz0MmYejQ

Monster Story of the Week

I should change it to "Week" instead of "day" huh?

Frieda loves water. Like nothing else. She gets excited to drink water. She's a little bit weird. I turn on the faucet in the tub and she RUNS into the room to bite the water. When I'm in the shower, she will shove her upper body in there and bite the water. When she was a puppy, she would jump right in and sit at my feet while I showered. She hasn't done that in a while; I think it's because she's so big.

She loves water so much that she tries to make even her stuffed animals enjoy the water!! I walked into the kitchen and found her bear like this...




P.S. - Isn't she getting big??

Monster Story of the Day

I've been told, in no uncertain terms, by an unbelievably adorable 5 month old German Shepherd, that I am no longer permitted to close the door to the bathroom whilst I shower, leaving her on the other side.

Neither am I allowed to keep that door open, allowing her access to both the bathroom and the rest of the house.

I must, for now, and possibly forever more, bring said Monster into the bathroom with me, shut the door, and THEN shower.

This is what happens when I do not follow her directions explicitly.

(The Cuba Cookie Crisis story will follow in the days to come...)

Five Things...

I've been tagged!
The rules are to write 5 things under each of the 5 headings, and then tag 5 others.

10 Years Ago:

1) Moved to Philly
2) had only one car - '89 Toyota Corolla - loved it!
3) got my German Shepherd, Guenevere
4) discovered IKEA
5) was 20 pounds lighter

5 Things on Today's To-Do List:

1) ANOTHER interview at a bank
2) Go to Lowe's to get a dehumidifier and paint samples for the living room
3) Go to the bank to deposit a check (and hopefully not get a hard time, like I seem to EVERY time I go there...)
4) run
5) do two loads of laundry

5 Snacks I Enjoy:

1) Pure Protein Bars
2) English muffins with butter and jam
3) Doritos!
4) Kashi granola bars
5) cut up apple with cinnamon sprinkled on top (Granny Smith, not Golden Delicious!)

5 Things I Would Do if I Were a Millionaire:

1) Pay off my house and all debt
2) Go on an amazing vacation with my husband (probably Hawaii or Mexico... or both!)
3) Remodel my kitchen and put on a sunroom in the back of the house
4) Give some away to families struggling financially
5) Adopt some children and save for their college education, and our retirement!

5 Places I Have Lived:

1) Vancouver, BC, Canada
2) New Brunswick, Canada
3) Rochester, NY
4) Philadelphia, PA
5) Detroit, MI

5 Jobs That I Have Had/or Still Have:

1) cashier at McDonald's (loved the free food! :P )
2) back office worker at a grocery store
3) pet supply store job
4) cookie factory job in Cuba (not as fun as it sounded)
5) bank teller

5 People I Am Tagging:

I think I've run out of people! Everyone's already been tagged! :P
If you are reading this and haven't been tagged, I tag you!! :)

Monster Story of the Day

So3
(Frieda says hi! she has her head and paw on my laptop... 3 is an important number to her, for some reason...)

Anyway!! The Frieda story of the day:

Because of her monsterificness, she gets put in her crate now when we leave the house. So yesterday, before we left for church, I put her in her crate. She doesn't seem to mind it too much... she has a blanket in there, which she's slowly ripping to pieces. She has fun. There's also a dirty sock, and you KNOW that has to be a good time.

Her crate has two doors - one on the side and one on the front. I noticed the other day that the bottom latch of the side door was undone. "Strange" I thought... but I closed it and dismissed it.
When we got home from church, I unlocked the back door, waiting to be greeted by Guen. Instead, Frieda AND Guen come to the door, Frieda a ball of energy, so excited that we were home! How on earth did The Monster get out of her cage?!

I checked her cage, expecting to find a door open, but instead, just a bottom latch on one door was undone. Somehow she must have figured out how to undo the latch, and then pushed her body through the bottom part of the door. It is now slightly bent.

Monster? Indeed!

Nanaimo Bars

Canadians enjoy a delicious dessert called Nanaimo Bars. I usually make these twice a year. Once for Christmas, and another time, just because. They freeze well, and must be served chilled.

My grandmother and I shared a love of all things sweet. This is her recipe for Nanaimo Bars.

Base:
Melt 4 squares of semi-sweet chocolate in microwave (ok, they didn't have microwaves in her day, but this has been adapted for people who can't be bothered to use a double boiler, like moi).

Combine with 1 cup softened butter and 4 tbsp sugar, 2 tsp vanilla, 2 eggs (I use Egg Beaters - you will not cook the eggs, and Egg Beaters are pasteurized = safe). Mix well.

Add 4 cups of graham cracker crumbs, 2 cups coconut, 1 cup chopped walnuts. Press into 9x12 pan. Chill.

Filling:
Combine 4 tbsp custard powder with 6 tbsp milk. Add to 1/2 cup butter, beat in 4 cups icing (powedered) sugar until smooth. Spread over base. Chill for 15 minutes.

Glaze:
Melt 8 squares of chocolate with 2 tbsp butter in microwave. Spread over custard. Chill. (I use from 12-16 squares of chocolate, and chill overnight.)

Super calorie-filled, fatty, sugary, and delicious!

Six Things That Make Me Happy

You're about to be tagged!

The people tagged at the end of this entry will be challenged to start a blog entry on their blog about six things that make them happy! These should be peculiar things that make YOU happy, not generalities. :) After you post your own entry, feel free to tag six MORE people and keep it going! Enjoy!

Six Things That Make Me Happy:

1. Practical jokes... whether I'm the one doing the prank, or I'm on the receiving end. Love them.

2. Getting Private Messages on Hannah's Prayer.

3. My one particular pair of running socks. I lost the other two pairs of the same, but they are so warm and cozy and make me feel official.

4. Finding my puppy sleeping on her back.

5. Reusable water containers. I think they are amazing and I love using them.

6. Texting.

I tag: Meridith, Scotti, Liz, Tina, Kate and Carley.

Running Ramblings

Why do I never feel like running? I get up in the morning, knowing my plan is to run before doing anything else, and then grumble to myself about how much it sucks.

Today was no different. I had a nice, quiet breakfast and settled down on my computer, seeing what's new with my friends.

My husband calls, and there's something wrong with his brakes. Isn't this magical? One of our cars has to go into the shop for about the 8th time in six months. Fantastic! So, I have to go pick him up at work. I have a couple of hours, so I decide I'll run before hand. Blah. Get it over with, so I don't come up with excuses later on.

I added just over a mile to my run today! Whew! It took me a while, but I ran 4.2 miles, up from 3 miles last week. I plotted my course this weekend, for when I was ready to add more distance, and it went by fast. Maybe my breakfast is to thank for the great run? Maybe the fact that I slept in and was well rested? I don't know what it was, but I felt like I was running on air! Oh, maybe it was my Saucony sneakers. They always help.

I am self conscious. Part of why I don't like running outside is that I'm afraid people will say things to me, or make fun of how slow I'm going! It hasn't happened until today.

At one corner, I heard someone in his pick up truck say, "something-something, baby!!" which I can only assume was "Your percentage of body fat is less than my three month old baby!" I can't imagine what else he could have said!

I like to take note of how many McCain/Palin signs I see and how many Obama signs I see (sadly, Biden doesn't seen to be on any of these signs! I wonder if that fills him with rage?). When happily observing many more McCain/Palin signs than Obama signs, I see that in front of one of them sits two elderly men. One yells, "COME ON! RUN FASTER!!" To which I reply, "I CAN'T!!!" Sigh. I should have said, "Come out here and run with me!!" You know he would have been that 65 year old man that has run 50 marathons in his lifetime though...

The Perfect Frame

My Nana was a painter. She must have done hundreds of paintings in her lifetime. Flowers seemed to be her favorite.

When I went to visit my family this summer, I was given one of her paintings. The frame was old, discolored and damaged, so I just brought the canvas. Since then, I've been searching for the perfect frame.

We just moved, and I found a box filled with 10 frames (I love buying frames for my photos, and if I find some on sale, I'm usually apt to snag a few for future use). None of these frames seemed to fit this painting. I wanted something special, since the painting is special.

We went to Wally World the other day for fishing stuff (oh joy!), and I found an end cap with discounted frames on it. I found one for $14.92 that looked perfect! It was reduced to $7.00. It was a little banged up, but I thought that added to its charm, and it is solid wood (some frames there are plastic... no thanks).

When we checked out, it rang up for $4.00! What a deal! And it looks perfect!

Now I just have to finish painting so I can hang it up!

The Monster

At four and a half months old, she is 50 pounds of terror.

Why do I refer to Frieda as "The Monster"? Well, because she IS! Frieda is my second German Shepherd, Brian's third. Frieda is a big ball of awesomeness! She is so in love with us, and filled with energy. She loves life and loves to vocalize her feelings. She loves to sit beside you and lean against you. She loves to lay on the couch and put her head against you (yep, we let her on the couch. More opportunity for monster-ness. Like when she tries to jump over you when you have a laptop in your lap. Good times!). She loves to lick faces! She also loves Guenevere, our other German Shepherd. In fact, she adores Guen. And the feeling is mutual.

Frieda is also a handful!! She is either going at 100 mph or passed out. There is very little in between for her!

She now finds joy in digging in the back yard! Not only has she destroyed plants by sitting on them (they must be comfortable!!), she also has 3 holes dug in the yard. The good news is that I am planning to plant rose bushes in one of those holes, so she has spared me some work next Spring.

When I say, "NO!" She bounces away from me, shocked and amused that I would not be impressed!

I love that little Monster!

Running on Independence

I am on a quest to eat healthier, and just plain be healthier.

I began running last year, around the beginning of November. I struggle a lot with consistency, which is why, after nearly a year, I can only run about 3 miles at a time. I made it to 5 miles for a while, but again, that darn consistency problem showed up.

I can't say I love running, but I'd love to be a runner. Like the New Balance commercials say, I have a love/hate relationship with running, struggling to make that love a little bit bigger than the hate. I love the way I feel after a run. I love the way I feel the day after a run. I don't like people watching me when I run, however. And it sure ain't easy.

I didn't feel like running today, and I had a bunch of reasons not to. I spent a lot of the day painting, and I still needed to get groceries. After some convincing from my good friend, Thelma, I decided I could put off shopping for another hour or so to make myself a little bit healthier. So I got my official running gear on, and ran down Independence Drive.

And you know what? It felt great.

Sixteen years ago today...

On Sunday, October 4th, 1992, I sat in the second pew from the front at Moncton Wesleyan Church. The pastor told us how Jesus died for our sins, and if we believed in Him, we would live for all eternity with Him.

He asked, "Who here, if you were to die today, doesn't think they would go to heaven?" I knew I wouldn't, so I raised my hand. Then he asked those who raised their hands to go forward. I said to my friend, "I have to go."

I went forward and knelt at the altar. A woman knelt beside me and prayed with me. I asked forgiveness for my sins, and gave my life to the Lord.

I never would have imagined how my life would be, sixteen years later. I have been so blessed. Obviously, this life is not without its hardships, but I know that I am not alone. He is with me, always.

Thank you, Jesus!

My Girls - Guenevere and Frieda

Introduction

As if my title didn't explain it, I am a Canadian citizen as well as an American citizen. I was born and raised in Canada, and moved to the United States when I was 18. I lived here for nearly 14 years before deciding to become an American citizen. Now I am a citizen of the two best countries in the world!

What will I blog about? Everything. Being a new American, a Born Again Christian and a youth pastor's wife, being infertile and the hope of adoption, and pretty much anything else you can think of!